This Blog is Dedicated to our dear friend Karen.
When she left this life she left a hole in our hearts as well as several to be read books.
We, her friends, will read these books for her.
This blog will be a sort of book club for us to post our thoughts and feelings about the stories and feelings we have of Karen while we read.

Sunday, June 14, 2015

#200 Beauty's Release by Anne Rice

6570846


So, one of the difficulties with writing a review for the last book in a series is in writing about the plot or characters without giving away any spoilers. But I feel safe in writing about this book without revealing too much - because, just like in the other two books - not much happens! Oh sure, things are being done (usually to other people) but there's no real action to the plot.

Beauty and several of the other "love-slaves" from the kingdom are kidnapped and taken to some Middle Eastern country to serve as "love-slaves" there. The difference is that the servitude and punishments are more psychological than at the castle in the first book, or the village in the second book. The slaves are not allowed to speak, and their "masters" look at them not as humans but as beasts to be used for their pleasure (and as "art" and ornamentation on walls and furniture, apparently).

The other big difference between this book and the others is that "forbidden love" (i.e. man-on-man and woman-on-woman sex) is explored a bit more. Beauty, who in the previous books was eager to submit to her "masters" but never really loved any of them, finds herself in a secret affair with one of the sultan's wives. And Laurent (who hardly featured in the second book and wasn't even in the first book, but is now one of the main characters in this third volume) turns the tables on his master and becomes the master himself, falling in love with his former master. (Confused yet?) Immediately after these developments (and I mean *immediately*), Beauty and Laurent are re-kidnapped by people from the kingdom, and eventually, like in any fairy tale, they all live happily ever after. (Of course, their ideas of "happily ever after" are vastly different from your usual fairy tale prince and princess!)

~Kris

No comments:

Post a Comment