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Exit to Eden

3.44 of 5 stars 3.44 · rating details · 8,340 ratings · 281 reviews

WE ALL DREAM OF THE FORBIDDEN BUT SOME OF US MAKE THOSE DREAMS COME TRUE.

In her best-selling "Vampire" books, Anne Rice daringly exposes the erotic link between fear and desire while Lestat and-Rice's other charismatic "blood drinkers" draw us, irresistibly, to the dark side of ourselves.

With the same mystery, menace, and intensity, Exit to Eden continues to explore the fo...more

Mass Market Paperback, 308 pages

Published May 1st 1986 by Dell (first published January 1st 1985)

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Apr 25, 2007 Ali rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Women

Shelves: favorites

This is the romance your mother never had the guts to read. The sexual escapades you never thought to dream of and will probably never attempt.

She is the your alter-ego as you sweep floors and clean toilets wishing instead you were flicking leather whips onto the backside of firm tanned flesh. He is the man holding in a secret wish to be dominated in a world where his wealth and good looks make him lord of all he sees. Harlequin Romances are for children, Anne Rice wrote a love story for adults...more

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Dec 24, 2012 Michael Aubrey rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: BDSM readers, 50 Shades, and such

Summary

Secluded island. Hundreds of consensual sex-slaves bound by a 2-year contract. Couldn't get better than this, right? Not until a little thing called 'love' makes things complicated.

Positive Critiques

If Exit to Eden is a tree then Fifty Shades of Grey is a flowery branch.
Well-written.
Scenes became a 'movie' in my head.
I felt for the character's emotions.

'Meh' Critiques
I don't even want to call this a negative critique--This specific genre is not my clique. I don't mind a book with sex. I...more

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Dec 13, 2008 Sarah rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2005, erotica, fiction

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

10 likes · like · see review

Feb 07, 2013 Al rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

They call her the Perfectionist. A stunning, mysterious, and fearless sexual adventurer, Lisa is founder and supreme mistress of The Club—an exclusive island resort where forbidden fantasy meets willing flesh. Here eager participants who can afford life's most exquisite luxuries can experience the breathtaking pleasures of surrender and submission. Here nothing is taboo.

A thrill-seeking photojournalist, Elliott risks his life daily in the most dangerous, war-torn regions on Earth. Now he has

...more

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Jan 25, 2013 Miwako Sakurada rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Anyone who loves a good romance with some kink

Recommended to Miwako by: No one

This is my first Anne Rice book, I have been looking for an author that has a wide variety of books and I am also very interested in reading erotic fiction because I want to be able to incorporate it into my novels some day. From the beginning I was hooked the way she described every little detail of the setting was beautiful, I could literally watch as all the events took place.

In the middle of the book it got a little bit boring and old and I started to read it just to get it over with. Thank...more

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Oct 25, 2012 Mara rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I read this after my friend had me read Fifty Shades of Grey. I figured, Anne Rice wrote about this stuff a while ago, and I like Anne Rice. I'd disagree with those who said the writing was poor-- Anne Rice can really write. I like how she puts words together, in a very contrasting way. One phrase was 'pulchritudinously fuckable.' I can imagine that it will be mandatory reading on a class entitled Late Twentieth Century Sexuality or The Development of Sexuality from the 1920s to the Present in s...more

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Oct 10, 2012 Rita rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I ran across this novel at a used bookstore an thought, hey, a 1985 version of "Fifty Shades of Gray". Sine I have enjoyed Anne Rice novels in the past, why not give it a try. It starts interesting and a bit exciting, Lisa is a young woman caught up in the world of S&M since the age of 16 and is the mastermind behind The Club where wealthy clients pay an enormous sum to act out their wildest fantasies. Elliott is a thrill seeking and wealthy young man who after nearly getting killed in El Sa...more

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Jun 03, 2012 Marleen rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: erotica

Eden, a secret, mysterious and elegant island in the Caribbean is a play-ground for the rich. It is the place where those with enough money can come to fulfil their fantasies about dominance and submission. A paradise where willing slaves are available for those who would be masters, where pain and pleasure intermingle and nothing is forbidden or impossible.
Lisa is the perfectionist mastermind behind Eden. She has set the rules, invented the games and oversees the smooth running of the whole ope...more Eden, a secret, mysterious and elegant island in the Caribbean is a play-ground for the rich. It is the place where those with enough money can come to fulfil their fantasies about dominance and submission. A paradise where willing slaves are available for those who would be masters, where pain and pleasure intermingle and nothing is forbidden or impossible.
Lisa is the perfectionist mastermind behind Eden. She has set the rules, invented the games and oversees the smooth running of the whole operation. Eden is what Lisa has been yearning for all her life, the answer to all her sexual and spiritual needs and yet, when she returns to Eden after a vacation away, Lisa finds herself restless and, for the first time ever, unsure of what she really wants.
Elliot is a client. Suffering from severe burnout he has been trained to be a slave in Eden and has recently signed a contract to stay there for two years while he flees the life that no longer satisfies him.
When Elliot and Lisa meet sparks fly. Neither of them expected to find real attraction in Eden and neither of them, but least of all Lisa, is prepared for the conflict and confusion these new feelings bring with them.
When Lisa flees Eden, taking Elliot with her, she’s not only breaking all the rules she so carefully set herself, she is also opening herself up to the sort of turmoil she’s ill equipped to deal with.

This is very much a book in two parts. While the first half of the story is very much about sex, submission and dominance, the second half is more of a psychological study, with sex very much in the background.
In the first half the reader learns, in rather graphic detail, about the training slaves go through before they get to Eden and about the pain, pleasure, humiliation and power they experience from that training and life in Eden.
During the second half though, all of that fades away. The story now takes into the minds of Elliot and Lisa. And while Elliot has a pretty good idea what he feels, what he wants and how to deal with his emotions, Lisa is lost. When Lisa finds herself in a neverland between no longer feeling at home in Eden and deep fear of what a future away from the world she created might mean, she is in real danger of ending up with nothing.

I found this to be a fascinating book because it goes beyond what could so easily have been a purely erotic story. It is obvious that Rice is a talented and experienced author. Her sentences and the story flow with ease and she captures the reader as much with her erotic descriptions as she does with the non-sexual scenes.
Both Lisa and Elliot are wonderful characters to read about; flawed and struggling to find their way they are made for each other yet unprepared for that discovery.
I would have loved to have the opportunity to read more about the two of them, would have enjoyed seeing them return to Eden together and what they might get up to as a team. Since that particular book hasn’t actually been written I will have to be satisfied with what I found in this story and that which my own fantasy can come up with.

Yes, it would appear that I have developed a taste for Erotica in my “old age”.
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Dec 07, 2011 Cindi rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: novels

I was intrigued by the concept of this novel. Alternate sexuality and lifestyles were not a common subject to see in print at the time it was released. (Which is around the time I read it.)
The novel goes along well enough for the first half, but then the main characters 'go conventional'. The word that came to mind for me was 'back-pedaling'. This can work, if you truly feel there has been an inclination on the part of the character to do so. In this case I didn't feel it was justified. The nove...more

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Jun 07, 2011 BiblioBabes.ca rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I'm still feeling the aftershocks from this book. You know, the aftershocks- when you put a book down and you have goosebumps on your arms and legs, and there's that internal shudder of satisfaction and the final release of tension that had built up as the pages became fewer and fewer towards the end of the book. Aftershocks, the physical proof that a book just rocked my world!

With that intro, I'm sure you've realized that I love this book. It's sexy with a story line, imagine that. If, when you...more I'm still feeling the aftershocks from this book. You know, the aftershocks- when you put a book down and you have goosebumps on your arms and legs, and there's that internal shudder of satisfaction and the final release of tension that had built up as the pages became fewer and fewer towards the end of the book. Aftershocks, the physical proof that a book just rocked my world!

With that intro, I'm sure you've realized that I love this book. It's sexy with a story line, imagine that. If, when you close your eyes at night, visions of spanking, bondage and slave play dance in your head, then I recommend you read this book. Actually, what am I thinking? ...you probably already have this book. So, those of you thinking that you may like a little swat on the bottom, this is the book for you. It's graphic, but not raunchy. It's sexy, but not slutty. It's geniusly written and easily devoured. Pre-born-again-Christian Anne Rice is the BEST (and her post-Christianity self is pretty badass too and her views on Christianity are dead on).

The main character, Lisa, is the founder and head mistress at The Club- a very (very very very) exclusive island resort for those wanting to live out their dom/sub fantasies. But when she falls in love with Elliott, her submissive, things get messy as she fights with her emotions, and struggles with the delicate balance between her work and personal life. This sounds kinda boring (cliche?) but believe me when I say that shit gets crazy. But what I really liked about this book was how fluid everyone's sexuality is. There's no drama: girls like girls and boys like boys and girls like boys and girls and every combination in between. Love is love and sex is sex. Whatever the motivation, all are excepted. If only real life could be that accepting. Here is an amazing quote from the book:

"You know, Lisa, very few of us anymore get through life without a dramatic bid for freedom. That dramatic bid is the hallmark of our times. But most of us never really reach our goal. We get stuck halfway between the morass of myth and morality we left behind and the utopia on which we've set our sights. That's where you are, stuck between that dismal, repressive Catholic morality you came from and the vision of a world in which no form of love is a sin."

*heart flutter*

Can't we all just get along? lol, but seriously, I fucking love that quote and that is my vision of (for) the world too. So, I give Anne Rice's Exit to Eden two enthusiastic thumbs up! One thumb for its sexy, delicious pages and the other for letting me live in this beautifully accepting world, only if it lasted 377 pages.

xx Cara

Ps. Are you familiar with The Sleeping Beauty Chronicles? Did you know Anne Rice has 2 pseudonyms and writes the most damn sexy books ever under them: Anne Rampling and A. N. Roquelaure? I really strongly urge you to find these books and rub them all over your body... oh, and read them ;)

http://www.bibliobabes.ca/May_2011_Ca...
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Sep 09, 2010 Lisa Weber rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is a novel that explores aspects of S&D/B&D and some of the psychology behind these preferences. A handsome, successful young man sets off on the adventure of his lifetime, to become a submissive sexual slave on a private island which houses "The Club". There, he meets his ideal dominatrix.

While I can see the attraction this would have for some (this is a great fantasy idea), I myself vacillated between interest and repulsion for much of the book. I like hot sex scenes and consensua...more

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Apr 05, 2010 Hydra Star rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I’d heard a lot of good things about this book prior to purchasing it. I’ve never seen any parts of the movie that bares it title, but had read some place that Anne Rice had denounced it because it so greatly varied from the original story. I found that encouraging considering the movie is marketed as a buddy cop comedy and I don’t really enjoy comedy mixed in with my BDSM erotica, which is what the book is marketed as.

The book’s storyline centers around and is told from the first person point o...more I’d heard a lot of good things about this book prior to purchasing it. I’ve never seen any parts of the movie that bares it title, but had read some place that Anne Rice had denounced it because it so greatly varied from the original story. I found that encouraging considering the movie is marketed as a buddy cop comedy and I don’t really enjoy comedy mixed in with my BDSM erotica, which is what the book is marketed as.

The book’s storyline centers around and is told from the first person point of view of two individuals involved in the BDSM lifestyle. One is, Lisa, the female co-founder and operator of a sex club simply called The Club that is stationed on some unidentified island. From the very start you get a sense that she’s a woman divided, mostly due to her families deep Catholic faith and her own ‘sex is beautiful and never sinful’ mentality. The other half of the story is told by, Elliott, a man soon to be employed by The Club as one of its many sex slaves. The impression is given that he has a strong leaning towards being a homosexual and only a mild interest in women.

Soon our two characters find themselves The Club; Lisa at the end of a trip to visit her family and Elliott at the start of his two year contract as a slave. Elliott is ill-suited for the position of slave and quickly gets himself in trouble. What follows is what one would expect from BDSM erotica and Lisa becomes Elliott’s owner/lover, but she’s just not as “into it” as she should be. After some good play between the two of them, Lisa ups and bust Elliott out of The Club and they travel to New Orleans. That’s where things start to go down hill.

Once out of The Club all BDSM elements of the book practically disappear and its basically all vanilla sex and traditional love story from there on out. That doesn’t make it a bad read and it is quite thoughtful and insightful into human nature, but just isn’t up to snuff with the book’s opening or marketing. Call me old fashioned, but when I read BDSM erotica I want there to actually be some bite to the sex sense.

I’m also not so big on a main character who after falling in love with her “slave” becomes so overcome with guilt and shame at her sexual history that she practically can’t function and starts to drink herself silly. A little conflict; a little surprise at having feeling so deeply for someone who’d otherwise have been just a fling or a good time, but hitting rock bottom and crying her eyes out and going around asking her friends is she “bad” because of the way she has lived is way over the top and frankly a bit insulting to anyone with a even a little kink and love in their lives. I’m not going to give away the ending for anyone who might be considering reading this work, but I will warn you that it’s about as predictable as they come and my impression of the message of this book is that love will save you and cure you of your kinky desires. I think, if this is Mrs. Rice’s feelings about BDSM and sex in general, it’s a good thing she stuck so long to writing books about vampires and didn’t devote more energy to creating erotica. The world really doesn’t need more shame over sex and sexuality spread around. (less)

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Jan 30, 2010 Britt rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: People who are looking for a non-traditional love story

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jan 17, 2013 Kristine Marie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: darkly-erotic, classics, guilty-pleasure

I read this a while ago and recently re-read it. After reading Fifty Shades of Gray and being sorely disappointed from the hype, I recalled this book as one of the first "erotica" I read and remembered how good Anne Rice was writing this genre. The sex/love scenes weren't just a novelty like it felt in 50, but a major part of the development of Lisa and Elliot's love. I first read this book when I was a teenager so of course the hype of the sex exposure was more influential and memorable to me a...more I read this a while ago and recently re-read it. After reading Fifty Shades of Gray and being sorely disappointed from the hype, I recalled this book as one of the first "erotica" I read and remembered how good Anne Rice was writing this genre. The sex/love scenes weren't just a novelty like it felt in 50, but a major part of the development of Lisa and Elliot's love. I first read this book when I was a teenager so of course the hype of the sex exposure was more influential and memorable to me at the time. After reading it again now I really appreciate the vulnerability and openness of both characters. Although both characters' circumstances are completely out of scope for me personally, I could relate to that raw edge of emotion and figuring out how to deal with it one "fuck up" at a time. Aside from the obvious and sometimes overabundant pop culture references and the description of some of the club "acts" going a little too far, like (view spoiler) I was positively affected by Lisa and Elliot's relationship; way more than a lot of other love stories I've read. Even though the ex-factors of their story are unrealistic for me, the love they shared was very real. Their exchanges were open and honest, as well as captivating because they were intelligent people who had specific tastes in books, loved to dance, had fears and flaws, opinions based on actual events/experience and bonded beyond the skin. I love finishing a book knowing that I went through the journey with the couple from beginning to end and feeling like the love developed came from not just a character, but as if he or she were real people. There are too many romance stories out there that try to create love too simply and unnatural like a magic trick; pulling a bunny from a hat. Or focusing way too much on the sex and writing about it like it was strictly a science experiment (no creativity or elements of progression within the character) and as if sex is the only way people can fall in love. Love is definitely NOT one-dimensional. I'm happy to say, you won't feel that way with this book!(less)

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Aug 11, 2012 Dennis Troy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Exit to Eden is a novel by Anne Rice, initially published in 1985 under the pen name Anne Rampling, but subsequently under Rice's name

The books main character is Lisa Kelly, who manages an isolated BDSM resort, called The Club. BDSM is an preference and a form of personal relationship involving the consensual use of restraint, intense sensory stimulation, and fantasy power role play. The acronym BDSM combines bondage and discipline dominance and submission. This club offers clients an exclusive...more Exit to Eden is a novel by Anne Rice, initially published in 1985 under the pen name Anne Rampling, but subsequently under Rice's name

The books main character is Lisa Kelly, who manages an isolated BDSM resort, called The Club. BDSM is an preference and a form of personal relationship involving the consensual use of restraint, intense sensory stimulation, and fantasy power role play. The acronym BDSM combines bondage and discipline dominance and submission. This club offers clients an exclusive setting in which they can experience the life of a Master or Mistress. Prospective sex slaves volunteer to play this role and are paid at the end of their term at Eden. In the beginning of their journey each slave is presented at auctions by the most respected trainers from across the world. As head female trainer and co-founder Lisa gets first pick of the new slaves, and chooses Elliot Slater. Elliot is one of the most prideful slaves and she shares an undeniable chemistry that intensifies throughout their time together, eventually resulting in love.

This book was an interesting read. Normally, I don't read erotica as my choice of genres. However, my friend Ellen recommended it, so I followed like always. The sex scenes can be steamy, and raunchy at the same time. A few parts made me want to lay down the book and light up a cigarette. On the other hand, the author lays the book out in a chapter format which bounces back and forth between the two main characters. If your not paying attention to who each chapter is written for, the book can become unnerving. I would still recommend this book to readers who enjoy the exotica genre, if it isn't your style, then don't bother.

A film version directed by Gary Marshall, Exit To Eden was produced by Savoy Pictures in 1994 starring Dana Delany (who has gone on to a successful film and television career, most recently seen as Kathrine Mayfair in Desperate Housewives.) and Paul Mercurio (for those who do not remember, Paul made his major screen debut in Strictly Ballroom, the first part of Baz Luhrmann's Red Curtain Trilogy, Strictly Ballroom) in the roles of Elliot and Lisa, but was heavily rewritten by the studio as a buddy-cop comedy, using new characters played by Dan Aykroyd and Rosie O'Donnell. The film was almost universally panned by critics and Rice publicly dissociated herself from the production.

On a personal note, I enjoyed the film as a separate entity. I saw the film before I read the book and was oblivious that it was based an Anne Rice novel. I've always been a fan of Gary Marshall films, and his casting Hector Elizondo and Iman, made the film much more enjoyable for me. It showed a different side of O'Donnell, that made me admire her even more. I love films where a larger woman, refuses to let her weight get in the way of delivering a great performance. And casting two almost unknowns in the roles of Lisa and Elliot was to me another smart move.

But before watching the film, I high suggest reading this book. And treat the film, should you watch it, as a separate entity. (less)

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Mar 08, 2011 Craven rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

One good thing about traveling is that you often have to read whatever comes your way and are more likely to have to stick with it. Not to say that I wouldn't read smut back home, but there is no way I could justify finishing this turd of a book if I had access to my local library and my own bookshelf.

So anyway, WEALTH, there is nothing more boring (not to mention revolting) than a bunch of rich porknobs who are wallowing in the shit. The main character, Elliot, is a rich playboy who was spoile...more One good thing about traveling is that you often have to read whatever comes your way and are more likely to have to stick with it. Not to say that I wouldn't read smut back home, but there is no way I could justify finishing this turd of a book if I had access to my local library and my own bookshelf.

So anyway, WEALTH, there is nothing more boring (not to mention revolting) than a bunch of rich porknobs who are wallowing in the shit. The main character, Elliot, is a rich playboy who was spoiled rotten by his father, who bought him expensive whores and young boys and whatever to play with. He lived a life full of adventure tossing his daddy's money around, one that we all could only dream of. Through his father's connections, he also became a photojournalist who covered the war in Beirut, where he saw all kinds of the horrors of war and photographed them, only to big-heartedly become famous. After witnessing all this horror but not being able to participate in it, he became a masochist fetishizing the pain he never experienced or was able to inflict when covering war. So he spends more of his father's money to be a slave on an island of wealthy perverts to fulfill this fetish. In the meantime, in spite of his hard, worldly, rugged heart, he falls for his master or spankstress or whatever on this fantasy island. Not stranger to old money herself, she also founded and runs this island of spankers, where she's the iron-willed dom in charge. But they both go soft for each other and fall in love so deeply over a couple of days that they take off from this island paradise and run around the states throwing money at limousines and five star restaurants and elaborate hotels and dumb rich people bullshit while reverting to a tender vanilla sex relationship. Elliot reads his love passages from his favorite book "On The Road" while a limo waits in the lobby with no apparent awareness of the irony.
OK, so this book is really dumb. I need say no more. But what really stands out and moves me to write about it all is the fact that these characters suck. They've seen no real struggle and wallowed in money their whole lives and are as boring and one-dimensional as hell, in spite of being lucky enough to live rich lives full of experience. But this is fantasy, so apparently, a lot of people are so obsessed with wealth and power that they get off on reading about such dirtbags and feeling the twist of the knife when they can't pay their bills. Maybe they fantasize about such a life for themselves. It was odd to me that in a genre fiction escape novel such as this, the reader would prefer characters who have had no obstacles to overcome whatsoever and fetishize the wealth and ease of some trust fund babies. Weird. I just found the whole thing to be completely confounding and insulting. The real masochism in this book is what your average reader experiences when they read this crap while struggling to get by.
To think I came away with all of this; if I had been at home I would've just skipped to the dirty parts.

Here's a couple of quotes, just for the hell of it:
"The cabin was OK. Rich, brown leather armchairs, mirrors all over the place, large bunk with too many cushions, built-in video monitor with a library of films on laserdisc under it. Sherlock Holmes of all things and the erotic classics "Story of O", "Justine", "Claiming of Sleeping Beauty" Beauty's Punishment", "Romance of the Rod"."

An author has license to plug two of her own books as classics in her own book, right?

"'Can I get get you a drink, sir?' The flight attendant bent down close to my ear.
The two Latin Americans-I was sure that is what they were-had turned to each other a little more sharply, the conversation rising to shut everything out.
'Yeah,' I said disgustedly, glaring at the lumpy men and Lisa sitting next to them."

Hmmm...
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Jun 01, 2012 Kelly Wyre rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: bdsm, erotica, contemporary-romance

Now, whereas I hated the Sleeping Beauty series, I really enjoyed Exit to Eden. I even liked the movie (*ducks fruit*). There were plenty of nods to consent in the kink scenarios, I liked the characters, and I even liked the balls-to-the-wall waaaay out there fantasy island idea. Who *wouldn't* want to give Eden a try?

I particularly enjoyed some of the scenes in the book that could never have graced the big screen, (the carnival scenes, for example), but I must say... I got a little irritated i...more

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Apr 03, 2010 Bridget Midway rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I read this book based on the suggestion from my agent since I write BDSM erotica. I really enjoyed this book. What I really liked was how Rice/Rampling didn't homogenize the BDSM events or the relationship between a Domme/Dominatrix and her slave.

The one thing that bothered me the most as an author, which is why I didn't give this 5 Stars, is how the author uses "hedging" statements in her writing. For example, she would say "She could smell his musky scent." or "He could feel her heart racing...more

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Aug 29, 2011 Dr. Ben rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Ugggh. I won't say that there aren't small parts of EoE that are intriguing or even hot, 'cause there are. But any semblance of interest this book could have for me is totally ruined by the dynamic between the female and male leads.

I'll say spoiler alert for the following, though honestly I'm just saving you time:

-Male "sub" lead is not a sub at all and is, in fact, annoying chauvinistic and toppish and an all-around jerk
-Female "domme" lead is somehow entranced by Mr. Neanderthal and in the end...more

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Dec 15, 2012 Sue rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012, romance, erotica

I had read this when I was a teenager, and remember it being really good - so when I saw it in a used bookstore, I figured I'd give it another read.

Truthfully, I saw more flaws this time around than high points. It felt like the book didn't know what it was trying to be - was it erotica? romance? woman's existential crisis? I don't know which one it was trying to be, but even if you split the book into its component parts, none of them were good examples of that genre. The erotica wasn't sexy en...more

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Mar 06, 2009 Lisa Janda rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: anyone not easily offended by sex, language, or a bit of leather.

Trashy, delicious but well-written fun. Explores the kinky world of a private S&M paradise where two people from vastly different backgrounds find love. Very sexy and graphic, with several, shall we say, interesting takes on intercourse. However, it's not just a soft-porn read, it's a good story, inventive and lots of fun. It's the kind of smut you pick up during the summer, when reading is supposed to be a little bit lighter and a lot more tipsy. Then again, if you're having an especially c...more

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May 19, 2013 Elle rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Bastante "disturbing", considerando que no tenía idea del tema que trataba. Al mismo tiempo, intentaba dejarlo, pero es de esos libros que lees y te atrapan de una manera tan sutil, que cuando te das cuenta, ya se te acabó.

Está fuerte y el lenguaje bastante crudo. No es recomendado para menores de 18. Tampoco para personas con ciertas creencias e ideas.

A quien le gusten las historias de amor eróticas, paradisíacas, con cierto misterio y en algún momento, desesperantes, bueno, este es su libro....more

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Sep 30, 2012 Marco rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: english, fiction

I was given this book as a present from a friend. I confess I was expecting something very different from the author of Interview with the Vampire. I was expecting the typical erotic tension of a gothic novel, but the book gives you a way more than that. I enjoyed it. It is the story of Lisa, a woman raised in a claustrophobic and moralist Catholic family that believes to have reached freedom escaping into a world of fetish. In reality the baggage of her childhood are still with her, as she soon...more

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Apr 25, 2009 Sherry rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: readers of trashy romances

Shelves: general-fiction, own-it, erotica

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Hmmm. Very, very bewildering, this book.

If you are into reading trashy romances and you're feeling a little jaded and ready for something - ahem - more, then this is for you.

If you are already a hardcore S&M junky, then this will probably bore you to tears starting about midway through.

I enjoyed most of it, but where it starts and where it ends are so completely different, it kinda felt like a bait-and-switch. There was all this build-up that could have gone so many great directions, but...more Hmmm. Very, very bewildering, this book.

If you are into reading trashy romances and you're feeling a little jaded and ready for something - ahem - more, then this is for you.

If you are already a hardcore S&M junky, then this will probably bore you to tears starting about midway through.

I enjoyed most of it, but where it starts and where it ends are so completely different, it kinda felt like a bait-and-switch. There was all this build-up that could have gone so many great directions, but the direction it ended up going was the very last one I would have picked, had I been the author.

Not necessarily totally disappointing...just surprising. Based on Anne Rice's other works, I guess I just kept waiting for the dark twist, or the sinister secret, or something really screwed-up to happen. Really this book is relying on the shock-value of the S&M sequences alone to try to make it interesting. And, for the first half of the book, this strategy works, just maybe not the way the author intended - it's really hard to focus on the internal struggles of the two main characters when you are too busy being immersed in the spectacle of the veritable sex carnival going on at The Club. And just when you feel the story is really about to go somewhere...it goes...nowhere. Just another romance novel with a syrupy-sweet ending. Not my bag, baby.

With such a great beginning premise, this book coulda-woulda-shoulda been so many better things than it was. ~sigh~ The only redeeming thing I found in the second half was a brief discussion between the two lovers about symbolic violence (S&M) vs. real violence (war). I think that was supposed to be the central theme, but the discussion was quickly abandoned so that the story could focus on silly escapades through New Orleans, complete with way dated 80's tunes. I'm not kidding - there's 'Electric Avenue' in there!

So I guess I'd say it's worth reading, even if it's so you can imagine all the possibile avenues the story could have taken (non-electric ones, that is). I'd imagine this book is a fan-fic writer's dream.

Oh yeah, by the way...I haven't seen the movie, but it was decscribed to me (by good friend Jes)...the book and the movie have nothing to do with one another, except that there's S&M in both. Just FYI.(less)

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Nov 07, 2012 Marie Meriwani rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: re-read, bdsm, femdom, erotica, romance

This has to be my favorite Anne Rice book, and one of my top 10 books of all time. It's a step beyond erotica and S&M; it's more of a journey of how love grows when one doesn't even know it.
Lisa's character is very raw, her sexual growth is very real, her experiences are something that a lot of people go through when they grow into sexuality at an early age, and then start discovering what their feelings are.
Elliot...oh dear, Elliot kills me, I just love him. Elliot is very real, he's the i...more

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Dec 31, 2008 Monica rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This little gem of erotica is one of four written by Anne Rice under an alias - two under Anne Rampling and three under A. N. Roquelaure. At the age of fifteen, I discovered The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty - the first of a BDSM-themed trilogy starring the fair tale character - while visiting my dad and step-mother, tucked in a box in the closet. Sadly, the volume disappeared before I had opportunity to finish it, quite possibly because it had moved to my nightstand.

I recently found myself at a...more

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Apr 10, 2010 Heather rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I'm not great at writing book reviews, but here goes...

I LOVED this book....right up to the last 1/4. It was sexy and provocative and everything you'd want in a book of this type. It had SO much promise. .....And then it turned into a moderately schmaltzy romance novel. Don't get me wrong, I understand (sort of) why the book went in the direction it did. People change. Your way of looking at life changes. And I LIKED the way it ended. I didn't LOVE the way it ended.

I like how you get to know the...more

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Apr 11, 2011 Debra rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

OMG do NOT compare this book to the movie of the same name. If Anne Rice were dead, she'd be rolling in her grave.

WARNING FOLKS: This is ADULT BDSM-D/S SEXUAL fantasy and could be shocking to those not familiar with the genre or lifestyle. Not recommended to those who are looking for a sexy book with "vanilla" sex. This book will shock and likely repulse you.

Perhaps I was easily influenced way back in the day when I read this book, but I really liked it. I found it steamy as all get out! I thou...more

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May 07, 2013 Morgan rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: erotic-fiction

I so wanted to like this book. The premise was right up my alley and the characters were decent. If you like erotic fiction involving lifestyle BDSM (as opposed to the occasional tryst), this might be for you. The immersion was great but I just do not like the way Anne Rice writes. I won't give any spoilers, but I felt like the story veered wildly off track and completely lost my interest about halfway through the book. It was like the whole thing went vanilla on me. I didn't want to stick it ou...more

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Jan 29, 2013 Robert Negut rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I had to struggle to read through the first half of the book. May be well written and I'm sure people into BDSM would love it, but such things put me off.
The second half is completely different and I found myself lost in it. Not actually lost in the story, but in some of the ideas behind it, when they were outlined... And in my own story, when it was just about the two of them...
So there I was, ten pages from the end, wondering whether it's worth four stars for just half a book, when she ruins i...more

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About Anne Rampling

Pseudonym of author Anne Rice.

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“What does all this mean finally, I kept asking like a college kid. Why does it make me want to cry? Maybe it’s that we are all outsiders, we are all making our own unusual way through a wilderness of
normality that is just a myth.” — 7 people liked it

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