Beauty sleeps for 100 years to be awakened by the kiss of a prince who will become her teacher, lover, and master in the complete ways of sexual domination and submission. If you enjoy the idea of being taken and, I personally, do entertain those thoughts every now and again (and I think many of us do but may not want to admit it), then the Beauty Series is for you.

That said, I must continue by pointing out that some of the 'submission' stuff is Beauty is a bit much. I ain't crawlin' cross no floor and lickin' no man's boots!! But, if a gorgeous creature is across the room demanding my touch for the shear pleasure of it, well then, I'm most likely to oblige! And, I'd probably indulge both of our fantasies by being the willing submissive!! And, with our Beauty, as is a natural hope, this mixture of submission and love can be very overwhelming.

In The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty, the first of the Trilogy, our Beauty is awakened by one kiss of her Prince. As his reward, the Prince claims Beauty as his own, and, takes her to his kingdom as his slave. Beauty learns to loath and love and live as her 'claiming' process evolves. And, make no mistake, Beauty is completely claimed, for better and for worse. She experiences terror and fear but she always manages to keep her dignity at the very least within herself. In Claiming, as with all of the trilogy, there are some very erotic scenes of all sorts of sexual phenomenon - some very erotic and some very disturbing.

In this second novel, Beauty and her companion, Prince Tristan, are auctioned off to different masters. As we follow their paths from adventure to adventure, Beauty is drawn to another slave, Laurent, and, also finds more within herself. She discovers the further passionas and pains of being in her new Master's household as Tristan finds a love with his new Master. During a raid, however, Beauty and Tristan are taken as spoils of war. It is on the journey to the sultan's palace that Beauty discovers Laurent and that liason is focused in Beauty's Punishment and continue through to Beauty's Release.

The final chapter for our Beauty finds new fears awaiting her. And yet, she also discovers wonderful pleasures in the arms of men and women, alike. The erotism of this, the final chapter of the trilogy, is as consuming as the first two novels. She is finally returned to her homeland only to discover that she yearns for something different. You see, all of the 'adventures' of her past have changed Beauty into much more than the innocent child she was when she was taken from her homeland by the Prince. I will not give away the finale for our Beauty but, suffice it to say, pleasures may abound.

The Prince is whispering to Beauty all that defines her as he strokes her breasts and between her legs: "Listen to me. This is all you are to think about, this is all you are to be. In some former life, you were many things, a lovely face, a lovely voice, an obedient daughter. You've shed that skin as if it were a cloak of dreams, and now you think of these portions of yourself only. This is you now, all of you."

Anne Rice chose a pseudonym to write the Beauty Trilogy so as not to alienate her mainstream fans. She chose "Roquelaure' because it's a type of cloak worn in the 18th century. So, her pseudonym of 'A.N. Roquelaure', which is the name under which the Beauty series was published, means 'Anne under a cloak'.

To buy the Beauty Trilogy, simply go to The Mayfair Witches under the Goddess section of my page for the address of The Garden District Book Store in New Orleans.