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elenajohansen's review against another edition
1.0
Was I supposed to take any of this seriously? It's a farce, completely ungrounded in reality, and no, I'm not talking about the magic. The magic is (mostly) fine. But the plot leaps from one ridiculous event to another with little causality.
Drago magically compels Rose to show up at his show, then hypnotizes her with the amulet. Okay, great, he starts the story as a lying manipulator, just what I love in my romantic heroes. /s
But she suspects his compulsion quickly, yet falls in love with him anyway? In the space of a few days? And I'm supposed to believe either a) that it's genuine despite the compulsion, or b) that it's not but she's honestly okay with being manipulated?
Then they sleep together because she's so swept away by lust, they run off and get married, and he immediately isolates her from everything she had in her life before him; her friends, adoptive family, her would-be beau, even her job, but that's okay, because he gives her a new one.
I was all prepared to trash the silliness of how she got that reporter job, but a secret revealed at the end shows that it was all part of an evil plan, so it didn't have to make sense as it was happening. That doesn't really negate how unhealthy it is that Drago's like, yeah, your boss literally wants you to spy on me and I can't have that, so just be my assistant instead! Let me provide you with everything so you don't need anyone or anything in your life other than me!
The story surprised me then by showing that his isolation of her--which included taking her on an extended "honeymoon" to another country--made them both miserable. She becomes increasingly suspicious of his strange behavior, so even after he'd agreed to take her home, she decides to pry into his magic and finds out he's the demon that's been killing a girl every year to maintain his immortality. She flees, because of course she does. This is an actual high point of the story morally, even if it's a low point emotionally--actions have consequences and Drago isn't good for her.
The rest of the story is a garble of everything the story told you before is wrong, and here's what's actually going on. Drago is a demon, but he's not the killer. Rose's aunt is also a demon, and has gone from "the one who put the original curse on her" to "no it was actually your mother" to "actually it was both of them, they both cursed you." (I think? The history changed so many times as new information was revealed that I ended the story honestly unsure of how things went down.) Patrick betrayed them, because of course he did. Rose's boss was evil and not himself all along.
And the very, very end finally addresses the actual "sleeping" part of this Sleeping Beauty retelling by having Rose's sleep be a good thing, that's Drago hiding her for a hundred years so they can start new lives together later. Which is honestly disappointing. I'm never terribly invested in fairy tale retellings, so I don't usually care how much or little they bend the original plot, but this was so different it felt removed from the story altogether. And our Maleficient stand-in was a pretty weak and boring villain, so this was Sleeping Beauty for me in name only.
Drago would be an abusive monster even if he were human instead of demon, though the ending attempts to redeem him; but he's repeatedly shown himself to be manipulative, untruthful, and violent. Rose is a flimsy heroine who can only stand up for herself for about ten seconds at a time before giving in to lust/love for Drago, and it's telling that when she runs from him for what she believes is her own safety, it's all a misunderstanding, and yeah, Drago is good actually? I don't agree, but they get their happy ending, so all she did by fleeing him was put both of them in danger. Not a good look.
Drago magically compels Rose to show up at his show, then hypnotizes her with the amulet. Okay, great, he starts the story as a lying manipulator, just what I love in my romantic heroes. /s
But she suspects his compulsion quickly, yet falls in love with him anyway? In the space of a few days? And I'm supposed to believe either a) that it's genuine despite the compulsion, or b) that it's not but she's honestly okay with being manipulated?
Then they sleep together because she's so swept away by lust, they run off and get married, and he immediately isolates her from everything she had in her life before him; her friends, adoptive family, her would-be beau, even her job, but that's okay, because he gives her a new one.
I was all prepared to trash the silliness of how she got that reporter job, but a secret revealed at the end shows that it was all part of an evil plan, so it didn't have to make sense as it was happening. That doesn't really negate how unhealthy it is that Drago's like, yeah, your boss literally wants you to spy on me and I can't have that, so just be my assistant instead! Let me provide you with everything so you don't need anyone or anything in your life other than me!
The story surprised me then by showing that his isolation of her--which included taking her on an extended "honeymoon" to another country--made them both miserable. She becomes increasingly suspicious of his strange behavior, so even after he'd agreed to take her home, she decides to pry into his magic and finds out he's the demon that's been killing a girl every year to maintain his immortality. She flees, because of course she does. This is an actual high point of the story morally, even if it's a low point emotionally--actions have consequences and Drago isn't good for her.
The rest of the story is a garble of everything the story told you before is wrong, and here's what's actually going on. Drago is a demon, but he's not the killer. Rose's aunt is also a demon, and has gone from "the one who put the original curse on her" to "no it was actually your mother" to "actually it was both of them, they both cursed you." (I think? The history changed so many times as new information was revealed that I ended the story honestly unsure of how things went down.) Patrick betrayed them, because of course he did. Rose's boss was evil and not himself all along.
And the very, very end finally addresses the actual "sleeping" part of this Sleeping Beauty retelling by having Rose's sleep be a good thing, that's Drago hiding her for a hundred years so they can start new lives together later. Which is honestly disappointing. I'm never terribly invested in fairy tale retellings, so I don't usually care how much or little they bend the original plot, but this was so different it felt removed from the story altogether. And our Maleficient stand-in was a pretty weak and boring villain, so this was Sleeping Beauty for me in name only.
Drago would be an abusive monster even if he were human instead of demon, though the ending attempts to redeem him; but he's repeatedly shown himself to be manipulative, untruthful, and violent. Rose is a flimsy heroine who can only stand up for herself for about ten seconds at a time before giving in to lust/love for Drago, and it's telling that when she runs from him for what she believes is her own safety, it's all a misunderstanding, and yeah, Drago is good actually? I don't agree, but they get their happy ending, so all she did by fleeing him was put both of them in danger. Not a good look.
loverofromance's review
4.0
Sleeping Beauty and the Demon is the fourth book in this series, and I have followed this series since the beginning and I have loved the style and theme of it. I have always adored fairy tale themed romances, but the unique style that Myles has put a new twist on the fairy tales, is very fascinating and original. This story follows up with the original fairy tale Sleeping Beauty and the differences in the story add a extra spice. There is a darker theme to the story, with it full of secrets and intrigue, but there is also a intensity between the characters, and in the end becomes a powerful love story. The characters in this story are very endearing all the way through. Drago has a somewhat darker character but one that pulls you further in the story. His character is very different from what you usually read, he has such a devotion to Rose, and even though at first I wasn't sure how I felt about him, by the end of the story I grew to really like him. Rose is strong willed and she is the type of heroine you find likable, although she seems to be a bit naive at times. But there is a way that this character is put into the story that you find compelling and real. Overall a intense paranormal romance with plenty of magic, passion, and adventure!!! STUNNING!!!
lberestecki's review
3.0
2.5 stars. This is one of those "so bad it's almost good" books. The plot and the writing were both just so ridiculous and over the top that you can't help but be amused. It did bother me a lot that it's never really addressed as much as it should be that Rose is under Drago's hypnotic spell for the whole book, which is super creepy because there's no way of knowing that anything she feels is real. Also a lot of things that happened in the last few chapters kind of came out of nowhere and/or were never really explained.
Received from NetGalley.
Received from NetGalley.
caffeinatedbibliophile's review against another edition
2.0
Sleeping Beauty and the Demon isn't so much a retelling of a classic fairytale as it is a story greatly influenced by the story of Sleeping Beauty. This (at times erotic) romance tells the story of Dragomir Starkov, an illusionist with a dark secret, and Rose Carlisle, a young woman cursed by her aunt Morvina to die on her 21st birthday.
Rose meets Drago on the night of her 20th birthday while attending one of his shows with a friend. She's immediately drawn to him, but is it because he has her in his thrall? Drago knows about Rose's curse, and he's determined to change the outcome, no matter what the cost. As they begin a whirlwind romance and Drago introduces Rose to carnal pleasures, things are looking up. If only Rose can convince her adoptive family that Drago isn't the demon prophesied to end her life, evade her evil aunt Morvina, and somehow keep an intrusive reporter from ruining Drago's reputation and career, they might get their happily ever after.
I'm having a difficult time reviewing and rating this book. On the one hand, I really liked the concept of the story. Sleeping Beauty for adults? Yes, please! I love retellings (particularly erotic ones) of my favorite fairytales and other stories. However, Sleeping Beauty and the Demon just didn't deliver in my opinion. My copy was an ARC, so (hopefully) changes will be made before publication in August, because it needs a lot of work. I'm not a professional editor or anything like that, but there were quite a few problems with the book that detracted from the story.
The writing was rough and the dialogue could use some work. Repetition was a bit of a problem in this story (for example, some form of the word "folds" in reference to Rose's genitals was used nine times) and I found it difficult to stay focused. Also, the author used "vertigo" to describe Rose's fear of heights (which is actually called acrophobia), and it was repeated ad nauseam. There were a few other issues (typos, a character being in one place then suddenly in another and I have no idea how that happened, etc.), most of which I could deal with. But, if they were corrected, I think the story would be much better.
I really liked Drago, but Rose annoyed me. I just didn't find her likeable at all. Drago was interesting, though, and I found his story intriguing, but a bit sad. I might have had more empathy for Rose and the things she went through, if she hadn't irritated me so much. That's a personal thing, though.
The sex was kind of hot one minute, then I felt like I was reading something from a biology textbook (a couple of examples "...he ejaculated. And ejaculated." "...she pressed the tips of her breasts against his pectoral muscles. Drago nearly spilled his semen right then.") I have no problem with using anatomically correct terms ("penis," "vagina," etc.), but those made me cringe and killed the sexy mood.
I haven't read any of the other Cursed Princes books, but I will probably check them out in the future. I didn't hate this book, but the there were too many issues for me to love it.
I think I would give the story concept 3.5 stars, but the execution was only 2 stars for me. The problems I had with it knock that down to 1.5 stars for me. I might come back after the book is published and change my review and rating, if I find that the story has been edited.
My rating: 2.5 stars
*This was an ARC received from Netgalley.*
Rose meets Drago on the night of her 20th birthday while attending one of his shows with a friend. She's immediately drawn to him, but is it because he has her in his thrall? Drago knows about Rose's curse, and he's determined to change the outcome, no matter what the cost. As they begin a whirlwind romance and Drago introduces Rose to carnal pleasures, things are looking up. If only Rose can convince her adoptive family that Drago isn't the demon prophesied to end her life, evade her evil aunt Morvina, and somehow keep an intrusive reporter from ruining Drago's reputation and career, they might get their happily ever after.
I'm having a difficult time reviewing and rating this book. On the one hand, I really liked the concept of the story. Sleeping Beauty for adults? Yes, please! I love retellings (particularly erotic ones) of my favorite fairytales and other stories. However, Sleeping Beauty and the Demon just didn't deliver in my opinion. My copy was an ARC, so (hopefully) changes will be made before publication in August, because it needs a lot of work. I'm not a professional editor or anything like that, but there were quite a few problems with the book that detracted from the story.
The writing was rough and the dialogue could use some work. Repetition was a bit of a problem in this story (for example, some form of the word "folds" in reference to Rose's genitals was used nine times) and I found it difficult to stay focused. Also, the author used "vertigo" to describe Rose's fear of heights (which is actually called acrophobia), and it was repeated ad nauseam. There were a few other issues (typos, a character being in one place then suddenly in another and I have no idea how that happened, etc.), most of which I could deal with. But, if they were corrected, I think the story would be much better.
I really liked Drago, but Rose annoyed me. I just didn't find her likeable at all. Drago was interesting, though, and I found his story intriguing, but a bit sad. I might have had more empathy for Rose and the things she went through, if she hadn't irritated me so much. That's a personal thing, though.
The sex was kind of hot one minute, then I felt like I was reading something from a biology textbook (a couple of examples "...he ejaculated. And ejaculated." "...she pressed the tips of her breasts against his pectoral muscles. Drago nearly spilled his semen right then.") I have no problem with using anatomically correct terms ("penis," "vagina," etc.), but those made me cringe and killed the sexy mood.
I haven't read any of the other Cursed Princes books, but I will probably check them out in the future. I didn't hate this book, but the there were too many issues for me to love it.
I think I would give the story concept 3.5 stars, but the execution was only 2 stars for me. The problems I had with it knock that down to 1.5 stars for me. I might come back after the book is published and change my review and rating, if I find that the story has been edited.
My rating: 2.5 stars
*This was an ARC received from Netgalley.*
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