Showing results for "Sleeping Beauties" in Science Fiction & Fantasy

In a future so real and near it might be now, something happens when women go to sleep: they become shrouded in a cocoon-like gauze. If they are awakened, if the gauze wrapping their bodies is disturbed or violated, the women become feral and spectacularly violent, and while they sleep they go to another place....

In Rosamund's realm, happiness hinges on a few simple beliefs. For every princess there's a prince. The King has ultimate power. Stepmothers should never be trusted. And bad things come to those who break with Tradition.... But when Rosa is pursued by a murderous huntsman and then captured by dwarves, her beliefs go up in smoke. Determined to escape and save her kingdom from imminent invasion, she agrees to become the subject of one of her stepmother's risky incantations - thus falling into a deep, deep sleep.

From best-selling author Anne Rice, writing as A.N. Roquleaure, in the traditional folktale of "Sleeping Beauty", the spell cast upon the lovely young princess and everyone in her castle can only be broken by the kiss of a prince. It is an ancient story, one that originally emerged from and still deeply disturbs the mind's unconscious. Now Anne Rice's retelling of the Beauty story probes the unspoken implications of this lush, suggestive tale by exploring its undeniable connection to sexual desire. Here the prince reawakens Beauty, not with a kiss, but with sexual initiation.

Aurora Stephenson is the ultimate lady, the picture of grace and perfection. She’s distant, detached, and consequently, no one thinks she has a heart. They’re wrong. For years, she’s cared for, and cared about, one person beyond anyone else. Nevermind the fact that King Rupert isn’t exactly what one would call alive.

In the traditional folktale of Sleeping Beauty, the spell cast upon the lovely young princess and everyone in her castle can only be broken by the kiss of a Prince. It is an ancient story, one that originally emerged from and still deeply disturbs the mind's unconscious. Now Anne Rice's retelling of the Beauty story probes the unspoken implications of this lush, suggestive tale by exploring its undeniable connection to sexual desire.

Ten years in the service of Kublai Kahn...Marco, Niccolo, and Maffeo Polo have seen magic and miracles, and accumulated riches beyond their dreaming. But now all they want is to return to their beloved Venice. Alas - as the only Westerners in the glittering Mongol court, they are high favourites with the Khan of Khans. And before he will allow them to leave, they must undertake one strange, final quest.

Read by the original Jane Banks from Mary Poppins! The sleeping girl has no idea she is asleep. After Aleyna witnessed the cruel deaths of her family, she was put to sleep by Ezralon the unicorn. He has been keeping her safe, hidden in the forest, until her true prince could come and rescue her. While Aleyna is protected in the forest, her spirit walks the halls of her ruined, deserted castle in a dream-like existence, believing everything is still perfect.

In 1894 Vermont, Briar Rose is determined to keep her orphaned siblings together. She's set her sights on marrying an ambitious young man to take them out of the cotton mills and back to the Old Country. Trouble is, he no longer cares for her. Childhood chum Henry Prince would like to step in, but sweet as he is, can’t offer her what her family needs. When a peddler gives Briar a spindle made from fairy wood said to have magical properties, she has a chance to keep her family together. Desperate to increase her production at the mill, she sneaks the spindle onto her spinning frame.

This sequel to The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty, the first of Anne Rice's elegantly written volumes of erotica, continues her explicit, teasing exploration of the psychology of human desire. Now Beauty, having indulged in a secret and forbidden infatuation with the rebellious slave Prince Tristan, is sent away from the Satyricon-like world of the Castle. Sold at auction, she will soon experience the tantalizing punishments of "the village", as her education in love, cruelty, dominance, submission, and tenderness is turned over to the brazenly handsome Captain of the Guard.

Holly is no stranger to the night. Her unique position means that the still hours in the darkest parts of the night are when most of her work gets done. It’s not completely silent—she has Parliament to thank for that—but it does get a bit lonely. Not even the letters from her faithful correspondent can completely fill the empty space, and it’s only a matter of time before she loses even those.

No one understands what it's like when your mother is famous for her beauty and you are, at best, average. Actually I'm wrong. She wasn't famous just for her beauty, but that's how people tell the story, how people have always told the story. That was even her name for a while. No one remembered her real name. She was just the sleeping princess or Sleeping Beauty. I'm only a footnote in my own life, destined to always be Sleeping Beauty's daughter. My name's Princess Azia Rose of Draconis, and here is my story....

This sequel to The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty, the first of Anne Rice's elegantly written volumes of erotica, continues her explicit, teasing exploration of the psychology of human desire. Now Beauty, having indulged in a secret and forbidden infatuation with the rebellious slave Prince Tristan, is sent away from the Satyricon-like world of the Castle. Sold at auction, she will soon experience the tantalizing punishments of "the village".

A beautiful young woman awakens within a strange castle. She doesn’t know who she is or how she got there. All she does know is that she’s a ghost, and based on the bridal gown she’s wearing, someone must’ve murdered her...on her wedding day. With the help of Lord Christian Sparks, an English gentleman with a penchant for swearing like a sailor, the ghostly lady begins to piece together her cloudy past and solve the mystery that led to her 500-year slumber.

It's Zinnia Gray's 21st birthday, which is extra-special because it's the last birthday she'll ever have. When she was young, an industrial accident left Zinnia with a rare condition. Not much is known about her illness - just that no one has lived past 21. Her best friend Charm is intent on making Zinnia's last birthday special with a full sleeping beauty experience, complete with a tower and a spinning wheel.

Centuries ago, the heretic sorcerer Ruven raised a deadly briar around Runakhia's palace, casting the royal family into an enchanted sleep—and silencing the kingdom's gods. Born with a miraculous gift, Lia's destiny is to kill Ruven and wake the royals. But when she succeeds, she finds her duty is not yet complete, for now she must marry into the royal family and forge a pact with a god—or die. To make matters even worse, Ruven's spirit is haunting her.

Cursed at her Christening, Briar is doomed to prick her finger on a spinning wheel on her 17th birthday and plunge her kingdom into eternal slumber. Less than enthused about her fate, she fights to break it, but a hundred years later, the kingdom lies at the center of a forest of thorns. The curse is complete, and only true love's kiss will break it. Volunteering in the place of his brother, Leo is determined to brave the enchanted forest and attempt to end the 100-year-old curse.

With the dragons attacking and the kingdom falling apart, Azia must find out about her history to make changes to her future. But heading up the mountains to see the dragons is a downright insane idea. Fortunately for Azia, she has never been one to let a spark of insanity stop her from doing anything. With a cast of characters including a witch, a seer, dwarves, and of course, dragons, Heiress of Embers is the second spellbinding installment of the Kingdom of Fairytales: Sleeping Beauty.

After avoiding an arranged marriage, thwarting a coup, and inadvertently kick-starting a revolution, Rory Thorne has renounced her title and embraced an unglamorous life as a privateer on the edge of human space. Her new life is interrupted when Rory and her crew - former royal bodyguards, Thorsdottir and Zhang, and coconspirator Jaed - encounter an abandoned ship registered under a false name, seemingly fallen victim to attack. As they investigate, they find evidence of vicious technology and arithmancy, alien and far beyond known capabilities.

On the run from the High King, Sorcha is offered the Earth Fae throne and the chance to find justice for both her peoples. She's determined to save her kingdom and bring peace to a country torn apart by war and prejudice. She knows her battle has only begun for no Fae wants a human-born queen on the throne. When she loses her heart's desire, only a bargain with a Goddess will help her find him again. As with all things magical, however, there's a price.

La bella durmiente del bosque, originada en la tradición oral, con varias versiones escritas y musicales, coinciden todas ellas en que la hermosa princesa despierta cuando el príncipe la encuentra dormida en su castillo encantado y dándole un beso redentor todo el reino florece. Nada de ello es ajeno a esta Bella 2.0.