- I loved the Appalachian town setting with its drug problems and women's penitentiary. It's the perfect setting for weird shit to happen.
- I found the premise of the cocoons creepy and fascinating. When the female population falls asleep a fine- spider-like web cocoons them. They are breathing and have regular pulse rates, but if you awaken them, they go insane. Crazy, ax-wielding, freaks with a twist when it comes to their own offspring. Freaktastic right?
- I loved what unfolded as women tried to stay awake, and the town scrambled to figure out what the heck was happening. Classic King goodness, similar to the Dome.
- A unique woman named Evie doesn't seem to be affected. She was a mystery and everything about her from the way she acted and spoke had my attention.
- King has this gift for making you believe events as they unfold. Mystery, suspense, horror and even a little paranormal woo-woo found their way into Sleeping Beauties.
- Marin Ireland delivered an excellent narration from pacing to character voices, and she enhanced the overall tale pulling me in even as I began to lose interest.
Decaffeinated Aspects:
- Too many characters and villains with no one, in particular, to root for. While I don't often snuggle up to King's characters, I usually can tell the good from the bad, and find redeeming qualities in them. Not so here I just didn't care about any of them. With so many Povs, I struggled in matching up couples and making connections.
- The book is full of political messages aimed at man's role in controlling and oppressing women. Topics mentioned are particularly relevant to today's current events, however, in my opinion, Sleeping Beauties efforts failed miserably. The authors explored what would happen in a world without women and offered an idea of a world without men. While I didn't necessarily disagree with the overall message, the delivery was over the top and ultimately failed. I prefer a more subtle approach that makes one think and question. That presents all sides of a relevant issue in a show not tell manner. Some of the conversations, concepts, and actions had me rolling my eyes.
- I love big books, and I cannot lie! However, I genuinely feel this needed to be trimmed and edited. A lot of threads held little value, and the story dragged at times.
- I needed more suspense, action-scenes, and freaky goodness. I cannot even believe I am saying this. I was bored. Usually, with King, I cry it's not nearly long enough. When Sleeping Beauties ended after twenty-five+hours, I cried, Hallelujah.
While Sleeping Beauties ended up being a sleeper for me, I did enjoy the premise and will buy King's next audiobook sight unseen. What can I say? I love Stephen King.
Copy provided by the publisher. This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Reviewer