Scan barcode
A review by jugglingpup
Best Women's Erotica of the Year, Volume 5 by Caridad Piñeiro, Alexa J. Day, Anna Mia Hansen, A. Zimmerman, Sabrina Sol, Kathleen Delaney-Adams, Angora Shade, Angel Leigh McCoy, Lauren Emily, Loretta Black, Stella Harris, Emerald, Lee Minxton, Joanna Angel, A.Z. Louise, Rachel Kramer Bussel, Justine Elyot, Sierra Simone, Jayne Renault, Balli Kaur Jaswal, Quinn LeStrange, C.D. Reiss
4.0
To see more reviews check out MI Book Reviews.
I got an ARC of this book.
I have to say I was a bit surprised when Cleis asked me to review modern erotica. I like historical erotica. I like learning about sexuality. I like knowing where terms came from and how long people have been doing what they have been doing. Modern erotica often bores me. I am asexual and the idea of being sexually attracted to someone is so foreign to me. I just don’t get it. So often times modern erotica is just eh.
This collection is some of the best erotica I have read. It is no historical erotica though. There were no long philosophical rants in the middle of random sex scenes. To some, the lack of rants might make everything better. The collection was well written and diverse in content. I would have been beyond bored if it was just vanilla or just kink. Instead Bussel did a great job of curating a collection that was drastically different story to story. It kept me engaged in a way that modern erotica hasn’t been able to do before (well, not since I was 14 years old and just discovering Cleis press and butch/butch erotica in a womyn’s only bookstore in a super queer town when I was just coming to terms with being trans).
Some of my standards for good erotica include: safety, consent, and is it physical possible?
Safety was addressed multiple times. Not every story had a section about condom use, but enough did that I was satisfied. The scenes with strangers almost always had a condom, that was enough. Using a condom at all is so rare in erotica or romance novels that I have to give credit when any are used. I can ignore that many of the condoms came out of wallets (please, do not store your condoms in a wallet. It is not good for the condoms). The way condoms were portrayed is almost good enough for me to ignore inconsistent condom usage within the same story. Some couples would use condoms for vaginal penetration only. Oral sex carries all the same STI risks! Dental dams were never used. The day I find an erotica with a dental dam used is the day I can celebrate. I would also like to add there was a scene that was downright dangerous in so many ways, but it was also one of my favorite scenes. Something about a circus makes things more intriguing. Did I mention I was a party clown?
Overall, all of the stories had consent, but one. There were multiple stories where consent was played with in a way that was wonderful. There was clear longing and the consent was added as a form of play. Consent being a form of play is wonderful to me. The added arousal from permission given is one of my favorite things in erotica. You can say that consent is a kink of mine. The one story that didn’t have consent is more complicated. The woman gave verbal consent, but to a man that had abused her to the point that she attempted to kill him. I can’t find the premise sexy. If the backstory hadn’t been literal abuse, the story would have been incredibly strong and unique in the way the actual erotic part of it went down. That story took a full star off of my review. All of my other issues are really minor and because I love to over analyze sex. Getting back with an abusive ex is a big no from me though. Just red flags and hard limit.
Physically possible is vague. Having sex with a mermaid is not physically possible, but I AM HERE FOR IT. I am talking about was lube used for anal sex? Was there actual stretching done? Were bodies positioned in a way that allowed that activity to happen? So most of the stories where physically possible! That is something I am really impressed with. There was one scene where I either missed a page or someone was fisted really quickly and with no stretching. There was another scene where he was behind her and she was leaned over a work table, but somehow his balls hit her ass? That one I am still trying to understand just based on some sex ed 101 stuff. Did I mention I teach sex ed?
Overall, this was a fantastic read. I would recommend just skipping the opening section of one story to avoid the abuse plot line. Otherwise the stories are wonderfully diverse and engaging. There is everything from swinging to gang bangs to queer scenes. There is a little something for most people (I can’t wait to read trans male erotica from Cleis).
I got an ARC of this book.
I have to say I was a bit surprised when Cleis asked me to review modern erotica. I like historical erotica. I like learning about sexuality. I like knowing where terms came from and how long people have been doing what they have been doing. Modern erotica often bores me. I am asexual and the idea of being sexually attracted to someone is so foreign to me. I just don’t get it. So often times modern erotica is just eh.
This collection is some of the best erotica I have read. It is no historical erotica though. There were no long philosophical rants in the middle of random sex scenes. To some, the lack of rants might make everything better. The collection was well written and diverse in content. I would have been beyond bored if it was just vanilla or just kink. Instead Bussel did a great job of curating a collection that was drastically different story to story. It kept me engaged in a way that modern erotica hasn’t been able to do before (well, not since I was 14 years old and just discovering Cleis press and butch/butch erotica in a womyn’s only bookstore in a super queer town when I was just coming to terms with being trans).
Some of my standards for good erotica include: safety, consent, and is it physical possible?
Safety was addressed multiple times. Not every story had a section about condom use, but enough did that I was satisfied. The scenes with strangers almost always had a condom, that was enough. Using a condom at all is so rare in erotica or romance novels that I have to give credit when any are used. I can ignore that many of the condoms came out of wallets (please, do not store your condoms in a wallet. It is not good for the condoms). The way condoms were portrayed is almost good enough for me to ignore inconsistent condom usage within the same story. Some couples would use condoms for vaginal penetration only. Oral sex carries all the same STI risks! Dental dams were never used. The day I find an erotica with a dental dam used is the day I can celebrate. I would also like to add there was a scene that was downright dangerous in so many ways, but it was also one of my favorite scenes. Something about a circus makes things more intriguing. Did I mention I was a party clown?
Overall, all of the stories had consent, but one. There were multiple stories where consent was played with in a way that was wonderful. There was clear longing and the consent was added as a form of play. Consent being a form of play is wonderful to me. The added arousal from permission given is one of my favorite things in erotica. You can say that consent is a kink of mine. The one story that didn’t have consent is more complicated. The woman gave verbal consent, but to a man that had abused her to the point that she attempted to kill him. I can’t find the premise sexy. If the backstory hadn’t been literal abuse, the story would have been incredibly strong and unique in the way the actual erotic part of it went down. That story took a full star off of my review. All of my other issues are really minor and because I love to over analyze sex. Getting back with an abusive ex is a big no from me though. Just red flags and hard limit.
Physically possible is vague. Having sex with a mermaid is not physically possible, but I AM HERE FOR IT. I am talking about was lube used for anal sex? Was there actual stretching done? Were bodies positioned in a way that allowed that activity to happen? So most of the stories where physically possible! That is something I am really impressed with. There was one scene where I either missed a page or someone was fisted really quickly and with no stretching. There was another scene where he was behind her and she was leaned over a work table, but somehow his balls hit her ass? That one I am still trying to understand just based on some sex ed 101 stuff. Did I mention I teach sex ed?
Overall, this was a fantastic read. I would recommend just skipping the opening section of one story to avoid the abuse plot line. Otherwise the stories are wonderfully diverse and engaging. There is everything from swinging to gang bangs to queer scenes. There is a little something for most people (I can’t wait to read trans male erotica from Cleis).