Cleis Press’ Fourth volume of erotica explores tales spanning from a post-photoshoot encounter between a younger man and an older woman to the coming together of a protestor and the owner of the construction company she hates. There are moments of desperation and moments of lazy, comfortable, loving sex – much variety, some very romantic, some very not and some leaning heavier on certain fetishes (bondage mostly, though there is ddlg (Daddy Dom/Little Girl) play involved in one of the stories). The series is impeccably woven together by Rachel Kramer Bussel, who edits the varying tales together with a judicious eye. There is a wonderfully high number of contemporary romance novelists in the mix this time.
The acts and types of stories are highly varied, and there really isn’t a bad one in the bunch. Highlights include:
Mark by Rosie Beth Randall, in which a dom’s demonstration of ownership turns into a lesson in self-worth for the heroine.
Essential Qualities, Alyssa Cole’s cozy, brainy tale of an intimate moment between husband and wife.
Protests of Passion, the aforementioned story by Eliza David, of protestor meeting executive.
Words with Benefits by Tamara Lush, features two Words With Friends-playing friends who become so much more to one another.
Seven Sweets and Seven Sours by Megan Hart is the story of two Amish women in love and lust having one final encounter before one of them leaves their world forever.
The overall quality of the volume is quite high, the sense of eroticism beautifully enacted. Best Women’s Erotica of the Year is just that, and will please many a reader on the long, cold winter nights ahead.
Buy it at: Amazon/Apple Books/Barnes & Noble/Kobo
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Sensuality: Burning
Publication Date: 12/2018
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