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emreadsbooksagain's review against another edition
3.0
A couple of great stories. My standouts were the Voyeurs by Zeyn Joukhadar and Oh, Youth by Brandon Taylor. I also enjoyed Trust by Larissa Pham, Safeword by R.O Kwon, and The Cure by Melissa Febos. However, I did find some stories quite disturbing and others a bit too cerebral/philosophical for me.
liagiba_abigail's review against another edition
3.0
some of these were great, like brandon taylor's, kim fu's, carmen maria machado's, & zeyn joukhadar's
marmoo's review against another edition
4.0
A worthwhile if somewhat uneven collection, these stories have plenty to say about transgressive desires, shame, and power exchange.
madeleineg619's review against another edition
2.0
Godspodar and Impact Play really brought this down (iykyk), 3 stars without those ones
woodiefrog's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
sad
4.0
A fine collection of stories exploring people and their various desires :D Love that it is consciously not heterocentric; and really it’s the stories that are from/by/for “sexual deviants” that really resonated with me, also the better written ones.
Roxane Gay, Garth Greenwell, Kim Fu, Carmen Maria Machado (dazzling period story!) and Zeyn Joukhadar astound as always. I also enjoyed Trust by Larissa Pham and Impact Play by Peter Mountford. The rest, not to say “bad writing,” did not land very well with me and fell flat (or otherwise to the non sequitur lit fic side).
Roxane Gay, Garth Greenwell, Kim Fu, Carmen Maria Machado (dazzling period story!) and Zeyn Joukhadar astound as always. I also enjoyed Trust by Larissa Pham and Impact Play by Peter Mountford. The rest, not to say “bad writing,” did not land very well with me and fell flat (or otherwise to the non sequitur lit fic side).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Hate crime, Homophobia, Transphobia, and Sexual harassment
storysteph's review against another edition
4.0
Waaaay way back in 1996, 18-year-old me stumbled across a book called Love in Vein by Poppy Z. Brite. I honestly don't remember if I actually enjoyed any of the stories therein, but I do remember that feeling, the thrill of reading *erotica* like someone who has Definitely Had Sex (it was a simpler time, I was a much more innocent Steph).
Fast forward 25 years (sob), and 43-year-old me stumbled across this book. I have Definitely Had Sex at this point in my life (as evidenced by my son), but that same tingly little thrill perked up at the back of my mind. Sure, I've had sex, but these guys f*ck, and I wanted to read all about it.
So I did! I stayed up entirely too late to finish the book, and friends, let me tell you a bit about the dreams I had. Did you ever watch South Park? Do you remember that episode where Mr Garrison finds success writing erotica, but it's just all penis? Yeah, welcome to my dreamscape last night. Peen, growing tall and strong like giant redwoods. Fields of ween, swaying in the breeze like stalks of wheat. And it's not even like the book is solely about dick!! There's plenty of stories about lady lovin' with ladies, but just something about all the dong...I don't know if it was the extra care some of the authors gave to describing the various members (adjectives abound) or the tiny Beavis who lives in the back of my brain and just giggles and says "boioioioioioioioing" every time weiners are even mentioned in passing (maybe that's why I'm never really into romance/erotica books...), but one of the major things my subconscious took away from this book was cock.
Imma give it 3 stars, but tack on an extra one for sex positivity and representation. Erotica isn't typically my scene, but I did enjoy some of these stories, and weird dreams are always fun.
Fast forward 25 years (sob), and 43-year-old me stumbled across this book. I have Definitely Had Sex at this point in my life (as evidenced by my son), but that same tingly little thrill perked up at the back of my mind. Sure, I've had sex, but these guys f*ck, and I wanted to read all about it.
So I did! I stayed up entirely too late to finish the book, and friends, let me tell you a bit about the dreams I had. Did you ever watch South Park? Do you remember that episode where Mr Garrison finds success writing erotica, but it's just all penis? Yeah, welcome to my dreamscape last night. Peen, growing tall and strong like giant redwoods. Fields of ween, swaying in the breeze like stalks of wheat. And it's not even like the book is solely about dick!! There's plenty of stories about lady lovin' with ladies, but just something about all the dong...I don't know if it was the extra care some of the authors gave to describing the various members (adjectives abound) or the tiny Beavis who lives in the back of my brain and just giggles and says "boioioioioioioioing" every time weiners are even mentioned in passing (maybe that's why I'm never really into romance/erotica books...), but one of the major things my subconscious took away from this book was cock.
Imma give it 3 stars, but tack on an extra one for sex positivity and representation. Erotica isn't typically my scene, but I did enjoy some of these stories, and weird dreams are always fun.
jarthur's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
thejaneclaire's review against another edition
2.0
Could not get through all of these. Was disappointed this focused on sex and sexuality rather than kink.
maggiemaykei's review against another edition
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0