violetends's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
I have a full bag of mixed feelings about this, ufff. First of all, I have been active in kink and kink communities for a while now and consider many of the people I have met in these contexts or ventured into them with, as my found family. Therefore, I do consider myself to have some knowledge and experience on the overall topic of kink, even though it is obviously a very very broad field in which many experiences can be made that are vastly different.
There were some stories I enjoyed a lot. "The Voyeurs" for instance, was a great albeit painful narrative about being othered as a trans person and craving the care and closeness of loved ones. And the reocurring use of 'being looked at' at a theme, chef's kiss!
However, a majority of stories shows kink as something that lacks consent and consideration, care and empathy and just general kindness for the people engaging with each other. Foundational kink practices like aftercare, safewords or negotiation talks were pretty much missing from all of the stories. Several of the stories even contained scenes in which a dominant partner intentionally crossed boundaries to play with their partner or 'challenge' them. Characters were oftentimes rude, inconsiderate or outright violent to each other and I got the feeling that the authors mostly perceived kink as something that goes along with bad communication and boundaries as well as a heightened possibility for interpersonal violence.
Naturally, there will be people who practice kink in these ways. And in my opinion its important to also portray characters whose struggles transfer to the way they show up to kinky situations with their partners. However, I find it to be insensitive (at best) to show kink in this continously unfriendly light. People who have not had contact with kinky communities and individuals who value communication, the well-being and joy of everyone involved and consent, might just find a whole lot of stereotypes reinforced. And that makes me so so angry and so so sad.
Lastly, one story made me so angry that I briefly wanted to throw the book against a wall. (CW for r*pe going forward.)
Graphic: Body shaming, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Racism, Sexual content, Rape, Stalking, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, and Body horror
al_owl's review
3.5
Graphic: Grief, Sexual content, Transphobia, Rape, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Physical abuse, Violence, Dysphoria, and Adult/minor relationship
ecnolte's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Violence, Sexual assault, Homophobia, Sexual content, Body horror, Blood, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Racism, Lesbophobia, Alcohol, Sexism, Rape, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
toffishay's review
- 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
Graphic: Grief, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Sexual harassment, Violence, Transphobia, Blood, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Sexism, and Body horror
Moderate: Incest, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Alcohol, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Stalking, Torture, Racism, Injury/Injury detail, and Infidelity
azariamckay's review
- 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? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Transphobia, and Violence
Moderate: Drug use
Minor: Death of parent
booksforsarah's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Although the stories were written by different authors, there was not one writing style I enjoyed. The title is “Kink” so I expected more… we’ll… kink. There’d be mentions of it and then we’d be moving on to a different time/place/person and nothing really got explored. There were also some dangerously misleading statements in multiple stories, and although it’s a work of fiction, it’s at times written in a way that implies you can take it to the real world.
Graphic: Rape, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, and Sexual content
Moderate: Violence
caffeinatedfae's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Like all anthologies, there are good stories and not-so-good stories. Unfortunately, there were more "meh" stories than good ones. Most of the stories were well written with some interesting characters and plots. I enjoyed that there were a variety of bodies & sexualities, but the kink aspect was subpar.
Maybe it's because I read romance and erotica, but this book didn't sit well with me. Some stories were good, but the majority of them were incredibly disappointing. It was as if most of the authors were against kink itself. Instead, they wanted to do the stereotypical "kink is dangerous" stories. They showed the raw, gritty dangerous side that the media often portrayed and skipped over anything that would be considered erotic or kink positive. It was just so disappointing to read. This is not a book I would recommend to anyone. No, kink is not always glamorous, but I wanted something more positive or something that didn't read like a scare campaign against kink.
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Transphobia, Toxic relationship, Violence, Sexual content, Physical abuse, Gore, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, and Body shaming
_lia_reads_'s review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, and Sexual content
Moderate: Homophobia and Physical abuse