moss_wood's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I’m glad I finished this book, because the last story was my favourite. I felt this topic could have so much incredible nuance to explore and expansive varieties of thought but it really didn’t deliver for me.
I also want to note that this is such a minority topic that’s in popular culture it had a certain responsibility to the kink community. I, in places felt it really failed this due to depictions of that which is clear (within the community) NOT kink and that should be explicitly noted to those outside looking in.
I also want to note that this is such a minority topic that’s in popular culture it had a certain responsibility to the kink community. I, in places felt it really failed this due to depictions of that which is clear (within the community) NOT kink and that should be explicitly noted to those outside looking in.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault and Rape
archiveofrasa's review
reflective
medium-paced
3.0
Honestly, this read was to see how explicit content differs from fanfiction and original work. Only really liked 4 stories, (by Larissa Pham, R. O. Kwon, Brandon Taylor and Carmen Maria Machado, but Kim Fu's Scissors was nice too.)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual content, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Incest
kojali's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- 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? No
2.75
Eh. I read this within a few hours today and I was woefully unimpressed. I was attracted to what this book could have been, but it fell short for me. I felt like a lot of these stories were kinky for the sake of being kinky, that’s it. On a positive note, the selection of authors is decently diverse, which shows through the differing tones throughout this volume. I think that the best stories are “The Cure” by Melissa Febos; “Oh, Youth” by Brandon Taylor; and “The Lost Performance of the High Priestess of the Temple” by Carmen Maria Machado. Besides these three, the stories in these pages lacked sufficient nuance and edge. I won’t read this again, but I will certainly read more works by the authors of my favorite 3 stories.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape
Minor: Incest
wngwendy's review
2.5
some stories are amazing, and some of them fell very flat.
Read the tw's before starting this books!
Read the tw's before starting this books!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Rape
Moderate: Blood
tbagherlee's review
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
I wanted more from this book - maybe a collection of short stories isn’t for me because it’s such a mixed bag. There were a few I liked - The Cure, Reach, Voyeurs - but overall I was getting the feeling that some nuance was missing, and the literary elements of some of the stories made it difficult to understand what was going on. I did like how queer it was.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia, Rape, Sexual violence, and Toxic relationship
violetends's review against another edition
dark
tense
fast-paced
- 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
Check Content Warnings before reading this review or this book!
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.)
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.)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Racism, Sexual content, Rape, Stalking, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, and Body horror
al_owl's review
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Sexual content, Transphobia, Rape, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Physical abuse, Violence, Dysphoria, and Adult/minor relationship
thebookishnerd_'s review
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
I was really underwhelmed by a lot of these stories. They tended to drag and I felt myself skimming the pages at points. There were certain stories that I loved, which is why this book is a 2.5 but the good ones were few and far between. Also, I'm all for kink but when one story had a surprise incest plot... No, thank you. I'm glad this book has introduced me to more authors to check out and read their works.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Dysphoria, Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Blood, Body horror, Death of parent, Incest, and Sexual assault
twistykris's review
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.75
Full transparency: I was not familiar with any of these authors before reading, and I am also not very well-versed in the kink world.
This anthology felt like a mixed-bag for me; I enjoyed some stories and others made me uncomfortable, which is part of the point. As mentioned in the introduction, "The emotional dynamics of kink are as varied as those of any other human experience, and the stories here explore the whole gamut of human feeling, from exuberance to anguish." There are stories that contain incest, abuse, crossing boundaries, non-consensual acts, sexual assault, and rape.
There are some stories that had excellent T4T representation (primarily Canada by Callum Angus and The Voyeurs by Zeyn Joukhadar), with relationships that really made me feel safe and comfortable. There are other relationships where more communication is needed, but again, this anthology is addressing how kink has similar emotional dynamics as non-kink relationships.
My rating and thoughts of each story (spoilers below):
-The Cure by Melissa Febos: 3/5 stars
Interesting and sexy, but not really my thing. A lesbian engages in a power dynamic with a male acquaintance to break an unsuccessful dating streak. I did find the discussion of why lesbians have more orgasms to be interesting (hint: it's because women are conditioned to "take care of" their partners).
-Best Friendster Date Ever by Alexander Chee: 4/5 stars
Very spicy and also sweet, M/M bondage, loved the writing style
-Trust by Larissa Pham: 2/5 stars
I enjoyed the writing, but I could NOT get into this couple's dynamic. The MMC honestly bothered me a lot (who the fuck tells their partner to turn on the sink when they pee??)
-Safeword by R.O. Kwon: 5/5 stars
This was one of my favorites. A wife and husband get professional BDSM counseling from a dominatrix; wife is very into it, husband is not. Having only one party really into the BDSM was a little uncomfy, but it seemed to me to be more of a story about a man needing to understand his wife and what turns her on. There's a moment when he doesn't realize how wet she can get and he thinks that only happens in porn. Like.. maybe try making an effort to turn your wife on?? And he also thinks about HIS needs as he watches his wife be pleasured.. maybe it's not always about you, sir.
-Canada by Callum Angus: 4/5 stars
Not very kinky but a BEAUTIFUL story that made me tear up. Excellent T4T rep.
-Oh, Youth by Brandon Taylor: 3.5/5 stars
I honestly don't know how to feel about this one. Poly dynamic with a much older couple. I did find it to be an interesting story of how sexual relationships can turn into love.
-Impact Play by Peter Mountford: 2/5 stars
Conflicted about this one as well. Mentions of infidelity and incest. I really didn't care for the MMC, but to be honest, his girlfriend Pilar fascinated me? A "middle-aged single mom- a goth, at that- who sells gravestones." I was okay with this story right up until he talks about his sexual experiences with his cousin. That made me super uncomfy.
-Mirror, Mirror by Vanessa Clark: 4/5 stars
Visceral, sexy, sweet story in a seedy drag bar atmosphere. Loved it.
-Reach by Roxane Gay: 3/5 stars
Kinky for sure, but has moments that made me uncomfortable (primarily doing sexual acts that the other one "hates" but "she never uses her safeword to stop me".. eh..)
-Gospodar by Garth Greenwell: 3/5 stars
**TW: rape** The writing is great, and features power dynamic between two men, but this goes very dark towards the end as the MMC is raped. There is a lot of emotion afterwards, when the MMC feels like he brought this upon himself because of his desires, and how he very well may end up in a similar situation, as he continues to seek punishment and degredation.
-Scissors by Kim Fu: 5/5 stars
LOVE LOVE LOVE. This was my absolutely favorite in the whole anthology. The writing is stunningly dreamlike, and SO erotic- this story had me *feeling all the things* 🥵 Wonderful W/W rep.
-The Lost Performance of the High Priestess of the Temple of Horror by Carmen Maria Machado: 5/5 stars
This story was like an erotic, horror fever dream in the best way. SO weird and so sensual and also features fascinating and sometimes disturbing sexual relationships that change you for the rest of your life. The scene with The Star's debut- in which audience members insisted that Maxa be hit, slapped, subdued, rather than worshipped and pleasured- reminded me of Marina Abramović's Rhythm 0 performance.
-The Voyeurs by Zeyn Joukhadar: 5/5 stars
Not heavy on kink, but the story and the T4T rep is so beautiful. I loved the honest discussion of sex life post-surgery and incorporates trans joy- the characters do experience transphobia (and racism) as well, and it hurt to read how ostracized they felt.
-Retouch/Switch by Cara Hoffman: 1/5 stars
To be honest, I sort of skimmed this one. The writing is beautiful, but not my jam- I felt a little too dumb for it, to be honest.
-Emotional Technologies by Chris Kraus: 2/5 stars
I also kinda skimmed this one. It was honestly sort of disappointing reading the fantastic stories of Scissors, Temple of Horror, and The Voyeurs, and then these last two just felt so.. meh? It's fine, I just personally didn't love it.
This anthology felt like a mixed-bag for me; I enjoyed some stories and others made me uncomfortable, which is part of the point. As mentioned in the introduction, "The emotional dynamics of kink are as varied as those of any other human experience, and the stories here explore the whole gamut of human feeling, from exuberance to anguish." There are stories that contain incest, abuse, crossing boundaries, non-consensual acts, sexual assault, and rape.
There are some stories that had excellent T4T representation (primarily Canada by Callum Angus and The Voyeurs by Zeyn Joukhadar), with relationships that really made me feel safe and comfortable. There are other relationships where more communication is needed, but again, this anthology is addressing how kink has similar emotional dynamics as non-kink relationships.
My rating and thoughts of each story (spoilers below):
-The Cure by Melissa Febos: 3/5 stars
Interesting and sexy, but not really my thing. A lesbian engages in a power dynamic with a male acquaintance to break an unsuccessful dating streak. I did find the discussion of why lesbians have more orgasms to be interesting (hint: it's because women are conditioned to "take care of" their partners).
-Best Friendster Date Ever by Alexander Chee: 4/5 stars
Very spicy and also sweet, M/M bondage, loved the writing style
-Trust by Larissa Pham: 2/5 stars
I enjoyed the writing, but I could NOT get into this couple's dynamic. The MMC honestly bothered me a lot (who the fuck tells their partner to turn on the sink when they pee??)
-Safeword by R.O. Kwon: 5/5 stars
This was one of my favorites. A wife and husband get professional BDSM counseling from a dominatrix; wife is very into it, husband is not. Having only one party really into the BDSM was a little uncomfy, but it seemed to me to be more of a story about a man needing to understand his wife and what turns her on. There's a moment when he doesn't realize how wet she can get and he thinks that only happens in porn. Like.. maybe try making an effort to turn your wife on?? And he also thinks about HIS needs as he watches his wife be pleasured.. maybe it's not always about you, sir.
-Canada by Callum Angus: 4/5 stars
Not very kinky but a BEAUTIFUL story that made me tear up. Excellent T4T rep.
-Oh, Youth by Brandon Taylor: 3.5/5 stars
I honestly don't know how to feel about this one. Poly dynamic with a much older couple. I did find it to be an interesting story of how sexual relationships can turn into love.
-Impact Play by Peter Mountford: 2/5 stars
Conflicted about this one as well. Mentions of infidelity and incest. I really didn't care for the MMC, but to be honest, his girlfriend Pilar fascinated me? A "middle-aged single mom- a goth, at that- who sells gravestones." I was okay with this story right up until he talks about his sexual experiences with his cousin. That made me super uncomfy.
-Mirror, Mirror by Vanessa Clark: 4/5 stars
Visceral, sexy, sweet story in a seedy drag bar atmosphere. Loved it.
-Reach by Roxane Gay: 3/5 stars
Kinky for sure, but has moments that made me uncomfortable (primarily doing sexual acts that the other one "hates" but "she never uses her safeword to stop me".. eh..)
-Gospodar by Garth Greenwell: 3/5 stars
**TW: rape** The writing is great, and features power dynamic between two men, but this goes very dark towards the end as the MMC is raped. There is a lot of emotion afterwards, when the MMC feels like he brought this upon himself because of his desires, and how he very well may end up in a similar situation, as he continues to seek punishment and degredation.
-Scissors by Kim Fu: 5/5 stars
LOVE LOVE LOVE. This was my absolutely favorite in the whole anthology. The writing is stunningly dreamlike, and SO erotic- this story had me *feeling all the things* 🥵 Wonderful W/W rep.
-The Lost Performance of the High Priestess of the Temple of Horror by Carmen Maria Machado: 5/5 stars
This story was like an erotic, horror fever dream in the best way. SO weird and so sensual and also features fascinating and sometimes disturbing sexual relationships that change you for the rest of your life. The scene with The Star's debut- in which audience members insisted that Maxa be hit, slapped, subdued, rather than worshipped and pleasured- reminded me of Marina Abramović's Rhythm 0 performance.
-The Voyeurs by Zeyn Joukhadar: 5/5 stars
Not heavy on kink, but the story and the T4T rep is so beautiful. I loved the honest discussion of sex life post-surgery and incorporates trans joy- the characters do experience transphobia (and racism) as well, and it hurt to read how ostracized they felt.
-Retouch/Switch by Cara Hoffman: 1/5 stars
To be honest, I sort of skimmed this one. The writing is beautiful, but not my jam- I felt a little too dumb for it, to be honest.
-Emotional Technologies by Chris Kraus: 2/5 stars
I also kinda skimmed this one. It was honestly sort of disappointing reading the fantastic stories of Scissors, Temple of Horror, and The Voyeurs, and then these last two just felt so.. meh? It's fine, I just personally didn't love it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Rape, Blood, Sexual violence, Sexual content, and Violence
Moderate: Fatphobia, Infidelity, Acephobia/Arophobia, Adult/minor relationship, Homophobia, Biphobia, Incest, Lesbophobia, and Transphobia
Minor: Death of parent
ecn's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.0
I absolutely loved some stories (specifically Alexander Chee, Callum Angus, Roxanne Gay, Carmen Maria Machado, Melissa Febos, and Kim Fu) and the others I absolutely did not like (basically all others I didn’t list). I simply do! not! care! about how a cishet man relates to kink!!! Also, someone needs to get Brandon Taylor to therapy!
Content Warnings
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