caffeinatedbibliophile's review
3.0
Originally posted to my book blog, http://caffeinated-bibliophile.tumblr.com/post/100984108202/review-first-annual-bdsm-writers-conference-anthology
This anthology of 21 stories of BDSM ranges from cute couples role playing to darker, hard core activities that at least border on abusive. There are several seasoned authors featured, as well as new voices, and I think there’s something for almost everyone in this collection. As with most anthologies, some writing is great and some not so great, and there will probably be stories that do not appeal to some people. I personally found a few I loved, a few I hated, and thought the rest were ok (mostly because the kinks featured were not my thing). There were, however, a couple of stories that I had problems with (more on that later).
There’s quite a variety in this collection. There’s something for the sub who likes to push her Dom’s buttons. Fancy a dominating vampire? There’s one of those. Or maybe you’d like a M/F/M menage a trois, or perhaps puppy play. These authors have you covered. There’s even some kinky bondage sex in space! I think the only glaringly obvious thing that was missing was a F/F story. No lesbians in this one, or at least none that I found.
There are a few excerpts from longer works in here, including a non-fiction one by Dr. Charley Ferrer from her book BDSM: The Naked Truth. I really liked that one and I’m strongly considering buying a couple of her books. The other two excerpts were ok to pretty good, in my opinion. One of them interested me enough to look up the book it’s from, and I might read it in the future.
For the most part, I think this would be a good sampler for someone not new to BDSM. If you’re looking for new writers to watch, or maybe exploring new kinks trying to find out what gets you hot and what does not, this might be a good book to check out. But, I will caution readers about a couple of stories. There’s one that is very close to abuse, if not actual abuse and rape. Some people might just call it “dark erotica,” but not me. There’s also one with forced consent/dub con.
I think there were a few great stories, a few duds, but mostly I enjoyed the anthology and I have already looked up a few of the authors so I can check out their books, upcoming works, etc. I would almost recommend this book exclusively for the excerpt from Dr. Ferrer’s book, and my six favorite stories, but I know my tastes (and kinks) are not the same as everyone else’s. So, would I recommend this? Yep, but probably not to someone very new to BDSM. I don’t think this would be a great intro to the life, but otherwise, if you’re kinky and you know it, check this one out.
**I received a free copy in exchange for a review from Netgalley**
This anthology of 21 stories of BDSM ranges from cute couples role playing to darker, hard core activities that at least border on abusive. There are several seasoned authors featured, as well as new voices, and I think there’s something for almost everyone in this collection. As with most anthologies, some writing is great and some not so great, and there will probably be stories that do not appeal to some people. I personally found a few I loved, a few I hated, and thought the rest were ok (mostly because the kinks featured were not my thing). There were, however, a couple of stories that I had problems with (more on that later).
There’s quite a variety in this collection. There’s something for the sub who likes to push her Dom’s buttons. Fancy a dominating vampire? There’s one of those. Or maybe you’d like a M/F/M menage a trois, or perhaps puppy play. These authors have you covered. There’s even some kinky bondage sex in space! I think the only glaringly obvious thing that was missing was a F/F story. No lesbians in this one, or at least none that I found.
There are a few excerpts from longer works in here, including a non-fiction one by Dr. Charley Ferrer from her book BDSM: The Naked Truth. I really liked that one and I’m strongly considering buying a couple of her books. The other two excerpts were ok to pretty good, in my opinion. One of them interested me enough to look up the book it’s from, and I might read it in the future.
For the most part, I think this would be a good sampler for someone not new to BDSM. If you’re looking for new writers to watch, or maybe exploring new kinks trying to find out what gets you hot and what does not, this might be a good book to check out. But, I will caution readers about a couple of stories. There’s one that is very close to abuse, if not actual abuse and rape. Some people might just call it “dark erotica,” but not me. There’s also one with forced consent/dub con.
I think there were a few great stories, a few duds, but mostly I enjoyed the anthology and I have already looked up a few of the authors so I can check out their books, upcoming works, etc. I would almost recommend this book exclusively for the excerpt from Dr. Ferrer’s book, and my six favorite stories, but I know my tastes (and kinks) are not the same as everyone else’s. So, would I recommend this? Yep, but probably not to someone very new to BDSM. I don’t think this would be a great intro to the life, but otherwise, if you’re kinky and you know it, check this one out.
**I received a free copy in exchange for a review from Netgalley**
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