A review by emmalita
Best Women's Erotica of the Year, Volume 7 by Corrina Lawson, Corrina Lawson, Erin McLellan, Erin McLellan, Adriana Herrera, Adriana Herrera, Ann Castle, Ann Castle, Angelina M. Lopez, Angelina M. Lopez, Gwendolyn J. Bean, Gwendolyn J. Bean, Kim Kuzuri, Kim Kuzuri, Kristine Lynn, Kristine Lynn, Gabrielle Johnson, Gabrielle Johnson, Theo de Langley, Theo de Langley, Lin Devon, Lin Devon, Lucy Eden, Lucy Eden, Rachel Kramer Bussel, Rachel Kramer Bussel, Holley Trent, Holley Trent, Angela Kempf, Angela Kempf, Inga Gardner, Inga Gardner, Velvet Moore, Velvet Moore, Sara Taylor Woods, Sara Taylor Woods, Penny Howell, Penny Howell, S.P. Jaffrey, S.P. Jaffrey, Joanna Shaw, Joanna Shaw
4.0
You can trust that Rachel Kramer Bussel is going to put together a good anthology. Best Women’s Erotica of the Year, Volume 7 is thoughtful with a wide range of stories. I don’t expect to like every story in an anthology, and erotica is tougher because it taps into a place that can be rawly personal. When Kramer Bussel puts an anthology together, I know I will at least appreciate most of the stories.
My only complaint about the book is one I frequently have about e-arcs. The formatting was wonky (please, publishers, please make sure your e-arcs a formatted correctly). In this case, the text was broken up so that the whole book read as long form, modernist, deconstructed poetry. For example, from the introduction:
I am generally pretty good at ignoring odd formatting, but in this case it kept my brain engaged on an intellectual level that distracts from descending into the primal brain. So, initially I thought that I hadn’t enjoyed this collection as much as I did last year’s. But every time I went back to look at a story as I was drafting this review, I would remember that I really did like the stories quite a lot.
The theme this year is Surprise. Everyone understood the assignment.
Angelina M. Lopez’s “Hot Pockets” was one of the standouts. A married couple has to work to find pockets of time for passion. A number of the stories involve established couples doing something that alters their dynamic, whether that’s finding a new way to meet needs, adding a third, or reigniting passion after a long illness. In Corrina Lawson’s “Wicked Ride” a couple with psychic abilities experiments with using their mental powers to explore sex joyfully and safely.
In some stories relationships take a surprising turn, in others, there is no expectation of a relationship. I particularly enjoyed “Gravity” by Gwendolyn J. Bean, where the surprise is the world itself. I really appreciated the range of women who explored their sexual desires and were the objects of desire.
Reading anything that stretches the boundaries of polite cis het sex feels like a political act. Culturally, we seem to taking a turn back towards the puritanical. I am not in favor. I am feeling more comfortable in my relationship with erotica now that I better understand my relationship to attraction and desire (I identify as aro-ace). Though it might seem counter intuitive, reading the way a lot of different kinds of people imagine romantic and sexual relationships has allowed me to know myself.
I can’t guarantee that you will like all or any of the stories in Best Women’s Erotica of the Year, Volume 7, but I can guarantee they were chosen thoughtfully.
I received this as an advance reader copy from NetGalley and Cleis Press. My opinions are my own.
My only complaint about the book is one I frequently have about e-arcs. The formatting was wonky (please, publishers, please make sure your e-arcs a formatted correctly). In this case, the text was broken up so that the whole book read as long form, modernist, deconstructed poetry. For example, from the introduction:
surprises, birthday parties where a roomful of guests shout the
fateful word at a startled celebrant would leap to mind. I wanted to offer readers different types of surprises. Inside this book
you’ll find a woman who sees color because she has synesthesia
I am generally pretty good at ignoring odd formatting, but in this case it kept my brain engaged on an intellectual level that distracts from descending into the primal brain. So, initially I thought that I hadn’t enjoyed this collection as much as I did last year’s. But every time I went back to look at a story as I was drafting this review, I would remember that I really did like the stories quite a lot.
The theme this year is Surprise. Everyone understood the assignment.
Angelina M. Lopez’s “Hot Pockets” was one of the standouts. A married couple has to work to find pockets of time for passion. A number of the stories involve established couples doing something that alters their dynamic, whether that’s finding a new way to meet needs, adding a third, or reigniting passion after a long illness. In Corrina Lawson’s “Wicked Ride” a couple with psychic abilities experiments with using their mental powers to explore sex joyfully and safely.
In some stories relationships take a surprising turn, in others, there is no expectation of a relationship. I particularly enjoyed “Gravity” by Gwendolyn J. Bean, where the surprise is the world itself. I really appreciated the range of women who explored their sexual desires and were the objects of desire.
Reading anything that stretches the boundaries of polite cis het sex feels like a political act. Culturally, we seem to taking a turn back towards the puritanical. I am not in favor. I am feeling more comfortable in my relationship with erotica now that I better understand my relationship to attraction and desire (I identify as aro-ace). Though it might seem counter intuitive, reading the way a lot of different kinds of people imagine romantic and sexual relationships has allowed me to know myself.
I can’t guarantee that you will like all or any of the stories in Best Women’s Erotica of the Year, Volume 7, but I can guarantee they were chosen thoughtfully.
I received this as an advance reader copy from NetGalley and Cleis Press. My opinions are my own.