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2.92 AVERAGE
2.92 AVERAGE
fioreail's review against another edition
4.0
First off, reading this did not make me think erotica for the most part. I think that was really a missed description. But I do think it is a fascination collection of stories having to do with sex in some way. often in the form of longing and what may or may not come of it.
rsmarty's review against another edition
3.0
An interesting exploration in the different ways people write about sex. A good study to improve your own craft but not a thrilling read. Some stories were enjoyable, others were straight up weird.
shoutaboutbooks's review against another edition
3.0
For an anthology collected so provocatively, there's arguably very little actual sex directly described in these stories, and, interestingly, it felt like many of the authors had been more absorbed by the dynamic of power and powerlessness in the (mostly?) human desires they were presenting. Perhaps subsequently, there was a subtlety, a reserved tenderness, to many of the stories that I really loved. Also some wild shagging though, so, a good editorial balance.
madelinelilyy97's review against another edition
3.0
This isn’t my usual cup of tea, that’s probably why it took me forever to read. It was interesting, something different. Some stories were definitely better than others.
fiandaca's review against another edition
3.0
Although, so far, all these stories feature sex, they aren't all necessarily *about* sex.
Story 1: History Lesson: I loved this one. Well-written and hot. And definitely about sex.
Story 2: Asphodel: This one was weird and imaginative. Not really my thing.
Story 3: En Suite: This one felt, at times, so real, it might have been autobiographical. Well-written and interesting.
Story 4: Altitude Sickness: This was a variety of super short short stories. I got lost with all the different characters, settings, and details. I felt I entirely missed the point on these. The lack of punctuated dialogue was annoying. This one was a total miss.
Story 5: Woman Eaten by Shark: Was this about sex? I don't think I remember any. It was really short. Oh yeah . . . she was musing over what turns her on compared to what her sister would want her to be turned on by. So-so.
Story 6: 58 Times a Year: I loved this one. So well written, and funny. And about sex, for sure.
Story 7: Hard At Play: This was weird. First of all, second person tense is almost always a fail for me. I spend too much time arguing with the text, "No, I'm not! I've never done that! That's not what I'm like." I find it annoying. Second, this guy is the son of a blackmailer . . . and that's just dropped in there but never explained. Third, what weird culture is this set in? There wasn't enough world-building for it to come across as sci-fi or just the author's imagination, yet it didn't feel like it was based on anything real, either.
Story 8: First Lust: Uncomfortable. I have no desire (pun intended) to read about young kids being sexual. Yuck for me.
Story 9: Find Me: I loved this one. It was pretty vanilla, but I liked the old fashioned setting and the twist it took.
Story 10: The Next 11 Minutes: I really enjoyed this one, too. The kink wasn't my personal cup of tea, but the writing was really strong, and the depiction of love, reluctance and sex, and light mental illness made worse by dealing with life's BS were all very compelling.
Story 11: Rapunzel, Rapunzel: At first, I didn't think I'd like this one. I find a lot of fairy tales tired. But this one was pretty fresh and I liked the dynamic between the lovers.
Story 12: Pearl River: This read like it was going to be some tired, old Chinese fable. And it kind of was, but I liked the ending.
Story 13: One Day in the Life of JBM: This was a fun and interesting story. I wish the mom had been more sex positive with her daughter.
How I Learned Prayer: This one didn't appeal to me at all.
Love Doll: OMG this was so creepy. The main character was soooo inappropriate and unethical. Disgusting.
I Don't Miss You: This was funny and I wish I knew who the author was and to whom she (he?) referred.
Odi et Amo: I ended up really liking this story. I wonder if it's really part of a historical novel.
This Kind: I didn't understand this story. I didn't understand this woman's attraction to the baker, nor even how she crossed his path.
What the Hands Remember: I don't think Josephine was as innocent as he continued to think.
Tomorrow Morning: I liked this one. The setting and culture were unusual for this collection, and quite interesting.
Holo Boy, 2098: Ugh. Such poor writing. This one reeked of "man pretending to be a woman as he writes this stupid story about what women supposedly want."
The Great Artist: I didn't really understand this one.
Posseeblay: This one was funny and yet, way too real.
Spectacular: Hmm.
Vis-a-Vis 1953: Haha! I adored this one. It did not end up going where I thought it would based on the very beginning. I liked being surprised.
Interruptus: This one made me cringe a bit. Gerry??? Ugh. What a gross name. And all the weird excitement over opera music? And just tolerating the first dude while wanting the second. Cringe.
Partita: This was okay.
Story 1: History Lesson: I loved this one. Well-written and hot. And definitely about sex.
Story 2: Asphodel: This one was weird and imaginative. Not really my thing.
Story 3: En Suite: This one felt, at times, so real, it might have been autobiographical. Well-written and interesting.
Story 4: Altitude Sickness: This was a variety of super short short stories. I got lost with all the different characters, settings, and details. I felt I entirely missed the point on these. The lack of punctuated dialogue was annoying. This one was a total miss.
Story 5: Woman Eaten by Shark: Was this about sex? I don't think I remember any. It was really short. Oh yeah . . . she was musing over what turns her on compared to what her sister would want her to be turned on by. So-so.
Story 6: 58 Times a Year: I loved this one. So well written, and funny. And about sex, for sure.
Story 7: Hard At Play: This was weird. First of all, second person tense is almost always a fail for me. I spend too much time arguing with the text, "No, I'm not! I've never done that! That's not what I'm like." I find it annoying. Second, this guy is the son of a blackmailer . . . and that's just dropped in there but never explained. Third, what weird culture is this set in? There wasn't enough world-building for it to come across as sci-fi or just the author's imagination, yet it didn't feel like it was based on anything real, either.
Story 8: First Lust: Uncomfortable. I have no desire (pun intended) to read about young kids being sexual. Yuck for me.
Story 9: Find Me: I loved this one. It was pretty vanilla, but I liked the old fashioned setting and the twist it took.
Story 10: The Next 11 Minutes: I really enjoyed this one, too. The kink wasn't my personal cup of tea, but the writing was really strong, and the depiction of love, reluctance and sex, and light mental illness made worse by dealing with life's BS were all very compelling.
Story 11: Rapunzel, Rapunzel: At first, I didn't think I'd like this one. I find a lot of fairy tales tired. But this one was pretty fresh and I liked the dynamic between the lovers.
Story 12: Pearl River: This read like it was going to be some tired, old Chinese fable. And it kind of was, but I liked the ending.
Story 13: One Day in the Life of JBM: This was a fun and interesting story. I wish the mom had been more sex positive with her daughter.
How I Learned Prayer: This one didn't appeal to me at all.
Love Doll: OMG this was so creepy. The main character was soooo inappropriate and unethical. Disgusting.
I Don't Miss You: This was funny and I wish I knew who the author was and to whom she (he?) referred.
Odi et Amo: I ended up really liking this story. I wonder if it's really part of a historical novel.
This Kind: I didn't understand this story. I didn't understand this woman's attraction to the baker, nor even how she crossed his path.
What the Hands Remember: I don't think Josephine was as innocent as he continued to think.
Tomorrow Morning: I liked this one. The setting and culture were unusual for this collection, and quite interesting.
Holo Boy, 2098: Ugh. Such poor writing. This one reeked of "man pretending to be a woman as he writes this stupid story about what women supposedly want."
The Great Artist: I didn't really understand this one.
Posseeblay: This one was funny and yet, way too real.
Spectacular: Hmm.
Vis-a-Vis 1953: Haha! I adored this one. It did not end up going where I thought it would based on the very beginning. I liked being surprised.
Interruptus: This one made me cringe a bit. Gerry??? Ugh. What a gross name. And all the weird excitement over opera music? And just tolerating the first dude while wanting the second. Cringe.
Partita: This was okay.
lordofbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Complicated
4.5
s4peace's review against another edition
1.5
I expected this book to be a collection of stories about sex but they neither do a good job at being erotic nor do they do a good job of being engaging. You don't know who wrote which story but for some reason I could tell which story was written by a man vs a woman.
Some of the stories are outright creepy and left me wanting to go take a shower. Some are more about trauma and assault than sex. But the stories are boring. I didn't enjoy the book. I liked the first story but that's about it. The rest was pretty bad.
Some of the stories are outright creepy and left me wanting to go take a shower. Some are more about trauma and assault than sex. But the stories are boring. I didn't enjoy the book. I liked the first story but that's about it. The rest was pretty bad.
zeinna's review against another edition
2.0
The concept is great - short romance stories written by well-known authors, except you only get an alphabetical list of their names so you don't know who wrote what - but most of the authors took the opportunity to write something weird and really out there. There's a couple real bangers, but by the last 1/3 I was just skimming.
ebanocy's review against another edition
2.0
I was intrigued and excited to read this book. The premise of an anthology with 27 authors writing stories about sex in different facets of life anonymously really pulled me in. However, now that I've finished it, I'm disappointed. The majority of the short stories were uncomfortable and awkward to read. I didn't find any of the stories sexy and out of 27 stories, I only really liked 3. The 3 stories I enjoyed were "Find Me," "Vis a Vis 1953" and "Partita."
Maybe I didn't enjoy this because I came into this with a set mental picture of what I thought this was going to be, and was met instead with stories involving sex with sentient moss, a variety pack of cheating, and one truly sickening story about a man who becomes so obsessed with his student, he tracks her down outside of the classroom and used his power to force her into a sexual relationship with him.
Overall, this was an interesting and intriguing idea, just less than ideally executed for me.
Maybe I didn't enjoy this because I came into this with a set mental picture of what I thought this was going to be, and was met instead with stories involving sex with sentient moss, a variety pack of cheating, and one truly sickening story about a man who becomes so obsessed with his student, he tracks her down outside of the classroom and used his power to force her into a sexual relationship with him.
Overall, this was an interesting and intriguing idea, just less than ideally executed for me.