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A review by horrorbutch
Tempting Poison by Jemma Topaz
5.0
A very interesting (and horny & fun & dark) collection of short stories focusing on toxic lesbians. In regard to genre the stories vary (there’s mostly sci-fi and fantasy, but also some contemporary), as does the intensity and darkness of each story (some are enthusiastically consensual, others less so, others again completely blur the lines of possibilities here through some fun use of magic or sci-fi invention). The stories also vary in the level of world building as well as the ratio of story vs spicy scenes and so there is definitely something in here for everybody who enjoys toxic horny lesbian short stories.
My favorite aspects of these stories where the ones with more worldbuilding (I enjoy the kinky stuff too, but I always adore a convoluted world building to make a kink scenario make sense :D) and my favorite short stories where: “Endings”, “War’s Prize”, “Box”, “To Serve Her Rights”, “Her Monstrous Hound” and the titular “Tempting Poison”.
I also enjoy that trigger warnings are provided on the itch page where the short story collection is sold and in the book itself. That is always really nice to see.
Lastly, I really adore the many characters Jemma Topaz wrote for these stories, because they are all so different and yet it all manages to flow together quite well. Many of the characters are trans, some cis, some butch, some femme, some still have to figure it out and some do not get an identity. Some enjoy their role, some don’t, some learn to.
A transfem erotica that plays with the lines of gender through sci-fi means and depersonalization (Can you classify a woman as trans easily in a world where cis woman dommes can just get a penis for topping if they want to? Can you classify yourself as trans when you can’t even fully classify yourself as human?) was something I was hoping to find one of these days and I am so glad I found it here!
Very spicy, very dark, very fun, I can just recommend this collection to anybody who has 5 bucks to spare and wants to really dig into some of the cool trans erotica that is out there.
Endings:
A t4t femme/butch story, with a really hot butch, I am in loooove. I don't think I should be, but 🥴. When she just flashes her gun at a bunch of dickbags at the bar? Hot. Hired gun butch and the femme that manages to catch her attention at a bar. The story itself is really tense, really fun, really hot & the ending is heartbreaking, but also very fitting.
tw: t-slur, violence, murder
A Full-time Project:
A young CEO meets the lead negotiator of a company that's merging with his. When she rejects his first attempts at asking her out, he finds himself agreeing to just receiving a few slaps from her, which soon escalates into a lot more. Very fun and very messy force-fem stuff of the veeeery kinky variety. Broke my heart though when Candy wished to be transgender. Outch. All in all, this is an incredible short story exploring gender and kink and love and hate and having your gender realization kind of forced on you but being really into it. I really like this short story, it was sweet, sometimes depressing and incredibly hot with fascinating characters. In real life this would suck, but in fiction its adorable.
tw: humiliation, depersonalization, forced feminization
War’s Prize:
Interesting sci-fi erotica with some worldbuilding, but mainly it is nun & puppy play erotica. There is a fun twist revealed at the end, but mainly this is just veeeery kinky sex. It was fun. Women warriors hot.
tw: dubcon, mind control, torture
Circles and Crescent:
A dominant CEO has everything she could wish for: money, power, submissives. Then an e-mail arrives from her first love, who is back in town for a few days. Interesting urban fantasy setting and about two characters achieving different forms through surgery and magic with a surprising, but fun ending.
tw: dubcon, blood, mind control
A Clumsy Picklock:
The main character of this story finds himself captured by another court faction after a dangerous attempt at making allies out of them through deception fails. The interrogator tasked with getting confessions out of the courtesan decides to provide a bit more than sleeping draughts to our main character. Very intriguing writing style (Victorian) and despite the setting, sweet. Forcefem jail time where forcefem is the best thing to happen to the MC.
tw: imprisonment, forced feminization, threats of torture, threats of sexual violence, violence
Box:
Haunted bondage gear with a long ago past. Very kinky, very heavy on the dub-part of the dubcon. Fun though and I really enjoyed the mythological aspects a lot.
tw: dubcon, violence
To Serve Her Right:
Knight who promises all her loyalty to a princess and her lady-in-waiting without asking what new obligations her new role will entail. Delicious and fun. I love a good knight desperate to please very much <3
tw: dubcon
Best Practices in Personnel Management:
Hypno Office where Management knows best. Plays very well with the idea of becoming completely dependent on someone whether you think you want it at first or not. Fun and veeery spicy. Absolute girlboss moments TM :D
tw: dubcon, hypnosis
Her Monstrous Hound:
A vampire hunter in over her head finds herself trapped by the very vampires she sought to destroy. Now having been turned and desperate for blood she also finds her past and the mistakes she made haunting her. Fun story and the end was just delicious. We love a good revenge.
tw: dubcon, transphobia, bigotry, blood, threats of torture, humiliation, depersonalization
Whisky and Licorice:
A mecha pilot finds herself captured by the enemy faction, having lost her legal agency after being dead for a short time. Transfem mecha body-weirdness my beloved. A body is a tool to break and to train and to murder with and to uhh do other things with also sometimes. Also doctors with ethical quandaries are always fun. Intriguing story dealing with autonomy and evil (but not yet fully accepting of it) + eviler (and making the other eviler) dommes.
tw: dubcon, mind control, depersonalization, threat of torture, violence
The Human World:
A woman struggling to find a job and a rich woman with a solution to her problems. If only she will become her dog. Interesting exploration of escalating kink.
tw: dubcon, depersonalization
Tempting Poison:
The titular story! Sci-Fi sex club where the main character has only blurry memories of her days before. Interesting twist and very fun to read.
tw: dubcon, mind control, human sex toys, threat of torture
Spite:
Stealing from a rich woman and her evil scientist is never a good idea. Especially when you get caught and they decide you make a perfect specimen for unethical experiments. Medical Malpractice, yippieehhhh! Interesting finish to the story and if you like latex: enjoy!
tw: noncon, dubcon, threat of torture, breath play, violence, use of the t-slur
My favorite aspects of these stories where the ones with more worldbuilding (I enjoy the kinky stuff too, but I always adore a convoluted world building to make a kink scenario make sense :D) and my favorite short stories where: “Endings”, “War’s Prize”, “Box”, “To Serve Her Rights”, “Her Monstrous Hound” and the titular “Tempting Poison”.
I also enjoy that trigger warnings are provided on the itch page where the short story collection is sold and in the book itself. That is always really nice to see.
Lastly, I really adore the many characters Jemma Topaz wrote for these stories, because they are all so different and yet it all manages to flow together quite well. Many of the characters are trans, some cis, some butch, some femme, some still have to figure it out and some do not get an identity. Some enjoy their role, some don’t, some learn to.
A transfem erotica that plays with the lines of gender through sci-fi means and depersonalization (Can you classify a woman as trans easily in a world where cis woman dommes can just get a penis for topping if they want to? Can you classify yourself as trans when you can’t even fully classify yourself as human?) was something I was hoping to find one of these days and I am so glad I found it here!
Very spicy, very dark, very fun, I can just recommend this collection to anybody who has 5 bucks to spare and wants to really dig into some of the cool trans erotica that is out there.
Endings:
A t4t femme/butch story, with a really hot butch, I am in loooove. I don't think I should be, but 🥴. When she just flashes her gun at a bunch of dickbags at the bar? Hot. Hired gun butch and the femme that manages to catch her attention at a bar. The story itself is really tense, really fun, really hot & the ending is heartbreaking, but also very fitting.
tw: t-slur, violence, murder
A Full-time Project:
A young CEO meets the lead negotiator of a company that's merging with his. When she rejects his first attempts at asking her out, he finds himself agreeing to just receiving a few slaps from her, which soon escalates into a lot more. Very fun and very messy force-fem stuff of the veeeery kinky variety. Broke my heart though when Candy wished to be transgender. Outch. All in all, this is an incredible short story exploring gender and kink and love and hate and having your gender realization kind of forced on you but being really into it. I really like this short story, it was sweet, sometimes depressing and incredibly hot with fascinating characters. In real life this would suck, but in fiction its adorable.
tw: humiliation, depersonalization, forced feminization
War’s Prize:
Interesting sci-fi erotica with some worldbuilding, but mainly it is nun & puppy play erotica. There is a fun twist revealed at the end, but mainly this is just veeeery kinky sex. It was fun. Women warriors hot.
tw: dubcon, mind control, torture
Circles and Crescent:
A dominant CEO has everything she could wish for: money, power, submissives. Then an e-mail arrives from her first love, who is back in town for a few days. Interesting urban fantasy setting and about two characters achieving different forms through surgery and magic with a surprising, but fun ending.
tw: dubcon, blood, mind control
A Clumsy Picklock:
The main character of this story finds himself captured by another court faction after a dangerous attempt at making allies out of them through deception fails. The interrogator tasked with getting confessions out of the courtesan decides to provide a bit more than sleeping draughts to our main character. Very intriguing writing style (Victorian) and despite the setting, sweet. Forcefem jail time where forcefem is the best thing to happen to the MC.
tw: imprisonment, forced feminization, threats of torture, threats of sexual violence, violence
Box:
Haunted bondage gear with a long ago past. Very kinky, very heavy on the dub-part of the dubcon. Fun though and I really enjoyed the mythological aspects a lot.
tw: dubcon, violence
To Serve Her Right:
Knight who promises all her loyalty to a princess and her lady-in-waiting without asking what new obligations her new role will entail. Delicious and fun. I love a good knight desperate to please very much <3
tw: dubcon
Best Practices in Personnel Management:
Hypno Office where Management knows best. Plays very well with the idea of becoming completely dependent on someone whether you think you want it at first or not. Fun and veeery spicy. Absolute girlboss moments TM :D
tw: dubcon, hypnosis
Her Monstrous Hound:
A vampire hunter in over her head finds herself trapped by the very vampires she sought to destroy. Now having been turned and desperate for blood she also finds her past and the mistakes she made haunting her. Fun story and the end was just delicious. We love a good revenge.
tw: dubcon, transphobia, bigotry, blood, threats of torture, humiliation, depersonalization
Whisky and Licorice:
A mecha pilot finds herself captured by the enemy faction, having lost her legal agency after being dead for a short time. Transfem mecha body-weirdness my beloved. A body is a tool to break and to train and to murder with and to uhh do other things with also sometimes. Also doctors with ethical quandaries are always fun. Intriguing story dealing with autonomy and evil (but not yet fully accepting of it) + eviler (and making the other eviler) dommes.
tw: dubcon, mind control, depersonalization, threat of torture, violence
The Human World:
A woman struggling to find a job and a rich woman with a solution to her problems. If only she will become her dog. Interesting exploration of escalating kink.
tw: dubcon, depersonalization
Tempting Poison:
The titular story! Sci-Fi sex club where the main character has only blurry memories of her days before. Interesting twist and very fun to read.
tw: dubcon, mind control, human sex toys, threat of torture
Spite:
Stealing from a rich woman and her evil scientist is never a good idea. Especially when you get caught and they decide you make a perfect specimen for unethical experiments. Medical Malpractice, yippieehhhh! Interesting finish to the story and if you like latex: enjoy!
tw: noncon, dubcon, threat of torture, breath play, violence, use of the t-slur