Audiobook Mini Review- Studs: Edited by Richard Labonté

Title: Studs: Gay Erotic Fiction
Editor: Richard Labonté
Format: Audiobook, 7 hrs and 45 mins
Pub. Date: August 12th 2014
Source: Cleis Press


Book Description via Goodreads:

Rough and surly, smooth and sultry, or quick and raw — however you like it, you’ll find it in Studs, 20 of the hottest and best-written man-to-man sex stories to appear in print this year. In “Underground Operator” two men on a nearly empty subway platform indulge in rough, anonymous sex that lets them momentarily forget the stifling summer heat. “Donuts to Demons” finds a self-described “rock-n-roll artfag” searching for a lover “as patient and gifted and generous as he advertised on Craigslist.”

Review:

★★★

This is an okay mix of m/m erotic short stories, but I think other people will enjoy it more than I did.

Normally with these anthologies, there are a few that I think are mediocre and a few that stand out better than the rest. But honestly, looking back on these stories, I can't name you one specifically. They all just kind of blended together. They weren't altogether bad, but I didn't take away anything from this collection either. For the first time I feel like maybe I'm just not an intended audience for it (which is weird, considering that I normally really enjoy male/male stories). So don't let my opinions deter you too much- if you're a hardcore fan of gay erotica, you might absolutely love it.

I think part of what caused this misclick for me was the audiobook format. When you're listening to erotica, you need that voice to have that special something, otherwise it just feels a bit weird. This narrator didn't do it for me so to speak. There's a good chance that if I read this on my own from a paperback, I would feel differently about the anthology as a whole.

I will admit though, I do love the cover art. I know that's not really pertinent to the discussion of the stories, but I mean look at it. So pretty.

I think that this collection will be up some people's alleys, but unfortunately it fell a bit flat for me. It was an okay read, but it's not something I'm likely to recommend or reread in the future. If you're a fan of m/m erotica, you may enjoy it, and if you end up reading it let me know what you think about it.

Thanks to Cleis Press for my copy in exchange for my honest review.