Title: Best Lesbian Erotica 2015
Author: Laura Antoniou
Format: Paperback, 232 pages
Pub. Date: Feb. 17th 2015
Source: Cleis Press
Book Description via Goodreads:
"Everyone needs a little magic in their life."
Best Lesbian Erotica 2015 features the fiercest, freshest lesbian erotica of the year, curated by the legendary Laura Antoniou, million-selling author of The Marteketplace series. These stories will make you want to call your girl in the middle of the afternoon and tell her things that make her squirm. Images of girlsex will take over your brain. Read these stories and you'll be compelled by sheer erotic need.
Review:
★★★★★
I was so, so super excited when I got asked to review Best Lesbian Erotica 2015 to help celebrate PRIDE month! As many of my regular readers know, I am an out-and-proud member of the LGBT community (pansexuals and demisexuals represent!). This book is the perfect anthology to help celebrate LGBT love. What I love best about Cleis Press anthologies is that it's more than just sex. Don't get me wrong- this is an erotica anthology. It's explicit. It's sexy. But what I mean is that the talented writers who contribute their short stories care about more than just the sexy bits. There's emotions at play here, there's plots. There's characters and POVs that have been given life. That's what makes anthologies such as Best Lesbian Erotica 2015 so great: there's twenty stories here, and each one is different and diverse. From the writing styles, to the kinks, to the relationship pairings, to even some fantasy, it's a celebration of all things girl love, and I absolutely adore that.
Of course, this is an anthology. This means that they all follow the central theme of girl on girl erotica, but are free to explore anywhere else within that bubble. Because there are twenty small, independent stories, it's easy to read this book one delicious bite at a time, or to just read it all the way through like a novel. Again, because it's an anthology, there is some hit-and-miss going on. I loved some stories, and disliked others, while some fell more towards the middle. However, when looking at the whole rather than the parts, I think this is a really good selection of stories that any one- male or female- who enjoys reading about F/F love shouldn't miss out on.
As always, I'm going to highlight the three stories that I liked the best in lieu of mini-reviewing all twenty stories. These are in no particular order, and are the ones that I most recommend reading (though, seriously, read the whole book. You won't regret it.). The first story I'm choosing to highlight is called "Learning to Cook" by Nan Andrews. This short story involves a picky customer, a fiery chef, and a dinner date that neither of them is soon to forget. I am a huge foodie, and because my father is a chef, I was pretty much raised in a kitchen. I loved the setting and the passion that was shown here. After all, if you can't handle the heat, stay out of the kitchen ;). The second story that I most enjoyed is called "Lovely Lady Liberty" by Nicole Wolfe. This story centers around a WASP pilot, a beautiful USO performer, and one helluva Fourth of July celebration. I really liked the unique setting of a USO show on a military base for this one. Plus, it's close to the fourth so I'm feeling extra patriotic. You'll feel more than just the sparks from the sparklers in this lovely lady's routine, I promise you. The last story I'd most recommend is titled "Arachne" by Catherine Lundoff. This erotica weaves a story (see what I did there?) of the famous Arachne and her challenge to Athena- but I've never seen it told quite like this before. I adore mythology, being a Classics minor myself. I loved the fantasy/myth interpretation of lesbian erotica.
All in all, read this book. If you love girls, if you love girls who love girls, if you just love a really good sex story now and then- this is the book for you. This is probably the best anthology I've read so far this year. Thanks so much for the copy, in exchange for my honest review.
Giveaway:
a Rafflecopter giveaway
I can haz??
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