I am not a usual reader of Erotica. I have read very little of it in my life. Althought not quite erotica I read one Harlequin book in my teens and thought it was so ridiculous I never read another one again. I guess my very young Domme side was present enough to not like the dmasel-in-Distress scenario lol. Since then I do remember reading in my young adult life a book from Anais Nin. That I enjoyed but did not pursue. Maybe in the last couple of years I have reaad a tad more…mostly BDSM related. One that I really enjoyed and covers more then just BDSM was Laura Antoniou. It was a collection of short stories and it was really good. Then a few week ago Babeland gave me the opportunity to catch and brush up on my more current Erotica reading experience.

.

I had been window shopping for a while already online for a book and I was offered a chance to review the Best Of The Best Women’s Erotica book. Of course I jumped on it as it was on my window shopping list. This is the second book I review and I am always excited and then kind of kick myself. Why? Because when it arrives I see how big the book is and I realise I kind of have to read it to review it lol. What can I say I am a slow reader, not much time. But I diligently read this book over the last 3 weeks and can now give you my thoughts.

OK time for my book review. I am having a flashback of highschool book review papers…hope no one is grading me ha ha.  This collection of erotic stories was edited by Marcy Sheiner, a superbly accomplished erotica writer. This is her sixth edition of the annual Best Women’s Erotica.  It was published in 2005 by Cleis Press Inc. There is a whopping 28 short stories to indulge in. Ok that was my scholalrly bit.

.

So as I waited for this book to arrive I started imagining in my head what a collection of women’s erotica would be like. What I had expected was a bunch of hot stories written from a woman’s perspective. I fantasized about taking the book to bed with me accompanied by a few select toys. Th evening of its arrival I snuggled under the sheets and read the first story. Hmm…well written, witty, very tame, probaby an intro to ease in. My eyes were closing so that was it for that night. To curious for the following night I put the book in a book sleeve for discretion so I could read it on my way to and fro from work. Well turnouts out I only read it on the bus and subway…never brought it back to bed.

.

Why? I was totally not what I had expected. No that sounds negative, it was unexpected. Although there are plenty of juicy paragraphs there are never enough such pages in a row for me to explore reactions in bed…if you know what I mean. So I was a bit disapointed on that level…its not mindless raunchy masterbation material. BUT, but it was a really really excellent read that tokk me down paths I had not expected at all.

.

About ever plausible scenario is represented in this work: straight, bi, lesbians, vanilla, kinksters, subs, dommes, cute weekend getaways, age play mommies, physical handicaps, death, incest fantasies, revenge, femmes, butches, sex toys and even the game of chess! So there is no way you won’t find a story that won’t captivate and grab your attention. I think the most memorable and unusal story, a morbid setting, involved a peeping tom’s resulting emotional anguish from watching a women plumet to her death when the window broke while having sex pressed up against the glass. I was surprised by the wonderful quality of writing in most stories, really well written stuff with well built structures. I also realized that women can have waaayyyyyy sicker minds and scenarios in their heads then men could ever dream of imagining. An awesome read.

.

I give this book a solid , only skipping a star cause I really had hoped for more just raunchy material. Thank you Babeland for the wonderful read.

.