Review- Turn Me Out by T. Ariez

Turn Me Out
By T. Ariez
June 17, 2013
Contemporary/Lesbian/Erotica/Stud4Stud/ AA
16 pgs
Kindle edition

Angel and Ace are best friends who happen to both be studs. When Angel realizes that she has developed feelings for Ace, she devises a plan that will go against everything she's ever known and believed. She is tired of the traditions and rules that make her feelings taboo and decides to risk everything. Will it all be worth the risk?

This is a short, quicky story, but I loved it. The author has a fresh, straightforward voice but one which is also infused with a lot of heart.

I have little to vague knowledge of the sub groups that are part of the lesbian community. I have read some butch/femme and stone butch stuff, so it’s not unfamiliar. But this is the first time I’ve read about stud and boi relationships. So part of my turn-on in reading this was being introduced into this world. T. Ariez did a great job of giving an explanation for anyone not familiar with this that was integrated well with the flow of the story and didn’t feel like a wiki side bar. I did google some things though to get a better idea of some of the slang.

As a character, Angel is that person I’d love to know IRL. She’s going through a transformation of her identity and risks a lot to go with feelings that defy everything she feels she is and has represented until this point. She’s become attracted to another stud, Ace, whom she’s buds with, a taboo in her world. Not only that, she finds these new feelings also include wanting to be touched and be more feminine, which are diametrically opposite to her stone stud identity.

While Angel goes about getting with Ace in a way that some might feel wrong, she’s so open and vulnerable and humble as she goes for it in the only way she can think of to get Ace to see her as a potential partner. Even Ace, who reacts in the way Angel almost knew she would, feels Angel’s openness and it affects her way of thinking even though her initial reaction was pretty negative.

That this is a story of being fluid vs. fixed is a huge plus for me. I love characters that act outside “their” box. I especially enjoy characters that are willing to look at the status-quo and change if that’s what’s happening to them.

I also want to point out that this is perfect in the way it’s written, meaning the set-up, pacing, and how it ends. It leaves the door open for some more exploration of Angel and Ace’s relationship, which is kind of juicy. But it’s very satisfying in and of itself.

I definitely recommend Turn Me Out even if you’re not into the specifics of sexual/relationship constructs of various sub groups within the lesbian world. It’s an honest and sexy story that everyone can relate to. I can’t wait to read more of these two characters. Or anything by this author.

Heat level: 4-5. Graphic sexual language and scenarios.

Grade: Loved it

Review- The Song of the Sirens by Monica Conti

The Song of the Sirens
By Monica Conti
Jan. 27, 2010
Contemporary/ Lesbian erotica
4.1K- FREE!!!!
Ebook- Smashwords

Get it at Smashwords

This is the torrid tale of a lesbian writer who discovers the hidden world of the taboo in a New Orleans dance club. Intensely erotic, the story intercuts sexual episodes with observations about the nature of desire.

I’ve heard of Smashwords and thought it to be a site much like Lulu where authors self publish and I guess I’ve worried that I’d have to slog through tons of crap to find a gem. I became curious and typed in “lesbian” and a lot of books came up, some by authors I’ve reviewed and know and others that looked rather interesting. I noticed that some are free so I read this book since there were a few stars along with it with nice comments.

Just a brief synopsis- I won’t give names because they only get mentioned right at the end of the story. Monica Conti actually refers to her main character as “the writer.” The writer works at a normal job as a writer for a magazine. She has to be fairly straight laced during the day but wishes to let loose her more darker, sexual side at night. She ends up in a strip club and has women dance for her. She goes there almost every night and all the girls come to know her and like to dance for her. She doesn’t care that she’s the only female customer. Since this is a short story, it’s mostly about this short period in the writer’s life and what goes on in her head and sexually about it.

To say that this short little story was a delicious find is to put it very mildly. I was immediately sucked in by the clean, elegant and poetic writing style of Ms Conti. Not only did the writing style grab me, the little details that were picked up on in how the characters see things and think, quietly stand out in crisp, expressive ways. Reading this reminded me of those moments when we are totally present and the minutest of details become the focal points. In short, Song of the Sirens read like looking at picture or movie in which I was drawn in and made part of.

I’ve read a lot of erotica. There’s a lot of really bad erotica out there, which I paid for unfortunately, that is labeled erotica due to the graphic nature of how the sex is written, or by the fact of lots of different sexual scenarios, with the focus purely on the sex. Much of it is coarse and written in a more pornish way with no regard for the sensuality around sex.

Then there is high brow erotica. This type of erotica is my favorite. It’s classy and turns sex and eroticism into an art. It’s usually beautifully written and inspires not only sexual titillation, but something more sublime and sensual. This is the type of erotica I prefer to read, but it’s hard to find and it’s a matter of taste.

Song of the Sirens is just that type of erotica for me. I was taken into a dark, seedy, sexual world but didn’t feel icky or like I needed a shower afterward. I felt, wow, this is something I’d totally want to experience. Monica Conti has a beautiful way with words and storytelling, really getting into the head of her characters.

Since this is a free read, it’s a nice glimpse into what kind of stories Ms. Conti writes. I’m definitely going to buy another of her books to see if the same writing quality is there.

Heat level- 5- erotically written with graphic terminology. Strap-on.

Grade: B+

Review- Angel's Wish- by Kissa Starling

Angel’s Wish
by Kissa Starling
2009
Lesbian/ erotica/ time travel/ bondage/ M/s BDSM
24.5K words
Ebook- Renaissance eBooks Inc.

Buy at Fictionwise, Renaissance Books

Angel is nothing more than a two-bit mechanic. She dreams of vintage pin-up girls and old cars. Nothing else excites her. She takes a cat nap one day at work and wakes up in the 1950’s. Old cars are now new and classy women are abundant and sweet. Can she find hers before she’s yanked back to her own time? Lust, love, or luck- she’s bound to find one of the three when she wishes upon the star on a tree!

I love it when I read a book that normally I’d never choose and totally enjoy it. I got this book when there was a sale because I’ve seen the author around blog land and decided to try one of her books even though I’m not so hot on the master/slave or bondage thing. I’m glad I did though. This story is such a bizarre mix of all kinds of interesting elements but it totally worked for me.

Angel is running on empty. She’s broke, just been evicted, using a car on its last legs and has no where to turn. Her parents have disowned her due to an unsavory (to her parents) incident with a teacher while she was in high school and has no other family ties. She still shows up for work and to the only person who does support her, her boss Mel. She’s a mechanic and loves cars, especially classic cars. While taking a break, she focuses on an old pin-up calendar, daydreaming about how beautiful the women were in the 50’s—it’s now 2056, and she’s suddenly transported back to the 1955.

Back in the 50’s she ends up with a life she could only dream about. By a series of events, a wealthy family takes her in and really accepts her, comes to love her, and she meets her soul mate, the house maid Mary. Unfortunately, she knows that this can’t last so she makes the best of it.

What I enjoyed most about this story was the heart in it. Angel is a person that is totally into the master/ slave dynamics as a lesbian but she does so in a deeply loving way. She oozes a warm vulnerability and sensitivity with a cocky independent strength that people are attracted to. In her own time, she’s a broken person who’s just scraping by. But being in the 50’s, in an atmosphere of simpler times where life was more like a Rockwell painting, she’s shown love and respect and blossoms in that.

Particularly what was interesting for me in this book was the juxtaposition of Angel’s dominance and crudity in seducing women and her big, warm heart. One minute she’s thinking about how she’d love to melt hot wax on Mary’s private bits and the next she’s trying to make sure an elderly women in a nursing home is loved and cared for by just going to hang out with her. For me it made Angel an interesting complex character that I could relate too and totally worked for me on accepting the master/slave hard core BDSM in this story.

And there is some really hard core BDSM in this story. Angel does some heavy duty things to Mary, some things that shocked even me in the area of pain and she talks to Mary in a very sexually blunt way. But at her core, Angel is soft, loving woman and she treats Mary with deep respect and love.

Mary was also written in such a way that I never once felt that she is a slave in any other way except that she’s really loves it. She enjoys being a sub and serving Angel and I felt how Mary feels she’s found her love in Angel. Mary is also a witch and I liked this aspect of it because it intertwined a hint of a timeless love along with a time travel story.

About the time travel and soul mate for eternity aspect of this story, I thought everything was integrated in a natural and fun way. The way it reads, I could actually almost believe that this is possible. I will admit though, that I love the concept of eternal soul mates and that we can meet up with people we love again in alternate or future lifetimes, so yeah, I enjoyed this part of it.

I don’t think there is really anything negative that came up for me about the story. The writing was kind of funky in bits, although nothing that threw me out of the story. And there was an odd bit when Angel first meets Mary and Mary calls her “mum” all the time, while Angel orders Mary around calling her “wench”. I think there were few other British words in there and that kind of confused me because I thought they were in Missouri. This kind of thing though is part of what turned me on. Contrasting elements thrown together.

I’m sure if you like BDSM on any level this story will definitely hit the spot. But I think if you’re not into BDSM at all, this story could work for you because it’s not just about the sex or lifestyle it’s more universal in its appeal as a love story. It did for me anyway.

Heat level: 5- hard core BDSM, M/s relationship. Graphically and bluntly written sexual scenarios, some minor anal, bondage.

Grade: B+

Review- Femme Noir by Clara Nipper

Femme Noir
by Clara Nipper
Sept 2009
Contemporary (period)/ Lesbian/ Interracial/ Erotica
287 pg.- $12.95
Bold Strokes Books
Ebook version

Buy it Amazon (paper), ARe (ebook)

Womanizing tough broad Nora Delaney meets her match in Max Abbott, a sex-crazed dame who may or may not have the information Nora needs to solve a murder—but can she contain her lust for Max long enough to find out?

Dames, booze, and murder is the oldest story in the book, but this time, it happens too fast to Nora Delaney, who is a notorious womanizing college basketball coach. After her ex is found murdered, Nora chases the scent all the way from Los Angeles to Tulsa to find some right angles in this nasty business, only to be waylaid by a gorgeous, gin-swilling skirt who has information as well as an appetite for women like Nora.

Filled with cock-eyed optimism, vivid sexual fantasy, tough broads, and big babes who know their ways around drinks, trash talk, and murder, Femme Noir is a wry homage to retro outlooks of a bygone tough guy/femme fatale age. If you like sex and humor, this book is for you.

Yeah, um… I don’t quite know what to say about this book. It’s kind of all over the place with every cliché out there. But that over the top way about it was also what kept me interested in this book.

First, the blurb makes this book sound more exciting and noir-ish than it is. I bought this book because of the blurb. I really like noir and was hoping that it would be a female or lesbian version of the typical 40’s private dick type of book. Yes, it is sort of, in feel. Apparently, the paper version is done in old style typing font to add to the ambience I guess. For me though, I think the author took a risk that worked in some parts but were too ridiculous in others.

Let’s start with Nora. She’s a tough talking woman; a player who’s not too interested in the feelings of her partners. While it does seem like she doesn’t really care about anyone, we do get to see that Nora is not as tough as she likes to come across. She gets knocked for a loop a time or two, which I thought made her a bit more real and less a caricature.

She's gone to Tulsa to find out what happened to her ex, Michelle, who was murdered just after calling Nora one night. One thing I didn't get here was why. She and Michelle had an acrimonious split and Michelle wasn't exactly Mother Theresa with Nora, so that was missing for me. Why?

One thing I need to bring up, only because it’s mentioned over and over and over again is that Nora is a black woman. She makes reference to it many times describing her beautiful black body and the women she comes across mention it as well with various old school and modern descriptions for a person of color. She brings up racial discrimination on a regular basis, so there’s much ado about race in this story, which I think was both interesting and distracting.

The noir part of this story is that it’s set in some time anywhere between the 40’s and 90’s although no references were made to cell phones or such modern things that would give it a completely contemporary feel. Unfortunately, mostly this came off as a B grade 70’s flick with Nora using language typical to Blaxploitation films of the time. While she brings up quite often prejudices she’s faced, she also acts in a reverse prejudicial way, with stereotypical ideas of country people.

Racial or sexual blurbs:

“No you ain’t , cracker!

“Oh Tanya, honey chile!”

“You want me to call some brothers to take care of this cootchie for you?”

“Of course.” Tonya sat on the bed , crossing her molasses-colored legs in a breathtaking way.” (cinnamon and chocolate were used as well to describe Nora)

“Friend. You want me to draw you a map to Max’s cootchi? Nigga be a man.”

“I guess you’re the furniture,” I said, our eye’s met.” “Guess you’re the negro,” she answered tranquilly.

“If a nigga could just get a motherfuckin’ breath!” I shouted, leaning on the car for support, filling my chest with soaked air. (she’s complaining about Tulsa’s crappy air and allergies, a constant theme throughout the book as well)

Reverse:

On a plane to Oklahoma:

“If it was going to be a crowded airplane, I expected barefoot hillbillies in overalls and live chickens under their arms.”

“You’re just a corn-fed butter-eater, aren’t you?”

She’s shocked to find all normal people on the plane. This is what had me wondering what time period this is happening in. Then at the airport she comments to herself many times about her being the only black person in Tulsa and that the only other ones there were all doing menial jobs. She teases and insults the locals treating them as ignorant backwater types saying she’s from Uganda, as if they would be stupid and think all black people are from Africa, when they ask where she’s from. She’s from L.A. where I guess in this particular time period, black people are abundant. She also seems to find it strange that people are so kind and helpful, another country stereotype.

I get that in noir, old school noir, social conscience in language use is non-existent, or that stereotypes can be exaggerated, but much of this was over the top and offensive in some parts. I won’t even get into all the butch/femme stereotypes and references, which were numerous.

Next are the gaggle of exotic and weird characters that Nora meets. She’s told to meet a woman who apparently has all the inside connections in the lesbian world in Tulsa so she can find out what’s happened with Michelle. She meets with some women in a bar who tell her where to meet this person, but this woman, while acting like a gang leader on the surface, is nothing special in the end. This group of women, all with different quirks, don’t really have much to do with the story and don’t really further the plot, but seem to be there mainly to showcase Nora’s tough talking and acting ways.

She does meet the owner of the bar, Lila who with her partner, Reese are characters in themselves. They talk like women from those 30’s films, which was confusing with the mix of 70's slang throughout the rest of the book:

“I don’t mean anything, darling. It’s such a marvelous party. And I love any excuse for a good party, don’t I Reese Angel?”

Reese pulled Lila back and wagged her finger in her face. “Lila, my queen, you mustn’t arouse suspicion. Remember whose girl you are.”

“What a bore. But as you wish, Reese Cup.” Lila grinned at me but then stood straight and solemn with a pouty mouth to face Reese. “I’m a harmless flirt. Simply everybody says so. You’re such a square.”

Then there is Max. According to the blurb, Max is a sex-crazed dame. Um, no. She’s more an elusive 30's type woman who sort of engages Nora in a sexual flirtation, but is not as mysterious as the author tried to portray her. Mostly, Nora has it bad for Max, but her interactions with Max are mostly through Nora’s fantasy life. She imagines conversations and sex with Max throughout the book, while Max herself comes only as close as she wishes.

One other thing that drove me nuts throughout this whole book was Nora’s constant search for a cigarette. She’s so proud that she hasn’t bought a pack of ciggys in a year, trying to quit. And yet, she's either thinking about having a ciggy, craving a ciggy, begging for a ciggy, or smoking a ciggy at every single turn. Really, I wanted to just say buy a dammed pack of ciggy’s a smoke to your heart’s content. Personally, I thought it was a plot device to make Nora a bit more stereotypically hard-nosed, but mostly it got on my nerves.

On to good things about this story, I did enjoy Clara Nipper’s writing style. She came out with some really colorful phrasing that grabbed me:

“Just great. They’re going places, I think” I put my face in my drink as if it were an oxygen mask.”

“In spite of myself, I laughed and slapped Ava-Suzanne on the back. As if they were monkey’s following the group, everyone else laughed too.”

In the end, there is character growth, which I liked as well. Nora gets in touch with things about herself that she’s denied, like wanting family and people that really care about her. This is one of the main things that kept me hooked into this story, besides the quirkiness of a lot of it. And it did have a certain unique ambience to it that made it interesting enough to keep reading.

I think if you’re looking for a different kind of read, one that takes you on a wild trip with odd characters, this book will be good. There’s no romance in this story though, so if you’re looking for that, it’s not happening.

Heat level: 5 --There are some very graphic sexual scenarios although not an excessive amount.

Grade: C+

Review- Thirteen Hours by Meghan O'Brien

Thirteen Hours
by Meghan O’Brien
April 22, 2008
Contemporary/ lesbian/ erotic romance
288 pgs. $12.-$16

Buy it Bold Strokes Books, Amazon, OmniLit

Can you fall in love in thirteen hours?

It's her birthday but lonely workaholic Dana Watts is at the office late, drafting a proposal. The very last interruption she expects comes in the form of the most beautiful breasts she has ever seen. These belong to an incredibly hot woman, who is standing in front of her, stripping to music.

Laurel Stanley performs strip-o-grams to pay her way through school. She has never encountered a more ungrateful recipient than Dana. The uptight project manager makes it clear that she is furious to be distracted from her work by the "gift" a colleague sent and equally appalled by Laurel's occupation.

After Dana is rude and insulting, and insists on escorting Laurel from the building, the two women take an elevator ride that changes everything. Stuck with each other for thirteen long hours after the elevator breaks down, they discover how wrong first impressions can be and how right two strangers can feel together.

Can everything change in less than a day? Dana and Laurel set out to discover if their passionate elevator encounter can mean more in this fast-paced, erotic story of lust, loneliness, fantasy, and desire.

Yeah, umm bottom line… this is an excellent story for one handed reading. I’ve been coveting this book for a long time and finally broke down and bought it. I liked the premise from the blurb and that part delivered.

It's not totally sex though, there's also an intense romance involved with all the “I love you’s” you want and promises of a committed future. However, Thirteen Hours is mainly the story of the sexual relationship between two very compatible women in that area. For what it is, it’s a fun, light read that skirted the edges of becoming tongue-in- cheek sexual romp but didn’t quite get into that territory.

The first part of this book was great. Uptight Dana, a workaholic who hasn’t had a date in years and only had sex once in her life, gets a strip-o-gram as a birthday present from her male co-worker friend. Oh she gets good and pissed as this strange, but gorgeous woman who’s mostly naked sits in her lap, her perfect breasts calling out to Dana. Of course she immediately pegs this woman as a slutty whore who doesn’t have two brains cells to rub together to have a decent, respectable job and she tries to shuffle her out of the building.

Laurel is that cliché of the good person stripper who dances to put herself through college. Of course she has a brain and not only just a brain, but a really smart brain since she’s just about done with her schooling to be a Veterinary Dr. She’s shocked at Dana’s reaction since she assumed that whoever paid for her to dance would have only sent her to a woman who likes women, since she only dances privately for women.

They get trapped in the elevator for, yes, thirteen hours and as they open up to each other they find both their judgments of each other are all wrong.

This part of the book was great. Laurel and Dana, being bored after a while, start playing truth or dare and some interesting things come out about each that tells a deeper story. Dana admits for the first time ever in her life and to herself that yes, she has been attracted to women, although she’s only been with one man.

And Laurel tells of her sad tale of her father walking out while her mother was dying. Their conversations and banter at that point are witty, a bit sarcastic and touching, which kept it interesting. Of course, as the night progresses and Dana becomes more comfortable with the knowledge that, yes, she does like women and yes, she is attracted to Laurel, things get really steamy.

After they get out of the elevator, they proceed then for the rest of the book to pretty much have non-stop sex. Some of it’s very amusing and lighthearted, which did keep me interested and kind of turned on. Both open up emotionally and I really did feel that they trust each other enough to go to some places that Laurel has fantasized about sexually as one of those fantasies is being submissive.

Anyone who reads my reviews knows I’m not that hot on the whole BDSM thing, but this particular fantasy was written in a really fun, and frankly, freaking hot way. There’s lots of spanking and ordering around, but it’s done in non serious way, more as role play, which I really liked. They go on to fulfill other fantasies as the story progresses with just minor outside story lines going on.

This is the downside of this book for me though. After a while, there’s really nothing going on except for a few minor glitches like a mini fight they have after moving in, to carry this story outside of the incredible sexual connection they have. There are some moments in between the sex in which they discuss how to proceed and suss out what each feels, not wanting to push but at the same time wanting each other really badly. Fortunately, this didn’t go the way of yak, yak, yak lets talk about our feelings all the time as some of these stories are wont to do, but it gave some brief intermissions from the sex.

I really don’t know much about either character other than what they’re like in bed and what they like in bed. There’s no story or plot going on, even though the author seemed to be trying hard to make this a romance. It is a romance, but developed strictly through the characters having sex with all their cooing and I love you’s and so on repeated over and over to let us know they love each other deeply.

I think Meghan O’Brien has great talent as a writer and she wrote this at a young age, so maybe her next books are more developed. The writing itself is very nice and the sex, damn, but she can write really erotic sexual scenarios. By the end though, I was totally bored with yet another sex scene and I walked away from this book thinking that I need to read a fantasy or some other sub genre besides contemporary because really, where could this story go to keep it interesting? I was craving something, anything outside of the sex to spark my interest or care about these two.

Still though, if you’re really in the mood for something hot and steamy that’s not too serious or gets into too much drama, Thirteen Hours will hit the spot. It’s also got a variety of sexual scenarios in it to satisfy anyone on some level and the love story part is kind of sweet and very prominent.

Sex rating: Orgasmic- many, many very hot, graphic sexual scenarios. Spanking, light D/s play, anal penetration with a strap on.

Grade: For the actual writing B+, for being a bit boring or even lack of story after a while, C

Reveiw- When Katie Came Over by Arden Hill

When Katie Came Over
by Arden Hill
2008
Contemporary/ Lesbian/ light BDSM-ish/ erotica
4k- $2.00
Ebook

Pub: Loveyoudevine

When an established top who writes erotica under the pen name Sangre hires a woman to assemble a porch swing, she gets more than she pays for. Katie, a college student and novice in the practice of kink, has read much on the subject, including the work of Sangre, and is eager to experience the reality of bottoming to an experienced player. Soon Sangre is taking a break from writing scenes to gather more hands on research. She channels her creative energy into tutoring Katie as to how to turn her on. With the help of some specially designed restraints and a gorgeous glass dildo, Sangre also draws pleasure from Katie making her beg and moan for a well deserved release. In, When Katie Came Over, both top and bottom are rewarded by creative erotic collaboration.

I have just one thing to say about this story. Don’t bother.

Sangre has MS and is a well known erotica writer who hires Katie to put together a porch swing. Katie is a young college student just trying to make some extra money. Sangre is using voice recognition to write her book and Katie overhears her writing/speaking an erotic scene in her book. They quickly establish that they are both are lesbians and that Katie is a bottom. How we know this is because Katie says that she is and hints at being fairly experienced in kinky sex. In short order Sangre is telling her to get into the cuffs and they are getting it on.

First, this story is only a few pages long. It’s an extremely rare author who can do any story justice in a few pages and there was no justice done to this story. Second, it’s not well written, with a complete lack of character build up and plot really. Moreover, the only sexual situation portrayed barely kept me interested enough to even keep reading.

It is erotica, so yeah, I’m not expecting an elaborate well developed story, however, even on the level of erotica, which is pretty much mostly sex, it fell way short. The sexual scenes were very slow and boring with absolutely no chemistry or heat between the characters.

Even the whole light BDSM- bottom/top or what ever was going on came across as unrealistic and a bit off to me. I think if the author had at the very least made me feel some kind of connection between these two women, then I would have had a different feeling. If this book weren’t so short to begin with, I would have dropped it before it did end, with no reason to keep reading.

Sex rating: Technically it’s graphically written. But it was so boring I can’t say it’s too spicy. f/f- lesbian. Minor BDSM- hand cuffs, dildo use.

Grade: D-

Review- Sapphistocated by Alessia Brio, Jolie du Pre, Beth Wylde & Yeva Wiest

Sapphistocated
by Alessia Brio, Jolie du Pre, Beth Wylde & Yeva Wiest
February 2009
Contemporary/ Lesbian/ erotica
Novel- 61K
Anthology
Ebook

Buy it Phaze- $6 Amazon

Four rising stars of women's erotica come together in this sometimes funny, sometimes heartwarming, and totally engaging collection of stories about women who love women.

Double Decker by Alessia Brio: Tess is determined to win the big Karaoke contest at the Double Decker bar, and the heart of the woman organizing it. Will her evening end on a high note?

I Know What I Want by Jolie du Pre: Allie is an up and coming model who catches the eye of a wealthy, dominating woman. While the attentions and money from "special" modeling sessions are nice, Allie wants more...but how much is enough?

Better With Age by Beth Wylde: After nearly twenty years, Olivia runs into her first love, Aleesha. While time seems to fade as they reunite, Olivia isn't sure passion could possibly have survived. It takes a surprising discovery at home to convince her to find out for certain if she's gotten better with age.

Drawn by Yeva Wiest: Manga artist Sydney loves 'em thin and leaves 'em shortly afterward, so why is she obsessing over the big, beautiful daughter of her publisher? As her Yuri artwork torments her and friends advise her, Sydney struggles with these new feelings and learns that where love and passion are concerned, she doesn't have to draw the line at any particular size.

I’ve read a few anthologies now from Alessia Brio and to date, I haven’t been disappointed. There are always some very interesting and unique stories in them and Sapphistocated is no different. In this book, four authors whose names I’ve come to recognize as well known in f/f, lesbian romance and erotica, but not had the chance to read yet, are represented and it was a great chance to get a taste of each author’s writing.

What I liked with this book was the variety in stories. Each had a different flavor and ranged from very sweet, with characters who are soft and real, to gritty, in your face type characters who learn something about themselves. All the stories were well written and definitely grabbed my attention.

Double Decker by Alessia Brio- Tess is a very confident woman. She has her days, but then she has her SOL days, sex on legs days in which everything just falls into place. She’s participating in a karaoke contest in which the prize is a weekend trip to a resort and she really wants to win. It’s a quarterly contest held in a dyke bar, the Double Decker, and she knows she has a good chance to win. And she’s lucky because it just also happens to be an SOL day for her as well. She always manages to find someone to go home with after these karaoke contests, but on this night there is only one woman she wants. But that woman has no idea what Tess feels.

This story is one in which the over confident person get a little comeuppance. Tess as a character came across at very arrogant. She knows she’s hot and she’s sure she’s the best singer. She’s also very confident that she can seduce anyone in the audience to get who she wants when she wants. I had mixed feelings about her. She’s not someone I would normally like and the fact that she goes on and on and on about how great she is through most of the story got a bit tedious.

I wished there would have been more interactions with the woman she does want and less of the build up of Tess’ ego. I wanted more tension created between them. But Tess does get knocked down a few pegs when the one woman she does want seems to blow her off. Tess does then recognize that she got too cocky and that’s what turned the story around for me. Plus, there’s hawt sex. I’m shallow like that, what can I say. B+

I Know What I Want- Jolie du Pre- Allie is working as a waitress in a sucky job, but she’s gorgeous enough to eke out a small living modeling on the side, which is what she’d rather do. One day a friend of a photographer calls Allie and tells her she has a modeling job for her and will pay her 2k per hour to be a centerpiece at her party, but she needs to interview her first.

Vivian, the woman who hires her, is an older and very wealthy woman who comes onto Allie sexually but cuts Allie off before really doing anything. Allie is very intrigued by her and wants to be with her. Vivian then plays this game with her of making Allie feel that she is interested and yet blowing her off all the time, controlling the relationship totally. Even after they have sex and Vivian says she loves Allie, she never quite gives Allie the satisfaction that she will really be with her.

When Allie gets a call from a major fashion magazine that wants her to be their main model, she goes to NY and although Vivian has said she would come, she doesn’t. In the meantime, Allie gets with the assistant of the magazine editor and they fall in love. Then Vivian shows up.

I have to be honest; the end of this story was very abrupt and a bit disappointing. While I got that this is about Allie deciding what she wants, I felt that the stronger part of the story, or lets say the part that was the most developed and had the more interesting dynamics, petered out.

Vivian is such a delicious, mysterious character. She in total control of that relationship with Allie and had some really interesting Domme characteristics that made her exciting. She’s very cool and yet, very patient with Allie as Allie tries to figure out what the deal is with Vivian. Yes, Vivian is very manipulative, but the cool mystique around her made her the most compelling character in this story.

The beginning of the story is all about Allie and Vivian, but then it shifts to Allie and the assistant. Allie is just your normal type girl with no real outstanding qualities who’s enthralled with Vivian and wants her, but also gets really pissed off with being dicked around. She has a more normal, realistic relationship with the assistant, but is unfinished with Vivian. When Vivian comes back into town, she calls Allie acting like nothing is bad between them and Allie blows her off. Then it just ends. What? Wait… don’t stop.

Personally, as a reader, the focus of this story was on the wrong person, it should have been on Vivian who was the more complex character. What makes her tick, why she’s acting like she is, does she really love Allie or is it a game… so much about her I wanted to know. Not so much about Allie. And the D/s elements that were hinted at, but never really developed, were also way more intriguing than the story between Allie and the assistant.

So I’d have to say that on quite a few levels this was a really cool story, but there was disappointment in the ending, which left me wanting a lot more. B+

Better with Age by Beth Wylde- Olivia is a woman heading into middle age and alone. She has a grown daughter who’s in college and is coming home for a night for her birthday before going back. Olivia is lonely, suffering from empty nest syndrome, but gets by keeping busy with her job.

Aleesha is also an older woman who hasn’t really found that person with whom she can really love and settle down with. She’s come back to her home town and bought a small bakery and is just living life… that is until quite by coincidence, Olivia shows up to pay for a cake she ordered for her daughter’s birthday.

Olivia and Aleesha were lovers in high school until Olivia’s mom caught them together and forced Olivia to drop Aleesha or she and her father would cut all ties with her. Being young and naïve, she let go of Aleesha. Now meeting Aleesha after all these years, the sparks fly again between them and they find that they cannot resist each other.

Oh what a totally sweet story this is. I loved, loved it! Beth Wylde really captured that feeling between the characters of a love that never dies and that feeling of coming home and rightness that happens when you find and are in the presence your soul mate. Neither one of these women have found a person who could replace the other or give them what they had together and they get immediately that after all those years that they still feel the same with each other.

I also thought their fears and vulnerabilities about their much older bodies being desirable to the other to be very touching as well. Olivia and Aleesha are just two characters that are so easy to relate to and it’s a nicely written, very satisfying story. And it's always nice to read a story about two older characters who find love. A-

Drawn by Yeva Wiest- Sydney is a cartoon artist who gets a little too involved in her characters, is definitely a butch who has very specific tastes in what she likes in a woman’s looks, and… she’s a player. She hasn’t had any nookie for a while and while creating a character, she creates the perfect woman but with two heads that can be swapped. One head is for the character’s nice personality and the other for the evil one. When Sydney goes in to see her boss to show her the new character and story, she likes what she sees in Beth, her boss’ assistant. Beth is tall and willowy and just Sydney’s type. She asks Beth out and Beth agrees.

But wait… who also shows up in the office is Alice, the boss’ daughter. She’s round and voluptuous, has huge breasts and heavy thighs and Sydney has an immediate reaction against her thinking Alice is too fat for her. And yet, there’s something about Alice that Sydney finds herself attracted to. The next day when Sydney goes to meet Beth for a date, Alice just happens to be in the hall of the apartment building since she lives in a nearby apartment and again, Sydney finds against herself that she feels this intense attraction to Alice.

Alice gets that Sydney has judged her straight away as too fat and keeps cool with Sydney even though both of them are aware of some kind of attraction going on. After a while it becomes too much for Sydney when she finds herself thinking of Alice non-stop and getting all up in that soft, round, womanly body and she finds any excuse to meet with her.

First, all around, this was a very quirky story, which had a bizarre fantasy element going on with it. Sydney’s drawing, Kisha, messes with Sydney all the time, demanding her attention and doing awful spiteful things. Sydney also has sex with her. It’s written in an odd way so that I never quite knew what’s going on with that. It’s obvious that when Kisha is involved that it’s Sydney’s imagination and maybe even the two parts of herself being expressed, but it’s written as Kisha literally doing those things, so that part is a bit strange. Ultimately, I didn’t really get the point of that, why it was even there really.

What I really got off on in this story is how Yeva Wiest has Sydney all flustered about suddenly being attracted to a woman who is so not her usual taste and who changes the usual dynamic of her being butch who loves femmes. And Ok, I liked that she falls for a fat chick and that it’s Alice’s curves and fullness that turns her on. I just like stories in which a character finds themselves acting out of character and being totally turned on by that.

Then there was the weird night Sydney had with Beth. Truly, this story went into bizarro land a few times and it was very entertaining, like being in a lesbian erotica story written by Seinfeld. B+

Sapphistocated was a general, all around good read and I’m glad that I finally got a chance to read a few stories from some authors I’ve been meaning to get to. It’s definitely a nice collection of distinctly different stories, but all ending on a good note. And the sex in all of these stories was deliciously written and sizzling as well.

Sex rating: Orgasmic- very erotic and steamy f/f, some minor anal, strap on. Mostly vanilla.

Grade: B+

Review- Coming Together: Special Memorial Edition: Colleen Thomas by Alessia Brio

Coming Together: An Erotic Cocktail
Special Memorial Edition: Colleen Thomas
Edited by Alessia Brio
July 31, 2006
Anthology/ Lesbian/ bisexual
Novel length

Buy it Amazon, Fictionwise (ebook)

A collection of lesbian erotica by the late Colleen Thomas, edited by EPPIE Award-winning author, Alessia Brio. Each short story is introduced by one of Colleen's peers. Proceeds from the sale of this edition of Coming Together will be donated to the Kaplan Family Hospice Residence in her memory.

This volume of the Coming Together series is a nice eclectic mix of lesbian erotic stories. While a few are strictly lesbian stories, there are a few first timer or coming out stories as well, which I enjoyed. The flavor of each story is so different and unique and I found them all to be nicely written and highly erotic. I think Alessia Brio did a great job in putting together this anthology, which offers so much. I've never read anything by Colleen Thomas, so this is a nice intro to her work.

A Separate Peace- I really enjoyed this story a lot. It was very different. Sarah is working for the US gov. as a spy in Israel in search of a most wanted Palestinian terrorist known as the Jackal. She is captured during a bombing by some Palestinians and wakes up tied up in a room, with a woman, Ablaa, talking to her. To Sarah’s surprise Ablaa just happens to be the Jackal. This woman is very intense with her, talking to her about how the US gov is the real terrorist and goes on to describe the horrendous life she’s had to lead, while at the same time she seduces Sarah sexually. Sarah starts to see that all is not so black and white. The Jackal lets Sarah escape and it’s years later…

What I enjoyed about this story is that it’s a story about how people can connect on a very basic human level regardless of beliefs and ideological differences. These two women are very sweet and intense together and I really got off on that. (A)

The Run- This was a very interesting sci-fi story about a woman who is a “runner,” a person who is basically a hired body guard/ assassin. Margo is a huge, formidable woman and one of the best runners out there. She’s hired by a cosmetic company to be a body guard for the head of the company, a woman with a hit out on her. Margo brings in another woman who is a computer geek to take care of the tech side of what’s needed. This woman, Lana, is very attracted to Margo, and Margo, while having some attractions for women, has never been with a woman. As they work together, they both explore each other sexually as well. What I liked here is that both are sexually inexperienced with women and it was very hot and kind of innocent how they get together.

The sci-fi part of the story was very intricate and kind of riveting on its own as well. Many interesting concepts were introduced. (A-)

Just Like That- this is a purely erotic fantasy and not really my cuppa due to the “doing it for men” part of the story, but the sex was pretty hot. A woman is in a bar and notices three woman hanging together and dancing, one having a camera. She chats with one of them and it turns out they run a website showing real life girl-on-girl action to whoever pays to watch. What they do is try to find a regular, non pro, woman who wants to have sex on camera.

First, this woman has never had sex with a woman nor does she want to, but the girls convince her to go along and the smexing with the camera rolling starts straight away in the car. That’s all. All three women do her on film and she gets off on it. (B)

Latin I and Latin II- Oh I totally loved this story. It’s a story of revenge, but done in a way that the recipients of the revenge learn something about themselves and how horrid they were acting. Mandy is a high school student who is ridiculed on a regular basis because she’s out as a lesbian. One of her teachers routinely picks on her for no reason and the “cool” girls not only mess with her but push others to ride her as well. She gets a hold of a book of spells and goes to a well known empty, haunted house and does a spell to conjure up a malevolent spirit to help her get revenge.

This was so deliciously hot. Mandy’s nasty teacher just happens to be a preacher’s wife who thinks sex is just for procreation. Mandy puts a spell on her having her do all kinds of things, completely controlling her, making her want sex with Mandy only. Then she seduces the mean girl and does the same. What I thought was interesting in these two stories is that while Mandy is getting her revenge she’s never cruel and those women, while hating that they are having sex with Mandy, also come to really want it. Great story. (A-)

Quality of Life- This was a strange story. Another sci-fi/ futuristic story about a satellite prison in space where gays and lesbians are sent because they are an abomination to the current society. This was a total downer with a lot of social statement about how gays and lesbians are treated and the prejudice they have to deal with. Basically this prison is purposely destroyed by the powers that be locking out air, with a few survivors left, but not for long. There isn’t any sex in this story, which was OK, but the ending is just kind of rough. Like I said, downer. But it was uniquely written. (C+)

Picture Perfect- Oh yeah, this was such a hot story. And it’s a May/Dec, teacher/student story, which I get off on. Dana is a student in University who keeps taking Dr. Helen Smith’s classes because she’s attracted to her. Dana is a newbie at being with women, so she gets constant advice from her butch friend who is sleeping with everyone, including a few professors. For a paper Dana has to do for Dr. Smith’s class, she goes to get some books for her topic and one book she needs hasn’t been taken out for 20 years, so its in a special room. In this book she finds a pin-up semi nudie photo of a woman from the 40’s and becomes obsessed with finding out who it is. When she finds out that Dr. Smith was the last person to take out the book, things get interesting.

This is a very engrossing story with a bit of a mystery involved and a sweet coming together of two women sexually. I liked that Helen is 45 and has as much or little experience as Dana who is in her early 20’s. So the sex is more exploratory in nature than experienced seduction, which I enjoyed. (A-)

Football Widow- this is a story about a woman who marries her high school sweetheart, but after they had split up and she had a lesbian affair with a Haitian professor at her college. She’s been married now for 10 years and is basically ignored by her husband during the whole football season. At a kickoff party that she and her husband have, a lesbian co-worker of her husband seduces her. She realizes how much she’s missed being with women and this woman turns her on totally.

This is a typical neglected housewife story, which kind of made it OK for me that she has sex with this other woman. What I didn’t like is how aggressive the lesbian is. She’s definitely the butch one and comes on very strong and pushy with the housewife. But I think in this case lesbians who like the butch/femme dynamics will like this story.

I also didn’t like that the lesbian woman in this case is thinking about making this affair long-term not by breaking up the marriage, but having the affair on the side without the husband’s knowledge. Not my thing that kind of idea really. Still though, the sex in this story is very steamy. (B)

The Last Goodbye Fuck- This is another kind of sad story. Two lesbians are having their last goodbye sex, which is very intense and lasts for hours. This is because one works on a fishing boat and goes out to sea for months at a time. What I liked about this story is that the women are so different. The butch one is big, fleshy and hairy, while the other one is tiny and thin. They both really love each other and really only have each other as both families have cut them off for being lesbians. The little details are what made this story for me. They are poor and make do with so little and it had a good feeling for me in that, like two people working against the odds. The sex is amazing in this story, but then ending really sucks. I guess that’s what you get when it’s not romance but erotica. (B+)

As a book of lesbian erotica, I think this collection is well done and offers a lot. But what I really enjoyed is that it’s also got many different kinds of sexual scenarios, something for everyone and especially something for those of us who like to read stories that are more interesting for the bi curious reader.

Sex rating: Orgasmic- f/f, ménage, strap-ons, anal,

Grade: B+

Review- First-Timers: True Stories of Lesbian Awakening

First-Timers: True Stories of Lesbian Awakening
Edited by Rachel Kramer Bussel
June 2006Lesbian erotica
Anthology

Buy it Amazon, B&N, Borders

Oh, that delicious, unforgettable first time. These lusty, passionate, exciting stories recount all kinds of sexy, sweaty firsts between women: first-time strap-ons, spankings, and role-playing, first loves and first affairs. This collection gathers the best true stories inspired by the most memorable firsts. They are 100 percent real and 110 percent hot!

I found this book quite by accident looking for another book in erotica on Amazon and was very attracted by the title. While it does have a few first time girl/girl experience stories as I hoped, it’s so much more than that. First-Timers is about a wide range of first time experiences within the lesbian sexual world and I found many of them to be very hot and juicy and some of them even poignant.

This is my second foray into reading lesbian erotica and like the first, Lipstick On Her Collar, I really enjoyed this one. Since reading LOHC and other erotica, I’ve become quite familiar with a few of the authors of stories in this book, some of whom are well known in the genre, and it was a good chance to taste more of their work.

First-Timers is a nice eclectic mix of stories with a variety of different writing styles and POV, which kept things interesting. The stories all having a basis in real experiences made some of them all the more titillating because of that.

While I really enjoyed and prefered those stories about first time with a girl experiences, other stories were very appealing as well. There were several stories of long distance phone or online affairs with some meeting for the first time IRL, which included all the fears and self doubt that comes with that. Something I know about. Then there were a few stories about first time trying strap-ons, fisting, spanking, light BDSM, threesomes, sex party/convention hook-ups and sex with a carrot. There’s just about something for everyone.

Particularly eye opening for me were the stories of sex parties and conventions, fisting, and spanking, which I read more with curious interest than turn-on, but which I found somewhat stimulating none the less.

And some had some very real elements in them like childhood sexual abuse, which really brought home how real some stories were and how these written experiences had a strong affect on some of the characters/ writers' lives.

While many stories really hit something very personal in me, what struck me the most about reading this book and lesbian erotica in general, is that in so many stories the characters feel kissing and cuddling to be a far more intimate experience than the actual sex itself. It’s a sentiment that I don’t pick up in het erotica, or even het romance but which I really respond to as a woman and enjoy in reading lesbian romance or erotica.

There are 31 stories in First-Timers, but these are just a few of the stories that really stood out for me:

Laren Lebran- As an author she really stood out for me. I just loved both of her stories, but more so, her prose. Absolutely beautiful. I Googled her and this is the only book she has stories in that I could find. But apparently, according to the short bio at the end of the book, she’s a well-known romance/ erotica author under an alias. Laren, if you ever read this, I would love to read your other stories. May I know your other work? I want to read more!

First Sight- a very beautiful story of a first girl with girl experience. So soft and sweet. And written with such an aesthetically and wistfully nostalgic feeling. College roommates find themselves attracted to each other.

Snow Dancing- A neighbor comes over to help shovel snow and offers herself as well. Very erotic and sweet.

What’s a Little Fisting Between Friends by Audacia Ray- Two best friends who’ve been sharing their sexual history, desires, needs, exploits for years but have never been into each other romantically, get together and do things they’ve always wanted to try.

I liked this because I think it must be nice to have sex with a friend to try things without having all the love drama and fears of rejection in the mix.

My Modern History by Devon Black—This a really sexually provocative first time experience story. A young college girl is enthralled with a much older professor who gives the student her wish and seduces her.

I loved how this is written. There was much innocence in it as the younger girl has her first experience. And I’m kind of turned on by the older experienced person giving a less experienced person a sweet time.

Radclyffe— had two really yummy stories in this book.

Runway Blues--A very hot story of a chance meeting/ one night stand. Two women stranded by bad weather end up sharing a ride and hotel room and have an intimate moment. One cuddles the other while the other masturbates. Totally hot!

Meeting FTF-- Two women who have met online meet for the first time in person. Oh this was a very delicious story. Very sexually hot as well as having all the vulnerabilities one feels in meeting someone one has strong feelings for for the first time.

Questioning Youth by Gina de Vries—This story stood out for me because it was so raw and real. That’s all I can say. It really touched me but not on a wow that was so hot, but on a wow that was just so personal and real.

Learning at Her Knee by Sacchi Green—This story really stayed with me because of the exploratory nature of it. A woman who’s been hanging out at sex parties more as a voyeur than participant wants to learn how to really spank someone with all the little nuances involved in that.

I really liked how almost matter of fact it’s written so someone like me, who doesn’t get the whole turn-on of spanking could really get inside the head and feelings of both the spankee and spanker. I could understand from this story how much trust is involved and how it could be a real turn-on.

Don’t Call Me Ma’am by Gun Brooke--- A boss seduces an employee who’s had the hots for her. Damn, but this was a really juicy, need a cold shower after, story.

Picture This by Kristina Wright—A young 19 year old has a unplanned experience with a woman who services machines at her film processing job.

I really liked this because it was very yummy first time girl/ girl experience.

As with Lipstick On Her Collar, there are short bios of each author, which I think is a nice touch.

Sex rating: Orgasmic. Lesbian f/f, spanking, minor anal, fisting, light BDSM, strap-on, toys, and a carrot.

Grade: A-