Best Lesbian Erotica 2010
$11.99
from Amazon
It took me forever to finish Best Lesbian Erotica 2010. I am now 100% positive that I can never be 100% satisfied with lesbian erotica. Or full-length erotica, at that. I wish it hadn’t taken two full anthologies to realize that, however.
I would describe this collection much the same way I described last year’s. There’s lesbian sex. Group sex. Oral, anal, penetration. Gender-bending. Roleplaying. Fantasies. BDSM and more. Many of the stories included omitted relationships, or at least that is what I assumed from the way they were written. There were some no-strings-attached encounters, and one story even included a first-time lesbian experience, as in “In the Sauna” by Stella Watts Kelley. For the most part, the characters have established their gender and sexual identities. As a mostly straight chick who doesn’t identify with her anatomy, it can be a little difficult to empathize with the characters or situations. I think that detracts from my enjoyment a bit.
It would definitely balance the collection to have a few more first-time or novice-type stories. I could better relate to those, and that would allow me to get lost in the story. As it is, I really had to force myself to finish this book, especially because some of the pieces were ridiculously long and included multiple parts. I was discussing this book with someone else, and it struck me that others may not read erotica to get off, but I do. Thus, the erotica that I find most effective keeps moving, has more overt sex than covert and isn’t so long that it works against my orgasm. Shorter stories also work better to get me in the mood sooner.
Although I’ve started this fairly negatively, it’s not a horrible collection. The stories are unique, well written and well edited. There’s a lot of creativity. I personally had not heard of any of the authors but, like any anthology, you can find additional information about them at the back of the book.
There were a couple of memorable stories, too. Holly Farris wrote a piece entitled “Lives of the Saints” in which two amorous saints visit a woman who experiences doubts about her relationship. Additionally, I was entertained by Kelsy Chauvin’s “Sexting: One Side of a Two-Way.” In this story, we see a number of sexual texts from one woman to another with whom she had an encounter. The timeline stretches over a two-week period, during which the women chat back and forth and have several more encounters. The format is extremely unique and easy to read. I also especially enjoyed “Shameless” by Kimberly Reed and Anais Morten. This two-part piece follows a lesbian couple as they perform in front of a pair of strangers who are men. Each character gets the chance to tell her side of the story as she performs for her lover.
Some stories were simply not my style because they weren’t direct enough or were perhaps too creative for me. I have no idea what actually happened in “Uppercasing” by Charlie Anders. I guess I need my sex and erotica to be a little more straight forward.
Some folks might think that this series may be suffering from a new editor or the fact that a bunch of musicians (Sorry, I’ve never heard of BETTY) chose the stories. Maybe it’s related, but I didn’t love last year’s edition, either. I know that erotica is subjective. You win some, you lose some sort of thing but I also know that really intriguing erotica stays with me permanently. I can name a handful of stories from other collections, including Five Minute Erotica, that have really stuck with me over the past year to eighteen months. I just don’t think this will cut it.
I’m still interested in erotica but I am going to focus on unique situational erotica and shorter stories from this point on.
Just on a random note, I don’t read erotica to get off – I just read it for some good stories. You did a great review though. I have Best Lesbian Erotica 2008 right now, but I haven’t actually opened it up yet. I did notice that it’s longer than most of my other erotica books though.
I meant to say that when discussing it, I realized others don’t necessarily read erotica to get off.. which is kind of surprising because, then, I mean.. what’s the point? d= I’m not much of a short story fan, however.