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WARNING: THIS BOOK AND REVIEW CONTAIN WORDS AND THEMES OF A SEXUAL NATURE I debated, a LOT, over whether or not I would even publicly post a review of this book. I mean, it's kind of embarrassing to admit to reading erotica. And yet the genre is one of the best selling subjects these days (thanks, in part, I'd guess, due to the anonymity that digital books afford) so why not read it (and, to be very honest, I was equally embarrassed to admit to reading Louis L'Amour westerns the first time I posted one of those reviews). I am not familiar with author Rachel Kramer Bussel so I'll trust Goodreads' quote that she is "one of the biggest names in the literary world of erotica." With nearly 200 works attributed to her name (many as editor) she's certainly got some experience with the genre. Overall I was impressed with the quality of the writing.  I have to admit to going into this expecting some really cheesy writing with the sole goal of getting the reader

From Canada comes this anthology of anonymous sex fiction. The premise is that because we (the general reading public) still have hang-ups about sex, writers tend to write gently around the theme of sex, but if given the opportunity to write about sex and remain anonymous, how much more open, explicit, and erotic would the fiction be? Twenty-four "prominent authors living in Canada" have stories here, centrally themed around sex. (Side note: I didn't recognize any of the names of the authors included here.) As editor Russell Smith notes in the introduction:  Writing sex scenes is notoriously difficult: one walks a tightrope between the crude and the laughable (especially in English, a Germanic language that lends itself to the silly or the ugly). When describing body parts, one must choose between the correct word — which can sound clinical, as if one is reading a medical textbook — and a slang word, which almost always sounds more crass than the rest of the language one’

Decima is an ambitious, sex-crazed TV presenter. She's the host of a talk-show in which she claims that her magical powers (she's a witch), combined with her natural allure make her irresistible to anyone whom she desires.  And she desires everyone. She believes that the charm of her show is knowing that the guest du jour will wind up in bed with Decima - but will it be after the end of the program, or while people are still watching? But Decima has a secret ... she's not really a witch, and this is a secret she must keep or the whole theme of her program goes away. And fortunately, her guests and her crew are all on tight contracts which keeps them bound to her. 'Fortunately' because all the men are naturally attracted to Alice - Decima's beautiful but wallflower of a PA. Alice also has a secret, though.  She really is a witch, fighting a demon, and in love with someone she can never have. Can Decima keep her secret and satisfy her lust with the ever-present li

Sookie's got a new boyfriend and he's a real tiger.  No, really.  He's a tiger.  A were-tiger. If you don't know Sookie Stackhouse by now, the Louisiana bayou waitress who can read the minds of other humans, but can't read the minds of the dead (like her ex-boyfriend, vampire Bill Compton, and her ex-boyfriend, vampire Eric Northman) then there's really no point in picking up this, the sixth book in the Sookie Stackhouse series.  Also ... where the heck have you been?   In this volume in the series, Sookie learns that her cousin Hadley has passed away.  Hadley has left everything to Sookie and she is encouraged, by the Queen of Louisiana ... well, the vampire Queen of Lousiana ... to come and get her inheritance.  Hadley, it seems, was the secret lover of the vampire queen. But why the urgency?  The queen once gave Hadley a gift, a gift that had been given to her by the king, and if she doesn't display that gift soon, all hell will break out at the vampire

O.R.G.Y. WEEK WARNING -- THIS BOOK AND REVIEW CONTAIN SEXUAL THEMES AND CONTENT Steve Victor, agent of O.R.G.Y., is still working for the U.S. government (and other governments who have a vested interest) to infiltrate and eliminate S.M.U.T. But Steve's got a problem - there's a bounty on his head for something he did in Malta. But Steve's never been to Malta - not that he remembers. And now even those he's worked most closely with, believe that he's an imposter, a Russian agent who looks like Steve Victor, while the real man from O.R.G.Y. is putting the screws to S.M.U.T. elsewhere.  But he's the real Steve Victor. Isn't he? Does he have a twin his mother never told him about? Enough people seem to think Steve's the imposter that he's beginning to believe it himself. Has he always been the imposter then? And which one of the Steve Victors will act on behalf of O.R.G.Y. and take down the S.M.U.T. leaders? This is the fifth book in The Man from O.R.G.

O.R.G.Y. WEEK  Steve Victor is the man from O.R.G.Y. (Organization for the Rational Guidance of You) which is really nothing more than a corporate shell for the entire well-being (the provision of food, shelter, clothing, nd a few luxuries) of its sole member - Steve Victor. Steve has used the cover of his O.R.G.Y. to further his own Kinsey-style sex surveys all over the world. Victor and his O.R.G.Y. investigations have caught the attention of some of the world's biggest criminal and criminal-apprehension agencies, and here Steve is approached by Scotland Yard and asked to infiltrate S.M.U.T. (the Society for Moral Uplift Today ["Ours is an age of initials" Steve remarks at one point]). Their goal is to stamp out anything and everything that leads to illicit sex.  This includes sculptures and paintings of nudes, any written work with a double (sexual) meaning to a fine degree (for instance, the famous Shakespeare quote would be changed to "If you nick me do I not b

O.R.G.Y. WEEK  Book Three in The Man From O.R.G.Y. sleaze series! When we last saw 'spy' Steve Victor, he had gotten himself into a bit of a jam, but he gets out of it just in time to take on his next mission.   A wealthy man has died and left his fortune to his favorite Madame.  But that Madame has also died and left the fortune to three of her best girls.  But those girls are no longer working for her and Victor is hired to track them down to let them know that they are the heirs to a small fortune.  All Victor knows about the girls, aside from their names, is their former occupation and the fact that they have a specific tattoo on their buttocks. But Steve Victor is not the only one tracking these women - a pair of villains would like to stop the fortune from being paid out. Steve and the women are all in mortal danger. As with the other two books in the O.R.G.Y. series, I just had some goofball fun with this book and am disappointed that it doesn't get more attention (m

O.R.G.Y. WEEK Steve Victor, the man from O.R.G.Y., is in Latin America and feeling a little trapped.  Trapped in a bathroom with a beautiful woman, Fidel Castro, and a time-bomb.  Trapped in a room making love to a beautiful rebel when a revolution breaks out. Trapped in a brothel basement with four horny hookers and a marvelous supply of champagne. Trapped by the effects of a biological weapon that will put a serious damper on what he does best - make love to beautiful women. Steve Victor may not be the world's greatest spy, but he is the world's greatest sex expert. Even an expert can learn something new, though, so Victor is always willing to jump right in and be a willing student. But right now Steve Victor has a job to do ... find Vicki Winters, the beautiful agent with British Intelligence. Vicki has gone missing after she had been assigned to finding out more information about a super secret weapon - a weapon so dangerous and so powerful, only a woman could cope with the

O.R.G.Y. WEEK I learned about this book (and the subsequent series) while reading another book about spy fiction. It is colloquially referred to as 'sleaze fiction' which I think is a poor moniker as it greatly limits the number of people who might ordinarily read it.  The author, Ted Mark, has more than 20 books published (sixteen alone in the O.R.G.Y. series that I have been able to uncover)  and this series was re-published by a different publisher after Lancer Books went out of business.  Publishers don't typically take many risks when publishing books, especially not re-publishing a series unless they can see a profit in it, so let's not be too quick to discount this book, and this series. Steve Victor is a sex expert.  He's got a degree from a famous university to prove it. And Victor knows that the best way to fund further stud-y is to apply for grants.  But the best grants don't fund individuals, so Steve Victor started his research organization known as

 Whoa ... where did this come from?! 'Discovering' a book like this is one of the joys of reading to review. Marie Madeleine was not likely to be on my radar, but I found her work to be significant. Baroness Gertrud Freifrau von Puttkamer (born Gertrud Günther) was a German writer of lesbian-themed erotica. She published under the name 'Marie Madeleine'. It is interesting that so few of us know anything about her today given that her first book,  Auf Kypros ( On Cyprus ), sold over a million copies in her lifetime. She published nearly thirty books of plays, short stories, poetry, and novels. Those who know me or have read my reviews for awhile now probably know that I do not care for poetry.  Only one book of poetry has ever appealed to me (Galway Kinnell's The Book of Nightmares ) ... until now.  Many of the poems here had a great deal of power and imagery. I particularly liked "Hate"  (... Sex-hate! -- an odd vibration of nerves, Remembrance from ancie

Isobel MacInnes is an archeology student. She's strong-willed and determined and she's a rising star with a bright future in archeology ahead of her when she touches an old box that has been handed down by chieftains for centuries and is transported to 13th century Scotland. Here is alpha male, Iain, clan leader who takes an immediate, protective liking to Isobel.  Isobel's aggressive nature is not unusual in the 21st century but in Iain's time it is quite unusual, but Iain seems to have great respect for a woman who can match his intensity. They are, they realize, soulmates. But in a cruel twist, shortly after recognizing that they are meant to be together, Isobel is whisked away once again, centuries earlier, now in Pictish-era Scotland. Here, Isobel meets Velloc, a Pict chieftain; an alpha male; and her new soulmate. It will take some time, but she will manage to get back (forward in time) to see Iain again, who will help her to understand a few things about that box

Sadie Walker is trying to fit in.  She's a new mother and she's looking for a mother and child group so that she can have conversation with adults. But Sadie isn't your typical sweet mother.  She's been un-invited to some of the groups for eating non-organic foods in group, and maybe swearing now and then.  At yet another group of screaming babies and women talking organic foods, Sadie is about to give up even trying when in walks John, a handsome young dad with his child. Maybe the group wasn't so bad? In addition to being good looking, John is outgoing and adventurous and gets many of the women together to go out for a coffee or treat after class. Since having the baby, the relationship between Sadie and her husband has gone down hill. In John, Sadie finds someone who she can talk to. It doesn't hurt that he's pleasant to look at it. And soon John begins flirting with Sadie. John, it seems, has an open relationship with his wife and has a regular partner a