Bottoms Up - erotic book by Cleis Press Inc. - review by Red

Let's just be upfront here - I like spanking. This book, of course, intrinsically appeals to me and lives up to my expectations to boot. Hot? Check. Spanking? Check. Sex? Check. Although I am easily won over when spanking is the topic, this is a great collection of erotica in its own right. The reader is taken from lush scenario to lush scenario—the beauty of spanking stories is the level of description involved in describing the act, and that descriptiveness spills over into the finer details of the stories.

It's amazing how varied stories can be when they center around as universal a 'kink' as spanking. Classic roles such as sorority initiations are explored, of course, but the wide world of spanking includes explorations into deeper levels of kink as well as lighthearted, no-nonsense smacks to set a bad girl straight. It's an elegant blend of stories spattered around the vanilla side of the kink spectrum, celebrating the fact that spanking is spanking regardless of context. Reveling, if you will, in the joy of red bottoms.

The main and glaring drawback to this collection of stories is the lack of actual sex. Although it goes without saying that someone with less than a fleeting interest in spanking may do well to give the book a pass, those intrigued by this book won't be hooked by hot sex descriptions. The hotness is contained in the description of the spanking—sometimes this includes sex, other times, the sex is just an afterthought at the end. The book is plenty erotic, no matter what, but non-spankos are better off giving this a pass.

So what spank-o-riffic delights can one expect form this book? Why a smorgasbord containing scenarios with older family friends, with seductive strangers, with stern headmistresses. There's girl on boy, boy on girl, girl on girl and boy on boy spanking as well as sex in so many combinations. There are stories that really celebrate the joy of being the spanker, as well as others that do the opposite and show off the psyche of the spankee. Anything is possible in this book, and the surprises are plentiful. No story is mundane, no story is ho-hum.

Rachel Kramer Bussel, editor of this book, surely loves spanking as she puts these anthologies that celebrate the joys of spanking in it various forms time and time again. That comes through in the careful story choices—everything is quality. The book itself is a quality oversize paperback and there are twelve stories in total, ranging from brief (two pages) to extended (a dozen pages or so)—as one really expects to see in a good erotic story collection.