Steamlust - erotic fiction by Cleis Press - reviews

Steamlust is very much like the old school victorian erotica that you can still find. The worlds are very rich, but the sex isn't my thing.

Lover's of erotic steampunk rejoice! Here is another example of how the genre seems to lend itself to the erotic. Honestly? Was there ever any doubt that when you combine Victoriana and machines that sex wouldn't be lurking just around the corner?

I couldn't finish this book. If I read one more story about reunited lovers or unrequited love with a backdrop of steampunk, I was going to scream. I like my erotica just like my sex, rough and kinky. This is neither.

My only regret in Steamlust is that too many of the stories are too similar---all feature strong brilliant heroines whose hearts won't be confined by their corsets. If you don't mind romance with your erotica, exclusively male-female couplings, and a little more focus on the corsets than the cogs, this book will be fascinating. Even for the hardcore cog fans among us, Steamlust holds a lot to love, and there are stories worth reading for anyone who thinks steampunk is steamy.

While reading through the forward my interest was piqued with one short sentence. In the opening of Sparks by Anna Meadows, the heroine starts her story by saying, "I would have been the first to concede how much better things were for me back when I behaved myself." This was enough to ensure that I would read this anthology from cover to cover and not regret a moment of it.

This line right here: "You've got to stop wearing your corset so tight. You'll crack a rib." "Better in pain than unkempt." Must. Read. Now.

You may ask me, "Ryu, why did you count off a star for one story? It can't be THAT bad!" Yes, reader, yes it can. It's not only bad in a "This isn't going to be sexy for almost anyone" kind of way, but it's the kind of bad like ending a romantic comedy with the main character getting gruesomely murdered on screen, and then the credits rolling. A 5 star book without the last few pages, though!

Steamlust is a very good read and I enjoyed each of the stories in it. The main characters were diverse but all of them could be related to. Very descriptive scenes helped to fully immerse myself in the stories.