Sweet love - erotic book by Cleis Press Inc. - review by Sam (aka Jul!a)

Sweet Love is a collection of 19 erotic stories for couples edited together by Violet Blue. The more erotica books I read, the more I start to recognize different authors, but there were some on this list that I didn't recognize. Sweet Love features the following authors: Thomas Roche, Janine Ashbless, N.T. Morley, D.L. King, Andrea Dale, Kristina Wright, Emilie Paris, Kat Black, Kay Jaybee, Allison Wonderland, Felix D'Angelo, Jan Darby, Jude Mason, Teresa Noelle Roberts, Amanda Fox, Vanessa Vaughn, Alison Tyler, Dylan Reed, and Zach Addams.

There's a few pages in the back that give a quick bio on the authors, as well as list their website if they have any. I haven't noticed this before in any of my other books, but I wasn't looking for it either. Violet Blue has about half a page dedicated to being her bio right after the authors.

Pretty much all of the stories are geared towards those who enjoy reading heterosexual stories. There's also a bit of a BDSM theme to many of them. Each story does encompass something different and unique from all the rest of the stories in the book, from strap-on sex, to switching dominant/submissive roles, threesomes, and other sexiness.

Storming the Castle features a couple who are a perfect match on almost every level, but their sex life lately has been lacking. While on an archaeological dig, Cassidy fantasizes about what her sex life with Joe could be, and it comes to fruition while he finds her saying goodbye to the dig site she fears they cannot save. Once afraid of having sex in public, she lets go of her fears, and more than just their sex life is saved.

In A Week and a Whip, we meet a couple who is again, slightly bored with their sex life. He doesn't seem to think there's anything wrong, but she craves wild and lustful sex with him. She goes out on a very bold limb, hoping that kink is his hidden switch, and with just a week, and a whip, she figures out what he's been secretly craving.

Do You See What I feel shows us a couple who like to show off. Erik binds his wife Carla with some lovely shibari, and invites over a blind friend to inspect his work. After dinner, Carla is subject to Ryo's inspection, which he gives by touching, since he can't see. She marvels at how well he seems to know his rope tying, and he praises Erik's work, confirming that "the prettiest rope in the world is useless unless its result is a wet, screaming woman."

All of the stories are written well, and will be able to captivate most audiences with ease.

Basic paperback style, about 8"x5 1/2". It's not the most discreet ever, with the picture on the cover being that of a just out of focus woman in the throes of passion having her neck licked. But that doesn't take up the entire cover, and isn't the worst thing out there as far as explicit pictures go. Not the worst thing that could be left out around the house, but probably not the best for public reading.

I was a little surprised by how many of these stories seemed to have an element of kink to them, then even moreso by the fact that I enjoyed pretty much all of them, considering I'm not usually terribly into stories with any kind of BDSM element. I credit that to the fact that each of the kinkier stories seemed to not just be a repeat of one I had just read. All of the stories were well written, and I only found myself having a hard time following one story, but that was more because I had been reading for a while and was just losing focus all around.

Overall, I do recommend this book to anybody interested in getting it.