Girls On Top - erotic book by Cleis Press Inc. - review by Splendwhore

Girls On Top is an erotic fiction edited by Violet Blue and published by Cleis Press. There are 19 unique different stories contained within this 215 page book. The shortest story was 4 pages in length, the longest stories up to 17 pages. On average, most stories were around 11 pages long. I appreciated the stories to pages ratio, as it allotted enough time for scenarios and characters to properly develop. Another thing I liked was that since there was time for development of plot and character, these stories often went deeper than your average wham, bam, thank-you ma'am erotica. You get the chance to scope out your surroundings before just being plunged balls deep in some nameless, faceless, fictional stranger you don't know and couldn't care about. Make no mistake, all of these stories were firmly rooted or pertaining to sex. However, they're also about emotion, build, suspense, longing, and completion. The narrations are realistic and (mostly) believable. I'd consider the bulk of these stories possible, but unlikely. They border just shy of reality, yet not quite tiptoeing in wonder land. But that's part of what makes them so enticing!

The cover of this anthology features a gorgeous black & white photograph depicting an ecstatic woman saddling a man. The image is somewhat blurred around the edges rather than crystal clear, which actually makes the pose more alluring. I believe the cover illustrates the title of the book well, but may in fact be a little misleading pertaining to the content. When I first picked up this book, I was under the false impression that it would be entirely about women topping men (either Dom style, or merely riding cowboy, so to speak). I was, in fact, incorrect, as I happily discovered after reading Violet Blue's introduction.

The theme of this book is women getting what they want. It focuses mainly on sexual power, and owning up to your desires. A lot of the stories touch on what are often considered 'taboo' behaviors. For the relatively small amount of stories contained within this book, they cover a surprisingly large range of topics. Among these are domination, submission, anal play, threesomes, cross-dressing, religion, lesbianism, cyber sex, phone sex, voyeurism, exhibitionism, age, shoe fetishes, & polygamy. I was extremely pleased with the diversity of the tales, and the fact that though some of the stories have a similar focus, they remained imaginative and distinctive. Of the 19 stories in this book, I really enjoyed 18 of them, and absolutely LOVED 7. The only story I disliked was "The Rat-Catcher" by Layla Briar. It involved sex with a 70 year old man, and was seriously a huge turn off. My favorites were "The Hostage", "Central Registry", "High-Speed Wireless", "Metamorphosis", "New York Peepshow", "The Morning Trade", and "The Woman in His Room".

"The Hostage" by B.J. Franklin is the first and, in my opinion, most creative story in the entire book. It recounts the tale of a female security guard at a prominent bank which has been tagged as the next mark in a chain of heists. The day they suspect being hit, she arrives at work to discover her coworkers entangled in torrid affairs with one another. Immune to the plot of the robbers, she finds herself taken hostage. With nothing left to lose, she uses her 'skills' and cunning to try and save the bank, stop the robbers, and get some in the process.

My favorite story would have to be "Central Registry", by Remittance Girl. A blue-haired, eyebrow pierced, eyeliner wearing, joint-rolling girl is confronted by two Holy Rollers at 9AM on a Saturday while she's suffering from a hangover. Through sheer existence they manage to get on her bad side, and she chases them off before secretly vowing and fantasizing about exacting revenge. The next time they return, she's sugar and spice and everything nice, asking to be saved and stringing them along to get what she wants. It's a story about Jehovah's Witnesses, sex, sin, and general nummyness. The plot was fantastic, and the writing was phenomenal! I loved the main character's voice and attitude, and the amusing play on words present throughout these 12 awesome pages!

"Metamorphosis" by Anastasia Mavromatis is what I'd consider the most realistic story in the book. It's very much rooted in the everyday mundane. There's an absent, uninterested husband, an annoying, prying mother, and the trademark repressed wife. The main character is neglected, curious, and wanting. It was a really great, believable story about real life and first times.

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In closing, this is an inventive and extremely worthwhile collection. None of the stories left me wanting, sexually or plot-wise, and many of them kept me guessing until the very end. I loved that the stories weren't as predictable as most erotica you read these days. Interesting and fun! This is one book I know I'll be rereading again and again. Girls On Top: where unique, arousing, satisfying stories await you.

Girls On Top is still one of the best erotica books I own. I've picked it up again a few times since my initial review, and always keep coming back to it. There are a few stories I honestly wouldn't bother reading again, but there are also quite a few extraordinary ones as well. It's one of those books that I can never really get tired of. I'm very pleased to have this one in my collection.