Tasting Her - erotic fiction by Cleis Press Inc. - review by hybridinsurge

'Tasting Her: Oral Sex Stories' was edited by experienced author and editor Rachel Bussel. Bussel has edited over twenty collections of erotica including 'Tasting Him: Oral Sex Stories,' 'She’s on Top,' 'Yes, Ma’am' and 'Yes, Sir.' Bussel’s work has been published in over one hundred anthologies including 'Best American Erotica 2004,' 'Everything You Know About Sex Is Wrong' and 'Desire: Women Write About Wanting.' Bussel is also a senior editor at 'Penthouse Variations' and was a columnist for the 'Village Voice.'

This collection is comprised of twenty-one short stories each written by different authors, including one short story from editor Rachel Bussel. All of the contributing authors, located mainly in the United States or the United Kingdom, have been published previously.

'Tasting Her' is an erotica anthology of twenty-one short stories that all deal with cunnilingus, or oral sex for the lady parts. The book is 196 pages long, with stories ranging in length from five to eleven pages. The stories vary in writing style and the content is as varied as one might expect considering most of them revolve around the same sex act. There were a handful of typos and one story was in serious need of a crazed editor with a red pen but, overall, the writing was good and errorless. This book is intended for anyone who loves going down on a woman or being on the receiving end of that action, as well as anyone who does not understand the awesomeness of cunnilingus.

Most of the stories in this collection are about heterosexual couples but there are exceptions to this rule. ‘The Goth Chick’ describes one woman going down on another at a swingers’ convention. In ‘Read Her Lips,’ a lesbian gives her male friend a hands-on tutorial in cunnilingus using a bisexual woman as the test subject. It’s sort of a threesome? ‘Down There’ is more about a woman masturbating in front of another woman with a tiny bit of pussy licking. ‘All About the Girls’ describes a bisexual woman’s bathroom hook-up with another woman.

There was a bit of BDSM influence in some of the stories but, for the most part, nothing too extreme. ‘Happy Hours’ is about as extreme as it got with a dominant woman bringing her male slave to a convention and ‘lending’ him to women looking for good oral action. ‘Spill’ is about a couple that are into the BDSM lifestyle but the story itself only explicitly describes a little power play and the threat of punishment. ‘The Goth Chick’ describes a woman with a laced-up pussy. Honestly, it made me a little queasy but I am faint-hearted. In ‘Pause,’ a man ties his lover to a chair with her shirt. ‘The Dominance of the Tongue’ alludes to a couple’s BDSM activities without describing them in detail, aside from the mention of a spanking.

Some other sexual unexpectedness is included in a few stories. The protagonist of ‘Queen of Sheba’ mentions that her father likes watching her shower. That’s just horrifying and gross. ‘Suspension’ mentions female ejaculation. ‘Kiss the Cook’ is about an unfaithful husband shaving off his mistress's pubic hair. ‘Treatment for a Tongue Job’ describes the filming of an amateur pornographic movie. As previously mentioned, ‘The Goth Chick’ deals with swingers. In ‘To the Point,’ a man pleasures his lover while dressed as a vampire, complete with fangs! I found it more hilarious than sexy. In ‘Dropping the Hint,’ a female scientist propositions her husband for oral sex by dripping her vaginal secretions onto his tongue with an eyedropper. I’m sorry but what?

The design and layout of ‘Tasting Her’ is pretty standard for books from Cleis Press. It is a small, flexible paperback with a glossy cover. The front cover image is not discreet at all. A woman is shown in the throes of ecstasy with a man in the background. The title of the book is in very bright lettering. The same image is found on the back cover. The binding seems very secure.

There is a brief introduction describing the thought process behind the book, as well as an ‘About the Authors’ and an ‘About the Editor’ section. The ‘Contents’ section clearly lists the included stories and their respective authors.

I have included some brief summaries of my favorite short stories in the anthology:
In 'Cavanaugh's Ridge,' a woman is too stressed out to relax and enjoy cunnilingus. Her male partner patiently and gently helps her relearn the touch of his tongue and achieve orgasm.

In 'Snatch,' a snooping girlfriend is rewarded by her man when she discovers his secret desire for a shaved pussy. This story has the added bonus of a sexual encounter in an office.

'Teaching Teresa' describes a woman's first time being on the receiving end of oral sex. Her new boyfriend quells her anxiety by assuring her that he enjoys going down on a woman. The story also includes vaginal intercourse.

In 'Suspension,' a male artist and a waitress use their sexual encounters as inspiration for a commissioned painting. This involves the man's first foray into eating pussy. The couple lives happily ever after.

In 'Rain Check,' a reluctant woman agrees to let her boyfriend go down on her in a park.

'Cunnilingus 101' is about an eager male college student's education in cunnilingus. His Economy study buddy proves to be an equally eager teacher.

In 'Hold On, I'm Coming,' a woman is discovered masturbating to Motown music by her husband. Obviously, masturbation is no longer necessary so she is brought to orgasm by her husband's fingers and tongue.

'Pause' details a woman's decision to leave a bad relationship in favor of a steadfast male friend. There is some light bondage and orgasm denial in this story.

In 'The Dominance of the Tongue,' a dominant man 'forces' his submissive female partner to accept his oral attentions. The story wraps up the entire collection with a description of a blow job.

There was one story in this collection I really, really did not like. It was 'Queen of Sheba' by Jen Cross. It was written as though the female protagonist were speaking to someone else about a past lover. Her tone is that of a typical American teenager - annoying. The writing was a mess. There were way too many punctuation marks, which I found distracting. The writer uses a ton of commas in order to get away with run-on sentences. We're talking four lines or more for one sentence on a regular basis. Ugh. Kill me.

I will definitely be keeping 'Tasting Her' on my bedside table and sharing some of the stories with my man. He, like the men described in these stories, really enjoys performing cunnilingus. I have found that I really enjoy being on the receiving end. Like some of the women in this story, I was initially totally freaked out by the thought of someone going down on me. In fact, if my current boyfriend hadn't brought it up, I would not have known that oral sex could be performed on a woman at all!

Anyway, this book is perfect for those who enjoy performing or receiving cunnilingus and perfect for those who are feeling iffy about the whole thing. While the descriptions of oral sex occasionally got monotonous, I would still recommend this book. I was so excited to get this in the mail that I read the whole thing in one sitting. I think the monotony would not have been present if I only read a handful of stories at a time.