Red Hot Erotica - book discontinued by Cleis Press Inc. - review by imp

Red hot heat in your pants whilst flicking through the pages or a hint of heat that rises and falls? The latter seems to be more indicative of this collection of 19 short stories, each consisting of about 7 - 10 pages on average of erotic scenarios that have been handpicked by editor & established erotica writer, Alison Tyler, better known as the "trollop with a laptop".

Red Hot Erotica sports 179 pages of deviancy in a glossy covered paperback book, the cover not something you would want to leave lying on the coffee table as it sports a steamy naked bodied sex scene on the front and back. All the less, it does however contain a few gems in amongst the more blander stories that I did enjoy immensely. It is a wide mixture of stories aimed at the heterosexual reader, with the odd kinky escapades to a hot lesbian encounter, homosexual encounters and a bisexual experience and good old vanilla sex as well. The books main theme is about heat, bodily and the scene that the stories are set in. It's about the thirsts of desire and heady sensuality.

I read a lot of erotica, an immense amount and these days I am hard to please. The story has to draw me in from the first sentence and keep me simmering under the surface. Even better if it builds a need to sate myself or cause me to put the book down to attend to urgent needs of my own. Three stories did just that and they were enough for me to like the book based on these alone.

It's Just Not Cricket by Saskia Walker. Wow. Croquet, a hot self assured male and a feisty woman leave for a hot scene on a lawn in the summer heat, a little dominance and cockiness made me grin with delight.

Cruising by Rachel Kramer Bussel. This is one of favorite writers and again I was not let down with this tantalizing lesbian encounter set on a cruise ship. normally these stories don't do anything for me but this was so well written it was scorching.

Hades East written by Marie Sudac is a steamy, erotic tale of a dark underground club and a woman who explores a side of herself in a BDSM context that I could almost put myself into. If you are interested or enjoy objectification and dominance and submission this story will definitely sate a craving.

Other handpicked authors in the book include Marilyn Jaya Lewis, N. T. Morley, Shanna Germain, Glenda Woodams, Rakelle Valencia, Dominic Santi, Naomi Sussman, Bill Noble, Thomas S. Roche, Somine Harlow, Michel Hemmingson, Bryn Haniver, Erica Dumas, Emilie Paris, Tsaurah Litzky, and Alison Tyler herself.

The book as a whole has some absolutely brilliant stories although others were not so exciting and I put the book down a few times and had to pick it up again when I was in the mood. It does however have the fantastic option of being able to flip open the book to any story and be able to read what you want at the time. This is one bonus of having an anthology of stories to pick and choose from for whatever strikes the mood.

It's not as good as some of the other anthologies available but it's a great starting point for those curious about erotica and the wide selection should cater for just about anyone.