Please, Ma'am - erotic book by Cleis Press Inc. - review by Tori Rebel

Please, Ma'am is a book of erotic fiction subtitled and well described as "Erotic Stories of Male Submission," edited by Rachel Kramer Bussel. It is 18 different stories totaling 193 pages, all pretty well varied for revolving around the same theme. The book is paperback with a less than discreet image of a tattooed woman wearing fishnets and a corset holding a riding crop on both the front and back, so if you want to keep this one a secret, cover it up!

While each story still revolves around the idea of men submitting to women, many of them also touch on other topics - cross dressing, exhibitionism, and even group play. They also span the divide between men and couples just being introduced to dominant and submissive roles and those with a long and well practiced history.

Out of all the stories in the book, and all of the writing styles, there really weren't any negatives for me. While there were two stories that didn't appeal to me simply based on personal preference, they are all well written and obviously very carefully selected. The book flows well with no story dragging on too long but a few that I would have loved to see continue further, and I had a very hard time putting this book down at all.

The stories that didn't particularly thrill me were "Modern Major General" by Craig J. Sorenson and "Pick a Color" by D.L. King. Sorenson's story features an egotistical man that finds himself the employee of a much younger woman and thinks he is deserving of more, and while she attempts to show him otherwise, he is stubborn, arrogant, and disobedient. While the character turned me off and the story didn't interest me so much because of him, just the fact that his personality came across so strongly to stand out in my mind as such should be a testament of how well the story was crafted. Also, in King's "Pick a Color," it is again well written and easy to read but formed around the story of a male foot worshiper who becomes a pedicurist to fulfill his own desires, which just doesn't appeal to me personally. For those that do enjoy that particular fetish, this story should be well received.

Besides the two mentioned above, I honestly enjoyed every story in the book. If I had to narrow it down to just a few favorites, though, they would have to be the following:

"A Maze And Grace," by Elizabeth Coldwell tells the story of Ryan, a male submissive brought to a party thrown by the affluent Lady Grace by his dominant, Helena. Ryan is hidden inside a large maze on Lady Grace's property as a prize for whatever domina at the gathering finds him first. This story is absolutely titillating and a story I would have loved to see unfold and carry on for another hundred pages or so.

"Mr. February" by Madeline Elayne is by far the most endearing and romantic story in the book, which is a nice change in an erotica compilation, especially that in the D/s genre. It tells the story of the All-American guy-next-door husband who discovers his submissive self and though afraid, presents his desires to his loving wife, expecting the worst, but he is pleasantly surprised.

In "Thrift Store Whore," by Sommer Marsden, we meet Gina and Brian and see how Brian submits to her humiliation in the dressing room of a thrift store. This story features not only a foray into cross dressing, but a touch of exhibitionism as their little game is not entirely kept secret.

"Porch Swing" by Dominic Santi takes us again into exhibitionism, this time a couple playing a dice game wherein our male submissive is forced to do as the dice instruct in plain view of not only their brand new neighbors but the pizza girl as well - it may sound a little like cheesy porn with the pizza girl and all, but I promise it's quite interesting and again, a story I would've loved to have seen be longer.

Lastly, "The Unhappy Table" by Lee Ash shows us a man that while unhappy in his role as a table in front of his mistress and her female companion, is steadfast in his submissive position and works hard to please her. I personally enjoy this because the level of obedience portrayed appeals to me greatly.

I would recommend this book to almost anyone. The only people I could see it not appealing to at all are those who are strongly attracted to submissive female characters and dominant men, as this book is simply the opposite of what does it for them. I could see no reason why this book couldn't be enjoyed by couples and singles alike, and in addition might be able to inspire some new ideas for those just wanting to try out and get a small taste of D/s play or relationship styles.

While all of the stories may not appeal to every person, the writing and story lines still make it well worth reading. Just like there were two stories in which I had no personal interest, the same may be true for any reader, but overall the collection is spectacular.

Despite the fact that the book included 2 stories that just weren't my personal style, I loved the book. And as I said before, my only aversions to those stories were strictly based on personal attraction and preference and therefore cannot be held against the book's rating.