Best Bondage Erotica 2012 - book discontinued by Cleis Press Inc. - review by oohlookasquirrel

You can see the front cover as you read this, and the back cover includes the same picture as the front, with some text selling the book and a list of the contributing authors. There are 21 stories, each by a different author. The short foreword, by Midori, gives hints as to how you can use the book "for your kink life," to explore your own interests and find inspiration for things to try with a partner. The editor's introduction gives a short teaser of a handful of the stories, in case you're looking for something specific and you don't have time to skim them all. Short biographies of the contributors and editor are also included. 201 pages of actual erotica are included, with each story being roughly 8-14 pages. I found this to be the perfect length to set up a scene but still leave the reader wanting more and fantasizing about what might happen after the story ends, or the details left out of the story.

I'm a big fan of written erotica collections, and several books edited by Rachel Kramer Bussel can be found in my nightstand. It takes me forever to finish them because I'm normally really turned on by the end of each story, and so I set the book down and pick it up next time I'm in the mood for erotica. If the first story I read isn't really my thing, the second one is sure to do it.

This sort of erotica is great for people who are picky about their erotic literature. There is a seemingly endless supply of free erotica on the internet if you are willing to hunt it down and fish through a lot of poorly written stories to find the one that does it for you. I, for one, can be very distracted by typos or terrible writing, and it really throws off my mood. Often, the search for good erotica online can completely turn me off. When I am in the mood for erotica, I really appreciate being able to reach for a book and spare myself the search for what I'm after. With these erotica collections, the story will definitely be written well and proofread. The only question is whether the subject matter is something that turns you on. Obviously, this will depend on each individual's personal tastes. For me, I rarely get through a story without being turned on. Sometimes the subject matter is not my favorite, but there are usually enough elements of the story that I am into to do the job.

As for the contents of this specific book, I was pleasantly surprised. There are certain elements of BDSM that really do it for me, and others that really turn me off (particularly, an emphasis on pain). Some stories feature spanking, some feature women in charge, some men in charge. There's one "solo" domination session that is absolutely amazing. There are also group scenes. There are guy/girl scenes, girl/girl scenes, and at least one guy/guy scene. (The specifics of each story is getting fuzzy after taking so long to finish it.) If one story doesn't do it for you, no big deal. Flip a few pages and there's a new one. The common element in all these stories, aside from some sort of bondage, was the power play that comes along with it. Fortunately, the power exchange turns me on more than the actual bondage so it was a perfect fit for me. I don't want to spoil individual stories so I will keep the details vague, but I found it very approachable as someone who is really into some bondage and power play but not active in the BDSM "scene," or however you want to put it.

It took me FOREVER to finish this book because I could only read one in any one particular sitting. If you consume erotica like I do, you'll definitely get your money's worth from this one, because you'll get to enjoy a new story 21 times. Of course, you can always revisit your favorites as much as you like. After a few months, I had completely forgotten some of the stories I read at the beginning of the book, so I got to enjoy them fresh a second time.

Still hot. The great thing about anthologies of written erotica is that you can keep in them in your bedside table awhile, and then a lot of the stories are brand new again! Rereading my favorites is often just as much fun as reading them the first time around.