Editor: Violet Blue
I truly enjoyed this collection, mostly because it was all about taking chances. There were stories involving gender roles, cross-dressing, gay issues, subcultures and cultures, BDSM, and so much more. Each story found a way to go beyond the rudimentary motions of sex to find a way to say something more about society as well as the individual. There were opportunities to see a character get into something he or she had not experienced before, and it was refreshing to see some doubt, some trial and error; in that way, the characters were much more human than mere manifestations of animal instinct. There were roads to travel, narrow little perilous bridges to cross, relationships at stake. To me, that is more exciting than just reading the "hot" parts and not having more than a sham of a story to drape them.
I liked being able to see these stories play out and have to think about how I would feel or what I would do in the situation if I had the guts, which I usually don't in my mild-mannered reality. Maybe after reading this, I will reconsider some of my boundaries that I keep and how firm they really should be.
What I did not like so much was the story about the robbers. I cannot see her just going for a tryst with the criminals like that. Also, if the cops find her with them like that, she's in trouble as well because she's going to look like an accomplice. A bit of the writing in the rest of the book was a bit flimsy. There were a few typos, including one character being called by another character's name, but overall, the editing was fairly well-done. This was an exciting collection with a bit of something for everyone who wants to see evidence of more exciting sex lives.
Overall rating: 4 of 5 Stars
