Recently Susie Bright sent me a copy of The Best American Erotica 2007 to review. While the BAE series has been published for a number of years I have never read one before this.

It certainly is an interesting mix. Some of the stories were sexy, some interesting, some thought provoking and a couple creeped me out. If you want to read a variety of erotica stories then this book is definitely for you. On the other hand if you only want a certain type of erotica then this book will be too varied for your tastes.

My favorite among the bunch? It was the last piece, Wish Girls by Matthew Addison about a man whose sexual wish has unexpected consequences. Everything about this one was enjoyable-the premise was especially clever. Until I read Wish Girls my favorite of the book had been What Happened to That Girl by Marie Lynn Bernard about two men who discover the girl they grew up with is now working in the adult industry. Excellently written, I knew it was going to be one of my favorites as soon as I started reading it.

I also enjoyed Dangerous Games with Competent People by Kim Wright. The premise is an interesting one-a woman visits her lover’s prostitute. Interestingly she wrote it in second person and it really works well. Blue Star by Sera Gamble was another good piece. The story drew me in and the erotic build up was natural and flowed very well. Taste by Susan St. Aubin was also enjoyable. I especially liked the use of food/sex analogies.

A standout piece was from The Sluts by Dennis Cooper. I was impressed by his unusual writing style. The story is told as a series of online escort reviews and the uniqueness instantly drew me in.

The two pieces that creeped me out? Dream Machine by Lauraleigh Farrell. I’ve always found sex stories with robotic beings creepy so I knew from the start I would not like this one. The Pancake Circus by Trebor Healey was the other. The very taboo nature of the story is sort of the plot twist so I won’t spoil it for you. In addition to being creeped out I was also annoyed by the sheer stupidity of the main character.

My only other gripe with the book is the story Susie chose to lead with, On The Eighth Day by Vanesa Baggot. I found the tale of gods fucking to create details on Earth to be boring and cliched. But as my husband pointed out most people would consider the subject to be quite blasphemous and therefore hot.

Would I recommend this book? Definitely. Reading this one book can expose you to new erotica authors you may never have heard of before. I certainly was. Another delight is the mashup of sexual tastes. The sex jumps all over the place; one story is lesbian based, another is heterosexual, another is a threesome and so on. I enjoyed the variety and perhaps you will as well.

Posted by Vixen in Reviews