Bound By Lust: Romantic Stories of Submission and Sensuality, edited by Shanna Germain

(pb; 2012: BDSM/erotica anthology. "Introduction" by Alison Tyler.)


Overall review:

Bound By Lust is a laudable, theme- and tone-varied anthology. Germain has brought together interesting, solid, and, in some cases, wonderful works.

A few stories didn't grab me, but that's because I generally dislike works written in the present tense - my preference for third-person omniscient POVs*, however, didn't prevent me from appreciating the craft of the authors who penned those present tense stories.

Worth owning, this.

[*points of view]



Standout stories:

1.) "Reclaiming Spring" - Sommer Marsden: A couple work through painful memories by having sex. Strong emotional content to this one.


2.) "Being His B*tch" - Janine Ashbless: A role play/"Pet Show" get a woman and her steampunk-loving companion all het up. Fun, lots-of-pizzaz work.


3.) "The Heart of Chaos" - Rachel Kramer Bussel: A couple's BDSM and performance art = emotional/personal boundaries breached. Interesting, different.


4.) "Brushstrokes" - Kristina Wright: Well-written piece about a couple with communication issues who confuse sex with love.


5.) "No Sleep" - Kristina Lloyd: Sex/BDSM buddies take their first steps towards limited coupledom. Solid work.


6.) "Crossing the Line" - Dominic Santi: A cross-dresser marries his dream girl. Solid work.


7.) "A Few Things to Pick Up on Your Way Home" - Andrea Dale: Fun, chatty tale about a couple's sex toy shopping.


8.) "Marcelle" - Alana Noël Voth: This is one of the best erotica stories I've ever read (and I've read - written - a lot).

"Marcelle" pushes boundaries, and may squick some generic sex-loving readers out, but its blend of emotion, personal darkness and light, punk/edgeplay sensibilities and John Water-esque sense of humor takes this work to a level rarely seen in this genre.

Fearless, gripping and inventive story.


9.) "Whippoorwill" - Teresa Noelle Roberts: Fun nature/spank work.


10.) "Eine Klein Spanking" - Clarice Clique: A promiscuous woman adjusts to her relationship with an inexperienced lover. Excellent, complex, raw (in a non-sexual way).



Other stories:

"Steps" - Evan Mora; "Defining the Terms" - Sharazade; "A Preference for Deference" - Alison Wonderland; "A Beautiful Corpse" - Craig Sorensen; "Slave Sister" - Vida Bailey; "Spring Training" - Donna George Storey; "Under the Clock" - Justine Elyot; "Life Lines" - Nikki Magennis