Publication Date: April 26, 2011
Paperback: 416 pages (currently not available for Kindle)On Amazon; Original edition (April 19, 2011)
Ick factor: Contains all the words that normally feel icky but for some reason do not bother me in this anthology.
Cliche: Some of the stories have twists you won't believe!
Heat Scale: Scotch Bonnet - wear-gloves-and-don't-touch-your-eyes type heat!
Book Blurb (NetGalley.com)
In this sizzling new treasury, erotica maestro Alison Tyler has assembled over two dozen titillating tales of couples taking each other to new heights of happily bedded bliss.
Imagination and experimentation are the watchwords as sexy spouses live out fantasies both intimate and elaborate: naughty new settings, new toys…even new partners. There are virgin brides, wicked wedding nights, impetuous swingers and some kinky couplings that give “tying the knot” a whole new meaning!
Seductively spun by such genre luminaries as Kate Pearce, Kristina Wright, Cheyenne Blue, Portia Da Costa, Rachel Kramer Bussel and Janine Ashbless—plus a teasing little tale from the editor herself—these stories prove that the honeymoon is just the beginning!
Author bio:
One of the pioneers of the current erotic romance genre, Alison Tyler has authored more than twenty-fi ve novels, recently compiled and edited her fiftieth erotic short story collection, and her own stories have appeared in over one hundred anthologies. She is loyal to coffee (black), lipstick (red) and tequila (straight). She has tattoos, but no piercings; a wicked tongue, but a quick smile; and bittersweet memories, but no regrets. Alison lives with her husband in California and is currently working on her next anthology for Spice Books.
One thing I admire in the anthology are two pieces of gay erotica around this topic. While everyone fantasizes about weddings and marriage, it is only recently that homosexuals have had any ability to realize that dream. I hope this trend towards equal civil rights continues so that eventually a mention in an anthology won't be called for because no one will think any differently of love between persons of any gender.
Alison is really good at putting stories together that at once seem like a thread, but also feel like the individual stories they are. Honestly, I will take any excuse to read her anthologies, and I even had my husband read a few of these stories. Couples, menages, an ex-lover crawling through your window, BDSM—there's enough variety for any reader! And, if it is heat you seek, Alison will provide the pilot light and the fuel— but you need to bring the stove. I enjoyed most stories here are a few standouts: Janine Ashbless' Foresaking All Others struck a nerve, it is just so, and I mean this in the best way, perverse. Jax Baynard's I Married a Gigolo was filled with twists and new ideas. It was one I had my husband read. ADR Forte's RItes of Passage was unusual and provocative. I didn't really enjoy Cheyenne Blue's Mother of the Bride, mostly because I am "of an age." It was well written but a bit too Neil Simon-esque for me.
Am I off genre? Most likely I am, and I don't care. Once in a while, we all need fantasies that don't involve the future, parallel universes, elves, fae, witches, shifters or vampires. Sometimes our fantasies involve nothing more than white lace, silk pumps. frosting and the person(s) we love.
Great shower present; awesome shower present! Good for the first anniversary, which is paper after all.
