Often, erotica anthologies can read like bad fan fiction:
choppy, repetitive, and, basically, boring. However, Rachel
Kramer Bussel's collection is an excellent change to this
stereotype. WOMEN IN LUST takes a look at different aspects
of
lust or different ways women approach lust. Some are first-
person points of view, others are third, and still others
use
multiple points of view to present their messages. Each tale
is a snippet into a life or lives and each presents a
titillating vision into perceptions of lust, so everyone can
find something that will appeal.
Lust is intense, overpowering. While in real life we may not
always act every time lust calls to us, in fiction, we can
abandon the safety of propriety and seek out lust and sex
wherever we find them.
The characters in Women in Lust may vary in the objects of
their lust, and how they go about acting on it, but what
connects them is that pure impulse for a lover. Sometimes he
is someone she knows well, is married to or dating; in other
stories, he is a stranger, and is sexy precisely because he
represents the unknown. Women also lust after other women
here, such as in Kayar Silkenvoice’s Japanese happy ending
massage story, “Cherry Blossom,” and while we only hear one
side of the story, I’d like to think the working woman is
doing more than just her job. In addition to the culture
clash, there’s the joy of throwing caution to the wind while
on vacation, using travel to broaden one’s sexual horizons.
Whether watching a lover playing guitar, using a webcam,
going out for a smoke or simply a chance encounter, these
women seize the opportunities presented to them, and savor
the lovers who teach them about themselves, helping open
them up to new sensual possibilities. Sometimes that means
looking at the man they live with in a new light, and other
times that means something much naughtier. Either way, their
lust is a valued part of their lives, not a pesky
afterthought or to-do list item on “date night.”
The objects of their lust are not always the “right” person.
In “Rain,” a woman falls for her best friend’s boyfriend,
one of the ultimate dating taboos, but she goes for it.
Sometimes the desire itself, the way it can be used to tease
and taunt, such as in Charlotte Stein’s “Guess,” is
maddening, but we embrace our lusts even when they are
maddening, even when they make us do things we might
otherwise consider reckless.
For every woman here who can locate her lust on the map of
her body, who zeros in on her target and goes for it, there
is another who is opened up to her lust by a lover, whether
it’s Jen Cross’s narrator pondering what it is, exactly, her
orally gifted lover gets out of being between her legs. The
first words of Shanna Germain’s powerfully kinky “Beneath My
Skin” are “I’m afraid,” to which Kade responds, “You should
be.” Fear can be a powerful motivator and, crossed with
lust, can lead to explosive results.
Whether discovering the joy of a younger man, not to mention
some delicious pudding, in “Comfort Food” by Donna George
Storey, or taking sex and bondage into the great outdoors in
“Something to Ruin” by Amelia Thornton, these women indulge
in new ways of getting off and pushing the limits of their
lust. Thornton writes: “Despite my longing, there was still
part of me that wanted to protest, to tell him to cut me
loose, to run wildly through the forest back to the safety
of our picnic blanket, but to me that is the beauty of rope.
To desire escape but to willingly be imprisoned, to feel the
pressure of something that prevents my movement, yet to know
there is no place that I feel safer than when trapped like
this.” She captures the excitement of giving in to a
dominant lover, even when there is a small part of the
narrator that is unsure, uncertain, for that is precisely
the part that fuels her desire. This story captures the true
power that lies in submission, and the many joys it can
bring. In “Her, Him and Them” by Aimee Pearl, the narrator
submits to various lovers who question her and push her not
only to be the best sub she can be, but to figure out why,
exactly, she likes the thrill of submission and service.
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