Change of Pace: Erotic Interludes

Rating:
Summary: Hot Hot Hot - and beautifully written, too
Review: Radclyffe, the best-selling lesbian romance novelist, has now gifted us with the first (of many, we hope) all-Radclyffe erotica collection. And each of the more than two dozen erotic shorts in this collection takes the old cliche "good things come in small packages" to a new, searingly sexy level.

I have a love/hate relationship with erotica collections. On the one hand, I have always been a fan of short story anthologies: I love anticipating lots of new characters, a variety of voices, a broad range of images. Like a tasting menu, a collection of shorts has the potential to present many wonderful experiences for the price of one. Unfortunately, more often than not *erotica* anthologies fail to meet my expectations. When I read erotica, I want it to blow in my ear. I want to feel the touch of hands and teeth and tongue. I want to forget that I'm reading and to be reminded that the brain really is a sexual organ. But with most erotic anthologies, I'm lucky if more than a few of the stories have that effect on me. Sure, often the stories are good; they just don't...do anything for me.

The stories in this collection are exactly what they are advertised to be: erotic interludes. As Radclyffe's fans have come to expect, each one is beautifully written, creating a sexy, sensual envelope for the reader. You'll meet different characters, different voices, different scenes, different toys. I dare you to read more than one story at a sitting.

But probably what I like most about these stories is that the point of view is constantly a positive one. When I read erotica, I sometimes get the sense that the writer thinks she's being "naughty" or "dirty" -- that there's something salacious about what she's saying, that it's something only bad girls do. I find that a huge turnoff. But Radclyffe's stories are free from any subtextual disapproval -- these are stories about women who love women's bodies, and who love bringing other women pleasure, written by an author who has (literally) elevated the description of that pursuit to an art form.

The perfect gift for yourself, for your lover, or for someone you'd like to send just the right message. Indeed, the perfect read for anyone who wants to test the limits of her own erotic desires. This is the best, from the best.