9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
There were some good stories started, but they needed more development. More frustrating than entertaining., December 13, 2011
This review is from: Agony/Ecstasy: Original Stories of Agonizing Pleasure/Exquisite Pain (Paperback)
I rarely buy anthologies because most are not as satisfying as full size novels. I took a chance on this one. Sadly I was disappointed. There are 21 stories by 20 different authors. Each story is about 20 pages long. Because they were so short, something was missing from all of them. The least satisfying were those with unfinished endings, not knowing what would happen with the couples. Some had potential but I wanted more background, character development, or relationship development. The genre is probably erotica, but some stories have the feel of erotic romance. There is at least one intense sex scene per story. A majority of the stories have pain with sex. Most of the sex scenes are one man and one woman, but one story has two women, two stories have two men. Expect rear door activity and sex toys. Most of the stories are contemporary, but others include historical, futuristic, paranormal, fantasy, and sci-fi.
11 Agony Stories:
These had a pain theme. This meant one of the characters was being physically hurt, whipped, pinched, bit, cut. The characters enjoyed feeling pain, but it didn't do anything for me. I couldn't identify with them, and there wasn't enough else to draw me in. I have liked a number of BDSM stories, so it wasn't that. It was just this didn't work for me.
The best of the Agony stories was Wicked Wedding Night by Margaret Rowe. It was similar to the Kate Pearce books about a guy who was tortured in prison and now must cause pain to his female partner in order to have sex. It had a happy ending which I liked. But the pain to his partner didn't do anything for me.
Caged by JK Coi had potential. A werewolf was imprisoned. The hanging, unfinished ending was the problem. I wanted a lot more on this.
10 Ecstasy Stories:
I was surprised that some of these also had pain. A few of these could have been good. But because they were so short, things were missing. My favorites were the following.
Into the Red by Cameron Belle. Very intriguing about two men. Tom is a gladiator type warrior who fights in a televised arena. Brendan is a doctor who examines Tom.
On My Skin by DL Galace. Girl is depressed and down on her luck. She gets a tattoo. Good. Had potential, but I wanted more background about her, and more about him as well. The ending was too abrupt.
Rescue Me by Meljean Brook. Bad guy Shaw kidnapped and tied up girl. I wanted to know what happened to Shaw. This was good, but too many unanswered questions.
Just Say Yes by Helenkay Dimon. Female boss and male assistant have hot sex. It has potential.
OTHER ANTHOLOGIES:
It's possible to have entertaining short stories with happy endings. There were five short stories in "Sauce for the Goose" which I thought were very good to excellent. So it can be done. But it wasn't done here. The average number of pages in SFTG was 12 pages per story.
DATA:
Story length: 426 pages. Swearing language: strong, including religious swear words. Sexual language: strong/erotic. Number of sex scenes: each story has at least one. Settings: various times and places. Copyright: 2011. Genre: erotica.
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6 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Good Didn't Outweigh Bad, December 25, 2011
Really enjoyed 4 of the stories (Ann Calhoun, Del Dryden, Meljean Brooks and Cristine D'Abo), but the rest left me in various stages of "meh" (or worse). Poorly developed stories just did me in. I like reading dear author but it's a pretty big mystery to me why they hired a blogger to edit...it was pretty clear she wasn't hired for any actual editing skill. I don't want marketing gimmicks, just good stories. If i'd paid 5 bucks, I wouldn't feel so cheated on this book.
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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Flip sides of a coin?, January 29, 2012
This review is from: Agony/Ecstasy: Original Stories of Agonizing Pleasure/Exquisite Pain (Paperback)
"Agony/Ecstasy" is an anthology edited by Jane Litte that has the subtitles of "11 stories of agonizing pleasure" and "10 stories of exquisite pain". The reverse positioning of the stories in the book reflects the mirror nature of the two emotions and the short stories therein run the gamut from a couple taking their relationship to the next level to an established relationship undergoing a one-eighty shift of role reversal with the punisher becoming the punished, all linked with their descriptions of the ecstasy conferred with a thorough spanking or other infliction of pain as an arousal aid. An erotic twist on the tale of the Nutcracker, a bachelorette party that explores boundaries that the bride-to-be hesitated to approach with her fiance, a darkly erotic version of the Little Mermaid story, a woman determined to convert the pain she has experienced into a reaffirmation of her life, a tattoo's endorphins changing emotional pain into a freeing experience, an executive who fails to relieve his stress in the boxing ring and more. The stories include both straight and gay relationships and are written by such talented authors as Meljean Brooks, Christine D'Abo, Jessica Clare (aka Jill Myles) and HelenKay Dimon with their usual style and flair and includes the talents of widely published erotica authors as well as those who are relatively new to the scene.
A darkly sensual collection of tales that explore the erotic spice conferred by pain. The fine line between punishment and reward is blurred as participants test their boundaries and the freeing nature of allowing someone else to dictate their pleasure. The editor has done a masterful job of choosing 21 spicy tales sure to torture the senses and arouse a delightful frisson of imagination for both those who are curious and those who are well-experienced at the juxtaposition of desire and pain.
© Night Owl Reviews
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