Agony/Ecstasy: Original Stories of Agonizing Pleasure/Exquisite Pain [Paperback]

Jane Litte (Editor)

Book Description

Release date: December 6, 2011

All new stories of punishing extremes and unbearable pleasure...

With historical, contemporary, and futuristic backdrops, this outrageously diverse collection of original stories explores every conceivable variation of BDSM erotica-from knitting circles to the Titanic to a retelling of The Little Mermaid. Featuring all-new stories by Meljean Brook, Jean Johnson, Bettie Sharpe, Jill Myles, Margaret Rowe, Sara Thorn, and more, this book has everything a reader could hope for in an erotic romance.

Editorial Reviews

Review

4 Stars from RT Magazine:  A BDSM theme runs throughout, from the playthings found in Eric's basement in Shoshanna Evers' "The Wooden Pony" to the redemption won in the post-Titanic drama "Kiss of Life" by Lily Daniels. There are various timeframes and sexual encounters between all kinds of people, some in unusual situations.

From the Author

I'm Jane Litte, a blogger, reader, and now a collector of stories.  Agony / Ecstasy is an anthology that will be published by Berkley in December 2011. The anthology is a collection of very steamy stories that explore the twin concepts of pain and pleasure.

I hope you contact me to let me know what you think of the collection, good or bad, so that if I ever have the opportunity to put another together, I will have a better idea of what you, the reader, is looking for.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Berkley Trade (December 6, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425243451
• ISBN-13: 978-0425243459
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #244,483 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 17 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Good Didn't Outweigh Bad December 25, 2011

By Happy Reader

Format:Kindle Edition

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.

11 of 14 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

By Jane TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

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. Read more ›

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Submerged into a world of sensation... February 1, 2012

By Coffee Time Romance

Format:Kindle Edition

Each one of these authors pulls you into their characters lives, and holds you captive through every kiss and caress. The link between pleasure and pain is a common theme throughout these stories, but each has its own unique voice. With the kiss of a whip and a scream of passion you are submerged into this world of sensation that I promise you will love as much as I do. There is now a whole new list of authors I want to follow, and I cannot wait to begin.

Read the full review here:
[...]

Lototy
Reviewer for Coffee Time Romance & More

5 of 8 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Worth the money! December 17, 2011

By susan eggleton

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

First up, I have to admit I didn't read all of the stories in this anthology. There are always a bunch of stories in any given anthology that don't float my boat. I know this about myself, so if the story isn't working for me in the first couple of pages, I just skip to the next. Some of these stories really did not work me, but others worked so well that it more than made up for the misses. I'll review what I liked best in this anthology first.

Transfixed (story one) & Transformed (story 2) by Anne Calhoun:

This pair of stories were the best in the book, IMHO. Although the Slot A/Tab B aspects of the story were very hot, the real meat of the erotic content was in the thoughts and feelings of the characters as they interacted with each other. In a very short number of pages the author managed to make her characters seem very real - so real in fact, that by the end of the anthology, they were the only characters who's names I could still remember off the top of my head! Cole & Marin put more meaning into one kiss than some people put into an entire relationship. I particularly loved this, as it proved that even after multiple sexual encounters, one kiss done right can be the most erotic thing of all. 5 stars.

Wicked Wedding Night by Margaret Rowe:

Historical about an innocent miss who entraps a Viscount into marriage, only to discover on her wedding night that he's got mucho psychological problems (paging tortured hero 27B) and he likes tying women up and flogging them in the bedroom. Our hero thinks the two issues are intertwined. Our heroine suspects they are not as she has no psychological problems but enjoys it all as much as he! This story is rich and emotionally lush.... It feels like an entire historical romance compressed down into one wedding night snapshot. My second favourite of the anthology. 5 stars.

Safeword by Delphine Dryden:

Fun exploration of a sub who is comfortable with her sexuality teaching her vanilla friend to be her dom. He seems up to the task and really gets into it, enjoying himself as much as his new tutor enjoys teaching him. There is a real vibe of friendship and trust between these characters that leaves you with a smile on your face. Also: hotness! 5 Stars.

Rescue Me by Meljean Brooks:

I had to read this one twice. First time through, I actually skipped most of the erotic content because I couldn't really get into it while wondering what was going to happen to the heroine. I was very conscious of the fact that the stories in this anthology were not necessarily going to have Happily Every After Endings. Basically, the suspense plot was too well done for me to enjoy it as erotica. I went back and read it again for the erotic content after I knew the ending, but by then the moment had passed for me, so to speak. 4 stars

Bruised Ego by Christine D'Abo:

I really liked this one. It was definitely erotica, but of the sensual rather than sexual persuasion (although it has sexy times in it). I found it to be more about the intersection of sensuality, sexuality, self acceptance and our desire for validation by others. All interesting ideas that Ms D'Abo swirls into a very short but non-the-less interesting story. 4 stars.

Bachelorette Party by Jessica Clare:

This one was kind of cheesy, and you could see the ending coming a mile away, but you know what? I really liked it! It was short, fun, hot and had a sweet ending. 4 stars.

The other stories were 3 star reads for me or lower. Some were DNF's. At this point, however, I have amassed enough 4 & 5 star reads (7 out of 12) to say that this anthology was worth it's purchase price. I've had some enjoyable reads and found some new-to-me authors to dive into, which was my main purpose for buying it. From reading other reviews, I can see that some people didn't like the ones that I did like, and vice versa. I guess that's a sign there is enough variety here for there to be something for everyone. In closing, I will say that the whole 'flip book' bizzo was a complete dud for me as I read it as an ebook. Read more ›

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Flip sides of a coin? January 29, 2012

By Elf2060

Format: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.

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