Customer Reviews

Fairy Tale Lust: Erotic Fantasies for Women

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(16)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Funny how marketers seem to have decided that in order to sell a book of erotica, it has to have "for women" in its title. Well I'm a guy, and I not only read this book, but I thought it was pretty good. Does that mean my guy-card is going to be revoked? Anyway, this is a collection of 18 erotic "fairy tale" stories. Some are retellings of classic fairy tales, others merely evocative of the fairy tale genre. Some take place in a contemporary setting, others not. Some begin with "Once upon a time" or "Once there was...", others not. Some use quasi-olde-tyme language, others not. Some are quite well written, others not.

The quality of these tales varies widely, from the plain awful to the remarkably good. I'd say the majority of them are nice little appetizer-sized helpings of cleverness, charm, humor (or melancholy) and sexiness. A few soar above that modest level of success, and a few fall short of it.

"The Obedient Wife" by Delilah Devlin: One of those modestly successful stories. Nicely written, clever and sexy.

"How the Little Mermaid Got Her Tail Back" by Andrea Dale: Rather rambling and unfocused, and while it may seem odd to say this of a story that's a retold fairy tale, its believability is ruined by a glaring hole in the description of a central scene.

"Ducking" by Craig Sorensen: A well-intentioned retelling of The Ugly Duckling, wherein the protagonist comes to realize that she's suffering from a distorted self-image, and in fact is a Total Hottie. Rather unsophisticated writing compared to the better stories in this book, and what are those references to ninjas doing in here?

"Three Times" by Justine Elyot: Charming and funny, with a Happily Ever After lesbian marriage ending.

"Ellie and the Shoemaker" by Louisa Harte: Not bad, but is often awkward and unrealistic in its depiction of the characters' behavior and motivations.

"The Pub Owner's Daughter" by Alegra Verde: Rather clumsily, even ineptly, written. "a thin fellow with almond eyes from the East was chosen." (Yes, but which direction did his nose come from?)

"Sleep Tight" by Janine Ashbless: Probably began its life as a neat little five-page story. Unfortunately someone put it on a rack and brutally stretched it out to eleven pages.

"Her Hair is a Net, Woven" by Shanna Germain: A delightful, mysterious, poetic piece that, from the title onward, uses language exquisately. I only wish I could have figured out what the dang story was.

"Mind your Peas and Qs" by Allison Wonderland: A painfully unfunny, painfully stupid attempt at humor. Filled with lines like "Father chuckles, his eyes crinkling, his pupils twinkling." Ha. Ha. [Barf]

"In the Dark Woods" by Kristina Wright: The best written, most intelligent of the stories in the volume, and coincidentally also the sexiest. Truly a finely crafted story, superficially about an artist having an affair with a married man. Written by Kristina Wright, the editor of this book. Too bad the only other piece of writing that turns up in an Amazon search for this author looks like just an ordinary romance novel.

"Gildi and the Unwieldy, Ineffectual Committee of Bears" by Jeremy Edwards: A clever story with a funny fairy tale connection, reasonably well written and quite sexy.

"Frosted Glass" by Aurelia T. Evans: A lovely, melancholy story about the loss of love. "[The Snow Queen] told me that I could have warmth and die, or I could freeze and cease to live."

"Gingerbread Man" by Carol Hassler: A very nice story, sort of a ghost story with a cinnamon-flavored twist.

"All in a Day's Work" by Saskia Walker: A nice little piece about a magical dominatrix. Well done, but the magical element is quite superfluous to the story.

"Big Bad Wolf" by Alana Noël Voth: Distractingly written in the present tense and a little amateurish. "The wolf regards him beneath the awning in his boxer shorts..." Funny, I would have expected a wolf to wear briefs.

"The Kiss" by Michelle Augello-Page: Written in a highly stylized manner that I found pretentious and off-putting. Others might find it artistic or some such.

"The Return": By Charlotte Stein. A close second for my choice as best story in the book. Wonderfully artistic writing, beautifully evocative in its renditions of mood, emotions and steamy sex. Unfortunately the last few paragraphs puncture the mysterious, magical mood of the story by providing a prosaic (and hugely unlikely) explanation.

"The Stone Room" by A.D.R. Forte: In a fantastical setting, a man finds bliss at the receiving end of a BDSM relationship. "She kept his heart fast, bound with brambles that made him bleed and sigh." Nicely done.

Fairy Tale Lust is an anthology of short erotic and semi paranormal stories. I had high expectations for this book because I really enjoy books by Angela Knight and thought this book would have stories with a similar style. (But I discovered that Angela Knight does not have a story in this book and only writes the forward.) Warning: Even if you like your books a little racy I must repeat these shorts are NOT for the 'vanilla' romance reader.

As mentioned earlier, these stories are not what I expected. Most of the stories are set in modern times and loosely have a sort of fairy tale twist. I thought the stories would be based on common fairy tales set more in a `fantasy' world. (I think, Enchanted: Erotic Bedtime Stories For Women by Nancy Madore did a better job of fairy tale erotic romances) Because of this I felt the shorts were not as interesting as I thought they could be especially since the stories were very short stories and therefore the plots are not very complex.

I think if you are looking for vignettes that are kinky (shocking and titillating) and for the most part set in modern times, then you will enjoy this book. But if you expect stories that really follow a fairy tale theme and have more a plot this book may disappoint. (Although there are a few which do such as a Beauty and the Beast type story by Delilah Devlin.) Because I like the emotional connection between 2 characters and these shorts were brief. I couldn't get into the stories as much as I hoped. But if you are just looking for some inventive and erotic sex stories that are quick `flings' then this book will satisfy.

Fairy Tale Lust: Erotic Fantasies for Women, compiled/edited by Kristina Wright and Angela Knight, is a collection of 18 short stories that incorporate elements of fantasy and/or fairy tale, each to a varying degree. There are some stories, like The Obedient Wife, Three Times, and The Pub Owner's Daughter, that have the feel of an authentic fairy tale as conveyed through the narrative diction, style, settings, and dialogue. Conversely, there are other stories, like Ducking and In the Dark Woods, that are set in modern times and feature no fairy tale elements; however, these are superb erotica in their own right in terms of tone, style, plot, character development, and realistically hot sex scenes. (They're great, but I'm not quite sure why they're in this book.)

The majority of the tales are on the lighthearted side, with some of the sex scenes coming across as cute, endearing, and curious rather than flat-out hot. There's certainly a lot of creative sex in this collection (not in terms of positions but of the characters and fantasy elements in play). With action spanning the gamut of possibilities -- lots of M/F, some F/F, brief M/M, beauty & the beast, sex toys, BDSM, a few fetishes -- there's something for everyone in this collection. That a woman is always at the center of each story, except one, is probably why the book is entitled "Erotic Fantasies for Women," but I think readers of any gender could find something they like here.

I particularly enjoyed:

* Three Times, one of the more "authentic" fairy tales in the collection, featuring hot F/F and M/F/F action and a fantastic twist of an ending.

* The Pub Owner's Daughter, another "authentic" fairy tale featuring a strong woman in full control of her sexuality without being labeled or judged by her family or other villagers.

* In the Dark Woods, by Kristina Wright (the editor of this compilation), which is by far the best tale in the book; an intellectual piece featuring allegorical elements (life/death, light/darkness, religion/non-belief) and plenty of steamy scenes.

* Ellie and the Shoemaker, which is a cute although predictable story with a minor shoe fetish thrown in (that the author should have developed more).

* The Return, a fantastically written, mysterious piece based on the story of Martin Guerre.

Regarding the hotness factor: While all the stories feature sex scenes, I would only label maybe two of them truly hot. Overall, I didn't find the anthology to be nearly as scorching or heat-inducing as I had hoped. I would call this collection "sexy" before I would call it "hot." However, I still greatly enjoyed it and would heartily recommend it to fans of alternative erotica.

I selected this book, because I love reading fairy tales and exploring the subtext of folklore. I also adore good erotica. Lastly, I love short story anthologies! This seemed like an ideal selection for me.

I'm always amazed by people who speak of fairy tales as if they're innocuous, innocent, all that's pure about childhood. Even the most sanitized versions are about all that we desire and fear. There's darkness there in them there woods, and there's sexuality too. If there wasn't, no one would covet the title of fairest in the land, or worry that a younger female would be inheriting the title. There's a tale, not covered in the book, about a princess who ran away from home, because her father had told his wife on her deathbed that he would only wed a woman as beautiful as she - and their daughter fit the bill. To paraphrase Buffy, in that story the subtext rapidly became text. Because these themes are there, have always been there, these tales are naturals for retelling and bringing forward that which is only barely hidden.

I really enjoyed this book, and would highly recommend it to friends. I know I'll be discussing it with a few people. While a few stories didn't work for me, I found the majority of them to be well-worth the time spent reading them.

I like my erotica intelligent and thought-provoking and some, if not all, of these stories met that expectation for me. I don't need to find every story arousing, but I hope to be engaged either physically or intellectually. Therefore, if you're looking for just erotica, my faves might not be yours. I've commented on all the stories, but in order to keep the review crisp, will place the full list of impressions in the actual comment section. I will say there are some standout stories for me, particularly Sleep Tight by Janine Ashbless, Her Hair is a Net, Woven by Shanna Germain, and Frosted Glass by Aurelia T. Evans

I'm giving this 5 stars, not because every story is perfect, but that - if you like this concept - there should be at least a few perfect stories for every reader, and several more very enjoyable ones, and that's my definition of an ideal, well-edited collection. Dominance, submission, heat, cold, fantasy and reality, all come together - no pun intended - in this collection.

(Please see comments section for impressions of specific stories.)

Fairy Tale Lust is a collection of eighteen erotic stories based--with varying degrees of faithfulness--on fairy tales. The stories are very short, making it easy to keep the book on your nightstand and read a complete story just before bed. Most are set in modern times, though there are a few set in "once upon a time." The pairings are largely m/f with a few f/f and f/m/f.

From a literary standpoint, the best of the bunch are Aurelia T. Evans' "Frosted Glass" (The Snow Queen) and Shanna Germain's "Her Hair Is a Net, Woven" (Rusalka legends). These two tales are beautifully written, haunting, and could hold their own in any anthology of adult fairy tales, whether it had a specifically erotic focus or not.

The steamiest, to me, is "Sleep Tight" by Janine Ashbless. This story draws on the older versions of Sleeping Beauty, the ones where the prince didn't just kiss the princess, but brings that scenario into the modern day. I don't know if it's the scenario itself or the way Ashbless describes things or what, but this story is hot, hot, hot! The twist in the ending mollifies my superego, which had been appalled at my id for so enjoying a nonconsensual fantasy.

Among the disappointments are Craig Sorensen's "Ducking" and Jeremy Edwards' "Gildi and the Unwieldy, Ineffectual Committee of Bears." These authors threw me right out of fantasyland with their word choices. For example: in Sorensen's entry, the female anatomy "drains," while Edwards has the female anatomy "weeping," and these are words I just don't find sexy. Given that the authors are male, I wonder if this is a difference in what men want in erotica vs. what women want. Another disappointing story is "Mind Your Peas and Qs" by Allison Wonderland. This is a meringue of a story, frothy and stiff; its prose is so mannered that it strips any potential sensuality right out.

The rest fall somewhere in between. The stories are all well-written, even the ones I didn't like, and successfully retell fairy tales with naughty twists. I'll also add that most of the stories keep physical descriptions vague, making it easier to "cast" yourself and your own lust-objects as the central characters, if you like to do that. These are not like some erotic stories I've read that start out by describing the improbable proportions of the hero and heroine. I think most fans of fairy-tale erotica will find something to like here.

Whenever I read an anthology, I expect the stories to be of varying quality and appeal. This collection, sadly, was pretty lackluster. While there were a couple of interesting re-imaginings of classic fairy tales, and a few hot sex scenes, for the most part I found myself skimming quite a bit. Notable exceptions did occur; "Ducking", "Her Hair is a Net, Woven" and "Mind Your Peas and Qs" were all enjoyable for their creativity, and "The Kiss" had a great twist ending.

I know that erotica publishers need to keep their market in sight; I would have liked a less heterocentric collection, however. Only three stories have any queer content, and only one involves a definitely queer protagonist. There was also a lot of potential for more kink, though that could have been an anthology all on its own.

This might be more interesting to someone graduating from romance novels, who's more straight and vanilla. I was left unimpressed.

I am a huge fan of fairy tales and do occassionally enjoy good erotica. "Fairy Tale Lust: Erotic Fantasies for Women" was a fairly good remix of traditional some fairy tales I had seen and some I had never seen before, spiced up in a more erotic vein. I really enjoyed the "Obedient Wife" which seemed to be a very sexy retelling of the Beauty and the Beast. I also really very much enjoyed the tale, "Frosted Glass", a take on the tale of the Snow Queen which is very lovely with haunting details and description. "In the Dark Woods" is a tale of devlish creativity and delights that is chocked full of vivid details and description. The effect is very sensual.

I did not particularly care for "How the Little Mermaid Got Her Tail Back". The writing was rather disjointed with redundant word choices and phrases from the main character as to be a distraction. I really did not like "The Pub Owner's Daughter" because it told more of the story rather than showing it.

Overall, I enjoyed the book. It wasn't exactly what I was expecting when I got the book. I had been rather hoping for erotic stories with Fae influences rather than erotic retellings of Grimms, Anderson, or Perault type stories. Each of the chapters read fairly quickly with the two exceptions I mentioned above. If you are looking for some good erotica without needing to be too invested in a longer story, "Fairy Tale Lust" has 19 different pieces to choose from.

Harmless and sexy. Short and titillating. Easy to read and faced paced. I liked this anthology. Some of the stories had me scratching my head as to why they would be considered fairy tales but other than that I really liked them. Some more than others. A few had me going, "Huh. That was weird." A few had me rolling my eyes and a few had me going, "oooooooo. Oh, how cute/sexy/fun!"

There were stories from a lot of authors I already knew about, and there were several from authors I had never read or even heard about. A few of my favorites were

How the Little Mermaid Got Her Tale Back by Andrea Dale. This was a sexy slightly BDSM themed story that had me smiling because in Las Vegas there is a huge aquarium at the Silverton where a mermaid floats around. Three Times by Justine Elyot. This has a f/f plus m/f/f flavor. Ellie and the Shoemaker by Louise Harte. A cute story with a female in charge story. (once the man makes the first move, however.) The Pub Owner's Daughter by Allegra Verde. This was about a girl who samples all the men in the county before picking the one who makes her happy. Gingerbread Man by Carol Hassler. This was a rather dark tale about reincarnation. I'll leave it a surprise as to how the gingerbread man comes into play. The Return by Charlotte Stein. A sexy, brooding tale with a strong nod to the Return of Martin Guerre. My favorite was In The Dark Woods, a rather dark tale that to me had nothing to do with fairy tales, which funnily enough, was written by Kristina Wright, one of the main creators of this anthology.

Basically, there is something for everyone in this large collection of erotic stories. And since the stories are so fast paced even if you aren't enjoying a certain story there is sure to be a winner right around the corner. Enjoy.

Overall the Fairy Tale Lust anthology was quite good. Lot's of different genres and writing styles all bound together under a fantasy theme. I think that anyone who picks this up will enjoy at least two of the stories. Most are uniquely told and, even for the sometimes rambling or bumbling writing, the stories get their point across nicely.

Unfortunately, two or three short stories out of an entire book does fall a little flat in the expectations department. But, if you are able to overlook a bit of literary shortcomings, you'll be reading happily ever after.

This book is a collection of eighteen erotic short stories, most written by women, and a few by men. The stories are written around a fairy tale motif, but the authors were allowed wide discretion as to how their stories fitted in with the fairy tale. Some are set in that Other Place and Time, such as Delilah Devlin's The Obedient Wife, a wonderful take on Beauty and the Beast. While others are quite modern and realistic, bringing the fairy tale into the here and now, such Andrea Dale's excellent How the Little Mermaid Got Her Tail Back.

As always with collections of works by varied authors, there will be some that you like and some that leave you cold. As for me, I rather liked the stories in here, with How the Little Mermaid Got Her Tail Back and Ducking by Craig Sorensen. I really liked this book, and I am very glad for the time I spent with it.

(Review of Fairy Tale Lust: Erotic Fantasies for Women)