Customer Reviews

Naughty Bits 2: An Anthology of Short Erotic Fiction

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(25)
3 star:		(23)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

This is a real-book publication from the relatively new Spice Briefs line, the Harlequin dip into the online/e-reading erotica pool.

Spice Briefs describes its product as "bold, sexually explicit [work] that pushes the envelope...highly erotic short stories...exploring any and all sexual scenarios, even ones considered `taboo,' and [which] avoid using euphemisms in favor of the frank, graphic language typical of the erotica genre." Sure, I get it: raunchy. Nothing wrong with that. This book basically delivers on its product line descriptive. It's direct, anatomically and activity-specific in vocabulary, sufficiently graphic, and uses all the right dirty words (although I couldn't help notice some classics were surprisingly scant) in most of the right places. And at its core, the Spice Briefs product is a Harlequin, so it essentially is by and for the female reader. While chromosomally challenged in this regard, I did manage to squeeze a modicum of enjoyment from this collection.

"Chance of a Lifetime" (excerpted above in the Amazon.com product page) opens the with a surprisingly tame and sadly stereotypical tale of bored/naughty/prim Rose, his lordship the marquess Christian, a manor in English rain, dusty rooms with lots of books and worn carpets, thick drapes, some spanking, and in the end some really sappy happily ever after.

"The Priestess" is a change of setting, off to ancient Egypt. It's a change of pace, too, with the erotic action of the story finally coming 28 pages into its total of 36. Way too much ambience and attention to weather, clothing, and makeup, and not nearly enough boinky-boinky.

"Taken" gets things mostly back on track, with a tale of professional chef Chloe and her eminently successful three-way hook-up with two achingly gorgeous--and neatly bisexual--male colleagues. The men's sexuality is interesting in that its portrayal is somewhat euphemistic, and the wildest the two of them get is one hot kiss (I have to conclude a full-on three-way with two guys and a girl doesn't fit the product demographic). Chloe is the real beneficiary here, naturally.

"Favor Me" is a tidy little murder whodunit, with our kept-woman heroine Amaris performing a few rather non-standard investigative procedures, all in the name of love, her love of money. She's smart, everyone else isn't, there's a hot bodyguard, she figures out who offed her go-to lingerie designer, and she's still scheming as we close out.

"Medusa's Folly" is the best of the book, a ripping-hot tale of the goddess, and how she meets her match, in more ways than one. It's creative, interesting, wonderfully graphic and thoroughly unabashed, a ripping-hot little story.

The best is followed by the worst. "Primal Instincts" is pretty awful, not in its premise of the search for a magical jungle flower, the most powerful aphrodisiac in the world, but in its ridiculous portrayal of Mayan "warriors" who speak fluent English, in a subterranean cavern, fitted with fur rugs and footed marble tubs, deep in the Central American jungle. Basic facts don't match up, settings are inaccurate, and the characteristics of the wonderfully beautiful, thoughtful, bold, smooth of body, athletic, muscular, warrior-like, gentle yet rough, agreeable yet demanding, long-haired, wondrously endowed behind mrere loincloths--stop me if you've run across this trite stereotype before--were just awful. When the chiseled jungle-cave-warrior-priest-Mayan-stud says to the lovely Olivia, "I want to taste your cream," I groaned out loud, and not from arousal. This story had promise, but it evaporated pretty fast, and stayed dry.

"This Is What I Want" tells the tale of a ribald blogger working as a customer rep for an IT company, who cuts loose amazingly sexily online at home, but has a secret work-crush who can never be approached. You know where it's going, it goes there, and with an indulgent dollop of self-serving melodrama things work out okay. The highlights of this story were the narrator's own little blog posts/stories, which were very nice.

"Improper Pleasure" is another English period piece, with oh so very repressed feelings and overblown drama over class and place and role, right down to E. B. Browning poetry even. Dull and maudlin.

The closer, "Caught in the Act" is another whodunit, again set in an IT business, where our heroine, tough, independent, hard on the outside yet ragingly erotic in her soft, velvety nougat center, helps a private, ahem, dick catch a thieving insider.

While somewhat spicy, these stories don't really go taboo, not even close. The wildest we get is some spanking, two hot guys kissing, and some disappointingly pedestrian handcuff use. "Primal Instincts" flirts with a highly promising absolutely wild and consensual group-sex encounter, but it totally fizzles. Overall, this book's novellas seem to be trying to find the delicate middle ground between truly raunchy adult fiction, where anything goes (and does), and the milder adult fiction, which has the requisite nekkid people performing healthy sexual activities in warm and inviting environments as the mood strikes them, but doesn't get too, you know, out of hand.

Bottom line: this is passable erotic fiction. While a couple of the stories are well-worn (yawn) bodice-rippers set in Victorian Britain, a couple of them start to push the envelope, but don't push that hard. Let's hope that as the Spice Briefs product line matures, the stories will be more creative, deeper, and considerably more in keeping with their own stated intent.

Well, quite frankly this is a book about nothing but getting right down to the dirty deed itself. For that reason I really liked this book. Honestly I find myself dismissing most bodice-rippers because the story-lines and dialog are so meandering & improbable I'm instantly annoyed and find myself paging thru to the "Good parts". So anthologies like this are a very good fit for readers like me.

The Naughty Bits does not disappoint on that score, most of the stories disregard the standard set-up for a story and plants the reader right into the situation - no matter it's probability it doesn't matter when one is only in it for the grinding. The only thing readers like me will consider is the quality of the grinding and erotica, like everything else in life, is subject to personal taste.

Overall, I would like to rate this anthology 3 and 1/2 stars. There were fewer stories than I would have liked to fit my personal tastes. However - the stories I liked, I REALLY Liked! And since I am aware that this is strictly a "to-each-their-own" collection I am not going to single out and pick on/praise any one author. I will only add, that for those of us who are in the mood to put romance aside and get right down to it - well then, there is most definitely something in here for everyone.

This book, for the most part, is an absolute delight. It reminds me of a box of sinful chocolates -- when you open the box, you promise yourself that you're only going to eat one and save the rest for later. But the first chocolate is so good, you eat another, and then another, and before you know it the entire box is gone. That's how it was for me when I sat down with this book of short erotic fiction. When I got home from work, the Amazon box was at my door waiting for me. Well, my husband and I are serious bibliophiles with eclectic tastes ranging from military history to Hawaii field guides to gourmet cooking. Thus, I had no idea what would be in this box.

When I opened the box and found "Naughty Bits," I was intrigued. The first story I turned to was "Medusa's Folly," and as luck would have it this is probably the best story of the group. It has odd main characters: Medusa and a stone gargoyle that comes to life. I thought this was a wonderfully original story and I loved the relationship between these two. Plus, who would ever think of a love story from Medusa's perspective? Nice work there.

I also really enjoyed "The Priestess," set in ancient Egypt, and "Favor Me," a fun & sexy murder mystery. Stories that didn't work quite so well for me included "Chance of a Lifetime," a story about an English peer and a woman who is supposed to be an employee of his. Turns out he is into spanking, which is fine, but the erotic story quickly devolved into a sort of sickly sweet romance, and it was an odd juxtaposition that felt forced. Another tale that was a bit off was "Primal Instincts" which I'm not even sure how to describe. Suffice it to say that loin-cloths and native warriors were involved, but so were marble tubs and oddly kitted-out sex caves. These two tales were kind of like biting into a chocolate and finding one of those too-sweet maple walnut affairs. It's still chocolate, but kind of disappointing and leaves you with a funny aftertaste. Meh.

Erotica is a funny thing, though, in that different kinds of stories will appeal to different kinds of people. "Naughty Bits 2" is a good anthology, a diverse collection where even the stories that didn't quite resonate with me were still enjoyable to read, and before I knew it I had zipped through the entire book. I thought it was a lot of fun, and that in general the actual "naughty bits" were well written. Truly something for everyone here, perfect for a spicy, fun read. Enjoy, but not necessarily in moderation!

Well-written stories, nicely presented. Not as much smut as you might expect from a book of erotic fiction, but more than you would find in a traditional romance.

I'm sure a lot of readers would love this particular niche, but it wasn't to my taste. I found the not-quite-romance, not-quite-erotica nature of the stories distracting. At the end of the story, I was often left thinking, "This marriage is never going to work." Which is silly, of course, but there's just enough character development and realism that I was left thinking about things like that.

Ok, I'm a guy. When given the chance to review a book of "erotica" written by women, I figured it would have lots of emotion and be a "rated R" kind of book, with fifteen names for the male genitalia and not much in the way of sexual action.

I COULD NOT BE MORE WRONG.

Yes, there was the emotional part of love and sex. But there was still lots of great sex. LOTS. And it was at times dirty and at times kinky and at all times well done and stimulating and exciting.

There were nine stories in all, with different settings and circumstances in each. No two were alike. Settings ranged from office place relationships to forbidden master-servant relationships to what happens when Medusa decides she doesn't want to turn men into stone (well, not all of them, anyway). From ancient Egypt to the South American Jungles to the streets of England, the venues are varied but the action is always hot. I especially liked the story about Medusa ("Medusa's Folly"), as in addition to being erotic it was unique and showed the author had done her homework when it comes to mythology. "Favor Me" was another favorite, as it was a funny murder mystery reminiscient of Janet Evanovich's humor. One of the stories did start a bit slow, but when it did heat up it was absolutely worth the wait!

I'm sure female fans of erotic fiction will enjoy the book. But the kicker is that it is so stimulating for both the physical and emotional parts of love that even couples and men may find it worth the read!

I've never read anything like this, so I had no idea what to expect and no pre-conceived notions. This read almost like a porn script: little plot and lots of action. If that's what you're looking for, this will be perfect for you. One thing I did expect was lots of swearing, and I must say, I was pleasantly surprised there. I wasn't accosted by 4-letter words like I was expecting, so it made it easier to get through. I'm not anti-porn, but excessive swearing will kill a read for me. I gave it 3 stars because I wasn't bored to tears, but I didn't finish reading it and think, "Everyone should take this on their honeymoon." It was fairly written, and if you're just looking for some wet-dream fuel, you will be satisfied. If you're looking for a good love story with some steamy scenes, look elsewhere.

Naughty Bits 2 is comprised of 9 short stories.

PLOTS:

Chance of Lifetime by Portia Da Costa - Rose falls for her boss, a poor marquis. They begin an affair when he catches her watching one of his private videos.
4 STARS: Good story. It was spicy and romantic.

The Priestess by Elliot Mabeuse - Tia becomes a priestess and is immediately desired by the Pharaoh's son.
2 STARS: Boring and a bit confusing.

Taken by Lillian Feisty - Chloe is a chef. Fellow chefs and lovers Joe and Walker are in town to visit her.
2 STARS: If you like reading about menage, maybe this is for you. Considering that that's the main them, and there is no real plot, it really wasn't very interesting or, surprisingly, stimulating.

Favor Me by Jenesi Ash - Amaris is a rich man's mistress. The designer of her lingerie is murdered the day of her fitting.
2 STARS: The main character's motives are always driven by greed, selfishness and laziness. How is the reader supposed to like her?

Medusa's Folly by Alison Paige - Medusa finds love with a stone gargoyle.
4 STARS - Magic and love at first sight. This one's interesting and good. If you enjoy Greek myths, you like this one.

Primal Instincts by Cathryn Fox and Lisa Renee Jones - Olivia and Jordon seek the estela flower on a safari. It is a fabled powerful aphrodisiac the doctors hope to use to develop cures.
3 STARS - Part of the story is told from Olivia's point of view and part of it is told from Jordon's. Split between two characters, there's not much room for character or story development. This one has a bit of a multiple sex partner theme, but not to the extent of Taken.

This Is What I Want by Megan Hart - Eve writes a blog about her fantasies which often are fueled by her co-worker Lane.
1 STAR - Mostly filled with Eve's boring fantasies, the story ends just as her reality was becoming interesting.

Improper Pleasure by Charlotte Featherstone - In 1876, servant Amelia falls for her employer Lord Wallace.
4 1/2 STARS: Forbidden love between royalty and his servant. Who can resist?

Caught In the Act by Saskia Walker - Liam's out to catch a thief. Chrissie suspects Liam of being the thief.
4 1/2 STARS: Liam is funny and charming. It was fun to read about him disarming the prickly Chrissie.

OVERALL AVERAGE: 3 STARS All the stories were well written. My favorites were the more traditional romantic short stories. Each story is about 45 pages long.

I've read several erotica collections in the last few years (I'm a semi-retired erotica writer myself) and they've been leaving me flat. Either the stories are literary (or fit another genre, like "dark/horror" or "sci fi") and not erotic or somewhat erotic but badly written. This is the first collection that's hit the mark in a long, long time.

All of the stories are well-written and unfold in a natural way without sacrificing erotic tension. Some of the stories didn't particularly suit my taste (more often in the genre or style than in the erotic element) but I appreciated the quality of the writing. The stories that worked for me REALLY worked, stimulating mind and body simultaneously. What this tells me is that there's something for everyone in this collection, no matter what blows your hair back.

The characters are strong and beautifully realized; their situations are charged and passionate and the character-driven plots are complete and organic. The progression of stories is also very natural. I could sense an editor's guidance, not a heavy-handedness that I sometimes find in other short fiction anthologies, erotic and "vanilla."

When I first received this book, I literally could not put it down. I walked from room to room reading and took it everywhere I went. I told my friends about it and recommended it. If you've been searching in vain for smart erotica, this is an excellent collection to keep by your bedside table... or in your purse... or in your car...

I had no idea what to expect from Naughty Bits 2 and was pleasantly surprised. I'm thinking this is probably the lite version of this kind of fiction, but that's OK with me. I actually enjoyed this book.

Once one gets over the slight shock, it's downright refreshing when roosters and felines are called roosters and felines, if you get my drift. The writing is really pretty good, with settings as varied as Ancient Egypt, Paris, Las Vegas, South America, with a Dilbert cubicle thrown in for good measure and each story has a highly imaginative plot. My favorite story was something of a murder mystery with a hard as nails heroine who turns out to be not as tough as she'd like to think, and there's also a story about Medusa (yes, THAT Medusa) and a couple of historicals. I'd venture to say there's something for everybody with no hard core anything, which was a relief.

Some of the stories are much stronger than others, but that's probably just my own taste. I saw no glaring anachronisms in the historical stories, and if a couple of the contemporary ones were a wee bit predictable, that's not why we read these, is it?

Naughty Bits 2 is a mixed bag of 9 short stories from 10 well-known authors in the erotica or romantica genres, garnering an overall rating of 4 stars. In general, the book was fun more than anything else, the erotica was generally light in tone because of the short story parameters and because of the authors' experience, it was mostly well-written. But, there were a couple of misses, for me.

Chance of a Lifetime (Portia da Costa) - cute, short little modern twist on a lord of the manor and maid tale. It's funny and sweet, a nice start to the book. Four stars.

The Priestess (Elliot Mabeuse) - Egyptian girl goes to become priestess to goddess, ends up being possessed. Strange, not sexy, for some reason made me think of oily things and way too long. One star.

Taken (Lillian Feisty) - Threesome becomes sort of twosome maybe twice a yearsome? Short and ambiguous, which I think was the point. Not hugely erotic and the hinted at M/M interaction didn't happen. Two and a half stars.

Favor Me (Jenisi Ash) - Really good, sometimes darkly funny story about a high-priced mistress to a seriously gross guy and a lingerie designer's murder. Off the page erotic compared to the other stories, but was still fun to read. Also mid-length compared to the other stories. Four stars, which surprised me.

Medusa's Folly (Alison Paige) - What if Medusa was reduced to getting it on with a stone gargoyle, but the gargoyle actually was a demon who'd been trapped there by Medusa's mom? Creepy beginning to the modern twist on the story, but when Athena shows up and you can almost hear her cracking her gum, it's a little too much, even though I really like Alison Paige. Three stars.

Primal Instincts (Cathryn Fox and Lisa Renee Jones) - a doctor and her assistant trudging through the Mayan jungle looking for a secret aphrodisiac and their guide sends them to meet a couple of weird Mayan hunks. That's as far as I got before the clichés swallowed me up. One star.

This Is What I Want (Megan Hart) - Customer Relations Rep by day, Erotic Blogger by night lusts after hot IT guy who may or may not be the steamy guy who keeps responding to her blog and IM'ing her at night. Medium-long story, only because the blog passages take up a lot of space. I never quite understood the blogger's hangups near the end, but since that wasn't the point of the story, it didn't detract from the score. Four stars.

Improper Pleasures (Charlotte Featherstone) - Regency-era story about unrequited passion between two people who would really never be able to be together if this wasn't a fantasy read. This is heavy on the romance and sweetness, very light on the erotic. So two stars for the erotica, three for the rest.

Caught in the Act (Saskia Walker) - Quickie about an investigator out to find someone selling computer secrets and the cute blonde at the office who is suspicious of him while the two of them lust after each other. It's cute, it's not great, but it's not awful. Three stars.

I've read all of the authors here in their own books, either regular print or ebook, except Jenesi Ash and my favorites continue to be Da Costa, Featherstone, Hart and Paige. I recommend checking out their other works.