Customer Reviews

Please, Sir: Erotic Stories of Female Submission

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4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
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_Please, Sir: Erotic Stories of Female Submission_ is the latest of Rachel Kramer Bussel's bookend anthologies (pairing, in this case, with _Please, Ma'am: Erotic Stories of Male Submission_). If you know anything about Bussel's previous anthologies, you know that she has a knack for picking well-written erotica: entries strong on characterization and story that are guaranteed to bring the heat.

The twenty-two stories in _Please, Sir_ explore the world of the female submissive from her point of view and, even within that particular boundary, you'll find a surprising and provocative variety. Some highlights include:

The Negotiation by Remittance Girl: in which a hostile takeover is far from unwelcome.

Pleasure Keeper by Charlotte Stein: in which the waiting is the hardest part, especially for Kit, but the payoff is so very worth it.

Long Time Gone by Heidi Champa: in which a college reunion brings the story's heroine back together with the only man who ever knew what she really wanted.

No Good Deed by Alison Tyler: in which playing the game to lose is playing the game to win.

Anticipation by Shanna Germain: in which supercharged Instant Messaging makes a woman's time away from her dominant lover the ultimate buildup.

There's not a dud amongst them, although you'll always have your favorites,

The final story, Rachel Kramer Bussel's "Your Hand On My Neck", ends the anthology with a spellbinding story of trust and control and the cathartic power of submission.

Highly recommended.

I loved that this book has so many unique perspectives from story to story.

This is a new realm for me and I found the stories insightful. I can see how someone new to these perspectives can learn & enjoy and also how someone already familiar would really enjoy the stories.

The book is an easy read and the stories are a perfect length.

If you are already considering this book, I would go ahead and put it in your cart.

I'm not usually a fan of stories about male tops and female submissives; the concept seems trite and straight out of the Stone Age. And while I can't say this book has forever changed my opinion of the theme, it did keep me entertained for all 211 pages.

Rachel Kramer Bussel's follow-up to the hugely popular Yes, Sir and Yes, Ma'am books is an arousing read if D/s relationships with a female bottom is your thing. The stories run the gamut from traditional tales of submission to modern stories of e-dominance. My favorite story was Shanna Germain's "Anticipation," which explores the relationship between a submissive and her master, who communicate via instant messenger. It's the first of its kind that I've come across, and both the concept and execution are fantastic. You'll likely read the brief tale numerous times. I did.

Other standouts are Tess Danesi's "I Breathe Your Name," an enticing first-person tale of submission, and "No Good Deed" from Alison Tyler, one of the best and most prolific erotica writers working today.

If you like your men in control and your ladies strong but yielding, you'll enjoy the 22 stories that fill this tome. You should also check out the book's predecessors and its companion anthology, Please, Ma'am, for further hot D/s erotica. You won't be disappointed.

There are many ways to get a sex education and one of the best is to follow the rich stream of erotica anthologies that Rachel Kramer Bussel puts together.

Her work ranges from erotic collections with such titles as Passion, Naked, Orgasmic and Fast Girls, to volumes, like Please, Sir: Erotic Stories of Female Submission (which follows Please Ma'am: Stories of Male Submission) that concentrate on a particular fetish or sexual sub-community.

Do people really do it on airplanes? Check out her collection of testimonies to The Mile High Club. Wondering how other people feel about oral sex? Try her Tasting Her or Tasting Him anthologies.

Rachel Kramer Bussel titles her Introduction to Please, Sir: Erotic Stories of Female Submission "Risk and Reward," an immediate and clear summary of why woman submissives like what they like. There have been copious articles by feminists (and others) talking about what they get out of kinky sex and deconstructing the world of sexual fantasy, but Bussel has a non-judgmental, informed approach. "It's about unlocking something within yourself so you can reach beyond your normal limits, exposing your body and soul in order to go somewhere you cannot get to alone."

With 22 stories by 22 writers, including a final story by the editor herself, the reader can dip into 22 experiences of submission. Rachel Kramer Bussel's story "Your Hand on My Neck" is an especially exciting example of risk (his hand squeezes her throat) and reward (she loses herself in the pleasure of belonging).

But it is good to start with the beginning of this book, where Shanna Germain's story "Anticipation" gives us one of the strongest depictions of the role of anticipation in this special world of hanky-panky. A woman sits at a computer cafe in Europe writing her lover in the States. Having been apart for six months, imagination and anticipation are their only fuels. As he arouses her through the screen, she says, "I have to bite back a quiet sound of want, swallow it down around my steaming coffee and hope that no one heard." He teases her with his plans for her when they are reunited. "I have to shift and cross my legs, the pulse of my clit beating hard inside my jeans. I'm not one of those women who can come just by rubbing their legs together, sadly. I need a hand on me, ideally his hand, hard and fast, spanking my ass or my clit, bringing me to that heated burn of orgasm."

"The Negotiation" by Remittance Girl, one of the more literary tales in the collection, takes on another basic aspect of kinky sex, an activity that emphasizes frank discussion and consent. Two elegantly suited businesspeople are negotiating a merger, but he tells her that her assets are as yet unevaluated. "In the interests of full disclosure" she pushes her chair back from the table so that she is in full view. "Slowly, she uncrossed her legs and parted them until the hem of her short skirt pulled taut against her thighs." Having examined the assets, he moves the metaphor into kinky gear. "You realize that a merger is not the only option for us? A buyout would suit us just as well... It would provide for a far more reliable corporate governance structure."

Wherever your sexual curiosity takes you, Rachel Kramer Bussel is sure to have gathered together the best erotic stories on the topic.

I wasn't sure if I was going to like this book; it features female submission, mostly to men. I'm a queer woman, and while I often find submission hot, I wasn't sure how I'd feel about it in this context, in an almost sexist, patriarchal way.

I actually really enjoyed the book. One think I love about Rachel's anthologies is that she gives such a great variety of stories, so that if one doesn't get you going as much, you still have a plethora of other hot options. Moreover, while many of the dom pronouns were masculine, I could see how many of these stories could feature a butch, gender queer, or otherwise trans masculine top, making it accessible to me as well.

I really like Power over Power by Emerald and Knot Here by Yolanda West. Hot, sexy, and I could identify with them, which is the sign of good erotica.

Rachel always picks great stories for her anthologies, and this was no exception. Despite my concerns, I love this anthology, and it definitely has a place on my self.

This book provides a glimpse into the world of the female submissive. Several forms of submission are explored in "Please, Sir," from delayed gratification to outright punishment. Do not be misled; the ultimate theme of this collection is that power can be sexy.

The book may not be to everyone's tastes, but if you're even remotely curious about why some women want to be dominated it's a worthwhile read.

S&M scares some people, and that's a damn shame. People automatically assume it's about extreme, dangerous sex play, and it's not--at least not always. (Not that there's anything wrong with it when it is.) At it's heart, though, S&M is about power. People who are into S&M find power exciting--either submitting to someone's power or exerting power over someone else. Please, Sir explores the world of the female submissive--a woman who gets off on having power exerted over her.

Please Sir is not only an excellent erotica collection but also a good explanation of what S&M is--and it is different things to different people. Some of these stories do involve extreme S&M--but others are tame enough for even the most vanilla folks to enjoy. The stories are primarily heterosexual, but there is a queer story or two in here as well. One of my favorite stories was "Because He Can" about a woman who is cheating on her husband with another guy, and then he becomes part of their threesome. Let's just say this is not the kind of story you want to read on a subway.

Another favorite was "Momma's Boy," which I enjoyed for its humor and realistic dialogue as much as for its erotic charge. What I like the most about this collection is that it doesn't just focus on the erotic scenes, but on plot and characterization, something that's missing from far too many erotic stories out there. Whether you are a confirmed S&M addict, or know next to nothing about it, this is a very good book and a very good time.

If your idea of erotica runs to Johanna Lindsey or even Lora Leigh, you're in for something of a shock if you pick up Please Sir. Rachel Kramer Bussel, who dons both her editor and author caps for this collection, has assembled twenty-two stories where females give complete control over to males, sometimes happily, sometimes unexpectedly, all for the pleasure of being dominated. Don't assume that means whips and chains; it might, for a few, but the pleasure in these stories is derived from placing responsibility for one's pleasure in the hands of another, not just the increased sensation a spanking might provide.

The wonderful thing about a short-story collection is that there is a little something for everyone: bondage, caning, one-night stands, public displays, rope play, spanking, voyeurism -- they're all in here. It's well beyond your average Harlequin Romance novel, but there is a high level of writing among this group of authors. Not content to write for titillation's sake, each brings you into the head of the female protagonist. However, it is not a guarantee you will like every story. Doug Harrison's, "Momma's Boy" and Sommer Marsden's "Avery Says" are two I won't be revisiting because one included watersports and the other included blood. This book is all about domination & submission, and in some stories that means hard play. To the unsuspecting it could be something offensive, but in my opinion life is too short. If something doesn't click or pushes your boundaries in a bad way, skip to the next story. There is enough variety here that you should find something you like. Charlotte Stein's "Pleasure Keeper" and Lisabet Sarai's "Stroke" are both highly entertaining and arousing without being too hardcore.

The physical book is as shown here on Amazon, but if you like your erotica discreet, a Kindle version is available. It has a linked table of contents providing easy navigation to the introduction, each of the short stories, and the "about" section for the authors and editor. On my 2nd Gen. Kindle, set to 'vertical' display, type size #3 and 'default' words per line, I get a strange spacing issue on the second screen of every story -- there is no space between the first two words -- but it doesn't hinder reading, it's just strange. Text-to-speech is enabled for this volume, but I wouldn't use it unless absolutely necessary. There is a no greater mood killer than an automated voice putting the wrong inflection on a sex scene.

Overall, Please Sir may be outside the comfort zone of those who read traditional mass market romance, however it's definitely worth exploring for those with an open mind and a curiosity about the D/s dynamic.

Please, Sir edited by Rachel Kramer Bussel

Release Date: May 4th, 2010

Publisher: Cleis

Page Count: 206

Source: Naked Reader Book Club via EdenFantasys for review

Experience the Breathtaking Thrills of Sexual Submission

From spanking to bondage, punishment to service, Please, Sir takes BDSM erotica to a new level with these explosive stories of female submissives and their male dominants. Featuring a kinky Krav Maga master, a brat who gets what is coming to her, and much more, these stories explore enticing territory that will make your heart race. Spend "A Night at the Opera" and visit a "Masochist on Vacation," as eager couples play with power and get off on it every step of the way. The damsels in Please, Sir delight in the pleasures of taking risks to be rewarded by the men who know their deepest desires. Find out why nothing is as hot as the power of the words "Please, Sir."

What Stephanie Thinks: With the exhilaration of the punishment embarking from a strong man's even stronger hand, Please, Sir will have readers squirming with desire and gasping for breath.

This is an anthology full of sweet girls who do naughty things. Girls who expect to be disciplined by their masters, and girls who enjoy it. They pout and bat their long eyelashes; "punish me?" they ask.

BDSM including male dominance is classic and sweepingly arousing. A dom who whips a girl one moment, then tenderly makes love to her the next, exalts a feeling of power, which ironically is in the hands of the submissive. On the psychological level, the power play that endures in each of these sizzling stories is both thrilling and touching. That there is a bond between two lovers so strong, pain and severe punishment strengthens, rather than fractures it, is wondrous to imagine.

Some of it is a bit too hardcore in this collection of erotica, though. I previously mentioned I liked the mind tease of BDSM, but was content leaving out the whips and chains part. This book swarms with the physical torture I try to stay away from -- the scenes are heavy, very heavy, and have me panting. In a way, this is a bit of a turn-off. I want to read about love and sex, not blood and urine!

Overall, Please, Sir is an exciting anthology unlike anything I've read before. I personally find myself slightly nauseated by the immutable rough and tumble of the sex and kink, but am sure some of you more mischievous folk will devour it exuberantly.

Stephanie Loves: "'Whatever is in you, whatever you're feeling -- feel it. Don't hide from it. Don't try to "beat" it. Be with it until you understand it, until you know where it comes from.' I frowned at the floor. 'Then it won't rule you anymore.'

I raised my eyes to his as he finished the sentence. Sweat dripped from my forehead onto my neck as my quick breaths punctuated the silence in the room.

'That's what power is,' Dominic said. 'It doesn't have anything to do with force or subjugation.'" -- from Emerald's "Power over Power".

Radical Rating: 6 hearts- Would recommend to people.

Please, Sir is a male-dominant, female-submissive book of erotic stories. It's 213 pages, and in those pages, there are 22 different stories. The stories average at about ten pages in length. All of the stories are heterosexual, have a male Dominant and female submissive, include just the two individuals, and are written in an omniscient point of view or from the point of view from the female submissive. None of them are written from the Dominant perspective.

All of the stories were a relatively good read, but some were more arousing than others. However, they all were well-written and intended to arouse. The ones that weren't arousing usually provided a unique look into the mental aspect of submission. I'm also a female Dominant, so it's quite possible that finding some of the stories unarousing is because of my own personal preference.

Overall, I really enjoyed the collection of stories - even if some of them weren't arousing, they were still interesting to read because of the interesting insight into the submissive mindset. It's about 40 pages longer than most Cleis Press erotica novels too, so you're definitely getting your money's worth.