Seductions: Tales of Erotic Persuasion [Hardcover]

Lonnie Barbach (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1999

Written by both women and men, these stories illustrate the varied forms seduction can take, from the subtle passions in "The Dance of Seduction" to "The Dark Side" where intrigue overcomes inhibition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Barbach, best known for the blockbuster For Yourself, offers up a third anthology (The Erotic Edge: Erotica for Couples) of 20 tales of sex and fantasy. Her scope is wide?a variety of ages, races and orientations appear?and the results decidedly mixed. Barbach's self-help-style introductions to the stories and the collection's first two offerings are skippable. More engaging is Doraine Poretz's "Only in the Movies." Set in the Deep South of the 1960s, the story addresses prejudice and social taboo as it charts eight years of an interfaith relationship. Another standout, Dave Clarke's fairy tale "Nothing to Wear," tells of a woman who is whisked away from Bloomingdale's by a sultan's son and finds herself in an exotic land, where her outfit proves that less is more. The temperature rises with Kate Fox's nicely plotted, erotic "Knowing," an unusual coming-out story with several surprises. Agent, Rhoda Weyr. Literary Guild selection; Doubleday Book Club featured alternate.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

A sheaf of sex aids by 20 unknown writers, mostly for women but also for men and in particular for couples. Want to spend a night with your wife's best friend? Well, in Edward Buskirk's ``The Other Woman,'' you can have your cake and eat it too, e specially if that ``other woman'' who has slipped into your pitch-black bedroom is your wife disguised as her best friend. Or might it really be the best friend? James will never know, but the reader has some mild titillation watching the poor man go all the way and walk off guiltless. Barbach (The Erotic Edge: Erotica for Couples, 1994) avoids literal pornography (well, that depends) in these pinch-my-bottom little bed romps, while drawing the reader into story after story. Her intros to her five types o f seduction fall into the deathslump of phrases like ``attractive personality attributes in a potential partner''which is artfully seductive writing only for sociologists, though the writers here are no better (``his manhood grew, straining against the co nfinement''). The five types, meantime, weave through dance, the unknown, escape, the environment, and the dark side. Barbachs writers often publish their erotica pseudonymously, and one can see why, with each story as elegantly sexy as salt-water taffy. One could do worse with one's mate than read this, but taking a shower together will get you there faster, and maybe with better prose. -- Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Dutton Adult; 1St Edition edition (January 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0525944621
• ISBN-13: 978-0525944621
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,862,999 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The R version of Penthouse Forum, July 9, 1999

By 

Carol Weber "coggie" (Washington) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Seductions: Tales of Erotic Persuasion (Hardcover)

I haven't felt this naughty since I sneak-peeked at my dad's "Penthouse" magazines in the Forum letters section when I was 12. You know the one, where all these creative liars wrote in trying to out-porno each other with outlandish tales of sex and conquest and well, graphic seduction.

Same here in this book, a gathering of not sleazy letters to a skin rag but tales written by various scribes and edited by Lonnie Garfield. And prettified, with a plot no less.

Must admit though, I skimmed through for the down and dirty parts first, my favorite being "The Welcome Home" by Saskia Walker. Because it spoke most to my own sexual fantasy of eagerly desperately greeting the man I loved and desired at the door, so starved I don't want to bother with formalities like stripping naked. Because the language is powerfully seductive, drawing you into wanting the characters, wanting to BE the character. This, especially, had me melting on the floor: "He was animal; enclosed into a space he wanted to overcome, desperate for freedom, he roared back and forth inside the captive space. Her hips forged up against his, meeting each thrust, her hands grappling themselves free to clutch at his body." Beautiful poetry--AND HOT. None of this, *Ooh baby you're so big* embarrassment.

A definite plus in catching my eye: The front cover of a naked couple lost in embrace under water.

Another plus: The stories aren't just about heterosexual monogamous encounters. Something for everybody's lust if you're not too impatient for the *good* parts first like me.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Could not BE more disappointed...., January 12, 2002

By 

Karen M. "I do whatever my Rice Krispies tell... (Monroe, North Carolina) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Seductions: Tales of Erotic Persuasion (Paperback)

I bought this book based on other customer recommendations. This was my second attempt at reading an erotica novel (I usually stick to good ol' fashioned romances). So, where should I begin? There are some stories in here that aren't badly witten such as "The Other Woman", "Knowing", "The Welcome Home", "The 5:20 Encounter", "I Wanted To", and "Simply Seduced". So that leaves fourteen other stories that range from seemingly uncompleted, confusing, and down right intollerable. Stories such as "Only In The Movies", "Lines of Fire", "She Went Shopping This Morning", and "Double Clicked" end just when things start getting interesting and leave you wanting more, but not in a teasing prelude sort of way. And then, of course, there are other stories like "A Life of Seductions", "A Conversation About Green Water", "Under The Volcano", and "A Taste of Sicily" whose plot lines are anything but smooth going and, rather than leaving the reader "hot and bothered", they leave them just...plain...bothered. Last, but not least, we come to "The Last Seduction" which is about a woman who is,not only in her twilight years, but is also an invalid. I won't EVEN get into how disturbing this one was. One of my main objections to this book was the language. Maybe I've been spoiled by conventional romances that "romanticize" the human anatomy, but I found the vocabulary used in most of the works, even the better written ones, to be crude, thus leaving me feeling cold and unattached when the main reason for purchasing such a book is to get the blood flowing. So do yourselves a favor and find a better use for your money.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sexy, literate, and thoughful--delicious erotica!, February 25, 1999

By 

W. Noble "noblebill" (Northern California) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Seductions: Tales of Erotic Persuasion (Hardcover)

The incandescent tease (and bumblingly verbal husband) of "The Other Woman," the erotic inventiveness of "The Welcome Home," the male truthtelling of "I Wanted To," and the unwavering humaneness of the editor all make this one of the better collections of erotica in several years. We are beseiged by Henry Hyde (or Kirkus Reviews)on one side, and on the other by a steady ratcheting of erotic writing toward power games and grunge. This book is a sweet-hot antidote to BOTH. Lonnie Barbach has likely done more than any other single person to help American women reclaim sexual joy. "Joyful," in fact, is a great word for these delicious little stories. Oh, and now that I think of it, Henry: you might very well enjoy "The Other Woman" as much as I did!