Customer Reviews

Where The Girls Are: Urban Lesbian Erotica

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
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No matter whether it's your first visit to the big city or you've been living there for fifty years, 'Where the Girls Are' has something for everyone. Lover's of lesbian fiction will find plenty of action between these pages to WET their appetite. From the newcomer fresh off the bus to the seasoned city chick, the innocent to the well educated this book held my attention from the very beginning. DL King has a definite hit on her hands.
My favorite story had to be Cari Z's 'Not in Kansas Anymore' A dramatic twist on the dramatic 'sex in costume' theme. It made me want to get all dressed up and go looking for some fun of my own. So for those of you who love great settings, a fast pace and plenty of heat, hurry up and get a copy of 'Where the Girls Are' today.
Beth Wylde
[...]

Another successful anthology of women's erotica! "Where the Girls Are" offers a variety of tales, catering to several different types of erotica, from a steamy encounter with a stranger during a trip to London ("Old London Town", Jacqueline Applebee) to the more edgy story of a young woman's infatuation for a dominating Mistress ("A is for Apple" by Jessica Lennox).

Although I enjoyed several of the selections, my two favorites were "Electricity" by Evan Mora, and "Come to my Window" by Andrea Dale. I particularly enjoyed the chemistry between characters!

As an avid erotica reader, it's always interesting to me to see what new concepts will be tapped by anthology editors. And in Where the Girls Are, I think we see a brilliantly conceived theme: lesbian encounters that generally highlight the dynamics between an urbanite who is on her own turf and a protagonist who is (literally or metaphorically) more of an outsider.

The stories selected by editor D. L. King, written by justly renowned authors such as Jacqueline Applebee, Kathleen Bradean, Rachel Kramer Bussel, and Sommer Marsden, comprise a thought-provoking, complex, and erogenously potent offering of impeccably crafted, character-driven gems. From the heat of Crystal Barela's emotionally raw "In the Dressing Room," to the quirky and riveting "Afraid of Jumping" by Nan Andrews, to Lisabet Sarai's passionate narrative of a momentous chance encounter ("Rush Hour"), to the perfectly paced and lusciously detailed story of seduction that is Sophie Mouette's "On Display" ... this is a book to savor.

D.L. King's lesbian erotica anthology is so very well edited. Each and every selection is carefully chosen and placed and clearly I'm not the only one who feels that way. My book came with a shiny gold "finalist" award sticker from the Lambda Literary Awards. Narrowing the focus to urban lesbians, this collection has something for everyone from some of the finest names in erotica. I spied stories by Rachel Kramer Bussel, Lisabet Sarai, Sophie Mouette and Kathleen Bradean, among others. D.L. encourages us to "...lie back, relax, get nice and comfy, and enjoy [our] trip to the big city" in the introduction and I concur (wholeheartedly!).

Cari Z.'s "Not in Kansas Anymore" was a particular pleaser with developed, interesting characters and great interplay between the women. Plus costuming! I do so love dress-up. Also with excellent character interplay, Stella Sandberg's "You're the Boss' taps into the dominant/submissive relationship a boss and her underling can experience, especially when both women are at the top of their respective fields. Firecrackers go off when they meet and play.

Victoria Oldham's "A Window to the City" delights with two women who might not have met under other circumstances coming together (!) over coffee, in a very sexy manner to boot. And possibly my favorite story in the book, Sophie Mouette's "On Display." So hot! An art gallery manager tries her best to gain approval (and funding) from a married philanthropist, and ends up with so much more. Descriptive writing and a setting replete with erotic art make this a wonderful sexy tale.

The back book cover says some of the tales are true and some are fiction. I fantasized about which were which, but mostly I just enjoyed, and I think others will too. The only thing that gave me pause was the glossy cover photo, which shows intertwined hands that appear to show a woman with extra digits. I didn't think the shot was up to the usual standards that Cleis Press produces, but it's no reason not to pick up the collection. What's between the covers is a keeper!

I just got a kindle and the first thing I do is find these stories... quite liked this collection and would recommend this to a friend.

I could never quite find what i was looking for until i stumbled upon this book. Is a must read if you don't like sleazy thrown together quickies.

A
> must read for women trying to figure out some erotic and provactive
> ways to get the attention of other women with the end result being a
> sexual encounter. Being single for a long time, this book rocked my
> world and made me think that anything can happen if you are willing to
> put yourself out there. Each story provided an aggressive and
> original way to approach women and in a sense proved that women enjoy
> the company of other women but sometimes need to have their buttons
> pushed!

As you can guess, there's plenty of steamy sex, but what a lot of non-erotic readers probably don't realize is that is a select core of erotica writers out there who easily vault over the line of genre and are bona-fide literary writers. In this collection, King wisely taps the talents of these writers, and she ends up with an eclectic and electric mix. With new twists and exciting locations, this collection mixed kink with class and was a pleasure to read, for a variety of reasons.