Women in Lust: Erotic Stories [Paperback]

Rachel Kramer Bussel (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 8, 2011

Lust is urgent, overpowering, and potent. While in real life readers may not always act every time desire calls, in fiction, they can abandon the safety of propriety to seek out lust and sex wherever they find them. The characters in Women in Lust may vary in the objects of their lust, and how they go about acting on it, but what connects them is that pure impulse for a lover. Sometimes he is someone she knows well, a boyfriend or a husband; in other stories, he is a stranger, and is desirable precisely because he represents the unknown. Whether watching a lover playing guitar, going out for a smoke or simply engaging in a chance encounter, these women seize the opportunities presented to them, and savor the lovers who teach them about themselves, helping open them up to new sensual possibilities.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"It's wonderful to read about women in lust - women who are bold, free, shameless (in a good way), women who know how to reach satisfaction. It's nice to read a book full of heroines unburdened by guilt, with very few obstacles between them and their fondest desires."
—Pagan Spirits

"If you’re looking a totally sexy, so-hot-it’ll-burn-your-fingers book, then you should definitely add Women in Lust to your shopping list."
—Erotica for All

"Each tale is a snippet into a life or lives and each presents a titillating vision into perceptions of lust, so everyone can find something that will appeal."
—Fresh Fiction

"I was impressed with the overall quality of the writing, and I will certainly be reading more erotica from Cleis Press. I’m thrilled to see so much diversity in the stories – younger women’s lust and older women’s lust, leading to straight, gay and kinky sex, and in all cases to hot sex. Highly recommended."
—Whole Sex Life

"Erotica author and editor Rachel Kramer Bussel’s newest anthology Women in Lust is juicy and bursting with the passionate flavors of many voices...Fresh and wonderfully compiled, twenty erotica authors combine their literary gifts and mix it all up into a lusty book...gives the reader a bouquet of delights, all clamoring with lust, displaying its words, paragraphs, and letters in sinuous sentences and wanton descriptives."
—Erotica du Jour

"Wishes and thoughts, ideas and machinations of women in the throws of lust, for men or women, release or adventure, be it to take or be taken. It was an enjoyable and recommended read."
—The Eroticist

"These lusty women enjoy a rough and wild romp. Edited by Rachel Kramer Bussel, the anthology Women in Lust plunges headfirst into spanking, multiple partners and switching genders. For me with erotic writing, it’s not about the gender of the individual but the overall person, and I enjoy anthologies that embrace this diversity."
—Louisa Bacio Blog


In praise of Passion, "Rachel is superb at selecting stories with a theme. Passion is at times touching and tender, naughty and hot, and completely true to its title: erotic, romantic and universally appealing to newbies and connoisseurs of lusty language, the sort of anthology that encourages sensual living." from Modern Love Musings by Tinamarie Bernard.

In praise of Smooth, "Unfulfilled just to let sex happen, these women are active participants and explore every sensory experience, especially those to do with that largest and most erotic organ: the skin. Sensuality exists alongside the animalistic, showing both sides, indeed many sides, of being bare." from the Sacramento Book Review.

From the Back Cover

Love, Lust and Desire

At its best, lust is intense, all-consuming, leaving you breathless, able only to focus on slaking that urgent need. The characters in Women in Lust give in to that pure, overpowering impulse for sex. Whether watching a lover playing guitar, using a webcam, going out for a smoke or simply embracing a chance encounter, these women seize the opportunities presented to them, and savor the lovers who teach them about themselves and help them open up to new sensual possibilities. These women embrace lust even when it makes them do things they might consider reckless. Sometimes the object of their lust is not the "right" person—a woman falls for her best friend's boyfriend, the ultimate taboo. Or desire itself may be maddening when it teases and taunts. Rachel Kramer Bussel has brought together top erotica authors who know exactly what to do with those burning desires.

With contributed stories by Portia Da Costa, Charlotte Stein, Aimee Pearl, Clancy Nacht, Elizabeth Coldwell, Lucy Hughes, Del Carmen, Jen Cross, Rachel Kramer Bussel, Brandy Fox, Amelia Thornton, Kin Fallon, Aimee Herman, Jacqueline Applebee, Kayar Silkenvoice, Olivia Archer, Justine Elyot, K.D. Grace, Shanna Germain, and Donna George Storey.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 244 pages
• Publisher: Cleis Press (November 8, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1573447242
• ISBN-13: 978-1573447249
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #427,752 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A broad look at Lust from an expert in erotic story anthologies, November 3, 2011

By 

Jvstin "Paul Weimer" (Circle Pines, MN United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Women in Lust: Erotic Stories (Paperback)

What is Lust?

Lust is one of the Deadly Sins.

Lust is one of the precepts that Buddhist practices abjures.

Lust is an intense longing, not necessarily sexual, but often categorized as such.

Lust is one of the most powerful of the emotions. Women in Lust is an anthology of erotic stories edited by Erotica anthology impresario Rachel Kramer Bussel exploring the idea, consequences, motivations and geography of lust, specifically from a woman's point of view.

Lust makes people do dangerous, reckless, even trangressive things.

Women in Lust is an anthology that embodies those principles in 20 stories, many of them veterans of Bussel's anthologies before. Bussel herself has a tasty story, anthologist's privilege, you bet, in "Hot for teacher". No laws are broken in this story, but it does play with that very classic trope and plays with it well.

Speaking of tropes and themes, while the overarching theme of lust might not give you a clue as to what truly is in store, I discovered a variety of scenarios, kinks, motifs and interpretations of the theme. The stories range from a pretend interrogation ("The Hard Way" to a dominance and submission themed threesome ("Her, Him and Them") , There is even, much to my surprise, a knifeplay story, "Beneath my skin".

What was the strongest story for me, you might ask? Besides Hot for Teacher, which pushed my buttons in all the right ways? Probably the "anchor story", Donna George Storey's "Comfort food". Yes, the story involves food, but nothing as simple or straightforward as using food in kinky ways.

The thing that detracts from the anthology, and it's a strength nearly as much as a weakness, is that with such a broad theme and such a variety of participants, the anthology is extremely broad and shallow in terms of the types of stories here. Although Bussel has curated anthologies like this before, in this case it seems especially spread out. This means that while your kink is probably guaranteed to be here in some form or another, it also means that the lack of overlap in that respect of the stories in the book might make you think the book has less value than it truly does. I think the stories could have been a little tighter together.

Women in Lust is a well written anthology, don't get me wrong. I don't think it is quite the best collection Bussel has put together, but I've never been disappointed in one of her anthologies, and Women in Lust is no exception.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars So hot it'll burn your fingers!, November 10, 2011

By 

Miss Lucy Felthouse "Published author - www.l... (Derbyshire, UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Women in Lust: Erotic Stories (Paperback)

Women in Lust is an erotic anthology from the powerhouse that is Rachel Kramer Bussel, and let me tell you, it's HOT.

Containing stories from writers such as Portia Da Costa, Charlotte Stein, Elizabeth Coldwell, Jacqueline Applebee, Justine Elyot, K D Grace, Shanna Germain and Donna George Storey, Women in Lust is an anthology which has a wide variety of voices, styles and scenarios - yet they all have one thing in common: super high quality.

I love to read anthologies because of the variety, yet there's usually a story here and there that I don't like - or end up skipping altogether. Not so with Women in Lust. I genuinely enjoyed each and every story. Particular favourites included Naughty Thoughts by Portia Da Costa, Hot for Teacher by Rachel Kramer Bussel and Comfort Food by Donna George Storey.

I love to see how authors put different twists on themes, i.e. women in lust, and think this book is a brilliant example of how it's done. The stories are well-written, varied and super hot. So if you're looking a totally sexy, so-hot-it'll-burn-your-fingers book, then you should definitely add Women in Lust to your shopping list.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mischievous Fun, November 20, 2011

By 

J. Anderson - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Women in Lust: Erotic Stories (Paperback)

Women in Lust is an anthology I really enjoyed and that I'd recommend wholeheartedly. First off, it's well-written and well-edited. It's evident that that the authors care about the craft of writing and the editor clearly took the time to select good stories and craft them into a compelling collection. Also, the stories are all written by women about women; it's not only fun but gratifying to see women take charge of their own desire and sexuality. Finally, the stories are often a little tongue-in-cheek; the authors obviously enjoyed writing them and aren't afraid to be a little mischievous and poke a little fun. One of my favorite stories in the anthology is Donna George Storey's "Comfort Food." Not only is the story, like the title, playful, but the sheer sensory detail is amazing and the characters well-developed. My favorite line is "my desire made me more interesting to myself." In a way, this line captures the spirit of the whole anthology, which is ultimately about how desire enriches women's lives and gives us permission to live as authentically as possible. Other stories I especially liked are "Smoke"--for its dauntless, irreverent heroine-- and "Unbidden"--for the way it challenged my expectations of the ending. Really, though, the whole collection is great. Definitely buy it!