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dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content
dark
informative
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
I didn’t really like it. I thought it wasn’t that good and at first the first few stories were intriguing but I got to one story where it had a SA and I didn’t know if this was part of the theme of the book since it’s about kinks. And I guess I wasn’t quite prepared for the brutality of the scene but it just turned me off for the rest of the book
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence
Moderate: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape
Started off steamy but then it was like three or four cis hetero stories in a row that left me feeling uninspired and bored :( I wanted this to be more gender expansive inclusive - maybe try to pick it up again.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Drug use, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Police brutality, Injury/Injury detail
challenging
dark
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I’m glad I finished this book, because the last story was my favourite. I felt this topic could have so much incredible nuance to explore and expansive varieties of thought but it really didn’t deliver for me.
I also want to note that this is such a minority topic that’s in popular culture it had a certain responsibility to the kink community. I, in places felt it really failed this due to depictions of that which is clear (within the community) NOT kink and that should be explicitly noted to those outside looking in.
I also want to note that this is such a minority topic that’s in popular culture it had a certain responsibility to the kink community. I, in places felt it really failed this due to depictions of that which is clear (within the community) NOT kink and that should be explicitly noted to those outside looking in.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault
some stories are amazing, and some of them fell very flat.
Read the tw's before starting this books!
Read the tw's before starting this books!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence
Moderate: Blood
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Check Content Warnings before reading this review or this book!
I have a full bag of mixed feelings about this, ufff. First of all, I have been active in kink and kink communities for a while now and consider many of the people I have met in these contexts or ventured into them with, as my found family. Therefore, I do consider myself to have some knowledge and experience on the overall topic of kink, even though it is obviously a very very broad field in which many experiences can be made that are vastly different.
There were some stories I enjoyed a lot. "The Voyeurs" for instance, was a great albeit painful narrative about being othered as a trans person and craving the care and closeness of loved ones. And the reocurring use of 'being looked at' at a theme, chef's kiss!
However, a majority of stories shows kink as something that lacks consent and consideration, care and empathy and just general kindness for the people engaging with each other. Foundational kink practices like aftercare, safewords or negotiation talks were pretty much missing from all of the stories. Several of the stories even contained scenes in which a dominant partner intentionally crossed boundaries to play with their partner or 'challenge' them. Characters were oftentimes rude, inconsiderate or outright violent to each other and I got the feeling that the authors mostly perceived kink as something that goes along with bad communication and boundaries as well as a heightened possibility for interpersonal violence.
Naturally, there will be people who practice kink in these ways. And in my opinion its important to also portray characters whose struggles transfer to the way they show up to kinky situations with their partners. However, I find it to be insensitive (at best) to show kink in this continously unfriendly light. People who have not had contact with kinky communities and individuals who value communication, the well-being and joy of everyone involved and consent, might just find a whole lot of stereotypes reinforced. And that makes me so so angry and so so sad.
Lastly, one story made me so angry that I briefly wanted to throw the book against a wall. (CW for r*pe going forward.)
I have a full bag of mixed feelings about this, ufff. First of all, I have been active in kink and kink communities for a while now and consider many of the people I have met in these contexts or ventured into them with, as my found family. Therefore, I do consider myself to have some knowledge and experience on the overall topic of kink, even though it is obviously a very very broad field in which many experiences can be made that are vastly different.
There were some stories I enjoyed a lot. "The Voyeurs" for instance, was a great albeit painful narrative about being othered as a trans person and craving the care and closeness of loved ones. And the reocurring use of 'being looked at' at a theme, chef's kiss!
However, a majority of stories shows kink as something that lacks consent and consideration, care and empathy and just general kindness for the people engaging with each other. Foundational kink practices like aftercare, safewords or negotiation talks were pretty much missing from all of the stories. Several of the stories even contained scenes in which a dominant partner intentionally crossed boundaries to play with their partner or 'challenge' them. Characters were oftentimes rude, inconsiderate or outright violent to each other and I got the feeling that the authors mostly perceived kink as something that goes along with bad communication and boundaries as well as a heightened possibility for interpersonal violence.
Naturally, there will be people who practice kink in these ways. And in my opinion its important to also portray characters whose struggles transfer to the way they show up to kinky situations with their partners. However, I find it to be insensitive (at best) to show kink in this continously unfriendly light. People who have not had contact with kinky communities and individuals who value communication, the well-being and joy of everyone involved and consent, might just find a whole lot of stereotypes reinforced. And that makes me so so angry and so so sad.
Lastly, one story made me so angry that I briefly wanted to throw the book against a wall. (CW for r*pe going forward.)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Stalking
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I was really underwhelmed by a lot of these stories. They tended to drag and I felt myself skimming the pages at points. There were certain stories that I loved, which is why this book is a 2.5 but the good ones were few and far between. Also, I'm all for kink but when one story had a surprise incest plot... No, thank you. I'm glad this book has introduced me to more authors to check out and read their works.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Incest, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Blood, Death of parent, Dysphoria
adventurous
challenging
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
I absolutely loved some stories (specifically Alexander Chee, Callum Angus, Roxanne Gay, Carmen Maria Machado, Melissa Febos, and Kim Fu) and the others I absolutely did not like (basically all others I didn’t list). I simply do! not! care! about how a cishet man relates to kink!!! Also, someone needs to get Brandon Taylor to therapy!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Lesbophobia, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail