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3.21 AVERAGE
3.21 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
reflective
medium-paced
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Each chapter is a different story written by a different author - which makes them really hit or miss. I enjoyed less than half the stories unfortunately; I couldn’t put the book down for some and then for the majority I didn’t want to pick the book back up. I didn’t bother to read the last three because of this. If I was going to recommend this, I’d only suggest those chapters that actually managed to hold my interest. I guess that’s just what happens when there’s so many authors.
This is such a skewed, sad, disappointing take on kink. Does not look like the experiences of anyone I know in the community, where consent is king and we’re having the most fulfilling sex we’ve ever had.
Vet inte riktigt vad jag förväntade mig men det var inte det här? En sådan här bok borde framkalla nån form av känsla, vare sig lust, skam, avsky. Det flöt mest på med intetsägande berättelser. Ingen som var minnesvärd förutom en men av helt fel anledning, "Gospodar". Samtycke fanns i början, med en stark förvriden maktdynamik (som kan förväntas i antologin), korsar klart linjen till våldtäkt. Obehaglig att läsa.
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slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Most of these stories were just not very good. If the rhetorical intent of positioning this antho as "literary short fiction about kink" was to distinguish it from what the publisher may think of as baser short form romance or erotica, I am afraid all it has done was accentuate the shortcomings of the contents.
I have never before read so many stories in a row that got in their own way by clinging desperately to the veneer of literary. So many digressions of interior monologue and segues into past events that obliterated decent pacing ...so many descriptions of what ought to have been lurid that were boring or poorly written. The friend I borrowed this from said "there are maybe? two decent stories in here" and they were right.
I have never before read so many stories in a row that got in their own way by clinging desperately to the veneer of literary. So many digressions of interior monologue and segues into past events that obliterated decent pacing ...so many descriptions of what ought to have been lurid that were boring or poorly written. The friend I borrowed this from said "there are maybe? two decent stories in here" and they were right.
medium-paced
medium-paced
challenging
dark
fast-paced
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Death, Fatphobia, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Stalking, Sexual harassment
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
With a title like “Kink” you may be expecting a collection that is essentially erotica, but the introduction by editors make it clear that this book is stories, less about the sexual acts of kinky people and more about the “complex, psychologically rich act of communication” that is kink. The characters in the stories in this anthology span a wide range of gender and sexuality. No matter if you are cisgendered or trans, straight or queer you will likely find stories that you can relate to.
Like any short story anthology, it’s hard to rate or review of the entire book; some stories resonated with me more than others. Some of my favorites were “The Cure” by Melissa Febos about a lesbian who has sex with a straight man in a way that harkens back to her dominatrix days in college, “Oh, Youth” by Brandon Taylor about a young man who spends his summers as a paid companion, “Scissors” by Kim Fu where trust is key in a scene with a paying audience who get to vicariously experience the visceral fear of sharp objects while the subject is bound and blindfolded, and “Safeword” by R.O. Kwon where a straight couple new to kink consult a dominatrix. Most of the other stories were still enjoyable even if a few did not seem to belong in the collection.
Overall, I’d recommend this anthology to anyone interested in kink and looking for representation of the human aspect. My thanks to Netgally and Simon and Schuster for providing me with an ARC of this book.
Like any short story anthology, it’s hard to rate or review of the entire book; some stories resonated with me more than others. Some of my favorites were “The Cure” by Melissa Febos about a lesbian who has sex with a straight man in a way that harkens back to her dominatrix days in college, “Oh, Youth” by Brandon Taylor about a young man who spends his summers as a paid companion, “Scissors” by Kim Fu where trust is key in a scene with a paying audience who get to vicariously experience the visceral fear of sharp objects while the subject is bound and blindfolded, and “Safeword” by R.O. Kwon where a straight couple new to kink consult a dominatrix. Most of the other stories were still enjoyable even if a few did not seem to belong in the collection.
Overall, I’d recommend this anthology to anyone interested in kink and looking for representation of the human aspect. My thanks to Netgally and Simon and Schuster for providing me with an ARC of this book.