cover image The Big Book of Submission, Vol. 2: 69 Kinky Tales

The Big Book of Submission, Vol. 2: 69 Kinky Tales

Edited by Rachel Kramer Bussel. Cleis, $19.95 trade paper (376p) ISBN 978-1-62778-222-7

Prolific editor Bussel (Best Women’s Erotica of the Year, Vol. 3) fans out an inclusive array of sexual submissions in 69 succinct stories featuring people of diverse racial backgrounds and genders in various pairings and groupings, with the welcome addition of a few older characters as well. Zodian Gray’s tender “Goombay Lover” features a Bahamian narrator and prose reminiscent of 1930s noir. In Angela R. Sargenti’s “The Old-Fashioned Way,” a female dominant helps an unhappy wife turn the tables on her duplicitous husband, who’s desperate for punishment. “Roped In” by Adrea Kore introduces a sweetly naive narrator to the “seductive slither” of shibari rope bondage. A dreamlike seagoing fantasy in Dr. J.’s “Lashed” explores the deep artistic intimacy of being bound. Anna Sky’s standout “Imago” lyrically explores tattooing, and Giselle Renarde’s “We Are Magic” stuns with fresh, unexpected twists. Readers will be very satisfied by this erotic buffet. (Jan.)