Making Men

Title: Making Men

Author: Sam Standish

Publisher: Wilde City Press

Publisher URL: www.wildecity.com

ISBN: 978-1-925180-96-1

Genre: {M/M} Erotica

Rating: 3.5 Nymphs

Literary Nymphs Reviewer: Chocolate Minx

The setting is a college dorm where students Tony and Kevin seek to help an unnamed young man transition from a virgin and emerge into a sexually active self-aware man. The plot exhibits biological sex as a conformation of student solidarity without any romantic commitments involved. Some readers may find the explicit sex kink segments depicted as distasteful.

Tony and Kevin’s goal is to teach the younger man the psychological complexity of intimacy, commitment and compassion. The young man must learn to open his mind completely to experience the ambiance of lust without feeling the obligation of commitment. The journey the three men travel now will dictate the path for their future.

Making Men is a story that illustrates a plausible depiction of human sexuality.  Overall, the remarkable character qualities of unbiased humanity demonstrated inspired my enjoyment of Making Men.   

Advisory: This work of fiction includes an incestuous sexual relationship between consenting adults.

The Catbird Seat

Title: The Catbird Seat

Author: Neil Plakcy

Publisher: MLR Press

Publisher URL: www.mlrbooks.com

ISBN: 978-1-60820-404-5

Genre: {M/M} Erotica

Rating: 4.5 Nymphs

Literary Nymphs Reviewer: Chocolate Minx  

Rashid Washington is doing daily maintenance on the boat he is paid to take care of at Miami Beach Marina, when he notices Bjorn Dahlquist walking his way.  Bjorn is the owner of the recently docked catamaran with its furled yellow sail a few steps away from where Rashid is working.  Minutes after meeting, the two men are indulging in a steamy, get acquainted interlude. 

The Catbird Seat is a quick read that comes from the same world as the novel GayLife.com.  Rashid comes from an affluent black family in Boston.  He hopes to do sailboat racing, much to his family’s dismay.    

Bjorn was a trader on Wall Street until he struck it rich and decided to sail around the islands.  Sharing his secrets with Rashid inspires Bjorn to offer Rashid the opportunity to gain more experience sailing, plus have the added bonus of fringe benefits for them both.  Neil Plakcy has created a fantastic fast read that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Starfucker

Title: Starfucker
Author: Michael Willhoite
Publisher: JMS Books
Publisher URL: http://www.jms-books.com/
ISBN: 9781611520231

Genre: {M/M} Futuristic Erotica
Rating: 4 Nymphs
Literary Nymphs Reviewer: Chocolate Minx

Brad DeMarco spends the day at CelebriSex, Inc. signing contracts and making the final payment on his clone of celebrity James Dean, purchased for sexual pleasure. Within minutes after his arrival, Jimmy initiates the services Brad has paid for.

Starfucker is a very short story designed to generate arousing entertainment. The storyline illustrates a future that is a step up in the escort business. The Madame is now a company. The clones are programmed to have sexual endurance, as well as to be faithful to the buyer. The buyer can choose their desired image. The sex is sizzling; however, this is not a love story with a happy ending. Michael Willhoite’s Starfucker is solely a quick stimulant for fans of gay erotica.

What Are You Wearing?

Title: What Are You Wearing?
Author: Iona Blair
Publisher: Whiskey Creek Press
Publisher URL: http://www.whiskeycreekpress.com/torrid/
ISBN: 978-1-60313-823-9
Genre: {M/F} {F/F) Erotica, Suspense, Adultery, Controversial
Rating: 2 Nymphs
Literary Nymphs Reviewer: Goddess Minx

Meredith, an older woman unhappy with her marriage and her job as a realtor, has resorted to calling a telephone sex line for temporary relief of her sexual frustration. For a better life, Meredith knows she needs to make some changes but doesn’t know where to start. Her main focus is on getting an old mansion sold as soon as possible and the local media’s constant reminder of the death in the house is only making it more difficult.

At present, Meredith’s biggest problem is her sex-addicted husband and his perverted and bizarre demands. She finds herself unsatisfied by him and finally starts to seek pleasure in younger men. When she is confronted by one of her lovers, who wants more from her even though he knows she is married, things take a turn for the worst. When Meredith finds herself being kidnapped, she realizes that she should have done more to discourage the unwanted attention and been more careful in achieving her own needs.

What Are You Wearing? is a bizarre story of women who are sex-starved or never had a clear understanding of what making love was about. These women find themselves in situations brought on by their own making, and some of the scenes described were a little too much for me. When Meredith’s husband is making his demands of her, I could only think…damn. Did he really think she would keep doing what he wanted after twenty years of marriage and never say NO to him? I was very proud of her after the last episode of being forced to have sex and the threat to harm her, if she didn’t cooperate.

This definitely went down the path of sexual abuse and while Ms. Blair expressed a very descriptive behavior of how people can become obsessed with sex, it was rather unsettling, to put it mildly. There really was no plot, other than the young man’s belief that Meredith belonged to him and the kooks who were persistent in buying the house. If you are looking for a lot of phone sex or abuse sex, this is the book for you.

Clockworks and Corsets

Title: Clockworks and Corsets
Author: Regina Riley
Publisher: Lyrical Press
Publisher URL: http://www.lyricalpress.com/
ISBN: 978-1-61650-130-3
Genre: {M/F} Erotica, Steampunk
Rating: 5 Nymphs
Literary Nymphs Reviewer: Satyr Vael

Captain Rose Madigan is reluctant to take on a particular job but she trusts her all-female crew, and they all need the work, so off they set off on a trip that none of them will ever forget. Madam Ruby runs a bordello and she’s power-hungry and eager to get her hands on whatever remains of a mad scientist’s lost lab. However, when Rose and her crew--including the young socialite Gabriella Upstairs--find the laboratory, they also discover something unexpected.

Atom Loquacious, son of the missing scientist, has his own secrets and they could spell doom for everyone. Unfortunately, Gabriella finds herself falling for him, further complicating matters all over.

Clockworks and Corsets is a wild, sometimes funny, sometimes incredibly hot ride! I’m a big fan of steampunk and this book delivers all everything I love about the genre in one well-written, riveting package. The love scenes aren’t overdone, yet they’re explicit and still manage to stay true to the time period. If you’ve never read steampunk, make this your first!

Maggie’s Ménage

Title: Maggie’s Ménage
Author: Lacey Thorn
Publisher: Total E Bound
Publisher URL: http://www.total-e-bound.com/
ISBN: 978-1-907280-84-9 (Audio)
Genre: {M/M/F} Contemporary Erotica
Rating: 4 Nymphs
Literary Nymphs Reviewer: Cipher Prose Nymph

Maggie has spent her entire life trying to earn her father’s attention. Finally, a degrading demand from him opens her eyes to the fact that his company means more to him than she.

Alex and Patrick have been friends for a long time. Now PI’s, they are on a case to investigate the notorious Dom Houston.

A case of mistaken identity leads Maggie, Alex and Patrick not only to a heated encounter but to an unexpected outcome, as well.

Maggie’s Ménage was my first experience with an audio book. I found the narrator’s voice to be clear, concise and easy to understand. It went along at a nice pace, not too slow or too fast. I was able to multitask as I listened to the story quite easily. The only con I found with the audio format was that I couldn’t figure out a way to return to a certain point in the story if I had to stop it.

Overall, I enjoyed Maggie’s Ménage. The characters were well written and developed; the storyline was adequately descriptive for a short story and the ultimate outcome caught me a little by surprise—which is always a plus. The sex scenes were hot and brought out their individual feelings nicely.

I would recommend Maggie’s Ménage to anyone who likes a spicy ménage read with a happy ending.

Mastered

Title: Mastered
Author: Ann Jacobs
Publisher: Ellora’s Cave
Publisher URL: http://www.jasminejade.com/
ISBN: 978-1-41992-597-9
Genre: {M/F} BDSM Erotica
Rating: 3 Nymphs
Literary Nymphs Reviewer: Cipher Prose Nymph

The efficiently ran, glossy life Prosecutor, Sandra Giancone portrays to the outside world is not all it’s cracked up to be. Under the surface lies a passionate woman with a need to be mastered.

Chief of Detectives Rocky Delgado has been long time friends with Sandra and while he fantasizes about taking their relationship to the next level, he thinks his dominate nature will be too much for the tightly self-controlled Sandra.

Mastered is a hot read that explores the different sides of people and shows why a “book” should not be judged by its cover or in this case, people. Many of us go through life, instantly summing those up around us by their mere appearance, never realizing what lies beneath. It is a good lesson in what we may be missing out on by not taking the time to get to know someone in our lives.

While I enjoyed this read and how it visits different levels of BDSM, I found the sexual innuendos to be somewhat crass and crude. I also found the extreme differences of respect shown from a heated scene to an everyday scene a little confusing.

Mastered is overall, an erotic read that’s guaranteed to heat up those cold, winter nights or make the summer ones boil. This novella is a good reference for those who may not know all the ins and outs of it.