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Thrones of Desire: Erotic Tales of Swords, Mist and Fire
Thrones of Desire is a place where lust and legend abound, and adventure, passion and danger entwine. Think mystical lands and creatures, kings and queens, knights and renegades, heroes and villains, warlords, maidens and princesses. Think battles and danger, honor and dishonor, good and evil. Most of all, think hearts filled with passion and secret desire. This is a place where romantic chivalry is alive and well, but so too is romantic wickedness. This is a place where the good do not always win, and the bad are often more captivating and desirable than their altruistic counterparts. In these lush and timeless landscapes, the battle for flesh can be as important as the battle for power. Intrigue, sorcery, revenge, lawlessness, dark secrets and mysterious elixirs; entanglements with supernatural beings — everything is possible in these magical mythical landscapes. Inspired by Game of Thrones these imaginative steamy tales transport the reader to fantastical realms.
227 pages, Paperback
First published September 11, 2012
16 people are currently reading
266 people want to read
About the author
Mitzi Szereto
69 books146 followersOFFICIAL ACCOUNT
Mitzi Szereto (mitziszereto.com) is an American-British author, anthology editor, and short story writer whose books encompass multiple genres, most recently in true crime, including her latest release Women Who Murder: An International Collection of Deadly True Crime Tales as well as her popular series The Best New True Crime Stories. Her work has been translated into several languages. A contribution in her anthology Getting Even: Revenge Stories received the Crime Writers’ Association Short Story Dagger “Highly Commended.” She has the added distinction of being the editor of the first anthology of erotic fiction to include a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. Mitzi has appeared internationally on radio and television and at major literature festivals, and has taught creative writing around the world, including universities in the UK. In addition to having produced and presented the London-based web TV channel Mitzi TV, she portrays herself in the pseudo-documentary British film, Lint: The Movie. Follow her on social media @mitziszereto.
Mitzi Szereto (mitziszereto.com) is an American-British author, anthology editor, and short story writer whose books encompass multiple genres, most recently in true crime, including her latest release Women Who Murder: An International Collection of Deadly True Crime Tales as well as her popular series The Best New True Crime Stories. Her work has been translated into several languages. A contribution in her anthology Getting Even: Revenge Stories received the Crime Writers’ Association Short Story Dagger “Highly Commended.” She has the added distinction of being the editor of the first anthology of erotic fiction to include a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. Mitzi has appeared internationally on radio and television and at major literature festivals, and has taught creative writing around the world, including universities in the UK. In addition to having produced and presented the London-based web TV channel Mitzi TV, she portrays herself in the pseudo-documentary British film, Lint: The Movie. Follow her on social media @mitziszereto.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
December 17, 2012
See my review here: http://www.bittenbyparanormalromance....
Another great compilation of various authors writing fantasy erotica. Lots of dragons..and I love dragons! I know a lot of people get frustrated with shorts but these are very well written. Although it's not long enough to develop any connections with characters, they are great, short reads. There were a few that I would like to see extended into a novel or at least a longer novella.
March 3, 2018
Disappointing collection of erotically themed SF. Most of the stories were just not that good, in story telling, writing, characters, or combinations of the three.
There was one stand out, Ashley Lister's "Here There Be Dragons," an Arthurian-flavored story about a dragon mistress and the Welsh chieftain who attempts to seduce her from her duties. The other two (out of 14) stories that appealed to me were "The Widow's Man" (Nyla Nox), a story about a would-be assassin's relationship to the queen he's supposed to help kill and the woman who put him up to it, and "Jericho" (Megan Arkenberg), a retelling of the biblical myth of Joshua's siege of the city.
I can't recommend this volume but if you have a taste for the erotic and SF, I would recommend Meljean Brook's "Iron Seas" books.
There was one stand out, Ashley Lister's "Here There Be Dragons," an Arthurian-flavored story about a dragon mistress and the Welsh chieftain who attempts to seduce her from her duties. The other two (out of 14) stories that appealed to me were "The Widow's Man" (Nyla Nox), a story about a would-be assassin's relationship to the queen he's supposed to help kill and the woman who put him up to it, and "Jericho" (Megan Arkenberg), a retelling of the biblical myth of Joshua's siege of the city.
I can't recommend this volume but if you have a taste for the erotic and SF, I would recommend Meljean Brook's "Iron Seas" books.
September 22, 2012
This book has an interesting premise. It’s erotica, but very different to what you’d usually expect from the genre. In his introduction to the book, Piers Anthony talks about breaking down the traditional publishing barriers which neatly categorised erotica into “for men” and “for women,” with no mixing allowed. He explains that the book will merge erotica and the traditional fantasy genre. The book combines knights and dragons, legends and fairy-tales with well-written and frequent sex.
Not being a particular fan of fantasy, this wasn’t the type of thing I’d usually pick up. But once I’d decided to give it a try, I enjoyed it immensely. It wasn’t the sexual elements in themselves so much, it was that the book made me think. It was intelligent erotica, a genre that I hadn’t really ever thought existed. If Fifty Shades of Grey is light, easy-reading, suitable for all but the illiterate, then this is the opposite. This is the thinking man or woman’s erotica. Some of the issues addressed are: What is rape and can it be forgiven? What is sexual orientation and is it fluid? How do people deal with sexual rejection? What is the difference between love and blind loyalty?
Particular highlights for me were “Of High Renown” by Janine Ashbless, a beautifully written story which raises some interesting questions, “In the Kingdom of Roz” by Madeline Moore, the story of a fairytale princess which deviates dramatically from the traditional narrative and “The Widow’s Man” by Nyla Nox, an enthralling story of loyalty, betrayal and personal sacrifice.
Those are just a few that stood out for me. All the stories in this collection are superbly written. The plots engage from the beginning and the characterisation is impressive. There are no cardboard cut-outs here. This book was well worth the read and comes highly recommended.
Not being a particular fan of fantasy, this wasn’t the type of thing I’d usually pick up. But once I’d decided to give it a try, I enjoyed it immensely. It wasn’t the sexual elements in themselves so much, it was that the book made me think. It was intelligent erotica, a genre that I hadn’t really ever thought existed. If Fifty Shades of Grey is light, easy-reading, suitable for all but the illiterate, then this is the opposite. This is the thinking man or woman’s erotica. Some of the issues addressed are: What is rape and can it be forgiven? What is sexual orientation and is it fluid? How do people deal with sexual rejection? What is the difference between love and blind loyalty?
Particular highlights for me were “Of High Renown” by Janine Ashbless, a beautifully written story which raises some interesting questions, “In the Kingdom of Roz” by Madeline Moore, the story of a fairytale princess which deviates dramatically from the traditional narrative and “The Widow’s Man” by Nyla Nox, an enthralling story of loyalty, betrayal and personal sacrifice.
Those are just a few that stood out for me. All the stories in this collection are superbly written. The plots engage from the beginning and the characterisation is impressive. There are no cardboard cut-outs here. This book was well worth the read and comes highly recommended.
October 31, 2012
Originally published at Book Lovers Inc.
The thing about short story collections is that some members of the set are going to be absolutely fantastic, and some are going to be, in a word, "meh". It's the nature of the beast.
But what about this collection?
There were two stories that stuck in my mind afterwards, that definitely lived up to the promise of being both dark fantasy and erotic sexuality intermingled. Kim Knox's At the Sorcerer's Command and Ashley Lister's Here There Be Dragons. In both cases, the darkness comes from the fantasy side of the equation.
In the Knox story, a paladin and an apprentice wizard invade the inner sanctum of a sorcerer, and are trapped. Or so it seems. But nothing is as it seems. The apprentice wizard, Miar, is a soul-catcher, she can find out the true-name of anyone, and with that true name, she can control them. Of course, there's a catch: she doesn't know what triggers her talent.
Varun, the paladin, is more than a paladin. Or less. He is a shadowbeast. He has no soul, being wizardspawn. But he is immune to most magic. Miar doesn't know what Varun is, only that she desires him, and that it is forbidden. Her mage trainer is owed her maidenhead as the price of her training.
The sorcerer is the enemy. She thinks that she controls these enemy interlopers. That she is watching them fulfill their base desires for her own amusement, before she throws them both to her troops. But she is wrong. Varun has outplayed her. Miar's fulfillment triggers her talent, and the soul-catcher steals the sorcerer's name. Also perhaps what little heart a shadowbeast has.
Here There Be Dragons was haunting. A female dragon trainer, Georgiana, exacts revenge on an invader through a series of lies of omission so subtle that he doesn't realize that he's being misled to his death. Unfortunately for poor Georgiana, she sends him to his fate after she's discovered through a bout of quite satisfying sex that this raider could make her very, very happy, but only if she were willing to betray every oath she ever swore, and she simply can't.
Other stories in the collection are good, but much more in the vein of standard fantasy romance, or at least standard fantasy erotic romance.
There were a couple of stories, Nyla Nox's The Widow's Man and M.H. Crane's Saints and Heroes, where I had the feeling I was reading a piece of something that belonged in a larger universe--I kept hoping for more explanation of the setup, or the background, than I had. I was interested, but I just didn't have enough to figure the whole thing out.
Verdict: I found a lot of stories in this collection that I enjoyed. A couple didn't veer much outside of standard fantasy, but were still good, while some, like the Knox and Lister stories, were absolutely standouts. The Eric Del Carlo and Janine Ashbless stories that open the collection are also very, very good and worth a shout-out.
I give Thrones of Desire four blushing stars.
The thing about short story collections is that some members of the set are going to be absolutely fantastic, and some are going to be, in a word, "meh". It's the nature of the beast.
But what about this collection?
There were two stories that stuck in my mind afterwards, that definitely lived up to the promise of being both dark fantasy and erotic sexuality intermingled. Kim Knox's At the Sorcerer's Command and Ashley Lister's Here There Be Dragons. In both cases, the darkness comes from the fantasy side of the equation.
In the Knox story, a paladin and an apprentice wizard invade the inner sanctum of a sorcerer, and are trapped. Or so it seems. But nothing is as it seems. The apprentice wizard, Miar, is a soul-catcher, she can find out the true-name of anyone, and with that true name, she can control them. Of course, there's a catch: she doesn't know what triggers her talent.
Varun, the paladin, is more than a paladin. Or less. He is a shadowbeast. He has no soul, being wizardspawn. But he is immune to most magic. Miar doesn't know what Varun is, only that she desires him, and that it is forbidden. Her mage trainer is owed her maidenhead as the price of her training.
The sorcerer is the enemy. She thinks that she controls these enemy interlopers. That she is watching them fulfill their base desires for her own amusement, before she throws them both to her troops. But she is wrong. Varun has outplayed her. Miar's fulfillment triggers her talent, and the soul-catcher steals the sorcerer's name. Also perhaps what little heart a shadowbeast has.
Here There Be Dragons was haunting. A female dragon trainer, Georgiana, exacts revenge on an invader through a series of lies of omission so subtle that he doesn't realize that he's being misled to his death. Unfortunately for poor Georgiana, she sends him to his fate after she's discovered through a bout of quite satisfying sex that this raider could make her very, very happy, but only if she were willing to betray every oath she ever swore, and she simply can't.
Other stories in the collection are good, but much more in the vein of standard fantasy romance, or at least standard fantasy erotic romance.
There were a couple of stories, Nyla Nox's The Widow's Man and M.H. Crane's Saints and Heroes, where I had the feeling I was reading a piece of something that belonged in a larger universe--I kept hoping for more explanation of the setup, or the background, than I had. I was interested, but I just didn't have enough to figure the whole thing out.
Verdict: I found a lot of stories in this collection that I enjoyed. A couple didn't veer much outside of standard fantasy, but were still good, while some, like the Knox and Lister stories, were absolutely standouts. The Eric Del Carlo and Janine Ashbless stories that open the collection are also very, very good and worth a shout-out.
I give Thrones of Desire four blushing stars.
November 3, 2012
Brought to you by OBS reviewer Vicki
The initial questions I need to ask myself after reading sexy books are: A) Do I need a cold shower? And B) Will this fire-engine red blush ever go away? In the case of Thrones of Desire; I believe I shall be spending the next week in my freezer and buying a thick pale ivory foundation from this day forth.
The title of this book, and perhaps even the conception itself, is something that has most likely been born from the kinky corners of the Game of Thrones/A Song of Ice and Fire bandwagon. That is not to say that George R. R. Martin doesn’t dish out his fair share of kink – but even his Santa Clause beard wouldn’t hide the inevitable mischievous flush. Thrones of Desire is a collection of short stories from various established authors, all of whom are well respected wordkinksmiths in the fantasy/high fantasy/erotic genres. The caliber of writing is nothing short of superb and although the collection is quite literally story after story of sexy olde worldy frolics; there is no repetition or mediocrity.
Mitzi Szereto has done a top-notch editing job as each story seamlessly flows into the other. The stories range from lonely women tending to wounded soldiers to fierce female Dragonmeisters strutting around half-naked and generally being awesome. There are elements of magic, forbidden love, bitter sexual tension, violence, death, good versus evil, myth and folklore. Something for everyone, unless you are in anyway prudish…
My favorite stories in the collection were At the Sorcerer’s Command by Kim Knox, In the Kingdom of Roz by Madeline Moore and Eyekeeper by Aurelia T. Evans. These three were very different stories but seemed to involve the broadest range of fantasy elements. They all flawlessly determined recognizable genre, believable characters and rich plot, which is something I always find extremely admirable about short story writers.
Thrones of Desire is a fantastic collection of erotic stories that carry a severe hotness warning and definitely require recuperation intervals. Digest this collection at a slow pace or you are sure to suffer a swordplay (*wink*wink*) overload!
http://openbooksociety.com/article/th...
The initial questions I need to ask myself after reading sexy books are: A) Do I need a cold shower? And B) Will this fire-engine red blush ever go away? In the case of Thrones of Desire; I believe I shall be spending the next week in my freezer and buying a thick pale ivory foundation from this day forth.
The title of this book, and perhaps even the conception itself, is something that has most likely been born from the kinky corners of the Game of Thrones/A Song of Ice and Fire bandwagon. That is not to say that George R. R. Martin doesn’t dish out his fair share of kink – but even his Santa Clause beard wouldn’t hide the inevitable mischievous flush. Thrones of Desire is a collection of short stories from various established authors, all of whom are well respected wordkinksmiths in the fantasy/high fantasy/erotic genres. The caliber of writing is nothing short of superb and although the collection is quite literally story after story of sexy olde worldy frolics; there is no repetition or mediocrity.
Mitzi Szereto has done a top-notch editing job as each story seamlessly flows into the other. The stories range from lonely women tending to wounded soldiers to fierce female Dragonmeisters strutting around half-naked and generally being awesome. There are elements of magic, forbidden love, bitter sexual tension, violence, death, good versus evil, myth and folklore. Something for everyone, unless you are in anyway prudish…
My favorite stories in the collection were At the Sorcerer’s Command by Kim Knox, In the Kingdom of Roz by Madeline Moore and Eyekeeper by Aurelia T. Evans. These three were very different stories but seemed to involve the broadest range of fantasy elements. They all flawlessly determined recognizable genre, believable characters and rich plot, which is something I always find extremely admirable about short story writers.
Thrones of Desire is a fantastic collection of erotic stories that carry a severe hotness warning and definitely require recuperation intervals. Digest this collection at a slow pace or you are sure to suffer a swordplay (*wink*wink*) overload!
http://openbooksociety.com/article/th...
October 29, 2012
Fantastic anthology of erotic stories, it's as good as the blurb promises and just as hot as it sounds! Thrones of Desire is every fantasy geek's wet day dream! The Foreword by Piers Anthony sets the mood perfectly you feel like shouting hooray to the fact that we can now write it as raunchy as we like it and not be ashamed of some male parts touching other female parts. ;)
And now comes the horrible part of trying to describe each story with one or two sentences so that the review won't be god awfully long. ;) Most of the stories were really good, well written and had substance so what I'm about to describe are the high notes of the bouquet :
Hot As a Dragon's Blood by Eric Del Carlo was bit weird, bit odd but fun!
Of High Renown by Janine Ashbless was a sexy story of nursing a knight back to health with some TLC and a side of sex.
At The Sorcerer's Command by Kim Knox was a sexy, smutty alpha male must read!
Silver by Anna Meadows was chivalrous tale of shyness, madness and stardust.
In the Kingdom of Roz by Madeline Moore was dark, sexy tale of princess coming of age and a kidnap.
Key to the Queen's Elixir by Jo Wu was entertaining tale of wolves, Snow Queen and a knight waking a sleeping past.
Here There Be Dragons by Ashley Lister was all about Dragons and scratching an itch that is formed by loneliness and the revenge of a woman wronged.
Flesh and Stone by Sacchi Green was a story from a slave market to a her new mistress's schemes.
Saints and Heroes by M.H. Crane - I was not a fan of this one it was just too bit too donfusing with all the term for a short story.
Escape by Mitzi Szereto was hot, well told and interesting, you wanted to figure out if the escape would work out.
Eyekeeper by Aurelia T. Evans was a little crazy, little dark, little sexy and all about the power trip.
The Widows's Man by Nyla Nox was interesting love letter to the woman he'd betrayed his Queen for.
Jericho by Megan Arkenberg was bit odd and harder to understand, not so sexy.
The Last Sacrifice by Zander Vyne was beautiful story of love, dragon, sacrifice and a unseen consequences.
With that said I'm all for promoting this erotica short story anthology to all fans of fantasy and fans on getting down dirty! ;)
And now comes the horrible part of trying to describe each story with one or two sentences so that the review won't be god awfully long. ;) Most of the stories were really good, well written and had substance so what I'm about to describe are the high notes of the bouquet :
Hot As a Dragon's Blood by Eric Del Carlo was bit weird, bit odd but fun!
Of High Renown by Janine Ashbless was a sexy story of nursing a knight back to health with some TLC and a side of sex.
At The Sorcerer's Command by Kim Knox was a sexy, smutty alpha male must read!
Silver by Anna Meadows was chivalrous tale of shyness, madness and stardust.
In the Kingdom of Roz by Madeline Moore was dark, sexy tale of princess coming of age and a kidnap.
Key to the Queen's Elixir by Jo Wu was entertaining tale of wolves, Snow Queen and a knight waking a sleeping past.
Here There Be Dragons by Ashley Lister was all about Dragons and scratching an itch that is formed by loneliness and the revenge of a woman wronged.
Flesh and Stone by Sacchi Green was a story from a slave market to a her new mistress's schemes.
Saints and Heroes by M.H. Crane - I was not a fan of this one it was just too bit too donfusing with all the term for a short story.
Escape by Mitzi Szereto was hot, well told and interesting, you wanted to figure out if the escape would work out.
Eyekeeper by Aurelia T. Evans was a little crazy, little dark, little sexy and all about the power trip.
The Widows's Man by Nyla Nox was interesting love letter to the woman he'd betrayed his Queen for.
Jericho by Megan Arkenberg was bit odd and harder to understand, not so sexy.
The Last Sacrifice by Zander Vyne was beautiful story of love, dragon, sacrifice and a unseen consequences.
With that said I'm all for promoting this erotica short story anthology to all fans of fantasy and fans on getting down dirty! ;)
December 15, 2012
Swords, magic and dragons entwined with erotica sex, what could be better for a fantasy lover? Perhaps a story with a beginning, middle and end would help. Collections are sometimes really good with stories to lure the reader in and find new authors. Generally with erotic fantasies written by romance writers, the readers is satisfied with smexy hot sex scenes and a lot of romance. The sci-fi fantasy part of it is very light. If a science fiction writer delves into this genre, the reader is treated to a magical world with little emotional development. It feels cold as the characters are not engaging.
The foreword in this book by well known author Piers Anthony also mentions a few other stereotypes based on where the writer comes from. He proposes this book of erotic tales will be different. It is with regret that I say it's a typical sci-fi fantasy anthology leaving an erotic reader high and dry.
The writing is polished and stories are all well edited. This collection is well written, there is no doubt about it. Manuscripts for biological functions can also be well written yet they are so clinical it leaves a reader empty of emotion. The issue I run into with many science fiction or fantasy writers is when it comes to a short story, they spend so much time trying to create an elaborate world, the story is missing. Where is the beginning? Why is this happening? How do the characters relate to each other? Why would a reader care about them? What is the motivation of the character? Where is the sexual tension? If it is erotic, there must be sexual tension.
In this collection, most of the stories threw the reader in the middle of a scene and there was neither an ending nor a resolution to a conflict. I find this to be a standard writing protocol in fantasy writers and it leaves me extremely disgruntled and dissatisfied. Or in erotic terms, I receive absolutely no foreplay and before I'm ready to go over the end and climax, my lover disappears without a word. Some of the short tales in this book, I don't even know what my lover is doing or how I met this lover until the very end.
The book started out well with Hot as a Dragon's Blood. We have a world, characters, dragons, conflict and some tasty if mild sex. From there, it went downhill for me. Either the tale lacked foreplay or the characters were as emotion-filled as a robot. I still rated this book a three star overall because the world building saved it. This book is recommended for science fiction and fantasy readers.
October 26, 2012
As a contributor, I was reluctant to review this book, but the quality and range of the other stories impressed me, from dreamlike literary fiction to G.R.R.M. and Joe Abercrombie-style gritty fantasy. As with any anthology, not every story resonated with me. I wished some could have been expanded into novellas or novels, but I know there's only so much a writer can do with 3K to 5K of space per story. I'm proud to be a part of the collaboration.
November 4, 2012
Read my review on Open Book Society
November 6, 2012
Let me just say that if you love erotica this is your book to read. This book has really got it going on and I loved it.
If you love things to do with magic and paranormal then read this book!!
If you love things to do with magic and paranormal then read this book!!
December 7, 2017
This superb collection would appear to be the companion to another recent Cleis anthology, 'Witches, Princesses, and Women at Arms: Erotic Lesbian Fairy Tales' edited by Sacchi Green. Where that earlier collection maintained a laser-like focus on f/f narratives, the fourteen stories in Mitzi Szereto’s 'Thrones of Desire' offer readers a a sumptuous pan-sexual fantasy smorgasbord with something to entice all tastes.
There are so many fine stories here, it’s hard to pick a favorite. I was particularly impressed by Megen Arkenberg’s 'Jericho', a nifty gender-switched re-imagining of the Biblical story of the besieged city, told here from the perspective of a male Rahab. Also striking is Kim Knox’ 'At the Sorcerer’s Command', a tale of richly-sustained atmosphere and suspense in which a taboo sex act becomes a catalyst for a near-impossible feat of magic. In Ashley Lister’s tautly-crafted 'Here There Be Dragons' a keeper of dragons must draw on all her powers of guile and seduction to outwit invaders from a foreign land; this story is, at once, scary and sexy as hell, with a satisfying final twist. Much more than a facile quickie, Janine Ashbless’ 'Of High Renown' offers readers a tale of realistic moral complexity and suffering that is also sensually rewarding. The opening of Zander Vyne’s ostensive damsel-in-distress narrative 'The Last Sacrifice' seems reminiscent of 'Dragonslayer', with, possibly, a bit of 'Ladyhawke' thrown in for good measure, and yet, the author’s subtle skill in bending this material through her own unique vision—to give readers something exciting and new—is truly striking. At the end we feel we’ve been given a wonderful gift.
Also excellent: 'Silver', Anna Meadows’ dark fairy tale in which a bride’s true appearance is disguised by a charm, her high-born groom nearly driven mad until both face the truth in themselves. Mitzi Szereto’s 'Escape' conjures a dystopian Handmaids-Tale-like world in which fertile young virgins are forced to marry the powerful old men in charge, yet one woman and her young lover endeavor to break free. In Sacchi Green’s marvelously-imagined 'Flesh and Stone', an empath is sold into slavery, but for a purpose that will redeem all her suffering.
We are tossed directly into the midst of a complex fantasy world in M.H. Crane’s ultimately moving 'Saints and Heroes'. 'Key to the Queen’s Elixir' by Jo Wu tells of the Snow Queen’s unexpected encounter with a stranger from her past, and the upheaval that ensues. And in the lyrical sexy prose of Nyla Nox in The Widow’s Man we are treated to the tale of a man awaiting execution after having been seduced into a conspiracy. In Madeleine Moore’s imaginative 'In the Kingdom of Roz', a pampered princess is kidnapped on the day of her début, only to discover truths about herself and her family’s past, and to be offered an extraordinary choice-of-a-lifetime. Moore uses deceptively simple language to tell this subtly colorful story. Eric Del Carlo’s 'Hot as Dragon’s Blood', in spite of its straightforward narrative form, tells a psycho-sexually complex story of sacrifice, of “letting go” and doing the right thing: a young man, bonded by blood to the dragon he would ride into battle, is outed as gay and, disgraced, forbidden to fight. His one hope is to transfer his blood-bond to another rider—in this case, a woman whose cultural tradition forbids her from riding with the dragon cavalry—but only through an act of “straight” sex. Interesting dilemma to say the least… And in Eye Keeper by Aurelia T. Evans readers encounter a bewildering world of political intrigue, theft, betrayal, and a coup in the making.
Enthusiastically recommended!
There are so many fine stories here, it’s hard to pick a favorite. I was particularly impressed by Megen Arkenberg’s 'Jericho', a nifty gender-switched re-imagining of the Biblical story of the besieged city, told here from the perspective of a male Rahab. Also striking is Kim Knox’ 'At the Sorcerer’s Command', a tale of richly-sustained atmosphere and suspense in which a taboo sex act becomes a catalyst for a near-impossible feat of magic. In Ashley Lister’s tautly-crafted 'Here There Be Dragons' a keeper of dragons must draw on all her powers of guile and seduction to outwit invaders from a foreign land; this story is, at once, scary and sexy as hell, with a satisfying final twist. Much more than a facile quickie, Janine Ashbless’ 'Of High Renown' offers readers a tale of realistic moral complexity and suffering that is also sensually rewarding. The opening of Zander Vyne’s ostensive damsel-in-distress narrative 'The Last Sacrifice' seems reminiscent of 'Dragonslayer', with, possibly, a bit of 'Ladyhawke' thrown in for good measure, and yet, the author’s subtle skill in bending this material through her own unique vision—to give readers something exciting and new—is truly striking. At the end we feel we’ve been given a wonderful gift.
Also excellent: 'Silver', Anna Meadows’ dark fairy tale in which a bride’s true appearance is disguised by a charm, her high-born groom nearly driven mad until both face the truth in themselves. Mitzi Szereto’s 'Escape' conjures a dystopian Handmaids-Tale-like world in which fertile young virgins are forced to marry the powerful old men in charge, yet one woman and her young lover endeavor to break free. In Sacchi Green’s marvelously-imagined 'Flesh and Stone', an empath is sold into slavery, but for a purpose that will redeem all her suffering.
We are tossed directly into the midst of a complex fantasy world in M.H. Crane’s ultimately moving 'Saints and Heroes'. 'Key to the Queen’s Elixir' by Jo Wu tells of the Snow Queen’s unexpected encounter with a stranger from her past, and the upheaval that ensues. And in the lyrical sexy prose of Nyla Nox in The Widow’s Man we are treated to the tale of a man awaiting execution after having been seduced into a conspiracy. In Madeleine Moore’s imaginative 'In the Kingdom of Roz', a pampered princess is kidnapped on the day of her début, only to discover truths about herself and her family’s past, and to be offered an extraordinary choice-of-a-lifetime. Moore uses deceptively simple language to tell this subtly colorful story. Eric Del Carlo’s 'Hot as Dragon’s Blood', in spite of its straightforward narrative form, tells a psycho-sexually complex story of sacrifice, of “letting go” and doing the right thing: a young man, bonded by blood to the dragon he would ride into battle, is outed as gay and, disgraced, forbidden to fight. His one hope is to transfer his blood-bond to another rider—in this case, a woman whose cultural tradition forbids her from riding with the dragon cavalry—but only through an act of “straight” sex. Interesting dilemma to say the least… And in Eye Keeper by Aurelia T. Evans readers encounter a bewildering world of political intrigue, theft, betrayal, and a coup in the making.
Enthusiastically recommended!
dnf
August 25, 2019Oh man.
This was bad.
So bad.
bad bad bad bad badbadbadbad.
I didn't finish it. I tried reading one or two of the stories then gave up and just skimmed them all.
So yeah, this was not good. Overall the stories were really shallow, which would have been fine if the smut was good, but this was some laughably bad erotica.
Some highlights:
"He entered her like a dagger that stabbed into her cove of secrets to where she had been numb since her death."
"His final thrust was like a murderous blow." like, damn is this girl okay??
"broadsword of an erection." that sounds sharp and painful no thank you.
"copious amount of molten seed"
"core of moisture" goddammit just say vagina.
In all seriousness, beyond the fact that pretty much all of these stories are horrifically written, there's a lot of rape-y vibes and dubious consent and vague consent and consenting-but-not-really. And even if these stories weren't so god damn awful and actually were well written, the blatant lack of consent would have ruined it for me anyway.
This book was a mess.
This was bad.
So bad.
bad bad bad bad badbadbadbad.
I didn't finish it. I tried reading one or two of the stories then gave up and just skimmed them all.
So yeah, this was not good. Overall the stories were really shallow, which would have been fine if the smut was good, but this was some laughably bad erotica.
Some highlights:
"He entered her like a dagger that stabbed into her cove of secrets to where she had been numb since her death."
"His final thrust was like a murderous blow." like, damn is this girl okay??
"broadsword of an erection." that sounds sharp and painful no thank you.
"copious amount of molten seed"
"core of moisture" goddammit just say vagina.
In all seriousness, beyond the fact that pretty much all of these stories are horrifically written, there's a lot of rape-y vibes and dubious consent and vague consent and consenting-but-not-really. And even if these stories weren't so god damn awful and actually were well written, the blatant lack of consent would have ruined it for me anyway.
This book was a mess.
August 7, 2017
I only read three stories, and two of them involved sexual assault (trigger warning) , so I just had to quit. Maybe I should have been suspicious with the inadequately armored woman splayed across the cover. And although Piers Anthony endorsed the series, I don't know much about his writing except that he is from the old guard. I gave it two stars because the first story was pretty good and was consensual (although they were drunk?) and at least played lip service to challenging sexism and homophobia. So maybe there are more good, safe stories in here but you shouldn't have to find them by looking ahead at each page preparing to flinch.
December 28, 2018
This book has some good erotica in it. It's got some great high fantasy in it as well. Sometimes the two can be found in the same story, other times it's strictly one or the other. Piers Anthony, in the foreward, described these stories as what happens in the elipse, in the ..., between one page turn and the next, and that's indeed accurate. It's also the problem - the stories are well written, making you want to know what happens, and you don't get to find that out, which makes it rather frustrating. That being said, there are some lovely tales in this collection, and it is worth the read.
August 25, 2019
Overall, this was a good read. A couple of the stories were kind of confusing, and left you wondering what just happened. As others have said, these stories were just too short to really get you into the story-line, or care one way or another for the characters. Being a short story, they had to cram everything into a few pages, and it loses it's zing.
November 9, 2017
It was okay, most of the stories didn't quite catch the right balance between story and smut. And for more than a few the sex was kinda boring. The two stories I liked best both had one partner dead by the end so there's that
August 21, 2018
If you like cheesy erotic sword and sorcery sex stuff you'll love this.
September 8, 2018
A good mix of fantasy set in a similar medieval based world, I liked it, but not the best collection I have run across.
December 31, 2022
I was interested to see what fantasy erotica is. It is ok, but maybe won’t be reading much more of it.
August 21, 2021
Some stories are interesting but most of them are either boring or confusing.
May 25, 2013
Reviewed by: krissygirl
Book provided by: Publisher
Review originally posted at Romance After Dark, a Romancing the Book site
When I first saw the cover of the book I knew that I was in for a real treat.
If you love short erotic tales then this is the book for you. In a way all the stories go together and in a way they don’t. You will have to read the book to completely understand where I am coming from.
I enjoyed reading each and every story. Some I understood and some I didn’t. Almost every one got my blood pumping and in a good way. I just got so into every story and hated it when I came to the end. There are some that will always be my favorite.
The way that the book was written and how every story was put in a certain order brought out the best in each one. I could never have such an imagination. I could just imagine myself with a sword and fighting along. I could really imagine myself with the men. Some of the way that the authors described them just made me want them to be real. I loved that I could really imagine them in my head.
The sex was just so wild in some of them and some was a little tame. So there is really a story in here for anyone’s enjoyment. Me personally, I love the really hot sizzling one’s. I will be the first to say that I will be reading this book again.
So if you love dragons, wizards, warlocks, or just anything to do with magic. With some hot erotic stories around them then this is the book for you.
I was really hoping that this book would never end, but they don’t work like that. I will be waiting for the next erotic read that will just make me break out in a sweat. So just bring all the sex that you can.
Book provided by: Publisher
Review originally posted at Romance After Dark, a Romancing the Book site
When I first saw the cover of the book I knew that I was in for a real treat.
If you love short erotic tales then this is the book for you. In a way all the stories go together and in a way they don’t. You will have to read the book to completely understand where I am coming from.
I enjoyed reading each and every story. Some I understood and some I didn’t. Almost every one got my blood pumping and in a good way. I just got so into every story and hated it when I came to the end. There are some that will always be my favorite.
The way that the book was written and how every story was put in a certain order brought out the best in each one. I could never have such an imagination. I could just imagine myself with a sword and fighting along. I could really imagine myself with the men. Some of the way that the authors described them just made me want them to be real. I loved that I could really imagine them in my head.
The sex was just so wild in some of them and some was a little tame. So there is really a story in here for anyone’s enjoyment. Me personally, I love the really hot sizzling one’s. I will be the first to say that I will be reading this book again.
So if you love dragons, wizards, warlocks, or just anything to do with magic. With some hot erotic stories around them then this is the book for you.
I was really hoping that this book would never end, but they don’t work like that. I will be waiting for the next erotic read that will just make me break out in a sweat. So just bring all the sex that you can.
December 11, 2012
A woman holds out hope that her culture’s discrimination against female dragon masters will not keep her from the coming battle.
The warrior must set aside his distaste for feminine lovers in order to give another the chance to take his dragon into battle and fulfill her dreams.
Mr. Del Carlo’s story of lovers enjoying each other despite personal and cultural preferences is painted against a backdrop of dragons and mystery.
Of High Renown
A woman cares for a wounded knight, falling deeply in love and lust as she heals his body.
Ashamed at the thought he has taken advantage of an innocent during his feverish dreams, the knight marries the woman out of his desire to make right his perceived wrong.
In order to heal her beloved’s heart, the newly made wife bares all for her knight husband.
This medieval style tale by Ms. Ashbless mixes fevered erotic dreams with chivalry and honor.
At the Sorcerer’s Command
A young sorceress in training follows her commander out of love, though she knows she is no match for their adversary.
Knowing he is stronger than the magic, a commander risks all to prove to a young sorceress that she is more than equal to the task.
When circumstances force the commander to take the sorceress’s virginity publicly, he must admit she is the one he has wanted all along.
The warrior must set aside his distaste for feminine lovers in order to give another the chance to take his dragon into battle and fulfill her dreams.
Mr. Del Carlo’s story of lovers enjoying each other despite personal and cultural preferences is painted against a backdrop of dragons and mystery.
Of High Renown
A woman cares for a wounded knight, falling deeply in love and lust as she heals his body.
Ashamed at the thought he has taken advantage of an innocent during his feverish dreams, the knight marries the woman out of his desire to make right his perceived wrong.
In order to heal her beloved’s heart, the newly made wife bares all for her knight husband.
This medieval style tale by Ms. Ashbless mixes fevered erotic dreams with chivalry and honor.
At the Sorcerer’s Command
A young sorceress in training follows her commander out of love, though she knows she is no match for their adversary.
Knowing he is stronger than the magic, a commander risks all to prove to a young sorceress that she is more than equal to the task.
When circumstances force the commander to take the sorceress’s virginity publicly, he must admit she is the one he has wanted all along.
January 30, 2013
Thrones of Desire
OR
Is That Even Legal In This Fantasy Country?
OR
Wow That Is a Flexible Dragon
OR
Is That a Wand In Your Pocket Or Are You Just Happy To See Me?
OR
I Could Probably Keep Making Puns Forever I'll Stop Now
Delivers exactly as advertised. Fantasy short stories with a lot of sex. I give it total props, though, that these stories have plot AND smut. And they aren't even all romantic stories for all that they feature some pretty X rated moments. Sometimes, though, I felt like the explicit sex scene broke tone with the actual story being told, but I tend to be biased towards plot over smut. And I will say that I liked the variety in this collection and I love that for the most part, sex is a key role in the plot. So while the explicit sex broke scene for me, you couldn't actually remove sex from the story and still be telling the same story.
Very definitely fantasy, though, not just because of the magic elements. Some of the gender politics and subtext that the authors probably don't even know is there has me making faces, but that's what I get for reading another collection about sex. Still refreshing to see a collection where plot AND sex held in equal regard.
OR
Is That Even Legal In This Fantasy Country?
OR
Wow That Is a Flexible Dragon
OR
Is That a Wand In Your Pocket Or Are You Just Happy To See Me?
OR
I Could Probably Keep Making Puns Forever I'll Stop Now
Delivers exactly as advertised. Fantasy short stories with a lot of sex. I give it total props, though, that these stories have plot AND smut. And they aren't even all romantic stories for all that they feature some pretty X rated moments. Sometimes, though, I felt like the explicit sex scene broke tone with the actual story being told, but I tend to be biased towards plot over smut. And I will say that I liked the variety in this collection and I love that for the most part, sex is a key role in the plot. So while the explicit sex broke scene for me, you couldn't actually remove sex from the story and still be telling the same story.
Very definitely fantasy, though, not just because of the magic elements. Some of the gender politics and subtext that the authors probably don't even know is there has me making faces, but that's what I get for reading another collection about sex. Still refreshing to see a collection where plot AND sex held in equal regard.
April 10, 2013
I really enjoyed this anthology; it has a great selection of erotic short stories which I found to be rather tantalizing. I have always enjoyed stories about dragons and lords and ladies but they have to be told right in order for me to read them and keep my interest. I have to say I am rather picky when it comes to this genre.
This compilation however kept my interest throughout the whole thing. I liked that the stories were short and to the point but yet they told a complete story. There were a few that left a little to the imagination but that is too be expected in a compilation of short stories. There will always be one or two the reader doesn’t care for at least in my opinion there is.
I enjoyed the style of writing as well, it was done flawlessly. It took me back to a mystical time where lords ruled and dragons flew around freely. I could only imagine the possibilities. I also liked that they erotica was talked about in the preface, explaining that it is usually either for men or women never both. I feel that this anthology could easily be considered appealing to both genders. I would recommend this book. It was a very lovely compilation.
This compilation however kept my interest throughout the whole thing. I liked that the stories were short and to the point but yet they told a complete story. There were a few that left a little to the imagination but that is too be expected in a compilation of short stories. There will always be one or two the reader doesn’t care for at least in my opinion there is.
I enjoyed the style of writing as well, it was done flawlessly. It took me back to a mystical time where lords ruled and dragons flew around freely. I could only imagine the possibilities. I also liked that they erotica was talked about in the preface, explaining that it is usually either for men or women never both. I feel that this anthology could easily be considered appealing to both genders. I would recommend this book. It was a very lovely compilation.
March 22, 2017
Not the most impressive compilation of fantasy erotica but a few solid stories can be found here.
At the sorcerers command by Kim Knox was my favorite. I've never read anything by her before and I'm certainly going to find some more of her other work. Her story was well rounded with bold characters, an interesting and seemingly complex world of magic. Plus I was captivated by the intensely erotic love story between Varun and Miar.
A few of the other stories I found slightly confusing because they were in short story form and they had tried to cram too much information in as few as 12 pages. Perhaps if written as full novels these stories would have developed properly. The erotic elements in most of stories was quiet tame and a little boring. Personally I thought the best erotically in this book were
At the sorcerers command by Kim Knox
In the kingdom of Roz by Madelina Moore
eyekeeper by Aurelia T Evans
At the sorcerers command by Kim Knox was my favorite. I've never read anything by her before and I'm certainly going to find some more of her other work. Her story was well rounded with bold characters, an interesting and seemingly complex world of magic. Plus I was captivated by the intensely erotic love story between Varun and Miar.
A few of the other stories I found slightly confusing because they were in short story form and they had tried to cram too much information in as few as 12 pages. Perhaps if written as full novels these stories would have developed properly. The erotic elements in most of stories was quiet tame and a little boring. Personally I thought the best erotically in this book were
At the sorcerers command by Kim Knox
In the kingdom of Roz by Madelina Moore
eyekeeper by Aurelia T Evans
October 12, 2012
This book was just ok for me. I was excited by the cover and the blurb but when I read the book I was slightly disappointed. I was expecting longer stories with a little substance. What you get with this book is a bunch of very short stories of sex scenes. I have to say some of them were very good and made me wish that the story would not end so suddenly. But some of the stories just weren't doing it for me they were just sex and at times not very good sex at that.
Having said that I think this book is well suited for someone looking for short bedtime reads of the erotic kind. Most are paranormal or historical based genres. So these are the people I would recommend this book too. If your looking for character development, relationship development or sexual tension this is not the book for you. But I will say it was a hot read.
Having said that I think this book is well suited for someone looking for short bedtime reads of the erotic kind. Most are paranormal or historical based genres. So these are the people I would recommend this book too. If your looking for character development, relationship development or sexual tension this is not the book for you. But I will say it was a hot read.
July 7, 2013
Sword and sorcery erotica, I’ll be honest here, I didn’t know that it was a genre of writing. I did expect it to be just basic smut with the odd mention of a guy built like Conan hearing the lamentation of the women but in all honesty, I was pleasantly surprised. The shorts all individually were of varying quality but never bad. There was lots of dragons mentioned, and I am always sold on anything involving dragons, but for what I was expecting to be a bit of a dressed up Sunday sport affair, I couldn’t have been more wrong, the writing was smart and intelligently put down and the characters involved generally carrying enough story to make it all a worthwhile read, the ‘inspired by game of thrones’ comparison on the back cover being pretty accurate.
August 9, 2014
This is erotica for the fantasy fan. Dragons, knights, princesses...all present. Well written sex? Also present. A forward by Piers Anthony (a well known fantasy author, who-if you've ever read his work-has wanted to write erotic scenes in his work for decades) where he celebrates the rise of e-publishing and the shattering of the explicit sex taboos that had long dominated fantasy publishing kicks off the anthology. I liked "In the Kingdom of Roz" by Madeline Moore as I love a sexy tale with a good twist at the end of a story. "Key to the Queen's Elixir" by Jo Wu is beautiful and almost made me cry. "The Last Sacrifice" by Zander Vyne manages to switch pov without confusing the reader, which turns the dragon sacrifice trope into something far more exciting.
September 2, 2012
Thrones of Desire is a compilation of novellas – 14 in all – with their plots loosely based on swords, thrones, lords and ladies, etc. The 14 stories may titillate a bit but, to me, they all seemed to stop suddenly. Wham, Bam…well, you know.
“The Widow’s Man” by Nyla Nox was a fair tale, I like the way it was written, the characters seemed real, although the end was a bit off-putting. The rest of the stories were all right.
Overall, I felt a disappointment because I kept reading through each tale hoping for improvement and there was none.
“The Widow’s Man” by Nyla Nox was a fair tale, I like the way it was written, the characters seemed real, although the end was a bit off-putting. The rest of the stories were all right.
Overall, I felt a disappointment because I kept reading through each tale hoping for improvement and there was none.
April 17, 2013
http://thetbrpile.weebly.com/1/post/2...
Smart, funny, passionate, and imaginative it’s a miniseries tied together by a common time and unique plots. I recommend this for those folks who want to get lost in the past without the bits that make you squeamish rearing their ugly heads.
Thrones of Desire brings sexy back to a time that doesn’t normally inspire panty dropping.
Smart, funny, passionate, and imaginative it’s a miniseries tied together by a common time and unique plots. I recommend this for those folks who want to get lost in the past without the bits that make you squeamish rearing their ugly heads.
Thrones of Desire brings sexy back to a time that doesn’t normally inspire panty dropping.
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