Hot & Bothered 4: Short Short Fiction on Lesbian Desire

by Karen X. Tulchinsky

The fourth installment of the bestselling international lesbian erotica series, consisting of stories of one thousand words or fewer that articulate desire between women. Previous books in the series have made bestseller lists, and Hot & Bothered 3 was shortlisted for a Lambda Literary Award in 2001. Hot & Bothered 4 includes new stories by many award-winning writers, including Lesléa Newman, Lucy Jane Bledsoe, Carol Queen, Nisa Donnely, Barrie Jean Borich, Gabriella Glancy, Wickie Stamps, and Sara Graef. Karen X. Tulchinsky edited the first three Hot & Bothered books and co-edited Queer View Mirror 1 and 2: Lesbian and Gay Short Short Fiction, and is the author of the novel Love Ruins Everything.

240 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2003

Reviews

[Pamela Langhorne · Rating 1 out of 5]

Hot and Bothered 4 promises to be lusty, sexy, arousing and best of all short! It promises, but it doesn't deliver. A book of this kind, a selection of short hot lesbian fiction, is a thing that would, in theory, be kept on a night stand or in a bed side table. Guys keep books of this sort in the john, they jerk. I don't jerk, I rub and so my hot erotica can always be found next to my bed. This book is nowhere near my bed. In a great effort to get through it I have stored it in the bath, where I can peruse it when overcome by the fluish symptoms that seem to be old hat this season.

So, where did this book go wrong with me? I'll tell you all too happily. In the first several stories I found tales of lesbian love and loss. Not necessarily a bad thing, but these tales didn't turn me on or get me hot. Those were then followed by several school girl stories, not one of them distinguishable from the others.

While all of the stories that I read were very well written, I didn't find them particularly erotic as they encouraged no desire, not even the desire to continue reading. But I persevered. I was determined to find that hot lesbian story that would have me rubbing my legs together. The closest I got was a story about a woman with a thing for lemons. And finally at the half way point, and having spent 4 days to get through fewer than 100 pages, I just gave up. Sucking up a 300+ page book in a day is not a feat unheard of for me, but this read was dull, tiring and taxing in its annoying tendency to never end. And still that last page eludes me like a cool drink of water in the middle of a desert.

I expected something punchy and hot in 1000 words or less. While many of the stories were filled with rich characterizations for stories of that length, there was none of that pull on my most feminine part, my naughty girl brain, that would get me even the least bit hot and bothered. There were a couple of stories that raised an eyebrow but all were inevitably followed by others with the blandness that I can only liken to communion wafers. And as one story blended into another and then another I can't even recall which few I actually liked. I later tried to find the few and give them their due but it was like digging for one specific penis in a bathhouse orgy and in the end, no joy.

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

To be fair, I have a story in this anthology. And for the record, they spelled my name wrong and changed one of my pronouns, he to she, so they need a better editor (ahem, ME!)