Naughty Bits 2, the highly anticipated sequel to the successful debut volume from the editors of SPICE BRIEFS, delivers nine unapologetically raunchy and romantic tales that promise to spark the libido.
In this collection of first-rate short erotic literature, lusty selections by such provocative authors as Megan Hart, Lillian Feisty, Saskia Walker and Portia Da Costa will pique, tease and satisfy any appetite, and prove that good things do come in small packages.
No editor listed, Naughty Bits 2: An Anthology of Short Erotic Fiction (Spice, 2010)
First things first.
Dear Spice Books, The fact that I am holding a book in my hands means that I should be able to put a name to it. Not the name of any of the authors listed as having contributed to the book, but the name (or names) of those who read the submissions, collected them into a book-length manuscript, had final approval, etc. We normally call those folks “editors”. Any book like this has an editor. Please credit that person on future editions so those of us reading the book know to whom to refer when we want to comment on the overall quality of the stories there. Thank you.
Now that that's out of the way, the first thing you should know about this collection is that, whether this was broadcast to the participants previous to the call for submissions or not, the overarching theme of this volume is BDSM. That would have been nice to know from the description on Vine, and I don't see it anywhere in what can be found on the product page (with the caveat that I didn't read the reviews, as I try not to do before writing my own most of the time), so I'm putting it right up front for those who would find such material distasteful or, worse, triggering. That said, there are certainly various levels of dominance and submission, and the authors are all over the map with it, from Portia da Costa's bare-bottomed spanking to Megan Hart's sexy spies, where the notion of “dominance” is a natural outgrowth of the hero's occupation. (I would also like to thank Megan Hart and Saskia Walker for bringing the love for the IT guy, though I certainly don't look like their heroes, and few of my co-workers look like their heroines...) As with pretty much everything else literary, I tend to prefer the subtle to the obvious, and so making an exception for the Portia da Costa story, because Portia da Costa could write the phone book and I'd read it, the farther I got in this book, the more I appreciated it. (I should mention that Da Costa's story is the first in the book; Hart's and Walker's are second-last and last, respectively, and Walker's is the mildest, from the BDSM perspective.)
As is usually the case with anthologies, the quality of the stories is somewhat varied, and to be honest, what you're going to like and what you're not is pretty much solely based on taste. You may find Portia da Costa insufferable (you poor soul). So me telling you what's awesome in here is kind of like me telling you red velvet cake is better than coconut cream pie; some of you will agree, some of you won't. All I can do is tell you this: unless you have a vested interest in not reading it because of the subject matter, even the “worst” stories in here (define worst however you'd like) are of a high enough quality that I'd encourage you to check it out and figure out which authors you'd like to read more of on down the road.
Since I'm new to the romance genre and all it's subgenres I thought what better way to explore the naughtier part of the genre than with an anthology. While the actual naughty bits are perfectly naughty the storylines for at least the first half of the book fall flat.
While the settings and time periods earn points for variety (British Manors in the present time, ancient Egypt, caves in the jungle in present day) when you get down to the actual stories some of them were a bit laughable in the sense that I felt like the only reason things happened in the stories was to get to the naughty bits. And maybe that's the way it's supposed to be, but I would have preferred more to the stories.
But when you get to the second half of the anthology I felt like all the pieces finally started to come together and I started to enjoy the stories more so, specifically This Is What I Want and Improper Pleasure. So I would say if you are going to give this anthology a whirl maybe start in the back of the book or skip around.
Overall a mixed bag that introduces me to the genre and some authors to explore further. Also, I would definitely not recommend this for younger readers. If you don't think you should be reading this book, please don't.
Right. There were a few worth wild stories in here, but that's about it. Most were readable to the point that they weren't boring, but others were just written poorly in my opinion- as in, the scenario of the stories only went the way they did to get to the sex. Which makes the reading of erotic fiction no fun at all because it's childish and boarders on the line of trying too hard, and when it comes to sex or feeling sexy "try-too-hards" are such a turn off. Also it gives nothing to the story line, there's no depth to pull you in and keep you hooked. Lastly, I got into Naughty Bits books from reading Megan Hart, she's featured in all of the Naughty Bits books, but sadly her piece in this book was my least favorite of anything I've read of hers. The two best in this collection are "Taken" and "Primal Instincts." If you just need something to read this is a good book, if you are an experienced erotic fiction reader and are looking for great erotic writing you probably won't find much here. Naught Bits 1 is definitely full of writers of bigger potential.
Some of these short stories were...steamy, to say the least. However, there were a few breaking points for me that prevents me from giving it any more than two stars. One, some of the main characters just didn't add up--now, I know that (especially) in short works they are just going to jump in the sack. After all, that’s why we’re reading it. But c'mon! Have some kind of reasonable motivation except for the “he’s irresistible” or “love at first sight” (in my humble opinion, these are both way overused). And two, more importantly for me, almost every single story brings up having babies. Lord, please.
I picked this book out because I read Naughty Bits 1 and loved the short stories. I read any and all by Charlotte Featherstone and Megan Hart and those two authors were in the first edition and are again in this book. Their stories are great! The others are a nice compliment. The stories are romantic and heated. They make great quick reads for those times in the dr's office or waiting for an oil change. Both book 1 and book 2 are highly recommended anthologies.
Lettura d'intermezzo. Voto per ogni racconto. I segreti di milord 3 Notte sul Nilo 4 La città del peccato 4 (scarso, causa finale inconcludente) Amanti e sospetti 1 (la cosa più obbrobriosa che io abbia letto da mesi a questa parte) Quello che desidero 4 (quasi 5, molto bello, il migliore della raccolta) La doppia vita di Amelia 4 Torbidi piaceri 3
Letti solo: I segreti di Milord di Portia da Costa La città del peccato di Lilian Feisty Amanti e sospetti di Jenesi Ash Quello che desidero di Megan Hart Torbidi piaceri di Saskia Walker
Da leggere: Notte sul Nilo di Elliot Mabeuse La doppia vita di Amelia di Charlotte Featherstone
Alcuni dei racconti sono stati riproposti quest'estate sul sito eharmony
Finally finished the last of the short stories today. Very similar to the first Naughty Bits, a collection of erotic short stories. This one has nine stories ranging from the good to the not so good. Mythical creatures, historical, menage, drugs, bondage all are there for our reading pleasure.
This anthology of 9 erotic stories is okay. Some were clearly better than others. My favorites were: "Medusa's Folly" by Alison Paige, "This is What I Want" by Megan Hart, and "Caught in the Act" by Saskia Walker.
Most of this was tiresome to get through. However, the stories by Megan Hart and Charlotte Featherstone were the gems of the bunch and made this worth reading.