Bitten: Dark Erotic Stories

by Susie Bright (Editor)

Brand new, never read.

Genres: Erotica, Short Stories, Fantasy, Romance, Horror, Fiction, Anthologies

192 pages, Paperback

Published July 29, 2009

About the author

Susannah "Susie" Bright (also known as Susie Sexpert) is a writer, speaker, teacher, audio-show host, performer, all on the subject of sexuality. She is one of the first writers/activists referred to as a sex-positive feminist.

Reviews

[Trin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Why do I find published erotica so boring, and dirty fanfic so endlessly entertaining? Well, I suppose one theory could be that few erotic authors seem to do much to make me care about their characters, and I am a big girl who needs her porn to pack some emotional wallop. Possibly true! But also, most of these stories--as with most of the erotica I've read--are just not hot. I guess my kinks just do not line up very well with the rest of the erotica-reading world?

This collection was better than the last one I read. I am intrigued by the blending of horror and sex, and a few of the stories in this book pulled off something interesting with the combo. This book is also beautifully designed, which is one of the main reasons I picked it up. (I think you're allowed to be shallow when reading about sex.)

The other reason I picked it up is that it has a story by Supernatural writer Sera Gamble in it. I don't think I'm letting any sort of bias/developing girlcrush affect me when I say that it's the standout tale. Actual characters and plot and thinky thoughts! Plus sex. That's how it should be done, guys.

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Susie Bright is an amazing woman, and I’ve always been a huge fan of her and the erotica collections she puts together. Therefore, I was planning on absolutely loving Bitten, a collection which claims to be filled with “dark erotic stories.” But, that description is where I feel most let down from this book. Whereas some of the contributions can be classified as dark fiction, most seem to be fantasy oriented at best. The worst gave me the idea that a writer of erotica attempted to throw in a few paranormal elements (or perhaps it’s the other way around and a paranormal author threw in a few instances of smut?) Either way, a few of the stories just didn’t flow properly.

Also, I was quite surprised by the common theme of a submissive woman. Not to imply that this was heavy on BDSM, but the women portrayed all fall victim to not being in charge of their own fates. “Pandora’s Other Box” by Greg Boyd and “Get Thee Behind Me Satan” by Ernie Conrick do put women in power, but it is no surprise that these stories are written by men. Both feature a woman in control from a man’s fantasy point of view. Given the current trend towards paranormal romance and urban fantasy ~ and the amount of naughtiness and strong women found in these genres, I was expecting a little more variety from this collection.

That is not to say this is completely disappointing. Some of my favorites weren’t smut-erotica so much as they were short stories which included an element of sexuality. The ones I enjoyed also happened to be the most ambiguous. Rather than tell a story, include a fantasy element, and some dirty deeds; they simply set a tone and told a limited tale.

“The Resurrection Rose” by Anne Tourney would have made an excellent full length novel.

“Smoke and Ashes” by Shanna Germain was almost too short and too vague. However, it hinted at vampirism and I love me some vamps ;)

“The Devil’s Invisible Scissors” by Sera Gamble was almost like a mini PNR. Or, rather, a mini good PNR and actually featured a strong woman. Granted, the protagonist was raped by a man, taken advantage of by the devil and eventually saved by a man(?) but she did take charge of her own destiny.

Collections are hard to rate, and erotica collections even harder. Regarding this one, some of the odder stories weren’t so much hawt as they were funny. A few of them were just plain weird. But there were some gems. If you’re not offended by overt smut and enjoy fantasy and the paranormal, this is worth picking up. (Really, this is 2.5 stars. Since GR doesn't allow for the half point, I'll be generous and rate up.)

[yazhini · Rating 4 out of 5]

WARNING: SAHANA IF UR READING THIS STOP HERE DO NOT READ MORE AND DON'T READ THE BOOK LET'S TALK IN A COUPLE YEARS I SRSLY MEAN IT.

~3.75 stars~

This collection of short erotic stories intrigued me. All of them are erotic in the sense that they involve sex in some way, but not all of them are positively stimulating. I don't know if that was part of the authors' purposes, but I really enjoyed the concept, and how out there each premise was. It starts with two of my favorite stories in the lot, "The Devil's Invisible Scissors" and "The Resurrection Rose". Both were really enjoyable and steamy in a good way. I was anticipating Sera Gamble's addition to the book (considering she was a Supernatural writer I figured I'd like it), but definitely "The Resurrection Rose" took my heart as the best story in this collection. If I could remove all the stories that I would never revisit, this book would be a 4 star read.

From there, the book gets darker. "The Resurrection Rose", "Master Sarah", and "The Unfamiliar" are some that explore the mysterious eroticism of non-human lovers (and some really are so much hotter for it). Stories like "Twins" feels like more of a horror than anything. "Pandora's Other Box" threw me for a fcking loop. A lot of these stories you have to keep an open mind to, but I really liked the grey area some of these have with horrific and erotic premises, and even the humor of some completely outlandish conceit (like turning a fully grown man into a dildo in a shop of oddities).

Not every story will hit for everyone, it didn't for me, but this was short enough that I didn't mind that, and every single one was an interesting read by being sensual, horrific, forbidden, or revolting.

[Nomad · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm too wrapped up in watching the Olympics to give one of my massive reviews. So I will have to say this. THIS is what I want when I read PNR. I want dark creatures who aren't tormented about being dark, about being dangerous, and possibly evil. This is very well done, VERY well written and very literary erotica.

I cared about the characters, about all the layers to these stories, how there was a story happening in addition to the carnal aspects of the story. These were stories you wanted to discuss with someone.

This collection is edited by the inimitable Susie Bright, the woman who in the early nineties began to singlehandedly bring erotica out of the gutter and up to the highbrow. Her standards for inclusion in one of her anthologies are HIGH. So when you read her erotic collections you are being assurred of the best of the best.

Read this my PNR ladies, it's not what you're used to, but it is GOOD!

[Witch · Rating 2 out of 5]

1. Short stories are still short.
2. Twincest is gross.
3. The cover of this book is realllll pretty. I think I liked the cover more than the stories.

[Brianne · Rating 3 out of 5]

The cover was what initially caught my eye in the massive used bookstore that I found this anthology in. Just on its merit and the fact that I so rarely come across "dark" erotica in my neck of the world I decided to pick it up. It wasn't until I got in the car and started flipping through it that I realized the craziness of the thing - I am a habitual reader of Francesca Lia Block and a huge Supernatural fan (Sera Gamble was the ill-fated show runner for a wee while). Figuring it was kismet, I took it home and devoured it in one sitting.

There are a few stories in here that are flat out boring. Dull. Uninteresting. Likewise, there are a few that had potential but never quite took it (pun intended) where it needed to go, in my opinion. I believe it may be "Smoke and Ashes" that hinted at vampirism and in particular felt really abruptly ended - I wanted more from that one. And then there were a few standouts.

The story about the roses - you all know the one - was fantastic. Less erotic and more just thrilling. I actually found myself wishing it had been a full length novel rather than just a short story. It was easily the breakout story as far as the storytelling aspect went.

I was kind of disappointed with FLB's story. It had her trademark lush settings and excellent descriptions but the story itself just didn't seem to go anywhere or be particularly interested in anything it was saying. It was still far from the least of them, though.

Sera Gamble's story was... meh. It was an interesting concept and, of course, problematic - your main character is a demon who became such after being sexually assaulted and was subsequently rescued by two other male figures but I suppose it's neither here nor there. The smut aspect was sorely lacking - boring, vague and dull sex that had me ready to skip to the next story. It's true that you don't have to be explicit to be good or even interesting but she never got close to broaching either in that respect. Not a bad concept overall, though. (Disclaimer: not a Sera Gamble fan, didn't like what she did with the show though I give her due credit for writing some fantastic episodes and I certainly don't agree with the level of abuse she gets from the SPN fandom. Settle down, pls.)

Overall, it was an interesting, fast read peppered with some great examples of dark erotic fiction and a few really interesting concepts but wasn't terribly remarkable aside from those. The cover is great though.

[Labeebah Hasan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lush, sexy, sometimes sweet, sometimes menacing, but always hot, Bitten is an awesome collection of the dark and the erotic. There are a lot of jewels here, from Francesca Lia Block's lovely story of star crossed lovers finally found to Allison Lawless's steamy, cheeky tale of witchcraft run sexily amok, almost every story delivers the shivery goods. I took back a star because there were a few, like Ed Falco's Twins, that I didn't quite "get," but overall the collection was strong and hot like the best cup of coffee.

[N. Morgan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Like most erotica collections, this is very uneven. Some standout stories beg for longer treatments, but others are dull and poorly written. Some rely on gross, cliche taboos (twincest? Definitely skipped that one) for "darkness," which is tiresome. Still, there were a few stories I genuinely enjoyed--"the Resurrection Rose" was a favorite. I got it from the library, so at least I read it for free...

[JHM · Rating 4 out of 5]

As with any anthology, I found some of these stories more appealing than others, but overall I found these erotic stories with a dark supernatural edge to be both fun and arousing.

[Heather ~*dread mushrooms*~ · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book really has nothing going for it except cover design. And maybe the first story, which I felt was more successful as a regular short story than erotica.

[ｄａｎｉｅｌａ · Rating 1 out of 5]

Honestly disappointed. I went into this book thinking I was going for a nasty but enjoyable ride... but all I got was boredom and dissatisfaction.

I don't know, maybe my tastes for dark stories run a little more on the monstrous/supernatural/dark mental spaces side, but most of these stories were incredibly vanilla, those that weren't acted like BDSM or other kinks were enough to be considered dark, or that adding a witch in a basic story would make a fluff tale seem dark. WHY.

In all honesty, my bookmarked AO3 fanfics waaay out beat any story in this book.

Stories I did like

2/15 Sexy! Gorgeous sensual language, I'm just not a fan of the french revolution and hate reading it romanticized. Both sides were nasty-ugly-rotten and I can't ever feel great about a story involving it. But the intrigue of the rose and the evil seduction made this good. Doesn't help that I
loved Camille and this reminded me of it. Three stars.

8/15 Lmao this is one of my fav tropes, invisible sex monster. 4 stars just because I like the basic idea and some of that writting was good. Also the character has great ownership of their sexual desires. As in they want it, they got it.

11/15 - Ah, some weird stuff finally. Not the best storywise, left allot hanging and was not very interested to know what exactly had happened. Which means a failure of intrigue. But it was ACTUAL dark erotica, so 3 stars."

The rest were two stars or less.

[Liz Sanquiche · Rating 5 out of 5]

Prior to publishing my book, I intentionally did not read any erotica. You would think, I would have done the opposite. I already knew that my expressive writing style was different than what was out there. Usually, an intelligent writer will research their market first and see what's doing well or where the void is...and fill that void. Aside from loving your art form and naturally wanting to do it because that's where your talent lies, your passion lies and your desire to create lies...ultimately, this is our livelihood...being able to live off the sweat of our backs, so to speak. Easier said than done.
I mention this because, it is blatantly obvious that all of these writers chosen to be compiled in this book are extremely talented. When reading is effortless and enjoyable, you know it was a job well done. Imagination takes flight in all sorts of stories, stemming from the darkest sides of our souls, hearts and minds. Sexuality has so much depth, maybe more than most of us ever contemplated. It all seeps from our pores in distinct formations as a result of our own experiences in life, good and evil. How do you know what's out there? Where do you begin to explore? Do you really see sexuality for what it really is or what it really can be?
I recommend this book. Short stories are great to just pick and read at any moment you have time. You can start a story and complete it in that session. I became extremely aroused on several occasions, to the point that I had to put the book down. As a writer, I can arouse myself when I write my own stories and that is part of the goal...no? Besides entertaining also? These stories opened my mind to other possibilities...with sex as well as with future writings I may choose to do. Reading is a safe way to do some exploration...if your curious. Curiosity may kill the cat...but in this case, it will only enlighten you and entertain you.
Worth picking up!
I was smitten...by Bitten.

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Prior to publishing my book, I intentionally did not read any erotica. You would think, I would have done the opposite. I already knew that my expressive writing style was different than what was out there. Usually, an intelligent writer will research their market first and see what's doing well or where the void is...and fill that void. Aside from loving your art form and naturally wanting to do it because that's where your talent lies, your passion lies and your desire to create lies...ultimately, this is our livelihood...being able to live off the sweat of our backs, so to speak. Easier said than done.
I mention this because, it is blatantly obvious that all of these writers chosen to be compiled in this book are extremely talented. When reading is effortless and enjoyable, you know it was a job well done. Imagination takes flight in all sorts of stories, stemming from the darkest sides of our souls, hearts and minds. Sexuality has so much depth, maybe more than most of us ever contemplated. It all seeps from our pores in distinct formations as a result of our own experiences in life, good and evil. How do you know what's out there? Where do you begin to explore? Do you really see sexuality for what it really is or what it really can be?
I recommend this book. Short stories are great to just pick and read at any moment you have time. You can start a story and complete it in that session. I became extremely aroused on several occasions, to the point that I had to put the book down. As a writer, I can arouse myself when I write my own stories and that is part of the goal...no? Besides entertaining also? These stories opened my mind to other possibilities...with sex as well as with future writings I may choose to do. Reading is a safe way to do some exploration...if your curious. Curiosity may kill the cat...but in this case, it will only enlighten you and entertain you.
Worth picking up!
I was smitten...by Bitten.

[Dafna · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was so much fun to read. Especially since the last erotic book I picked up was a bummer.

Bitten features a variety of dark erotic short stories which are elegant, bold, and not your usual run of the mill kink. The anthology itself is not very long, but I really took my time with each story, since I didn't want them to end.
My absolute favorite and the one that broke my heart, was Lay me out Softly by Francesca Lia Block. It's no secret that I believe in twin flames, and I've never seen a story look so much like what that feels to me as this one did. It's romantic, creepy, and heartbreaking all at once. I read it, and pressed the book to my chest, it took my breath away.

The Legacy by Donna George Storey was probably one of the sexiest stories just because I really enjoyed how she described choosing a lover and how Storey played with the exchange of power in a relationship. It was delicious to consume.

My least favorite was the Witch of Jerome Avenue. There wasn't anything really sexy about the story, and it was too much like someone's real depressing life for me to enjoy it.

Master Sarah was another favorite of mine. It read like poetry or like music, and while it didn't really arouse me in a very primal way, it did appeal to me in other, more subtle ways.

If you're a goth, and you have a dark, mean, hungry streak running through you, I recommend this anthology, which is as far as I know one of the rare ones. Quality erotica for sure.

[Campbell · Rating 2 out of 5]

For the sake of full disclosure, my family went on a book-buying frenzy at our local Border's during their 'Going Out of Business' sale. When we got home I noticed that my 8 yr old son had bought this book because of the cover. Even though all sales are final I wasn't too upset because I do like this genre. Unfortunately, I should have paid more attention to the 'Dark' part of the title. I'm more of a "HEA" person right now and these stories were not my cup of tea. I finished the first one then skipped through a few other stories to try to find one I liked. I was not successful. Someone else who enjoys darkness in their books may really like this one but I couldn't finish it.

[Mayra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bitten is a really interesting collection of supernatural erotica. There's tons of dark fantasy and none of the "throbbing member" tackiness you'd find in a Harlequin romance. The stories in this collection are imaginative and original; they veer away from cheesy clichés while still being titillating. In other words, erotica done right.

Some favorites: "The Devil's Invisible Scissors" by Sera Gamble (in fact, this one would make a really great movie), "Get Thee Behind Me Satan" by Ernie Conrick, and "The Unfamiliar" by Allison Lawless.

[Valerie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I always enjoyed it when Susie Bright would visit the bookstore where I used to work. I found her funny and enlightening. I don't always enjoy the stories she chooses for these anthologies. But this one had a haunting line that I added to my quotes because I couldn't get the thought out of my head. Also, as a longtime bookseller, you can sell a book by its cover, and this book has a great cover.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

It starts out bizarre and brilliant, the first two stories diving into your gut (perhaps lower) and leaving something splendid. I'll say that not all of the stories share this, some even seem a bit adolescent. The majority, however, do a very nice favor of mixing strange and taboo themes with a sometimes romantic, sometimes purely erotic landscape.
This is far from smut, much more Shakespearean, and worth the read.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This compilation includes a lot of dark, horrific, and sometimes very sexy stories. I think my favourite had to have been the rose story (one of these days I'll actually annotate the names of the stories in these anthologies!). There are a couple of duds, but for the most part it was a very interesting take on the genres!

[Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

No-brainer-Sunday-reading #1:

At the TFG Christmas party:
Ranee: Hey Marie, would you like to get this? I'm weeding out my books.
Marie: Sure! Is it good?
Ranee: Well....
Marie: What I mean is, is it a good read? Is it entertaining?
Ranee: Yes, definitely.

Thank you Ranee, it is entertaining. :-D

[Lacey Reah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read one story a night and it kept me thoroughly entertained. The characters were seductive, sometimes torn, sometimes in the throws of passion, sometimes in pain, sometimes desperate, sometimes forced into a life of sin, sometimes just looking for a bit of fun; but all the stories consumed me. They were very well written, full of irony and desire.

[Crystal · Rating 3 out of 5]

My favorites were "The Unfamiliar" by Allison Lawless and "The Devil's Invisible Scissors" by Sera Gamble. "Smoke and Ashes" by Shanna Germain and "Cross-Town Incubus" by E.R. Stewart were also among the stronger offerings.

[Kristen Morris · Rating 2 out of 5]

Susie Bright is well known for pulling together the Herotica series. Short erotic stories. I purchased this book for the cover alone which is stunning. The shorts in this collection were just alright. If you're looking for the multi-faceted writings of erotica, like O, pass on this.

[Ava Lore · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. A good collection of interestingly realized stories with erotic aspects to them. The Devil's Invisible Scissors, The Resurrection Rose, and Lay Me Out Softly were the standouts of the collection. All in all, a very enjoyable read.

[Mel · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was $1.99 on Amazon, what else can I say? I got it because I'm on wait list for a book at the library and don't want to start anything good. THis fit the bill. It's just o.k. I'm glad I didn't pay more for it.

[Suzyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

The stories are uneven, most of the more scary than sexy, though few of them were either on more than a superficial level. I still had a good time, but Susie Bright's name on it had me hoping for more.

[Kizz Robinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This has just topped the charts as my most favorite Susie Bright collection. It starts off with a bang and barely lets up. You will not be disappointed.

[Marguerite · Rating 1 out of 5]

just couldnt get into this book. I am not a short story reader perhaps that is why. I read a couple of them then gave up

[Walking Medicine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not as erotic as I thought it would be but dark and sinister romances are fabulous!

[Jeff Forker · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are some very good stories in this collection, and some not quite so.