A well written book. Really enjoyed reading this. Thanks to publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to read.

Finally getting around to finishing this anthology and it was a good introduction, I think?, to some authors previously unknown to me and showed me why I love the ones I already knew about. This is a good example of why these types of collections are important.

Will probably read all the stories at some point but at this time I have a lot of other romance material that I am more interested in reading at the moment. Never the less I am grateful that I was sent the advanced reader copy.

I love a good erotic collection and this one, billed as gathering the best erotica of the year did not disappoint. I am not surprised however as Cleis Press is excellent at what it does.

Great short stories that gave a wide range of erotica to have readers enjoy the read. Each author had their signature style and content and a bonus was to read new authors to me! Quick 21 reads but powerful ones. We see, BDSM, toys, multiple partners, just to name a few! So strap in (see what I did there)!


Was a great book to save and use the stories as a break from full length novels.

Authors:
Rachel Kramer Bussel
Joanna Angel
Balli Kaur Jaswal
C.D. Reiss
Sabrina Sol
Sierra Simone
Alexa J. Day
Angel Leigh McCoy
Justine Elyot
Kathleen Delaney-Adams
Lee Minxton
Loretta Black
Emerald
Jayne Renault
Anna Mia Hansen
Stella Harris
A. Zimmerman
Quinn LeStrange
Angora Shade
A.Z. Louise
Caridad Piñeiro
Lauren Emily

A wonderful collection of empowering erotica from the woman’s POV. Each story was so different from the next, spanning various tropes, relationship types, industries and time periods. This collection had a little of everything! I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of f/f stories, which we so rarely see in the romance genre! Many of the authors in this collection were new to me and I can honestly say I enjoyed every single contribution in some way. I would absolutely read another volume from this collection. The stories were short and sweet and packed the heat!!!!

After how much I loved Best Women’s Erotica of the Year volume 4, perhaps my expectations were too high for volume 5. Or perhaps this volume’s theme, outrageous sex, didn’t resonate me as much as the theme for the last collection. Rachel Kramer Bussel’s collections still outrank any other erotica anthologies I’ve read, in my opinion, in terms of writing quality and diversity and creativity. (Especially the diversity. SO MUCH DIVERSITY. I cannot say enough how much I appreciate this conscious diversity of authors and characters, of race/ ethnicity/ nationality, kinks, sexuality, gender, religion, ability, body type, mental health, relationship dynamics, and age. ) This collection wasn’t my favorite of hers. But as with any anthology, there are some stories and authors I appreciated more than others.

It’s always difficult to review anthologies, so I’ve decided the best way to do them all justice is to include each story title and author with a brief summary, and sometimes with featured kinks and/or favorite quotations. This could entail SPOILERS and/or be more sexually explicit than you’re expecting (and also be incredibly long), so please proceed accordingly. [f=female, m=male)
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Terms by Sierra Simone: a f CEO blackmails 3 straight m former lovers, 1 Black, 1 Latinx, 1 white, into being her sexual slaves for a month. Something about revenge. Dubious consent. Didn’t like it at all.

Just Inappropriate by Alexa J. Day: An older white m roleplays at a bar with his younger f Black partner. they’re consenting adults, but roleplaying a professor seducing his much younger student, which was a little uncomfortable for me. It does, however, have the very popular “His sleeves rolled up over his forearms” line, a concept with entire Twitter threads devoted to it.

At the Pleasure of the President by Sabrina Sol: Widowed Latina president of the United States has clandestine sex with a staff member (identity TBR at the end). I enjoyed this, and feel I might want to reread now that we have an actual woman of color as VP. Not to fantasy about VP Harris. Just because we’re in a slightly different world now, and I wonder how that would affect my perception of the story this time.

Outlaws by Angel Leigh McCoy: This reminded me strongly of a short Kurt Vonnegut story from Welcome to the Monkeyhouse, set in a futuristic dystopia where intercourse and reproduction are illegal, and a “sex evangelist” creepily accosts a f stranger in a hot tub, pursuing her later with literature. It felt silly, almost over the top, and also had a line that was kinda fat-phobic. Not a favorite in this collection.

Nymph and Satire by Justine Elyot: A British f widow and an Italian m tourist have an anonymous hookup in the wooded area of an erotic sculpture garden, unlocking long pent-up desires.

After Midnight by Balli Kaur Jaswal: (by the author of Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows!) An Indian woman takes up work as a phone sex operator and finds satisfaction in her own fantasies of being served sexually by all the men who have harassed her in the past. I didn’t find this hot, but it was definitely evocative. Several lines stuck with me: “Here, like anywhere, men are in charge.” and “They were expected to be the kind of women the men wanted to touch, but could only admire. They were supposed to look like brides, but dance like lovers.” and “She is so helpless with rage sometimes that she can feel the heat of it simmering beneath her skin.”

Frosting by Kathleen Delaney-Adams: another story I found disturbing, wherein an older f client has her way with a woman trying to earn her business, in front of that woman’s all-female staff, who are all in their late teens. Those teens watch the sexual activity and participate with each other. Considering the age and power differentials, I think this might be considered non-consensual. It seemed sexually inappropriate to the point of being abusive. Equality shouldn’t mean doing all the shitty things men have done, IMO.

Dirty Girls Always Go to Heaven by Lee Minxton: a very tame hetero husband and wife, with Catholic backgrounds, try some not very tame activities together.

If the Ocean by Loretta Black: On the plus side, the writing is very evocative. I really felt like I was there, in this very distinct historical New England coastal setting. And the sex manages to be really hot. On the negative side, this story of seduction and impregnation of a bisexual colonial woman by a merperson of indeterminate gender is borderline bestiality. Like, there was consent obtained as much as they were able to communicate with each other. But being impregnated with basically extra large tadpoles is just kinda nauseating. Also, I just found myself wondering what happened to the woman afterwards? Was she going to be executed for being a loose woman or a witch? The story just didn’t leave me happy or satisfied. Just unsettled.

Something New by Emerald: a loving hetero couple has a swinging encounter with the husband’s best friend and his wife after Thanksgiving dinner in Burlington, VT.

The Summer of 1669 by Jayne Renault: a historical setting that required far too much world building and didn’t leave much space for the erotic. I guess you could call it a lesbian colonizing romance, with (white) lesbians from colonial France being sent to Canada to arranged marriages with straight white male colonizers to bear children. There’s forbidden love and implied infidelity, and it just didn’t work for me.

Broken Thing Fixed by Anna Mia Hanson: Another story with an elaborate set up that required too much worldbuilding. Involves straight sex with a f virgin seducing a disabled m who is in love with her.

One Interpretation by A. Zimmerman: A body positive hetero scene at a BDSM club, with a f submissive and m dom. Not spectacular, but I was struck (ahaha. punny.) by the line, “As the saying went, “What I do over here is wonderfully erotic, what you do over there is outrageously perverted.”

Dancing with Myself by Quinn Lestrange: a woman narrates her love of exhibitionism and of her hot husband. The most remarkable part of the story is when the woman starts narrating about herself with the royal we, “We know even in this state what our Jackson wants from us. We do not mind.” a little too Gollum for me.

Vintage Treasure by Angora Shade: a sweet story about a hetero Black couple who buy an old home to remodel after 10 years of marriage and discover a treasure trove of unused vintage sex toys that liven up their sex life considerably. probably relatable to a lot of people who’ve been married for a long time.

Sheer Pleasure by AZ Louise: a very plus sized nonbinary “enby princex” revels in being humiliated in public by their loving male partner. “plus-sized fashion show” “beautiful fat slutty witches”. creative and surprisingly sweet story, given all the humiliation.

The First Moment I Saw You by Caridad Pineiro: a hot hetero power exchange hookup with Latinx strangers, with a surprise twist at the end.

The King’s Return by CD Reiss: an aging f porn star plans and executes a gang bang scene with 5 men. consensual and mutually satisfying, if not to my taste.

Spin by Lauren Emily: a f/f encounter with polyamorous fellow trapeze artists in a public exhibition. First and second person narration. Friends to lovers. Biracial MC. and A LOT of trapeze detail.

So, overall, a pretty hit and miss collection, with a lot of misses for me. I appreciated the creativity and diversity, but a lot of the stories involved things like dubious consent or implications of infidelity that made me uncomfortable, and several had such extensive set up for the encounter that they were more world-building and extraneous details than erotica. However, I did enjoy some of the stories, and came away with the names of several diverse erotica writers whose works I want to read further, so it wasn’t a total loss.

Thank you to #NetGalley and Cleis Press for sharing a digital #advancedcopy of #BestWomensEroticaoftheYear with me in exchange for an honest review.

This book of short stories was fun and definitely different from anything I have ever read. I usually am not the biggest fan of short stories because I love the background information and the slow build up of sexual tension between the characters. I did find myself skimming some of the stories because they just weren't my cup of tea. However, the steam in this is hot hot hot so prepare yourself with a fan!!

After adoring Volume 4, I was immediately intrigued and excited to start Best Women's Erotica of the Year, Volume 5. Unfortunately, this collection as a whole didn't work for me. Many of the stories felt stilted or unbelievable. I understand, writing an erotic short seems like a daunting task to me, but it was the task at hand and besides one or two notable stories, I ended up skimming most of these. They just didn't grab me and when you have a limited word count, I need to be grabbed right from the beginning.

I think overall, this was purely mediocre. The stories I really liked were all too short and the ones I hated were super long. I honestly wish I hadn't wasted my time with this. Here are the star ratings for each story:

Terms - 4 stars
Just Inappropriate - 4 stars
At the Pleasure of the President - 5 stars
Outlaws - 1 star
Nymph and Satyr - 3.5 stars
After Midnight - 3 stars
Frosting - 3 stars
Dirty Girls Always Go to Heaven - 5 stars
If the Ocean - 4 stars
Something New - 3.75 stars
The Summer of 1669 - 3 stars
Broken Thing Fixed - 3 stars
One Interpretation - 4 stars
Peripheral Voyeurism - 2 stars, dnf
Dancing with Myself - 3.5 stars
Vintage Treasure - 3 stars
Sheer Pleasure - 4.75 stars
The First Moment I Saw You - 4 stars
The King's Return - 1 star, dnf
240 One Last Gang Bang - 3 stars
Spin - 4 stars

These volumes of erotica are ALWAYS a treat to read. The stories are diverse and tantalizing making it a sure win for anyone who enjoys women's erotic tales.
My favorite stories of this collection are Dirty Girls Always Go to Heaven by Lee Minxton and Spin by Lauren Emily. Both stories are such a fun change up from what I normally read, they opened up my erotica horizons!

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to preview this book.. The anthology of Erotica was okay for those people who enjoy this genre.

I received Best Women's Erotica of the Year, Volume 5 in exchange for an honest review. This was a group of short stories that were quick and easy to read. Some stories were better than others. I remember reading the mermaid fantasy thinking to myself, "What did I just read? But also this the strangest and coolest thing that ever read." Every person has their kink, and this just happened to become mine. Other stories were a little too "vanilla" for me but again, it all comes down to what people like.

An okay-ish book. COuld have been a lot better. The best part was that it was a collection of shorties so it was engaging and felt like a quick read.

Like most anthologies, Best Women's Erotica of the Year (Volume 5) is a bit of a mixed bag and I found myself favoring some stories more than others, while finding a few that didn't exactly hit all the right buttons for me. Overall, though, I did find this to be a pretty fun, compelling, and most importantly, hot and sexy, read.

Sierra Simone's "Terms" kicks off the anthology in grand fashion with a reverse harem featuring a welcome bit of double penetration. Although the sex came a bit too late and was much too brief, it was still a pretty good story and prepares the reader for the spice that follows. "At the Pleasure of the President," by Sabrina Sol, was a welcome reprieve from the nightmare of the Trump administration, featuring a strong and sensible Mexican woman as President of the United States enjoying a very pleasurable evening. "Nymph and Satyr" by Justine Elyot turns up the heat when a British woman visits an erotic art museum and enjoys a romp in the grass with an Italian stranger. Elyot gives us a really sexy tryst that doesn't overstay its welcome.

One of the more memorable entries, though, comes from Kathleen Delaney-Adams with "Frosting," which features an incredibly hot lesbian orgy at a cupcake bakery. The women here are completely uninhibited and they get a bit creative in the kitchen, putting the Crisco to good use as they fist and anally finger one another. This story brings ALL the sexy heat!

"Something New" is really enjoyable wife swap story, and Quinn LeStrange's "Dancing with Myself" is about a woman discovering her inner exhibitionist thanks to her lover's very public affections, which include fingering her at a restaurant and banging her in an alley. Angora Shade's "Vintage Treasures" is another sexy piece revolving around a couple who have recently purchased a house on auction and discover the previous owner's steamer trunk of vintage sex toys.

The real surprise though was Joanna Angel's "One Last Gang Bang." There's an old writer's adage that insists, "Write what you know." As an award-winning adult film star, Angel knows sex and pornography intimately, and she puts that knowledge to splendid use here. This story could be fiction, or it could be a brief memoir about one of Angel's own scenes. It's hard to say which, as the line is so heavily blurred, but it features the kind of insider knowledge about the porn industry and filming an intense gang bang on set. The details and Angel's own background work together to give us an inside view of the what, hows, and why of coordinating a gang bang for both cinema and personal pleasure, and these elements put this story at the head of the pack, making this one of the best entries in this anthology.

While there were a handful of stories I didn't care for and that focused on particular kinks I don't share (one historical piece about sex with a mermaid was a bit too otherworldly for me, while Stella Harris's "One Interpretation" and A. Zimmerman's "Peripheral Voyeurism" focused too heavily on kinky foreplay and not enough on actual sex, giving us too much teasing and too little reward. It's sort of like literary edging, and finger sucking and flogging don't do much for me anyway. Both stories ended just as things were getting good!), the bulk of this book was very rewarding and it was a real treat to explore the sexy encounters drummed up here, particularly "Frosting." Good lord, that story. Wowzers! Thanks to this anthology, I absolutely have to find more of Delaney-Adams' work.

I received Best Women's Erotica of the Year, Volume 5 in exchange for an honest review. This was a group of short stories which were quick and easy to read. Some stories were better then others. I remember reading the mermaid fantasy thinking to myself, "What did I just read?" Every person has their own kink, and that was obviously not mine. Other stories were a little too "vanilla." Again, it all comes down to personal preferences.

I've read similar books, and have enjoyed others more then this one.

A great collection of short stories, some by authors I had read before and some I hadn’t. Each gave their own unique take and provided a different story.

All in all, I enjoyed it and would recommend!

If you’re looking for Erotica there is something good in this book. I enjoyed how there are quick stories. Most get to the “point”. Well written and reasonable. Nothing too kinky and out there.

This collection contains excellent erotica . It's well written and diverse, offering a range of kinks and tastes for everyone. Consent is a big and safety is addressed, which I matters to me as a reader because I like a dose of reality with my fantasy (if that makes any sense whatsoever).

In addition to writers I recognized, such as Sierra Simone, Sabrina Sol and CD Reiss, there were a few new-to-me writers that now I'm eager to read and follow

Of course, not every story landed for me. I'm not interested in dubcon or intimations of abuse but, honestly, that was maybe one story out of all of them and I happen to have very firm personal limits that should not consistent the rule for anyone else.

An excellent read, probably one of the best collections I've read in a while. The representation is strong and there's really something for everyone.

ARC Provided by Netgalley

Loved this book. It was great to read from so many different authors. Some were the perfect blend of romance while others were just DELICIOUS.