This collection includes twenty-one sensuous stories that include BDSM, toys, multiple partners, different sexual orientations, aerial sex, and historical, contemporary, and futuristic settings. The variety makes this collection special. Some of the characters are simply seeking pleasure, while others desire love and commitment.

My favorites are as follows:

“At the Pleasure of the President” by Sabrina Sol displays the needs of the first female president, which may jeopardize her reelection campaign. The strong lead character drew me in.

“Outlaws” by Angel Leigh McCoy creates a futuristic world where release becomes a clinical and sterile undertaking, and the pleasures of humor touch is forbidden. The science fiction elements and world building are fantastic.

In “Nymph and Satyr” by Justine Elyot, a woman finds inspiration and unlocks her sexual mojo in a sculpture garden. I loved seeing a middle aged woman get her groove back.

The protagonist in “After Midnight” by Balli Kaur Jaswal is a former exotic dancer trying to transition into working as a phone sex operator. The Indian culture makes this an exotic and rich read.

“Frosting” by Kathleen Delaney-Adams involves a cupcake shop’s potential new client, who puts all the workers to the test. Watching the protagonist lose control of her business meeting makes for a sugary treat.

In “Vintage Treasures” by Angora Shade, new home owners put a box of goodies left from the previous owner to good use. I loved the playfulness between the couple and their desire to spice up their marriage.

The range of this sensuous short stories collection ensures a sexy tale for every taste.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thanks to the NetGalley and Cleis Press for providing an Advance Reader Copy.

I've read a couple of earlier editions of the series, but I didn't enjoy this one. Many of the stories were conceptually interesting, but struggled with their execution and imagination. Even when set in alternate universes, they would have a woman President serving drinks to her underling, for example. The stories that attempted to incorporate #metoo themes were particularly weak. More powerful women, please! Overall, it felt uneven.

There were a few gems, and After Midnight, about an Indian chat line operator, was probably my favorite short story. It's not particularly erotic, but it was very memorable.

Good book and very dirty in places. Enjoyed reading it couldn't but it down in some off the places and had carry on reading till I got to the next story.

Another year’s gone by, and another collection of hot stories about willing, eager partners is released in this year’s edition of Best Women’s Erotica of the Year, Volume 5.

This year’s anthology is a little weaker in the quality department while also being stronger in that there are a wider variety of characters for readers to relate to with stories featuring queer couples, nonbinary and trans leads.

The highlights this time out stem from some unique settings and interesting emotional connections between the characters, from a fun assignation between the Vice President and President of the US, to two business rivals who develop a contract for pleasure, to a woman having an assignation with a mermaid, and two women who agree to become two of many of the Filles du Roi for Louis XIV and find themselves tangled in a passionate affair.  I had no idea that the Filles du Roi were a real thing, that orphans and young women of character who were named honorary daughters of Louis XIV and sent via ship to French territories such as Quebec to help populate the country even existed.  This was my favorite one, because it introduced me something I’d had no idea about before.

The collection – which is usually nominally filled with fiction – closes out with an essay from porn mogul and actress Joanna Angel, who tells the reader about an on-camera gangbang she orchestrated for her thirty-seventh birthday. This is an interesting change of pace; Angel is one of my favorite porn actresses, if only for her wicked sense of humor and her love of life, and the essay absolutely reflects her personality and what makes her charming on-camera.

But the book itself doesn’t quite have the erotic punch or the breadth of the previous volumes.  Themes repeat instead of originating.  There are two stories featuring sexual blackmail, four featuring exhibitionism.  Perhaps some newer, more daring thoughts or bits of kink would have been welcome in the place of these repeated themes or rote plots.

Nonetheless, Best Women’s Erotica of the Year continues to fulfill the promise of its title.

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Some of the best Erotica novellas of the year! Grab a glass a wine and sit back and enjoy some steamy make your panties wet sexy stories! It’s great to find new authors in a collection like this! Thank you Rachel Kramer Bussel & Netgalley for this ARC for a review of my honest opinion.

I liked this collection of stories, the authors give you part of their best works, some more intense than others.
It is entertaining, steamy, hot

I love this book but some of the parts i skipped passed because i kinda felt uncomfortable for my own personal reasons. Other than that i loved it. I love reading erotic stories and contemporary romance

Rating 3.5
An eclectic mix of steamy stories. Some I loved more than others but there was lots to enjoy here.

Some of my fave stories include:
- Sabrina Sol's about a female president, who is also latinx seeking pleasure with someone close to her.
- Interpretation about Stella Harris which was all about the sensuality of touch.
- the last story in the anthology, f/f with two circus performers. Who covertly have some sexy fun while doing their routine for an audience.
- the story with a fat non-binary MC who has a shame kink i guess. I loved this one because it's so important to see erotica that showcases a variety of identities, races and body type!
- the story with the porn performer organizing a gang bang. I loved the tongue in cheek voice of this MC but I was extremely iffy about her using the word "Latino mutt" to describe one of the guys.(who is noted as being Spanish and Colombian) I have no clue if the author is Latinx but that came across as a poor phrasing choice in general. And just a big no from me.

what I like overall was that the anthology has something for everyone. Some stories being a lot steamier than others and while some stories may not appeal to everyone (there were definitely some i just skimmed over or planned skipped because it just wasn't for me, like master/slave dynamics are not my jam) there is enough variety that there will be something readers will love for sure!

All in all this was a satisfying read for me.

I really liked this anthology. All the stories had something different, yet still sexy to offer. Some were sweet, some were more cerebral, some had multiple partners, there were woman/woman stories as well. Pretty much everything you could ask for in erotic short stories!
I received an arc from Netgalley for my review

Thank you Netgalley and Publisher for providing me with an ARC of this book.

It's always difficult reviewing an anthology but generally speaking, it was a good collection. Not all the stories were winners but the good thing about this type of book is that if you don't like one you can skip on to the next. I did enjoy most of them.

As usual with these collections, some selections are great and others are not. However, this is overall a balanced and good collection and worth picking up. Not too cheesy and cringy, which is great.

As this is a book of short stories, some were definitely better than others. But since they are all so short, if you're not a fan of one story, soon you will be on to the next.
Definitely an interesting concept.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book.

Being an anthology, there were a lot of different stories and writing styles. Most of the stories I didn't care for, I passed them over, but there were a couple I thought were pretty good.
This definitely isn't for everyone, and I think most people would end of just scrolling and passing over most of the stories as well, only finding a few interesting.
I hoped this would be much better than it was, but unfortunately it was not.

I love me some erotica but these short stories just way to short. I needed more story for these to really work for me and the erotic bits just fell apart and didn't seem right. Some of these were better than others like in most short story collections but for the most part I have read better ones.

Thank you to Netgalley and Cleis Press for sharing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

With so many different writers, this anthology is a bit difficult to judge. I will say the editor has created a fairly well-rounded collection of stories and there is likely something for most to enjoy in this group. I will make note of a few stories,

The first one, Terms, is a bit of a reversal of roles that we see in a lot of these stories. There's obviously something of a backstory to the action here but I like the way it's the female protagonist taking charge instead of the males.

Outlaws is a futuristic story which I don't really get into all that much for erotica but it was one of my favorites of the book. It's got a dystopian feel and there's rebellion happening in private.

My favorite of the book is Nymph and Satyr. It's just got a really good feel of abandon to it and we get to know the characters just enough to appreciate the action.

Frosting was one that started off with a strong erotic feel but didn't sustain it as it went a bit too far for me.

Summer of 1669 was one that was kind of sweet, taking place long ago.

Overall this was a nice collection of stories and there should be a few tales that will appeal to most.

This collection of short erotic stories are delightful, well written and had me dreaming for days. They are not just your ordinary erotica. Each story is unique and the plot are well developed. Kudos to all the writers. I did even know I was done when I read the last story, I was swiping for more. Amazing works.

This collection covered a very broad scope, because of this I think many will find a story they enjoy, but most will probably not enjoy the entire book. Good for those who don't mind picking and choosing from a selection and ignoring the rest. Not so great for those who want a cohesive collection to read from start to finish.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book is a delicious grouping of stories. There is definitely something for everyone! The stories are short and easy to get through with just the details a reader of this genre would be looking for!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

An amazing compilation of short stories and novellas, I look forward to every edition of Best Women's Erotica. This one is superb.

It's always hard to review an anthology, specially one with so many authors and stories as this one. So I'll generalize a little to give an overall picture of what can be found in "Best Women's Erotica of the Year, Volume 5".
This was a really good anthology of erotic stories. Some were really, really good. Some were weird. Some were meh. But they all were steamy and hot, which is basically the point of erotica, so well done!
Most of the authors here were unknown for me, and I want to keep reading the work of many of them because I really enjoyed their style.
I'm general, I can't complain about anything specific. I liked the diversity of characters, plots and writing styles.
Consent is important, self acceptance is an explicit topic, and the exploration of the body, it's pleasure and it's limits is an added value.
I totally recommend this book.