This was enjoyable and interesting, especially the ones that approached a unique kink (like the lesbian who had sex with a man as a kink). There's a lot of variety there and a lot of vulnerability.

While not every "kink" was something I could relate to or understand, the stories and the descriptions left me feeling quite satisfied and intrigued. Getting outside of the typical puritan comfort zone and connecting with characters who found their inner freak was exactly what I needed. I'll definitely purchase a few copies for the erotica lovers in my life.

The think with most erotically charged writing is that the writing itself is actual garbage.
Kink brings together the several stories written by well-known literary authors that have some serious writing chops.
These stories are complex, and sexy, and often queer and deal more with the psychology involved in kink more than focusing on the raunchiness of it all. Don't get me wrong. There is a LOT of sex in these stories, of all sorts of different types, but it really focuses strongly on the people.
Highlights include stores by Alexander Chee, Garth Greenwell, Roxane Gay and Carmen Maria Machado.

A beguiling short story collection that explored sexual encounters through a literary lens. An impressive list of authors featured like Alexander Chee, Roxane Gay, Carmen Maria Machado, etc. This collection showcases the erotic, complicated, painful, and shameful cycles of sex. This isn't an escapist narrative of commercial erotica like Maya Banks or Colleen Hoover. The literary fiction's take on eroticism is a more honest and complicated examination of sexual encounters.

There were some really great stories in this collection but overall it lacked a cohesiveness and I wasn't blown away. I felt like there was some real surface level pondering here but not sure it could have gone much deeper in this format. Would love to see some of these stories as full-length novels with further exploration.

I loved this collection of short stories. It was so fun and such a fast read! Some of the stories were better than others, but overall it was great!

I was very excited to read this anthology, mainly because a few of my favorite writers had contributed a piece of writing. Some of the stories, I loved. Others left me underwhelmed, but I do think every story in the book created a full, cohesive collection. *Advance copy provided by the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

Unfortunately, I was unable to finish the book before archiving but I enjoyed what I did read. Stories were unique and well written. I appreciate that a variety of subject matter was presented, all in engaging ways. I will be purchasing this for my own bookshelf.

It was a fun collection, but nothing really stood out to me. Was somewhat disappointed. For a collection titled "Kink", I was expecting a lot more KINK. Instead, the stories felt very bland to me.

Kink is a curious little collection of literary short stories with heavy doses of BDSM and other kinks. It is a nuanced collection that explores human sexuality, relationships, communication, and consent through a diverse lens. I loved the wide spectrum of sexual orientations that are represented while also exploring various themes about desire and the joys and frustrations that come with it. The collection is definitely spicy, especially in the earlier stories.

I was surprised that I could find some stories relatable, particularly Safeword and Trust. It took me years to fully embrace myself and find a compatible partner after being shamed by many others for my particular kinks. Godspodor was masterfully written, illustrating how quickly kink can turn into abuse with the wrong people. Easily my favorite was Machado’s The Lost Performance of the High Priestess of the Temple of Horror.

I was digging this collection up until the final two stories, which were beautifully written but I wouldn’t really classify either as erotica. Even so, the collection had a decent amount of variety that I think most readers will find something to appreciate.

Kink was such a refreshing breath of air in a genre that overrun by Mary Sues and billionaire bad boys. The collection was good overall and reaffirms the idea that erotica can blend well with literary fiction. The collection introduced me to a lot of new-to-me authors that I enjoyed and would like to read more of.

While short stories were provocative and well written, I struggled to connect with the characters and the stories that were being told.

A wickedly fun read! What a welcome and sumptuous addition to the queer kink literary canon. A well rounded collection with a little something something for everyone.

Fun, thought provoking, and sexy. These short stories are easy to read and readers can easily pick and choose between stories featuring kink that they are into.

This book included many short stories from different points of view and about various topics related to kink. There were some stories better than others. I don’t want to describe each of the stories, because as with the topic of kink, everyone has their own opinion and desires. I struggled to get through a couple of the stories because there was not much character development or the narration fell flat. Overall, it’s a good collection of short stories, but not the best collection I have read.

I had difficulty with this book. There are some standout stories by Brandon Taylor, Alexander Chee, and Melissa Febos, but overall I'd give Kink a pass. Writing complex and fresh erotic fiction is a real skill, and some of the contributions in the anthology felt flimsy and underdeveloped. I would have loved to see short stories from well-honed erotica writers, as opposed to literary fiction icons who don't bring their usual depth to R.O. Kwon's collection. Grateful for the opportunity to read and review.

Not really for me. Parts felt judgmental and there were some consent issues in some entries. Lots of over intellectualizing. They're not fun sexy reads. Overall it didn't feel like the representation of Kink that I thought it was and that it claimed to me.

I honestly had to DNF this book due to the content. I knew in the first chapter that this book may not be for me but I trudged on hoping that it would get better. It didn't unfortunately.

Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this book.

DNF @ 30%

I really loved the diversity and concept for this anthology, but I was expecting something completely different when I first requested. Overall, the stories that I read just felt sad and depressing to me, also, the lack of communication in the stories I did read was disappointing.

I was super intrigued by this short story collection. It honestly seemed right up my alley, and I was a bit disappointed by the end of it. Of course with so many different stories and authors, there are going to be some misses, but I think I found there were more misses than hits. Some stories really resonated and stuck with me (I'm talking to you Trust by Larissa Pham). While I could definitely appreciate what other stories were trying to do, I was not blown away by many. While a handful of others just completely went over my head, and I just did not get the point of.

So bottom line, this collection fell pretty middle of the road for me. There are definitely new authors I discovered through this anthology that I'm excited to check out. But like I said before, nothing was particularly mind-blowing.

2.5 stars
I really enjoyed the first 50% of this book! I found most of the stories really interesting and appreciated that the stories weren't just meant to be erotic; they were about the psychology of kink/sex/relationships/etc. the second half of the book I definitely did not enjoy as much & I think it was mostly because of Garth Greenwell's story. it felt not at all like the other stories - not about the exploration of sex/kink/etc. but just a violent, graphic story about a sexual assault. I do think it is important to talk about the possible dangers of kink & BDSM, but I don't think a book where it seems like the goal is to be sex-positive is the place. it was extremely jarring and triggering to read and I believe set the tone for the rest of the book.