I was excited about this book from the first moment I heard about it. As a nonbinary person, I desperately want to see more trans and nonbinary representation in all forms of media, including erotica. So I was looking forward to this book. I should have tempered my enthusiasm a little bit. It's an anthology of stories which means that some were amazing and I loved them, but others just didn't hit the mark for me. Overall I'm happy that I read this book and that this book exists. I look forward to reading more like this in the future.

this was... interesting.
I myself am nonbinary and this was actually some good representation but not in the way that I think most people would read.
I think that if more trans and nonbinary people can be in more non erotic centred media it could be good. This was also just interesting to see on my kindle in hopes no one else in the house saw it.
Spicy and short.

Okay, so I finished this book three days ago, but I had to think a bit about my reading. First, I want to thank NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for allowing me to read this book in exchange for a review.
Those kinds of books are really important. We need more erotic books with trans and non-binary characters. We exist in the real world, and not just with tragic stories. We have desire, happiness, joys, sadness. So yes, this book is important, and to be honest, it’s the first one in this genre that I have read. So I was rooting so much for this book.
But it wasn’t my favorite. Yes, I liked it obviously, there were really great stories, some of them were like “wow”. Others were more meh. I want to thank the author of the last two stories because they put CW before those stories. But I still couldn’t go through the last one.
My favorite stories are:
Idle Hands & Dirty Minds (I mean a succubus!)
This Fragile Little Affair
The Devil You Blow
Redgun (Yes a non-binary/Butch love story!!)
Immersed (I love mermaids)
So yes, it’s a good book, some stories are written so beautifully. But not all of them were for me. Some were too much in the description, in the world-building.
But yes, it’s still a really important book that a lot of people should read.

Really hot and steamy gender affirming book of queer love and sex. There were many great stories in this collection as well as some lovably insecure relatable characters.

I thought this collection really stood above others in this category. Yes, it was a turn on and the fantasy sexual elements were written so well. But what the author did to capture the heart of nonbinary situations and bring to life what could be was stellar. There were settings and story lines which were completely unexpected and even through the erotic descriptions, there were additional twists and further unexpected elements which kept me fully engaged through each story and tempting me into the next. Being nonbinary it is refreshing to find appropriate pronouns, but occasionally there would be some inconsistencies within the same story. Not enough to interrupt the tale, but enough to pause and reconsider which was enough for a couple of stories in the collection. Overall, a great exciting read with some very hot moments. Would definitely recommend!

This was such a fantastic collection of stories celebrating so many forms of queer love in all its beauty. These were spicy, heartfelt, sexy, fearless, and filled with an infinite amount of queer joy. It has been several months now since I read this collection, and I still find myself thinking about several of the stories. This collection has really stuck with me, I thoroughly enjoyed it. As is the case with every anthology, there were a few stories that weren't as strong as others, but overall this was an incredible collection.

This is a collection of erotica that covers a range of genres and steaminess levels. Since it’s a collection, I can’t really discuss much detail without just recapping the whole book. I read through this in probably a day or so, and immediately after finishing it, I thought hey, that was pretty good. But looking back on it and thinking more about the individual stories, it’s actually more okay than good. The two stories in particular that stuck with me because they were good were Redgum, a BDSM story that takes place during a camping trip in Australia; and The Devil You May Blow, a transmasc angel/devil gym buddy story. A couple others stuck with me, but not because they were good, simply because the story was very…out there. I don’t think this is a terrible collection, but I do feel like a lot of these stories read as someone’s first time writing erotica after reading all the tropes and trying to follow those tropes. Some of these stories had problematic views on asexuality, consent, and weird thoughts about trans bodies. All of these stories are ownvoices yes, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s not problematic. Overall, I thought this collection was fine, but I wouldn’t immediately recommend it to anyone who reads erotica.

Heckin' Lewd had a wide enough variety in the concepts of the stories, the characters and identities, and the sexual content, though something felt oddly repetitive as I read through. Perhaps it's that the writing style- these talented authors took the idea of "lewd" and ran with it- can start to get a little old when reading it specifically for review purposes. The range of authors and identities also feels a bit limited, and though there are lots of characters outside of these, it would have been interesting to see some ownvoices, despite the problem with that movement. These stories bring a wonderful blinding trans joy, complete ownership of bodies and lives. While not the first collection of its kind, this joins the likes of Trans/Love and Nerve Endings in a way that continues to build on the genre. I'd be interested in seeing something a little more... daring? though for most people this will be daring enough.

Amazing collection that showcased kink, gender exploration, and love in really honest ways. I found this to be a very validating reading experience.

This is an anthology of short Trans and Nonbinary erotica. There are stories across many genres, and werewolves, succubi, witches, pirates, aliens, and more all end up with representation.

On the whole it was an interesting collection - where gender expression was not fetishized, but simply part of the characters. I thought it was a fantastic collection showcasing that.

A downside for me, was that of all the stories, only two had a setting that was essentially modern, without sci-fi or fantasy elements. I was kind of hoping for more of that - but that is a per

As a non-binary queer person who generally enjoys sex and reading horny romance novels—hell, even fanfiction—it crushes me to rate this anthology series so low.

The introduction starts out by promising a diverse exploration of gender and sexual expression that is so rarely found in erotica. And while yes, each story does tick the box of at least one non-cishet character, most of them failed to hold my interest long enough to feel even a moment of excitement. I was also surprised at how confusing and oddly edited the collection was as a whole with most of the stories spending way too much time on world-building and not nearly enough on getting down to business.

Rather than continue to harp on what I didn't enjoy, I'll choose to focus on gems that gave me some new authors to keep tabs on:
• Only the Good Die Young by Ash Riley | A couple pulls off a heist with nice banter/chemistry
• Stray by MJ Moreo | Incredibly cute cat boy roleplay scenario
• Redgum by Ash Orlando | BDSM + camping trip
• The Devil You Blow by Rien Grey | Devil/angel transmasc couple hooking up at the gym

Thank you to NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for providing me with a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I requested this book simply because I had never seen anything like it and I was excited about publishers (even if small) finally realising that there is a market for these stories. Writing-wise I was only impressed by a couple of stories, and plot-wise by a few more, but the book in its entirety did make me happy, simply because these stories exist and were written by authors that identify as the same as a lot of their characters so they knew what they were talking about when it came to the more physical action and the emotional weight as well.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for this DRC

Heckin’ Lewd is a taught collection of brief plots, with lots of nipping, tweaking, flicking, clenching, and biting. The collection is probably more pornographic than erotic in that characters remain firmly two-dimensional, existing in the moment. Scenarios provide the barest detail. Instead, they rely on genre tropes to move readers swiftly to fantasy kingdoms or backwoods truck stops. The reader is left to conceive the action in their own versions of these worlds, already worn by cinema into defined areas for action. The stories populate such places with a cast of characters from horned beasts to tentacled aliens, tending to be strong, indeed overpowering, generously endowed, and with orifices to spare.
If detailed observations are sparse, precision attention is given to anticipatory arrangements. These are the sex worlds of tops and bottoms, safe words, and sexualities of brazen power dynamics. Such dynamics are habitually codified in consistent tropes where everyone purrs, growls, and moans, background noises thrum, gazes want, lips bear down, clothing is yanked off, and genitals engorge.
Together, these encounters, like (found) family relations, are refreshingly lacking in coyness. Consent is more than just willing; it is avid, agreed at some time before the stories start, leaving the arena clear for practical arrangements.
In the context of current debates around how children and young people can be supported in negotiating the prevalence of internet pornography and how it affects learning about sex and relationships, these narratives represent a valuable move away from traditional heteronormative models. In such discussions, no-frills accounts of desire and adaptation, of people defining want, and making clear arrangements to ensure they get it, are vitally needed. For this reason, the stories are an invigorating antidote to the demure evasion of the central power interchanges that can be an unambiguous aspect of fucking but subtle in love.

A fascinating and interesting collection of well written short stories by several authors I have not read from before. I enjoyed every story.

2/5 stars

Thank you to Bold Strokes Books and Netgalley for a chance to review this eARC!!

Little sad that I have to write this review during Pride Month, but here we go.

1) I wish I could give more stars because I adore queer erotica, but the quality just wasn't the best. I've read better on AO3 and Wattpad unfortunately.

2) I was really disappointed in this anthology for the lack of diversity and inclusiveness. Not all trans and non binary people are thin, white, and able bodied.

All in all, FANTASTIC concept, just lacking in execution.

I really loved this anthology, which I picked up because I love Chace Verity's work. I wound up finding a bunch of new-to-me authors that I'll definitely be reading more from in the future.! A win all around!

I was hopeful that this would be an anthology of a wide range of representation in terms of trans and non-binary identities and bodies with great smut. Ultimately it was more of a mixed bag than I hoped for and kinda light on the smut at times. I would have loved some subversion in terms of dynamics and less fantasy/paranormal than was present. Several of the stories felt like excerpts of larger books, with too much world building and exposition rather than standalone short stories.

A couple stories were standouts, several were downright disappointing, and the rest weren't memorable. Stories I enjoyed were This Fragile Little Affair by Kelvin Sparks, Stray by M.J. Moréo, and The Devil You Blow by Rien Gray. I found Past Midnight, Before Dawn by Anne Stagg pretty problematic in terms of ace rep and Better By Half-Elf by Sally Bend made me cringe. I would have liked to see CWs at the front or back end of each story. As it was I can imagine some people would come across some limits while reading that they would have preferred to be made aware of.

I received an advanced reading copy from Bold Strokes Books through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

My rating for this book comes with an extra star for the representation and creativity! The content however, doesn’t do it for me. I wish there had been some content warnings on netgalley for some of the stories, because while the word “kink” is in the book description, it barely scratches the surface. While all of the stories feature consensual sexual content, lots of them are paranormal with fantasy elements including shape shifting (which often reads as body horror), blood play, breath play, hardcore BDSM, and more. I’m all for kinks but I wasn’t warned about it and I don’t love that. I’m not finished with it, and I probably won’t finish it. Might chip away at it a little at a time over a few months.

i loved geting some diversity in erotica! its already hard enough finding gay erotica, and then nearly impossible ti find trans ones, even more so non-fetishitic ones. I loved the body and gender positivity all throughout this

I will say 1) this it practically a fantasy erotica anthology, almost all the stories have fantasy elements which i didnt always click with and 2) alot of these i had to skip because they had some content that isnt my cup of tea personally. and 3) alot of these were very plot heavy and tbh got boring i found myself skimming many

This was a fantastic read of erotica collection and just seeing trans people as well as their partners just being sexy and sexual with one another. There’s a good balance of contemporary and speculative fiction in the mix. As with all anthologies, I have found some stories that were my favorites and others that weren’t my thing. Overall, this a perfect anthology for anyone that just wants to read about trans people have a good time.