Review of Experimental: An Anthology of Sex and Science edited by Jamaica Layne

Experimental: An Anthology of Sex and Science edited by Jamaica Layne
My Rating: 3.5

BLURB:
These fifteen stories will forever change your opinion of science. Science isn’t just for boring nerds in a lab—-it’s for red-hot sexpots, too! This anthology includes stories from today’s hottest erotic fiction authors, including Anna Black, Janine Ashbless, Lolita Lopez, C. Margery Kempe, L.A. Mistral, as well as many new voices. From virtual reality sex to robot sex to sex in the laboratory, this collection is sure to scorch better than any Bunsen burner ever could.

***

This entertaining and steamy anthology of erotica short stories has a little bit of everything. Each short story sticks with the theme of sex and science, but each author is able to provide readers with something different as the possibilities seem to be endless with this theme. I really enjoyed each of the stories, but found them to be a bit too short as I would have really liked to know even more about the various characters and what would happen next. The brevity of the stories left little time for character development, but as these are erotica shorts, it seemed to work for the anthology. While, several of them would make great full-length stories, I did enjoy the brief little interludes and found them to be nice reads.

As the above blurb doesn’t tell you much about the fifteen entries in the anthology, here is my very brief take on each of them:

The anthology kicks off with “A Matter of Protocol” by Elizabeth Thorne, a steamy little short involving sexual research and a couple of female scientists. Next up is “At the Touch of a Button” by Karlita Diamond, a quick, but interesting read in which a young woman does some consumer testing of a virtual reality product with some very satisfying results. “Conditioned Response” by Vanessa Vaughn has some grad students conducting a spontaneous experiment involving a threesome and a science lab. Meanwhile, in the intriguing “Dark Passion” by Victoria Lacy (one of the ones I would have loved to have seen as a full-length), a scientist conducting research on vampirism draws the attention and the passion of the vampire king.

The next entry, “Empathy” by Alexandra Jordan, is quite unique and interesting, as two software programmers discover the ability to feel the sensations of their partner and take things to a whole new sexy level. While in “The Libido 3000” by Penelope Swift, a young woman agrees to test out a virtual reality program for her boyfriend and has some very surprising and satisfying experiences.

“Not Rocket Science” by C. Margery Kempe changes things up a bit and provides readers with a campy tale based on a 1950s sci-fi flick. This homoerotic tale is a bit over-the-top, but is definitely fun and one of my faves (as I believe…or at least hope…the author intended). “The Revolution Inside” by L.A. Mistral also provides something a bit different as it is set in the 1960s and involves some hippies, a Vietnam Vet, and a computer lab.

The next entry (and one I’d love to have read more of as I loved the whole premise and characters), “Robot Lovers Prey on the Lonely” by Annabeth Long, is a touching story set in a world where robots are quite common and involves a widow exploring her sexual side with a sexy robot, but the unexpected happens as things escalate between the pair.

Medical research is the subject of the next entry, “Quarantine” by Janine Ashbless in which a couple of researchers find themselves stuck together in quarantine following the possible exposure to the Ebola virus. They soon find a way to pass the time as they give into the passion that smolders between them. Next is “Seducing the Googleable Woman” by Sadie Zaft, which finds a woman conducting some online research and exploring a possible mutual attraction with her crush, a female news anchor.

“Sex Study” by Jen Bluekissed, is up next and has a married couple growing closer and discovering the unexpected when they sign up for a sex study. Meanwhile, “Invisible Touch” by Lolita Lopez is a sexy little tale that deals with invisibility and how it heightens the awareness and the relationship between a researcher and her boss. And in “The 69th Element” by Anna Black, a wife worried about her marriage sets out to seduce her science geek hubby with a little bit of science and has some very pleasing results. And in the last entry of the anthology, “Wet Dreams” by K.D. Grace, a sleep researcher discovers some interesting results while observing a subject when the two begin to share some very erotic dreams.

This anthology proves that science is far from boring and can be quite sexy and fun given the right setting and premise. While I do wish a few of them had been longer and some of them a bit better developed, each story provides readers with something unique, sexy, and entertaining despite their brief length.

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Review of Power Plays: A Sex and Politics Anthology edited by Jamaica Layne

Power Plays: A Sex and Politics Anthology edited by Jamaica Layne
My Rating: 3.5 Stars

BLURB:
POWER PLAYS is a collection of twelve stories that explore the timeless connection between sex and political power. As Henry Kissinger famously said, “power is the ultimate aphrodisiac”, and the twelve authors contributing their hot stories to this anthology know that better than anyone. In POWER PLAYS, the intersection of sex and political power takes many forms—–including a threesome in Congressional chambers, a female President-elect who finds a boy-toy while traveling abroad, and a den of urban werewolves who fight to restore their rightful alpha male leader. These and many other erotic tales of sex and power make up this red-hot collection, which will capture your imagination and leave you thirsty for more.

***

This is an interesting multi-author anthology with a variety of brief erotic short stories all dealing with a common theme of sex, power, and politics. Each story has a different focus and setting, but each one is quite enjoyable making for a fascinating anthology. My main complaint is the brevity of the stories as there were quite a few that I felt had the potential to be very interesting novellas or even full-length stories as I was intrigued by the characters and the plots. But despite this, I still enjoyed the anthology and found the short stories to be nice escape reads.

The above blurb doesn’t tell you much about each individual story so here is my brief take on/summary of the entries…

In the steamy “Voter Registration” by L. A. Mistral, a woman seduces the young man attempting to get her to register to vote. And intrigue abounds in “Whispers” by Isabel Roman when a senator and Department of Justice attorney engage in a forbidden affair and overhear a murder plot (I was intrigued by this story and wish it had been a bit longer). While in “Changing Moon” by Angela Cameron (perhaps my favorite entry in the anthology and one I’d love to see as a full-length), pack politics plague urban werewolves when a pack member returns and takes on the alpha. And in “Whatever it Takes” by Maryn Bittner, a young blackmailer/manipulator is determined to do whatever is needed to see that his candidate takes office during the 2000 Presidental election. Meanwhile, “The Sanctuary” by Olivia London provides a nice change of pace by focusing more on office politics rather than the government with a story of a woman’s fantasies of and attraction to her supervisor.

The next entry in the anthology, “From Seductive to Prim” by Nicole Dennis, has a very interesting twist involving a married governor and some naughtiness in the back of a limo. While “Filibuster” by Vanessa Vaughn heats things up even further with a ménage involving a female Representative. And with an interesting change of things, “A French Tryst” by Victoria Lacy has the first female President-Elect indulging herself with a handsome young Frenchmen. “Small-Town Tastes” by K.D. Grace is also full of surprises as a married congressman visits a small town and indulges in a bit of voyeurism.

Up next in the anthology “Erection Coverage” by Karlita Diamond, is a quick little romp featuring a reporter who is part of the press tour covering a political candidate who learns quite a bit about her subject as they travel. “Board of Directors” by Jen Bluekissed takes us into the world of corporate politics with a sexy liaison involving a Board of Directors election and some sexy uses for chocolate. And last, but not least we have “The Definition of Is” by Brandi Woodlawn, a quick little story in which the First Lady is determined to teach the cheating President a lesson thanks to the advice of a Secret Service agent and with the help of some sexy toys.

Each of these stories was highly erotic and enjoyable in their own way. Each sizzles and provides the reader with something different while sticking to the sex and politics theme, a theme I found to be quite interesting. But as I mentioned at times the stories were a little too brief for me.

But if you want some quick and sexy reads, then check out this one.

To purchase click here.