Erotic Book Review
Beneath the Sea and Sky by Shanna Germain
Book Review by Joshua Gage
Shanna Germain is a writer, editor, leximaven, geek, girl gamer, knife-licker, tire-kicker and flower-picker. She has a thing for curvy girls in red dresses, nerdy boys who read big books, souped-up bicycles and steampunk-style vibrators. Her stories, essays, poems and articles have appeared in hundreds of books, magazines and websites, including Best American Erotica, Best Bondage Erotica, Best Gay Romance, Best Lesbian Erotica and many more. Visit her online boudoir at http://www.shannagermain.com. Her newest book is Beneath Sea and Sky, an erotic short story collection containing six tales of erotic delight based in folklore and fantasy, available in a variety of electronic formats from Smashwords.
While some authors may fall into certain clichés when writing fantasy and folklore-based erotica, including elements such as sexy vampires, lustful fairies with pretty wings, and the like, Germain keeps her stories fresh and unique. She obviously has researched certain tales, and is able to capture the eroticism not just of the characters themselves, but of the mythical environment that spawned them, from the gray and blue seas off the coast of Scotland to the humid, misty jungle of the Amazon. Germain's stories are as much about place as they are about characters, and the setting for these tales adds to the excitement. Furthermore, Germain does not fall into the trap of sex for sex's sake that some erotic short story writers, especially those writing in the speculative genres, fall into. Her characters are developed, and the stories are as much about the characters, their conflicts and the tensions between them as it is about the erotica. This makes for a delightful read, and the reader will not find themselves skipping ahead to get to the juicy parts.
Which is not to say that the sex isn't there. There is sex aplenty—hot and steamy. Germain is a gifted writer, and pulls no punches when describing the unbridled lust of her characters. Readers will be aroused by lesbian vampires in "Heat Song"; a dominatrix Beauty who tortures her sub, The Beast, both physically and mentally in "Skin Deep"; a sugar coated baker who manages a bakery on the edge of Hell, catering to devils and angels; a particular customer with a physical need for sugar in "Devil's Food,"; and even the darkly pleasured Queen from the Princess and the Pea who bruises at the slightest touch of anything in "The Princess of Silk and Pain." Germain finds the raw kernel of eroticism implied by the flaws and foibles of these classic characters, and twists each tale to exploit it, building up to a powerful climax.
Shanna Germain is a powerful, passionate writer, with a stunning command of character, setting, and most importantly, the erotic. She fuses these elements together to create delicious tales of erotic fantasy. Readers should not miss this book.
Beneath the Sea and Sky:Erotic Stories of Fantasy is available from Smashwords
Copyright September 29, 2011
Published with permission from author on OystersandChocolate.com. Copying or reprinting this work in part or in whole without permission is illegal.
This product was provided free of charge to the reviewer. This review is in compliance with the FTC guidelines.