Erotic Fiction - Reading for Pleasure

Cerys (and Abigail) write about Erotic Fiction

Bonjour! It’s Cerys posting for the first time, joined by Abigail (who is distracting me by swivelling round on an office chair).

We are not fans of pornography at Atrocious Delicious - no judgement for those who are (assuming their use is legal and ethical) - it is just that we love employing the imagination when it comes to picturing all things sensual and sexual.

The surprising popularity of the Fifty Shades of Grey series in the past decade or so has highlighted the growing interest in, and market for, contemporary erotica which has a broad appeal. The original (currently on offer as an ebook) still sits comfortably in the top 50 of the Erotic Romance category on Amazon.

Available at a bargain price here (Affiliate Link)

For some folk it seems that erotica is a bit like Fight Club - you do not talk about it. However, I am not known for being a shy mouse. I have long loved talking about the tales that get the tail twitching. So, when I discovered Abigail’s burgeoning interest in the spicier stuff, I persuaded her to join me in telling the world about our shared interest.

Liberated Loving

Over the summer, Abigail was watching Bridgerton, wishing that she had a mouse-sized bodice that could be torn off in lustful passion for a lavish moment of carnal pleasure. (She just gave me a thumbs-up). Once she completed the latest Netflix series, Abigail read all of the Julia Quinn books. To her surprise, it was this earlier series of Julia Quinn's that she ranked highest: The Lost Duke of Wyndham (from the Two Dukes of Wyndham Books) was her clear favourite.

Check that out here (Affiliate Link)

After bingeing on Julia Quinn, Abigail was ready to up the erotic ante a bit more The good news for her was that I would be able to make some informed recommendations.

Hot and Heavy

Whilst Abigail was Bridgertoning, I was going down a different path. Francesco was making me watch Frasier (again) and we viewed the episode where Roz goes to a fancy dress party as “O” from “The Story of O”. I vaguely remembered living with someone who had a copy of the book but I didn’t recall actually reading it. I have to say that reading it from cover to cover was pretty intense, even for a world-wise mouse like me. The author seemed to have understood the roots of male desire and the flimsy masks they wear in seeking to own, dominate, and cleave female bodies. The predilection for anal coitus is given a particular focus.

In this mouse’s opinion, Pauline Réage’s masterpiece deserves more recognition for its prescience in terms of the change sexual attitudes in the Global North that emerged in the decades after it was written.

Buy The Story of O here (Affiliate Link)

The sequel “Return to the Chateau” was not as good as the original. Still, I enjoyed a second opportunity to enter the dark and sinister experience of a complex woman navigating aggressive misogyny and relentless masculine game-playing.

Buy The Story of O Part Two (at a bargain price) here (Affiliate Link)

The Atrocious

Reading Réage inspired a flurry of interest in books written by French authors (more on that another time). It also led me deeper into the annals of erotic fiction. If “The Story of O” made me wonder where my line was when it comes to erotica, the next book I read crossed it so many times that it deserves an atrocious anchovy.

The Marquis de Sade - Here is your Atrocious Anchovy

I cannot recommend “Justine, or the Misfortunes of Virtue” by The Marquis de Sade (Translated by John Phillips)

Which is available to buy here (Affiliate Link)

The best I can say for “Justine” it is that it holds up a mirror to the reality of human depravity and the suffering and exploitation of those who are vulnerable. If it leads to reform by highlighting and minimising those social ills, then it achieves a good purpose. Only a reader resolutely set on growing in benevolence and humanity should brave it.

Erotic fiction should be about pleasure. Reading “Justine” did help me to better understand what I want when it comes to saucy stories. What I look for is more playful. At the very least I expect erotica to keep “the line” in view so that the reader grows in their understanding of consent, mutuality, fantasy, and pleasure. In the writings of the Marquis de Sade the line became a dot and then the dot disappears.

The Delicious

I have a new erotic fiction hero: Liz Adams! (Her website is here: www.LizAdamsAuthor.com.) Liz's sexy fairytales are written with the joyful mischief of a writer who wants to please their reader whilst keeping them accountable for their voyeurism. Abigail and I have both loved reading these books. Many of the storylines are contrived and simplistic, but this is part of their irresistible charm. Liz Adams knows that the biggest and best sexual organ is the human mind. Her short erotic stories offer a playful peep hole through which the reader sees her sumptuous characters spread the legs of their brains over and over again. I defy any lover of erotica not to fall in love with “Alice” - the sexy protagonist featured in Adams’s books.

My absolute favourite is Alice's Story of O

Buy Alice's Story of O here (Affiliate Link)

It is delicious!

Love Cerys and Abigail

xxx

Delicious Dark Chocolate for you, Liz Adams!