Booknote: Tie Me Up

 F. Leonora Solomon, ed., Tie Me Up: a Binding Collection of Erotic Tales. Riverdale, NY: Riverdale Avenue Books, 2015. ISBN: 9781626011748.

Genre: erotica
Subgenre: short fiction, BDSM, bondage
Format: e-book galley
Source: NetGalley

The book's introduction is short, and it sets up this collection of 19 stories. The stories are written by seasoned veterans as well as new authors, making for a nice mix. The collection then opens with the story "Knock Three Times." In this story, the female protagonist decides to find a perfect lover from two finalists. She will meet the two men in a hotel room, at separate times, have a bondage session with them, and then keep the one that pleases her the most. It is a deliciously enticing story with an interesting twist at the end. The story is a good opening to the anthology that sets up the mood nicely.

Another story with a nice twist was "Three Knots." This one took a while to build up, but once it got to it, it was nice. For April, "trying  something kinky and out of her comfort zone was just what April needed to feel like a new woman" (57). That also summarizes some of the stories in the collection where characters take a chance on something new and find pleasant rewards.

Overall, this was a nice anthology with a good selection of stories. Taking chances and new experiences are common themes in the collection. The stories have nice, slow build ups, and the focus is on couples in various situations from the familiar with kink to those starting out. The tales are steamy to various degrees, some more than others. The book strives to show kink and bondage as good parts of romance, often as a loving element of a couple's passion. It succeeds in that regard. This is a volume that in the end I really liked. I have to say it does have some stories I would be happy to share with The Better Half, and that is a good thing. This is a new publisher for me, and so far, so good.

4 out of 5 stars.

The book qualifies for the following 2015 Reading Challenge: