Love Burns Bright: A Lifetime of Lesbian Romance

Eminent lesbian romance author and editor Radclyffe curates a hot yet heartwarming collection of romantic and erotic scenarios focused on longtime lesbian couples, still in love and enjoying the kind of intimacy that comes from deep awareness of a partner’s responses. Older couples often take center stage, as in Chris Paynter’s “Full Circle,” which brings two women to Woodstock 40 years after they first connected at a Janis Joplin performance. Homecomings and leave-takings frame several stories, such as Catherine Paulssen’s sweet “The Way to a Woman’s Heart.” Deep love conquers little insecurities in D. Jackson Leigh’s “The Portrait,” while everyday magic lights up Dena Hankins’s “Cooling Down, Heating Up.” This is an unchallenging but satisfying collection for contented queer women who want more warm comfort than torrid drama in their erotica and romance. (Jan.)