Best Women’s Erotica of the Year, Vol. Nine

Bussel (editor of Sexy Strangers) keeps up her hot streak with this sizzling anthology of 19 erotic shorts. A swashbuckling female pirate conquers a prince in Lisa Wolinsky’s “A Pirate Always Gets What She Wants.” Sienna Merit’s “A Dangerous Place” features a risqué professor/student tryst. Ruby Barrett sets her sexy sapphic tale, “The Juice on Her Chin,” in the fine art world. Standouts include Tara Parker’s “No Resistance,” about a female politician who worries her interest in BDSM might affect her electability; Monique Fisher’s “Cariadon,” about a long-distance, multicultural M/M/F throuple connecting in person for the first time with explosive results; and “First Time,” Eve Somerton’s torrid lesbian bar fantasy. It’s easy to see why each of these disparate works was selected, and tying them all together is a tantalizing through line of temptation: “Whether desiring a forbidden lover or pursuing a fetish or fantasy, each of these characters find a way to give in to temptation and discover how good it feels to cross that line,” writes Bussel. These bite-size fantasies offer something for every erotica fan. (Dec.)