NSFW Book Review: Erato – Flash Fiction edited by Freeman, Chase, and Mill

Title: Erato: Flash Fiction

Author: edited by Alex Freeman, Guinevere Chase, and T.C. Mill

Publisher: The New Smut Project

Publication Date: Oct. 24 2020

Genres: Erotica

Shelves: Female-fronted, Female-authored

An anthology of 50 erotic shorts, most of which are only 4-5 pages in length, Erato is just as diverse as you might expect, but stronger than you dared hope. For that, Alex Freeman, Guinevere Chase, and T.C. Mill deserve all the respect in the world, putting together a stronger batch of stories than I expected, given the flash fiction length and the sheer volume of stories.

On the self-loving side, an early standout with its attention to detail was the Eleven Buttons by Jaye Raymee. Amidst the handful of BDSM or power-exchange themed stories, I loved the female domination of Dressing Dana by R.F. Marazas as much as the act of dressing; A Purr for Sir by K. Martin was a fantastic tale of domination from afar; and Patience by Anna Sky made exquisite use of blindfolds,

Firmly in the realm of Sapphic delights, I’d have to give best-of-anthology nods to The Inherent Eroticism of Cave Painters by Tiana Talaria with its underwater eroticism; the scar-driven appreciation for life and love in Contentment by Alain Bell; the affectionate aggression of After the Flood by Harry Mercury; and the kneading and twisting of rules by an amorous nun in Two Queer Fairytales by W.D. Rose.

I would have loved more transgender/nonbinary tales, but The Night Before the Morning After by Camille Devine was a definite favorite. And, finally, for sheer imagination, the orc-on-goblin erotic conquest of Spidersilk on Green by TS Porter was so good I read it twice to capture every detail; and the (literal) fish-out-of-water innocence combined with sensual tentacle erotica in Going with the Flow by Kalinda Little was just delightful.

There were a few non-standard narratives that didn’t work for me, and a few dialogue-heavy or just too-short stories that passed me by, but overall I quite enjoyed Erato. As short as the stories were, the authors managed to squeeze character, plot, and setting into their scenes, making them sexy and memorable.

Rating: ♀ ♀ ♀ 1/2

My sincere thanks to the editor for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.