Ooo, what’s that?
With a picture like that, what else could it be but a compilation of steamy erotica? It’s called Making the Hook-Up. It’s written by black authors, and edited by Cole Riley, with the intention of doing away with black stereotypes, sexual and societal.
Table of Contents:
- Introduction
- Three Kisses – Preston Allen
- For Nita – Jolie duPre
- Got Milk? – Monica Elaine
- Rain - Kweli Walker
- Strangers in the Water – R. Gay
- Keeping Up with the Joneses – Reginald Harris
- Dangerous Comfort - Shane Allison
- Pharaoh’s Phallic – DeepBronze
- Lonnie’s Licks – Tenille Brown
- Hung – Zetta Brown
- Irresistible – Cole Riley
- All Day - Asha French
- When the River – Leone Ross
- Sex and Chocolate – Garnell Wallace
- A Taste of Tyrell - Jolene Hui
- Welcome Home – Shakir Rashaan
- Lights on a Cave Wall – Zaji
- Velvet – Fiona Zedde
- About the Authors
- About the Editor
What’s it about?
Three Kisses – Docta Love sets his sites on a pretty poker dealer at the casino.
For Nita – Nita helped Janice change.
Got Milk? – Randy takes control for the first time in her sexual life.
Rain – Yanni and Aden met by way of wrong number.
Strangers in the Water – Miriam remembers stories of strangers meeting in a river in the midst of a war.
Keeping Up with the Joneses – A man and his wife find themselves trying to keep up with the gay couple who just moved in next door.
Dangerous Comfort – A man finds himself in a sexy situation while watching Constantine in the theater.
Pharaoh’s Phallic – Derek walks in on Deidre and King Tut.
Lonnie’s Licks – Lonnie helps Stacey with her “habit”.
Hung – She can’t stop thinking about her against-the-rules encounters with Juror Number Nine.
Irresistible – Reverend Liz finds solace in a night with a criminal.
All Day - Darius and Janae play a game.
When the River – Rosemarie met a man of integrity.
Sex and Chocolate – After missing the mark in the Big Apple, Mia finds herself at home.
A Taste of Tyrell – Lizzy meets Tyrell at a film festival.
Welcome Home – Layla and Roni welcome their master home.
Lights on a Cave Wall – Imbe makes love to Kira with words.
Velvet – Sara meets Rille at a party.
How is it?
| Rayne’s Rating: |  |
|---|---|
| Pros: | Cons: |
| stories have substance goes against many black stereotypes doesn’t come across as “for” black people |
There are a couple stories that don’t stand up to the rest with regard to quality and/or eroticism. |
Until I read Making the Hook-Up, I never really understood just how awesome erotica with a purpose or a back-story could be. Quite often, when writing my own erotica, I write scenes rather than stories. So many of the stories in Making the Hook-Up are so much more than just erotica.
If I had to pick a favorite story, it would be a really close call. There’s a story about a woman conflicted by her culture, and another conflicted by her religion. One about a woman who ended up finding solace in the very place she ran from, and another about a woman completely comfortable with her sexuality thanks to a best friend she no longer hears from.
I found myself closing this book feeling almost lucky to have read it. I rarely have that reaction after reading anything, these days, much less a compilation of erotica.
The stories are almost all page turners. Many of them are filled with culture, and raw emotion, and colorful descriptions of places I’ve never been, foods I’ve never tried, and atmospheres I’ve never experienced. Cole Riley did an excellent job putting together this book.
Where’d ya get it?
 Book by Collection of Stories by Various Authors
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Cleis Press Inc. |
I was asked to review Making the Hook-Up for SexIs Magazine’s Naked Reader Book Club at Eden Fantasys. Eden Fantasys is more than just a trustworthy sex toy store that ships its products in discreet packaging (I once got my stuff in a lemonade box. No lie.). It’s an entire community of men and women gearing for a sex-positive society.
They’ve got Eden Link, a place for their customers to converse with the heads of the companies Eden works with. There’s SexIs Magazine, where you can learn just about anything you want to know about sex, or even share something you know that others might not. They’ve got a ginormous forum on which you can ask questions about toys you are interested in and get advice from some of Eden’s reviewers. And let’s not forget Eden Cafe, where I have a weekly column that posts on Thursdays.
