“One Night Only” Erotic Book Review
“One Night Only” is a softcover erotic anthology book edited by Violet Blue and published by Cleis Press. It has 208 pages with 19 different stories inside the book. The book has a tagline of “Erotic Encounters”, and it features the same formatting of all Cleis Press erotic anthologies. The cover does show a girl in her underthings sitting on top of another person in a playful, sexual manner, so do keep that in mind if you plan to read this in public. As long as the cover was hidden, I had no problem reading it out and about.
The book is themed around the idea of spontaneous sex. It’s the idea of having sex with someone “once” and never really seeing them again. It’s like a spin on the idea of a one-night-stand except the authors in this collection really take that idea and run with it. You’ll see hotel workers and so many others in this collection that it will really leave you going “Woah! I never thought I’d see the theme done like this!”
Like all Cleis Press erotica, “One Night Only” is a collection of short stories that are well-edited and well-written. Each one of the stories is written by a different author and features different characters, so you get a feel for each author’s writing style, and as the editor, Violet Blue, did a good job with the book, the book also feels like it has been well-rounded and well-edited to make an enjoyable reading experience all the way through.
I think Violet Blue and I must be like “erotica-sisters” or something because all of the erotic stories she includes in her anthologies really seem to appeal to me. She tends to pick ones that really show passion, lust, and almost a “need” for sex that sometimes isn’t there in anthologies chosen by other authors. Needless to say, I am always interested in reading a Violet Blue erotica anthology because she always does have fantastically-chosen selections. “One Night Only” is no exception. A couple of the stories seemed a bit slow for my tastes, but for the most part, I really enjoyed the stories in this collection, and the theme of “one night only” is a really interesting one too!
I found myself really enjoying quite a few of the stories out of this collection, but I’ll highlight a few of my favorites for you:
In “Belle De Soir” by Austin Stevens, the main character hooks herself into a job as a sex worker as she wants the rush of being with someone and pleasuring them only for the night. She gets a rush off of the whole thing, and you follow her throughout her day as a sex worker. This story is very well-written and sexy.
In “Maid Service” by Jan Darby, the main character is a hotel room cleaning maid, and her main job goal is to be not seen or heard – just leave the room clean and spotless. When a guy comes in and taunts her with the pleasure of one of their chocolates, though, she starts to find that being a maid may not be so bad after all.
In “Whore” by D.L. King, a professional goes to a conference, and after speaking that day, decides to have a bit of fun by putting on a flirty dress and going down to the restaurant. While at the restaurant, an attractive man starts talking to her, and they both go up to the hotel room. The professional has a giggle to herself after it’s all over, and it was a cute way to end the story.
Overall, if you like the idea of passionate “Gotta have it now!” sex situations, “One Night Only” does a really good job of channeling that. It’s a book about a bunch of one-night-stand-esque sexual encounters, but it definitely takes that basic “theme” and throws it all around for a really unique reading experience. Plus, the stories are really well-written and really hot. Thanks to Cleis Press for providing One Night Only by Violet Blue.
The Erotic Reading Review is a regular column written by Kayla. This column brings you reviews over erotica, instructional, and other types of sex-related books.
