Title: Soulful Sex Anthology
Author: Diana Laurence
Published in March 2004 by New Age Dimensions, INC
Genre: Multi-Genre Single Author
IBSN: 0-9717290-4-2
Related Books: Soulful Sex II Anthology
Soulful Sex: Erotic Tales of Fantasy and Romance is a collection of six short stories by Diana Laurence that, according to the introduction by the author, focuses on the sexual expression of love.
“…Not to me! I strive to make my erotic fiction beautiful, tasteful, and innocent while still being graphic and arousing. I do so because I write with a specific goal in mind: to show how sex moves us spiritually as well as physically and emotionally…to prove that sex has soul.”
...Diana Laurence
In Pints, Eliza Wilson is a lab technician at a blood center who, working late one evening on a paternity test, is reacquainted with the handsome Scandinavian night janitor. She finds him not only good looking but a man with a great sense of humor. She finds herself agreeing to a date the next evening and the next.
Anders Ulvaeus is a vampire, but not your normal run of the mill blood sucker. Here is a creature who has fought his nature and learned to live off of outdated blood. He has never taken fresh blood from the throat of any human and has vow never to do so. He is very attracted to Eliza and her bubbly personality and wacky sense of humor.
In Between Earth and Sky, Anne is sick, lost in the wilderness and at the end of her endurance. After stumbling off the trail and losing her hiking group three days ago, Anne gives up hope and faces certain death. Curling up on the cool wet ground, she surrenders to the inevitable
She awakens to a beautiful voice calling to her, the urgency of its tone keeping her from slipping away. Jacob gently rouses her and takes her to his cabin where he tends to her, bringing her back to consciousness and health.
As Anne heals, she falls for her rescuer and Jacob finds himself in the same situation. He knows she is grateful but wants her to be sure her feelings are not stemming from the relief of her rescue and are truly real. As the days pass and Anne chooses to stay and explore their budding romance, will she find that he truly is her soul mate? Or will she return to her home alone but wiser?
In the rest of her collection we meet:
Abigail and William, a cook and a Kings archer in the tale Abigail‘s Archer. She has no intention of falling for one of the men she cooks for but he is an irresistible blend of wit and charm who, with a bit of magic, falls into her arms.
Two coworkers whose mutual attraction long denied leads to a late night revelation of the possibility of perhaps more than attraction. They uncover more than warm flesh and sexual desire as they explore each other in ways they had only fantasized privately in Office Mating.
In Real Magic, Robin’s 30th birthday party finds her fascinated with Nicolae the magician hired to entertain her and her guests. But when Nicolae reveals that all is not an illusion and that his powers are more than amazing, will Robin believe in magic?
And finally in The Dark Prince we meet Princess Mallorie and Prince Lucan. Princess Mallorie has been cursed from birth to know no joy until she learns to love evil. After losing two husbands, she is reluctant to give her heart again and no one else but the Dark Prince dares to woo her for fear of death. Will the curse be broken?
Diana Laurence states that good erotica should appreciate sex properly and be an inspiration as well as a mood enhancer in her introduction of Soulful Sex: Erotic Tales of Fantasy and Romance. A comment and ideal this reviewer does not disagree with! Diana strives in each of her six shorts to bring each character to life so that we know them well, and they know each other, before they commit to a physical relationship. In this she succeeds.
But I have to admit to being somewhat disappointed. The stories are wonderful tales of romance and love written well and fully engaging the reader with the personalities of the characters but I would not define any of them as erotica. She never uses any terms beyond the clinical for the hero or heroines body parts, nor does she explore the more raw animalistic passions you would expect to find in erotica. I also found no other sexual positions besides the missionary and except for a couple of instances of oral foreplay where only the hero is giving pleasure, nothing that you would not find in a typical tame romance novel. I can recommend Soulful Sex: Erotic Tales of Fantasy and Romance as a sensual romance but not as erotica. If Diana Laurence had not introduced her stories as such, I would have found them satisfying on their own merit without the anticipation of graphic sex undelivered.
Good Reading,
Julie
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