Multi-Orgasmic by Lucy Felthouse is an anthology of erotic flash fiction and short stories.

One of the things I enjoyed most about this book is how unpretentious it is. Like all Felthouse's saucy stories they're honest and unpolished. Not gritty, exactly, but unaffected; they don't pretend that every sensual encounter is a slick Hollywood fantasy. The language is very colloquial, and unapologetically British. You won't find a protagonist with an 'awesome ass' in one of Felthouse's books unless the person making the observation is American. I always find that refreshing, though it can take a moment to settle into the books' unflinching bluntness!


They also contain a lot of humour, awkwardness, and uncertainty. The characters aren't all uber-confident playboys and bunnies; they feel like real people, often plagued by insecurity as well as overwhelming desire!

The other brilliant thing about this book is that all the characters have agency over their own bodies, desires, and fantasies. The stories are about pleasure not control; even the dominant ones. This is a real antidote to the more exploitative '50 Shades of Grey' approach to the kinkier tales. As with many of Felthouse's books, many of her characters practice safe sex, and she doesn't shy away from including condoms in the scenes that require them. I really admire her writing on that score, as I think the way we represent 'sexiness' in the media needs to become more realistic, and (where appropriate) more responsible.

The narrator Deryn Oliver was warm, enthusiastic, down to earth, and performed each of the stories very well. I'd definitely listen to her again and can imagine her voice being suited to all sorts of genres besides this one.

Not all the stories were to my tastes as I wasn't keen on the flash fiction pieces, but the collection covers a broad range with something for everyone, exploring both male and female wants and perspectives. The first half of the book contains some 'menage a trois' style intimacy, but it is all distinctly heterosexual in nature. This wasn't a problem for me, but I know other readers might be looking for greater diversity. There may be more variety in the latter half of the book, but I can't discuss that yet...

I would never normally review an audiobook without reaching the end, but I'm half-way-through and I'm saving the rest! These aren't stories that are meant to be rushed through. They're at their best when enjoyed individually when you're in the mood to escape into a saucy fantasy. It would feel wasteful to binge them like a steamy box-set, and they're much better when they are allowed to linger. I'll update the post when I've listened to them all, but like Felthouse's characters I understand that some things are better enjoyed if they aren't a race to the finish.

Unlike many genres, tastes in erotic fiction are often very personal, so hidden within the spoiler tag below I have added a little info about each chapter which I will add to as I listen. The 'sizzle' rating is out of 3 and based on personal preference only. I do wish the Audible audio chapters had proper titles so that I could navigate more easily to specific stories from within the audible app, but very few anthologies/collections actually utilise this feature. Stephen Fry's Mythos is the only one I can think of which uses the individual story titles as chapter headings in the list.