Like a Sacred Desire edited by Jennifer Williams

[reviews_and_ramblings]

I’m not really familiar with the Sex Magick, but I think the meaning here is to heal through sex, and it’s an interesting concept.

Unquiet Ghosts by Jana Denardo (M/F): in this short story Talin is a mage who wronged his people and for that reason he was punished with rape; the rape was done by men, and for that reason now Talin not only is unable to cleanse his souls, he is also scared of a man touch. His healing will be by the hand of Rasia, a woman and a priestess, that will heal with sex but also with the soft touch that only a woman is able to bestow on Talin now.

The HandYou’re Dealt by Elizabeth Schechter (M/M): this is probably my favorite story in the anthology, and not only since it’s a M/M story. Steven is blind and scarred in body, but he has an attentive lover, Nick. Nick knows how to push Steven’s button, and pull his strings, and I think he chooses to be a Dom to the submissive Steven since now he is able to give focus to Steven. With his accident, Steven lost something, but now thank to Nick, he has direction, even if he has no more the sight.

The Birthright by Renatto Garcia (M/F): a mix of history and fantasy, this short story, that has more the feel of a long novel, tells Bijou’s experience, how she will relive her grandmother Brigitte’s life, and not only in a metaphoric meaning. But Bijou is not her grandmother, and maybe for her there is a chance, something Brigitte didn’t have.

Perhaps AWorthy Offering by D.L. King (M/F): even if this is basically a male/female story, technically it’s more than that and nothing of that; Gregory is a sexual slave in a BDSM club. He craves the pain, and the touch of someone who can give him the perfect pain. If this touch arrives from a female or male hand, doesn’t matter, provided he can reach the blissful heaven of a total surrender.

Wood by David Sklar (M/F and F/F): this is quite the trick and threat story, my second favorite in this anthology; a very old witch does everything she can to bind a young man to her, arriving to steal his “wood”, so that he will want to please only her. But the final purpose of the witch is not to have a male lover, or at least not for her: she is all for the casual sex with a man here and there, but she has also mastered the art of a strap on, and in the end, she doesn’t need the man at all.

St. Nicholas’ Eve by Angela Caperton (M/F): a naughty and nice tale, completed of Holly (that is a typical Christmas ornament) and Rupert (that, according to Wikipedia, in the folklore of Germany, is the companion of Saint Nicholas, i.e. Santa Claus). Only that here Rupert, a very special man, visits Holly, a woman, to teach her to not consider Christmas only a season for business to make money. And he will teach her not with a punishment, but with a prize.

Opening by Raven Kaldera (M/M and M/F): Rossketil is an old man and an healer, and Sibbi, his servant, is a former whore; apparently they are not fit for each other, but Sibbi, maybe since he saw too much, or maybe since he suffered too much, is the only one who is able to bear Rossketil’s strenght and unleash its power, again an healing through sex.

http://www.circlet.com/?p=1293

Amazon Kindle: Like a Sacred Desire: Tales of Sex Magick

Reading List:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading list&view=elisa.rolle

Comments

[ladysmith.livejournal.com]

The Hand You're Dealt by Elizabeth Schechter (M/M): this is probably my favorite story in the anthology, and not only since it's a M/M story.

Thanks for the review!

Liz Schechter

[elisa-rolle.livejournal.com]

You are welcome, Elisa