If I'm being honest, this book didn't quite do it for me. Some of the stories were lovely and fitted with what I was expecting, hidden and secret stories about scenes authors weren't comfortable under their own name directly, but some were quite different and a few were very long and tedious to read. I get that with short stories it's hard to get a plot line as such so readers are attached to the characters but some of them just didn't grab me at all.

Thank you to #NetGalley for this ARC. I admit that I did skim through these stories. Some were interesting and some were not to my taste and I don't mean sexually but just didn't interest me. I wanted to read this anthology because I've never read anything like this before. Like the author stated, it's not erotica.

Not my specific taste I think. I enjoyed some of the stories in this book but others were a bit far fetched and hard for me to understand. I feel bad giving this review when these people are truly being so vulnerable and speaking their truth but I just don't think it was for me.

I liked the concept of this book more than the result. I liked the idea that the authors were able to create these short stories about sex and remain anonymous so that they wouldn’t feel judged or exposed but I ended up being bored and not having the energy to finish it. DNF at 60%

Thank you to NetGalley and Dundurn press for the arc in exchange for an honest review

[arc review]
Thank you to NetGalley and Dundurn Press for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.
Secret Sex releases January 30, 2024

2.5

This anthology brings together 24 stories by 24 different authors, which are all anonymous — you know the collaborators but not who is tied to a specific piece of writing.

Sex is a normal thing but can be viewed as taboo, stigmatized, or can be embarrassing to share publicly because of how intimate it can be.
In Secret Sex, the anonymity takes away that barrier and gives the writer liberty to create something without the pressure of judgement.
Having said that, I expected there to be more creative risk within the content but a lot of the stories were tame in my opinion. And it’s not even that these had to be overly erotic or graphic to be enjoyable, but there was such a lack of desire felt when the whole theme of the anthology is based on sex. A lot of them used the wrong form of cum/come which is also a pet peeve.

I give 5/5 for the concept here, but the stories itself fell short. Averaging out my ratings for each landed me with 2.5 stars.

My favourites were hands down: After Nicolette, Mirror Mirror, Praying Mantis, Cloudburst.
(I would love to know who wrote these ones so I can read more of their work!)


<b>Sext</b>
A conversation told entirely through sexts. I found it funny in an awkward way.

<b>Tulip</b>
Set before cellphones and the internet. FMC puts herself for hire as a sex worker in the classified ads and gives herself the name Tulip. She calls her cunt an infrared geyser…

<b>Comets</b>
Main character reflecting on the sex within their years of marriage: home sex tape, toys, in a canoe, any brief moment they can get during the day, etc.

<b>Niche Parade: Hotel Maid Compilation</b>
Compiled entirely from video titles on pornhub. Creative in theory, but the execution wasn’t quite there.

<b>At the Wreckers</b>
I mean… if you’d rather read about a Chevette car.

<b>Restoration</b>
A guy having an affair with a woman 34 years older than him and he’s particularly aroused by the stump of her amputated leg… Immediate no.

<b>Timeless Sophistication</b>
Way too vague. The main character watches a sex tape of themselves with the person they were just with. Are they just a fwb fling… a side piece?

<b>The Politics of Passion</b>
An unlikely pairing between an Indigenous man and the opposing counsel representing the government, who happens to be a white woman. After a day of land treaty negotiations, they hook up and “decolonize each other”.

<b>Bite</b>
Vampire + bondage + marking. Little to no depth.

<b>Watching You Watching Me</b>
A writer going through divorce. Uninspiring? Dull? Where’s the desire?

<b>Praying Mantis</b>
One of the better stories in this anthology. The writing style was so distinctly different from the rest that it actually piqued my interest.

<b>Cloudburst</b>
Erect dicks fall from the sky and are drawn to one woman. They form three lines and fuck all three of her holes at once until there are no more dicks left. Think Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs but… not meatballs. Very unusual but stands out as being different and whimsical.

<b>After Nicolette</b>
Hunger — both literal and metaphysical. I loved this one!! I wanted more!

<b>Calliope</b>
I don’t even know?? I think the narrator was a specimen in a jar and their soul or remnants get transferred to an octopus. Reminded me of The Host by Stephanie Meyer.

<b>An Archive</b>
A reflection on the thrills of public sex.

<b>My Skin Isn’t What It Used to Be</b>
Academics and tattoos.

<b>Party, Party, (Sex) Party</b>
Disgusting. Too much unhygienic anal activities between multiple people, and I did not sign up to read in detail about some guy having to publicly shit because he ate discounted grocery store sushi.

<b>Maria</b>
Online dating app turns to sexting which leads to being blackmailed and threatened with your nudes!

<b>Labefactions of a Thwarted Patootie</b>
I don’t even know…..

<b>Patience</b>
An observant main character playing the long game and letting the woman take control.

<b>Gold Star</b>
A round of never have I ever in which one of the participants is a gold star (a gay man who has never slept with a woman), and they’re both grieving the loss of a close friend.

<b>Content Farm Confidential</b>
Workplace fantasies between a woman who sucks at her copywriting job and her CEO boss.

<b>Mirror, Mirror</b>
A neighbour regularly and unashamedly watches the man across from her through their windows as he pleasures himself. She is an artist and uses him as her muse.

<b>Portrait of a Lady</b>
A serial killing vampire meets her demise.

I really, really wanted to like this book. The premise of sexual stories written anonymously was so good, and held so much promise. What would someone write if they could hide behind a mask of anonymity? Apparently, nothing much. There were maybe one or two stories I enjoyed, that really pushed bounds and got weird, but most were either weird in all the wrong ways or horrendously vanilla and boring. I found myself skimming through most of the stories, which all felt exactly the same. Man and woman either married and now hate eachother but have the most amazing sex, or woman goes to a business meeting and desperately needs the alpha males dick inside of her. My biggest grievance was the fact that the back promises queer stories sprinkled in, but any story that wasn’t fully explained to be male x female was heavily implied to be male x female. There was only one story that I thought could possibly be queer, and that was the biting one and surprisingly one of maybe two stories I enjoyed. As a kinky, sex positive individual who loves smut and sex, I got more enjoyment and better sex scenes from Wattpad than I did this book. On that note, though, I did enjoy the fact that some stories used sex as a way to tell a broader story - that they all weren’t supposed to be arousing and pornographic was a really cool concept. I look forward to seeing more books embrace the idea of an author being unnamed and writing on something so taboo, I just hope this book (despite my dislike of it) sparks that.

"Secret Sex: An Anthology" by Russell Smith delves into the hidden desires and fantasies of its characters. These provocative tales explore the intimate realms of sexuality, longing, and curiosity, inviting readers to confront their own secrets. Smith's vivid storytelling offers a titillating glimpse into the forbidden, making this anthology a compelling exploration of human desires and their consequences.

this was SUCH A COOL CONCEPT. i loved every minute of it. i enjoyed the change of pace, tone and sex of each story. very very cool. thank you

3⭐️

Thank you NetGalley and Dundurn Press for this e-ARC!

In this collection, a wide range of authors are given the chance to anonymously write a short story based around the topic of sex, with their anonymity providing them with the freedom to write scenes they perhaps wouldn't ordinarily publish.

Though the premise of this is interesting, I have read similarly interesting and literary depictions of sex without the need for anonymity — not all depictions of sex are in erotica or badly written ‘billionaire’ or fifty shades of grey-style books, as is presented as the central issue in the editor’s note. That said, I’m sure anonymity was freeing for some of these authors, and there were some really interesting and creative explorations of the topic.

The stories were quite hit and miss for me, with some being creative, insightful and well-written, and some falling a little flat in imagination and writing, with a few resulting in the sort of mindless smut that the editor’s note promised to avoid. The best stories were without a doubt the ones with elements of surrealism or a unique take that dug deep into character. My favourite stories were 'Comets', 'Cloudburst', and 'Mirror, Mirror,'. I also really like the cover!

The reason I wanted to read this book is the premise is so intriguing. Sex and taboo subjects written without concern of judgement. However, I feel it underdelivered at times.

I found this anthology confusing at times - perhaps down to the formatting of some of the stories? I'm someone who will not shy away from taboo subjects and because of the promise of anonymity, I found my expectations not met with how taboo some of these stories would get.

Some of the stories even felt like something straight out of a Black Mirror episode.

With further editing and formatting, I think this would have great promise!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A voyeurs wet dream of a book.

Award-winning and emerging Canadian authors were given the opportunity to write about sex, love and intimacy without attaching their name to their specific story. The idea put forward by editor, Russell Smith, was that with anonymity came a freedom to write without feeling the need to self-censor, while giving authors permission to push-boundaries on everything from gender to genre.

Anthologies are difficult to review because some voices resonate louder than other. But on the whole, I love the concept, and I enjoyed starting each story without knowing the setting, tone or even the 'type' of erotica I'd be getting myself into. Sometimes it took a while for our main character to reveal their gender, so I'd be enjoying the love story both as queer and straight at the same time, which was a new experience for me - and I highly recommend.

My favourite short story of the collection, 'Sext' is written entirely by text messages between two people. The format was novel, but also of my generation. The tone was a perfect balance of playful and erotic, and the way the author ends the conversation was so on point and unexpected at the same time (how?!)

I also loved 'Mirror Mirror', about an artist watching and drawing the person living across the courtyard, in their most inmate moments. "Every model is aware of my pencil, my easel, and my unflinching gaze. But my man across the courtyard is different. He is real. There is no artifice in his posing. No premeditation in his movement. This is not a body offered but a body stolen."

A bit about my reading preference that differentiates me from the typical fic-lit audience, is that I read a lot of spicy romance/smut/erotica. I'm used to authors pushing the boundaries of sex, and with that in mind it felt like some authors were still pulling their punches and approaching this topic on slant. I wish a few of the stories/authors were as willing to engage in the topic as openly and vulnerably others.

This book is best read at an art gallery, while the author who wrote, "Niche Parade: Hotel Maid Compilations", a short story written entirely from video titles on PornHub, displays AI artwork based on the titles.

An interesting read but not really my cup of tea. Lots of differing stories some of them hard to work through.

Didn’t finish the book.

Secret Sex: An Anthology

Edited By: Russell Smith

4 Stars

What to say? What to say? This was a unique book to say the least. With different stories, and hidden authors, it almost made it like an adventure. Some stories I was drawn too, others not so much. As a collection, it was good. I will say it was a hot and steamy read overall, each story bringing its own uniqueness. So, I guess it did its job. Haha

*I want to thank Netgalley and the author for this book in return for my honest review*

Stormi Ellis
Boundless Book Reviews

This is a poorly edited anthology, from Canadian authors who write their darkest sexual short stories. Some were ok, others out and out strange. It definitely needs further editing, as the errors were quite distracting as I read.

this was simply not my cup of tea. I do like reason some raunchy, out of this world sex every once in a while but this one did not hit for me. It was very jarring and all over the place and my boner died real quick lmao.

So this was something…I was here to read some good horny stories but what I got was a convoluted stories that made no sense whatsoever. Just disappointed. I was confused half the time. Not meant for me.

Unfortunately this book ended up on my did not finish pile. I loved the concept of the book, it is what drew me in initially. Anonymous authors putting together a collection of steamy stories. However, it just felt that there was no depth to the book. Also, most stories were a little too literary for my liking. The stories were too short to become involved.
Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to see an ARC.

An anthology of different authors, each is a short story and the author isn't linked to each one. A quick read.

‘Secret Sex’ was wildly interesting, there were many moments I wanted to “DNF” this book but something kept pulling me back in. And it wasn’t the sex as the level of erotic and sex was kinda slim. This book has an uneasy flow. One moment we are reading about an age gap sex affair and the next we are reading about vampires with wings. This books was all over the place and left me wanting more but also so damn confused. I don’t even know what else to say! It was just a wild read!

I really liked the hook - what sex stories would literary authors write if their names weren't attached to the work. However, I struggled to connect with, or find any interest in many of the short stories within this collection. I DNF this book because as I moved through the first few stories nothing really grabbed my attention.