Title: Erotic Massage: Sensual Touch for Deep Pleasure and Extended Arousal Author: Charla Hathaway Publisher: Quiver Books Publish Date: 2007 Pages: 128 Genres:: How-To Guide, Non-Fiction, Self-Help, Sex Therapy Reviewer: Layla Tichtchenko

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How do you spell relief? Charla Hathaway spells it m-a-s-s-a-g-e. Erotic Massage is filled with rousing and arousing photos and explanations for many techniques for lovers—not just to get them in the mood, but post-coitus as well. This book illustrates making love is much more than intercourse. From legs intertwined to a simple selection of pressure points, books of this ilk will never get old. Nor will audiences tire of new additions to the erotic library, especially when books contain photos of attractive people doing erotic things. Pictures abound in this volume of voluptuous lore.

Charla Hathaway approaches eroticism with candor and class. And although she is trained in this field, her repertoire is far from clinical. She imbues this work with the words of wisdom and experience. All sex writers could take a small lesson in sex etiquette and her way of stating so simply all things sexual. She is adamant about pleasure and its necessity in our lives, which she makes abundantly clear from the beginning. And she points the reader in the direction of being and existing before doing. The book begins almost immediately with giving you permission to experience the very pleasure its subject matter is about and preparing for that pleasure by regulating breathing. Hathaway takes Erotic Massage to another level in not only addressing the sensual, but also the scientific.

Erotic Massage is more than massage; it is a personal pleasure journey that too few people bother to embark upon. She recognizes, however, that sometimes the journey can be a solitary one and she includes sections for “self massage.” She includes many varied suggestions for massage techniques. The photos are erotically moving with models that actually look interested in their poses. This tasteful layout and elegant wording combine terrifically for a refreshing and arousing romp into the world of massage between lovers, or even alone. You can tell by her language that Charla Hathaway is truly an expert in her field; she infuses the information with intimacy and truly touts the tantalizing unlike many other writers in her field.

She has studied arousal and sexuality in abundance. But some of the suggestions are a little far-fetched, such as her suggestion that when your lover tells you how to please them that you respond by saying, “Thank you.” Aside from the cheesiness, it is positive to encourage openness in intimate relationships. It is well worth checking out Erotic Massage, if not for your current relationship then certainly for future reference and erotic adventures.