Title: Erotic Massage Deck: 50 Sensual Techniques to Get You In the Mood Author: Debbie O'Shea Publisher: Chronicle Books Publish Date: 2007 Pages: 50 Genres:: Non-Fiction, How-To Guide Reviewer: Jerome D'Angelo

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Amidst the stress and redundancy of our everyday nine-to-five lives, we go into emotional autopilot. Get up. Go to work. Come home. Make dinner. Do everything else you “need” to do. And finally, get ready to do it all again the next day. Such routines might pay the bills and keep the gas tank full, but chances are they’re not doing much in the way of making us all happy.

With this in mind, spa-treatment and beauty specialist Debbie O’Shea has given us Erotic Massage Deck: 50 Sensual Techniques to Get You in the Mood. Instead of a book, Erotic Massage is a set of fifty 4-by-6 inch flash cards. Numbered in sequential order, each card illustrates and explains the no-rush methods of readying the body for intimacy. O’Shea emphasizes the need for cleansing the body of negative energy for the purposes of making intimate moments with your partner less robotic and more intuitive. “Not only can [erotic massage] ease away the cares of life,” O’Shea writes, “…but it can also enhance and transform your lovemaking, opening up new horizons of sexual gratification and emotional connection.”

Interestingly enough, much like intercourse itself, the cards move gradually from delicate touches that ease both partners into a sensual rhythm and end with both partners feeling satisfied and completely relaxed. Erotic Massage comes with a brief introduction and table of contents, with each of the seven “chapters” indexed and each card listed by name. The very first chapter, “Harmony and Energy”, sets the tone by suggesting that one party lie face down with the other along side them kneeling comfortably. The idea is to use gentle sweeping motions to, in a sense, lift or brush off the negative energy, and then tap into the intimate senses through gentle caressing. With the stress slowly floating away, the lovers can now go further in the right frame of mind.
             
The flash cards themselves are well designed, as they have not only a helpful illustration on one side, but on the other a detailed how-to along with a brief description of why the individual techniques are important to the entire process. In the second chapter, “The Subtle Senses”, for example, two of the cards are called “Circulating Energy”. These involve very simple techniques of gliding your hands gently over your partner’s body, starting at the balls of their feet and moving upwards along the insides of their legs, then gradually along the back, arms, and shoulders, finally returning to the feet completing the “circle”. O’Shea describes this particular method as important to the balance of the lovers’ energy, or as the Chinese call it the tan tien.

The remaining techniques range from playful to passionate. Some involve using feathers to tease and tickle your partner. Another utilizes and old reliable: hot and cold sensations. Try slowly sliding an ice cube over your partner’s belly, then quickly replacing it with a hot cloth. The alternating stimuli reverberate through the body, startling and arousing at the same time.  Also included are cards with instruction on stroking the face, neck, and hands, so as to further ease your partner’s body before you re-awaken it! And finally, O’Shea describes some tried-and-true tactics for fellatio and genital stimulation using your hands. With an emphasis on gradual build-up, you can give your partner the kind of special attention that will relax them right into bliss.

Erotic Massage Deck is fairly small, only an inch or so in thickness, so it fits as well on your book shelf as it does at your bedside, which, let’s face it, is where you’ll need it. Try reading the individual cards one by one with your partner first so that the both of you can begin the journey together even before you lie down. Erotic Massage Deck: 50 Sensual Techniques to Get You in the Mood is a great addition to any adult library, good for couples looking to re-discover their passions for one another, or for hot couples who simply want to try something new.