Title: Open For Business: Tales of Office Sex Author: Alison Tyler, editor Publisher: Cleis Press Publish Date: 2008 Pages: 220 Genres:: Fiction, Compilation, Fantasy, Fetishes, Lesbian Reviewer: B.I. Laureano

Rating:

If you are yawning while reading all the erotica anthologies that have been published lately, Open For Business will hold your attention. Here are 22 short stories (and by short I mean the longest story is eight pages) to get you going, especially on your way to work.

Who hasn’t had naughty thoughts about having their way with a partner at the office, or making the mailperson deliver a special package, or feeling the power of having your choice of any of your coworkers? I know I’m guilty. With the mix of stories that discuss how some make Monday morning commutes more exciting, how to cope with being stuck in a stuffy cubicle and how to effectively screw your boss, I quickly finished this anthology.

What is crucial for me when reading erotica is to tell me enough about the character, their partner and the setting to quickly get me into voyeur mode. That really is what reading erotica is about, so to speak. Alison Tyler has masterfully edited these short stories so that you are quickly hooked into the story and the characters don’t wait until page four to get it on!

One of my main critiques of erotica is usually that all the characters do the exact same things. That’s not the case here. What you can expect is a book full of female protagonists (give or take a few stories), the normalization of BDSM, office flings, dare I say a British bias and office sex. This is a book about sex at work, not sex work; although the closest story to sex work is N.T. Morley’s “Memorandum,” which takes place in a dungeon.

Once you pick this book up, I’d suggest heading straight to these stunners: “TGIF” by Saskia Walker is fun; Mik Kimera’s “Have A Nice Day” was the roughest, toughest and hardest; “Lonely At The Top” by Savannah Stephens Smith was the most realistic (and pulls a bit at the heart strings); and, for male protagonists, check out Rachel Kramer Bussel’s “Secretary’s Day.” If you want to skip the girl-boy action and go directly to the lesbian stories, “Headhunter” by CB Potts; “On the 37th Floor” by Tulsa Brown; “Have A Nice Day” by Mike Kimera; and, “Late For Work” by Shelly Jansen are your best bets, although Jansen’s story is more girl on girl than lesbian, if you know what I mean. This book is sure to please; why not suggest it for the office book club?