What do you think?
Rate this book
Best of Both: When You Just Can't Decide
Why limit yourself to one gender when you can have both? This collection of 20 stories focuses on sharing. From crime and punishment in the Nevada desert to voyeurism in Marrakech, to a 22nd century theme park where every sexual fantasy is catered for, these tantalising tales all have one thing in common. They celebrate bisexuality Office affairs, naughty weekend hunting trips, and salon sensuality, from one-on-one loving to foursomes and moresomes, this anthology ticks all the boxes! A saucy short story collection for readers who want the best of both worlds.
218 pages, Paperback
First published April 6, 2011
About the author
Sommer Marsden
267 books280 followersProfessional dirty word writer, gluten free baker, sock addict, fat wiener dog walker, expert procrastinator. That sums it up.
Sommer Marsden has been called “…one of the top storytellers in the erotica genre” (Violet Blue), “Unapologetic” (Alison Tyler), “…the whirling dervish of erotica” (Craig J. Sorensen),and "Erotica royalty..." (Lucy Felthouse). Her erotic novels include Restricted Release, Restless Spirit, Boys Next Door, and the Zombie Exterminator series. Sommer currently writes for Harper Collins Mischief, Ellora's Cave, Xcite Books, Pretty Things Press, Excessica and Resplendence Publishing.
You can find Sommer's short works in well over one hundred and twenty-five (and counting) erotic anthologies.Visit her at Unapologetic Fiction http://sommermarsden.blogspot.com
Sommer Marsden has been called “…one of the top storytellers in the erotica genre” (Violet Blue), “Unapologetic” (Alison Tyler), “…the whirling dervish of erotica” (Craig J. Sorensen),and "Erotica royalty..." (Lucy Felthouse). Her erotic novels include Restricted Release, Restless Spirit, Boys Next Door, and the Zombie Exterminator series. Sommer currently writes for Harper Collins Mischief, Ellora's Cave, Xcite Books, Pretty Things Press, Excessica and Resplendence Publishing.
You can find Sommer's short works in well over one hundred and twenty-five (and counting) erotic anthologies.Visit her at Unapologetic Fiction http://sommermarsden.blogspot.com
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 18, 2011
I honestly can't recommend this anthology highly enough and think that both men and women would really enjoy it.
Unlike some erotic fiction I have read, this collection of short stories actually bothers to develop characters and places them in settings that are both believable and sexy. In the majority of the tales sex occurs naturally and arises out of the plot, rather than feeling as if it is simply 'there', as a mere descriptive scene.
The best of the stories also manage to be extremely imaginative and playful and I particularly enjoyed "Dream World" and "Distractions" - two of the most sensuous works I have ever read. So why not treat yourself? Go on, you know you want to...
Unlike some erotic fiction I have read, this collection of short stories actually bothers to develop characters and places them in settings that are both believable and sexy. In the majority of the tales sex occurs naturally and arises out of the plot, rather than feeling as if it is simply 'there', as a mere descriptive scene.
The best of the stories also manage to be extremely imaginative and playful and I particularly enjoyed "Dream World" and "Distractions" - two of the most sensuous works I have ever read. So why not treat yourself? Go on, you know you want to...
August 27, 2011
2.5 stars, but I'll round up to 3
While many anthologies abound that embrace both het and gay couplings, not nearly as many address bisexuality. “Best of Both” attempts to rectify that, with very mixed results.
A collection of twenty short stories, this anthology runs the gamut of the sexual spectrum, and while it’s refreshing to see such unabashed appreciation for bisexuality, the range of couplings represented is mirrored in the range of quality. Of the twenty, I’d rate only six of them as good or better, with seven falling in the middle, and the remaining seven decidedly awful. It’s almost as evenly distributed as it can possibly get.
It started off well, with Sommer Marsden’s “Short and Sweet.” It’s the story of an m/f/f workplace hook-up, and the title pretty much says it all. It went straight to the point, but was so hot that I didn’t care how obvious it was. Things remained positive for “A Cut Above” by Izzy French. This was about a woman getting her confidence back – starting with a physical makeover – at the hands of two stylists, a man and a woman. It was incredibly sensual, though if I had any complaints about it at all it was that the guy felt very superfluous. It could’ve been a lesbian erotic piece just as easily and not lost any of its effect.
The anthology wanders into its middle ground with the next two stories, “Barbecue” by Landon Dixon and “The Window Cleaner” by Eva Hore. In both cases, the eroticism was spoiled for me, the former by the overuse of euphemisms, the latter by a detail about the male window cleaner licking the glass (I couldn’t help but think of how much that window had been exposed to and just how unhygienic it was, and could never find my way back into the narrative). But when the next two stories fell into the good category, my hopes started rising again. First there was “Dream World” by Tony Haynes, a futuristic about a woman visiting a hotel complex devoted to pleasure. This was the most sensual story up to that point, but its brevity made it a tease rather than the seduction it was meant to be. “Flogging Scarlet” by Athena Marie, a BDSM piece between two women, one of which has never been with a woman before, is probably hotter than most of the stories preceding it combined, but it’s another one that seems slightly out of place within the collection. Yes, it’s a first time, but outside of a brief reference to a picture involving heterosexual contact, it could’ve simply been a lesbian erotic story.
The middle is where it all falls apart. Three stories in a row rate as really bad, with editorial issues abounding as well as clichéd and unoriginal ideas. There’s headhopping and inconsistencies (one has a character change name in it, even), not to mention typos. I get a brief reprieve with “Secrets” by Michael Bracken, about a husband who’s been having sex with his best friend for twenty years, but then it slips right back into mediocrity and sometimes outright badness. One story consistently uses verbiage like “sex slit,” “sex juice,” “love tunnel,” “suck him off and chew her way up and down his stem,” and so on, while another immature offering insists on using words like “starfish,” “patoot,” and “bunghole,” and expects me to find it sexy. I just don’t. The only bright spot in the latter half is the fantastic “Freedom” by Rachel Kramer Bussel, an m/m/f contemporary that was hot and intriguing with characters that leapt from the page.
With quality varying so widely, I can’t do anything better than give this a middle of the road grade. Some stories desperately needed more work, while others shone. It does what it sets out to do by showcasing men and women who love both sexes, but it doesn’t always succeed in doing so well.
While many anthologies abound that embrace both het and gay couplings, not nearly as many address bisexuality. “Best of Both” attempts to rectify that, with very mixed results.
A collection of twenty short stories, this anthology runs the gamut of the sexual spectrum, and while it’s refreshing to see such unabashed appreciation for bisexuality, the range of couplings represented is mirrored in the range of quality. Of the twenty, I’d rate only six of them as good or better, with seven falling in the middle, and the remaining seven decidedly awful. It’s almost as evenly distributed as it can possibly get.
It started off well, with Sommer Marsden’s “Short and Sweet.” It’s the story of an m/f/f workplace hook-up, and the title pretty much says it all. It went straight to the point, but was so hot that I didn’t care how obvious it was. Things remained positive for “A Cut Above” by Izzy French. This was about a woman getting her confidence back – starting with a physical makeover – at the hands of two stylists, a man and a woman. It was incredibly sensual, though if I had any complaints about it at all it was that the guy felt very superfluous. It could’ve been a lesbian erotic piece just as easily and not lost any of its effect.
The anthology wanders into its middle ground with the next two stories, “Barbecue” by Landon Dixon and “The Window Cleaner” by Eva Hore. In both cases, the eroticism was spoiled for me, the former by the overuse of euphemisms, the latter by a detail about the male window cleaner licking the glass (I couldn’t help but think of how much that window had been exposed to and just how unhygienic it was, and could never find my way back into the narrative). But when the next two stories fell into the good category, my hopes started rising again. First there was “Dream World” by Tony Haynes, a futuristic about a woman visiting a hotel complex devoted to pleasure. This was the most sensual story up to that point, but its brevity made it a tease rather than the seduction it was meant to be. “Flogging Scarlet” by Athena Marie, a BDSM piece between two women, one of which has never been with a woman before, is probably hotter than most of the stories preceding it combined, but it’s another one that seems slightly out of place within the collection. Yes, it’s a first time, but outside of a brief reference to a picture involving heterosexual contact, it could’ve simply been a lesbian erotic story.
The middle is where it all falls apart. Three stories in a row rate as really bad, with editorial issues abounding as well as clichéd and unoriginal ideas. There’s headhopping and inconsistencies (one has a character change name in it, even), not to mention typos. I get a brief reprieve with “Secrets” by Michael Bracken, about a husband who’s been having sex with his best friend for twenty years, but then it slips right back into mediocrity and sometimes outright badness. One story consistently uses verbiage like “sex slit,” “sex juice,” “love tunnel,” “suck him off and chew her way up and down his stem,” and so on, while another immature offering insists on using words like “starfish,” “patoot,” and “bunghole,” and expects me to find it sexy. I just don’t. The only bright spot in the latter half is the fantastic “Freedom” by Rachel Kramer Bussel, an m/m/f contemporary that was hot and intriguing with characters that leapt from the page.
With quality varying so widely, I can’t do anything better than give this a middle of the road grade. Some stories desperately needed more work, while others shone. It does what it sets out to do by showcasing men and women who love both sexes, but it doesn’t always succeed in doing so well.
April 10, 2013
A Deliciously naughty selection of shorts for all tastes. My particularly favourites being the stories by Lucy Felthouse and Tony Haynes. HIGHLY Recommended!
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews