It seems that when you say the word "bondage" most people automatically roll it in with Domination and Sadomasochism and their opinions are set. Some are turned on, some are curious, and others are turned off at the very thought of BDSM. Well, if you're one of those people who normally shies away from the subject for that reason, don't judge this book by its cover.

Editor Rachel Kramer Bussel has brought together a collection of 20 short stories in Best Bondage Erotica 2011 that do a brilliant job of portraying many facets of bondage, both with and without the other elements. Only five of the stories contain any sadism, a couple not even hard-core, and even less than that involve any form of humiliation. And they don't all involve any true Dominance either. They range from playful couples doing nothing but binding wrists during sex to structured Dom/sub ownerships and "punishments", with the majority of the stories falling somewhere in between.

Since the longest tale in the book is only 15 pages, don't expect elaborate plots or deep character development, but do expect a lot of variety in settings and bondage implements. Rope, cuffs, stocks, Saran Wrap, scarves, Ethernet cables, magician's props, a necktie, and even seat belts are explored to the fullest of their potential in this book.

Our absolute favorite was Wired by Lisabet Sarai. It's about a woman who can't seem to get the attention of a fellow office worker she's lusting after until she sneaks a look into his computer and discovers that he has a fetish for female Dominance. A surprise visit to his cubicle after hours with a couple of silk scarves and a lot of Ethernet cable soon has him bound and (ahem) at attention. This is an very well-written story that's both entertaining and arousing.

Extremely short erotica stories are sometimes no more than a generic sex scene, but Rita Winchester managed to fit bondage, a hint of role playing, and a lot of hot dirty talk in the 5 pages of Stocks and Bonds. It was fun to read, and we'll never be able to go to a Renaissance Faire again without thinking about the stocks.

Sealed for Freshness, by Jennifer Peters is pretty much the only tale in the book written from a serious Dominant's point of view, and it was a good one. In a true BDSM scenario, this female Dominant all but mummifies her sub in Saran Wrap before delivering the punishment that he needs. Put like that it might sound scary, but the writer handled the scenario very well and it was a hott read.

Now in nearly every anthology we've read there is one story that is so different from the others that you can't help but think about it for awhile afterwards. In this book, that story is The Ingenue written by Janine Ashbless. Though the author wastes no time explaining, the story seems to be set in France, and the overall tone reflects both the innocence and hidden decadence of centuries past. It's told in third person point of view and revolves around a young woman who notices a man tied to a cross in her aunt's rose garden. Curious, she approaches him and he slowly coaxes her into giving her first hand job in the process of explaining how he is going to be the entertainment at her aunt's party. And he tells her exactly what kinds of things they will use him for. From a literary standpoint, The Ingenue is a cut above the rest, and it's more than a little alluring right from the start. All of the rest of the stories were of a modern contemporary setting, but still this one's content fit in nicely.

There was one story, called The Cartographer, that to us didn't really fit the bondage theme. If you read between the lines, it's possible to see where there was a form of emotional bondage going on in the couple's ongoing tattoo project, but we read the tale twice and failed to find any mention of physical bondage at all. It was a well-written tale that we didn't mind reading, but it may have been better placed in a collection of general erotica.

Overall this was a very good book with a lot of variety to suit many different tastes. It could be pretty inspiring to people who were looking for new ideas too.

Alan says:
I've never read an all-bondage book so it was difficult to put it down. I think we read the whole thing in two sittings because I wanted to know what they'd think up next. There was only one tale out of the whole book that I absolutely didn't like, and I still couldn't tell you what it was supposed to be about. Something involving a chair that grew to bind a girl and then a lot of confusing head game type of stuff. It lost me. But all the rest kept my attention and I enjoyed most of them enough to want to read it again.

Michele says:
Even though I really liked the book I wish there had been a more balanced mixture between stories from the Dom and sub points of view (in the ones that involved D/s). It was interesting to get a peek into the mindsets of the various subs in the book, but not something I could personally relate to well. That didn't make any of the stories less enjoyable for me, and I would still recommend it to others, but I'd love to see more from the Dom angle in the future years' volumes.