At first glance, the promise of Nicci Talbots' Orgasms: A Sensual Guide to Female Ecstasy is not unlike the breathless exclamations of glossy women's magazines: Blow Your Man's Mind Now! Five Tips for a Night Neither of You Will Forget! Get Over Sexual Shyness-We Show You How! This photo-heavy guide is chock-full of shiny, well-lit, and meticulously styled hetero couples getting amorous alongside info-lite sidebars on "Sensational Foods" and bite-sized paragraphs about dildos, tantric sex, and spooning. But what it lacks in depth and detail, it makes up for in variety and a realistic attitude about sex that extends far beyond what you'll read in Cosmo.

You'll find approachable text that doesn't assume any particular level of sexual sophistication. There are also sections on lingerie and fantasy play, anal stimulation, the concept of an extended massive orgasm, an introduction to Polynesian slow sex, and ideas for what to do with nipple clamps. Think of it as a pretty coffeetable sampler of sexual suggestions grounded in physiological explanations of not just how, but also why these techniques might work as they do.

Despite its strictly heterosexual, couple-oriented focus (and a lot of text devoted to male and shared ecstasy, such that the title is somewhat misleading), the overall message of Orgasms is universal; great sex is about self-awareness, patience, exploration, and enjoying your whole body. "Timing and practice are key," Talbot writes when explaining ways to reach clitoral orgasm during woman-on-top intercourse.

The message that orgasm is only one part of a creative sexual life comes through loud and clear without seeming like an empty refrain. In my excruciatingly frustrating pre-orgasmic days, I resented the cheerful insistence that orgasm wasn't the goal when for me it seemed not to even be a possibility. This book's admittance that while orgasm isn't the only thing, it is an important and fulfilling thing was much appreciated. Orgasm is presented as something that-with practice, patience, and a relaxed attitude-anyone can learn to achieve, and to achieve more often, more intensely, and more fully.