As a novice to the world of spanking, I knew this book would have one of two effects on me: either it would go right over my head, or it would intensify my pre-existing attraction to being spanked. It definitely did the latter.

Anything edited by Rachel Kramer Bussel is bound to be good, in my experience, and this anthology is no exception. It contains thirty delicious short stories which involve spanking in all forms: for punishment, reward, titillation, and satisfaction; with hands, floggers, whips, paddles, hairbrushes, and other random implements. The amount of variety in these stories is wonderful because it truly points out (as does Laura Antoniou in her articulate foreword) the versatility of spanking as a sexual act.

I was worried that there wouldn't be enough queerness and gender variance represented here, but Ms. Bussel is legendarily good at being all-inclusive in her anthologies, so there are all sorts of people in these stories: straight people, gay men, lesbians, butches, femmes, twinks, subs, doms, genderqueers, etc. This makes the book particularly ideal for those of us who find ourselves attracted to a wide array of people, though you definitely don't need to be bisexual to enjoy the hot scenarios.

One of the book's standout stories is Thomas S. Roche's "Disciplinary Action," in which a woman, Juliette, is caught looking at spanking porn by her female boss, Carrie. Naturally, Carrie feels that Juliette deserves a punishment for her misuse of company time. This is perhaps the first story that has ever made me understand how total humiliation can be hot as hell. I also loved "Most Unexpected" by Marina Saint, a straightforward but sexy tale of exploring spanking with a friend, and Simon Sheppard's "The Night Before," which is a kinky retelling of The Nutcracker.

The book is great for picking up ideas for scenes, or even just for your masturbatory fantasies. It's so full of novel concepts and interesting scenarios - there's something for everyone here, regardless of the level of your spanking prowess.

Moreover, this book just does what any erotica book should do - it makes me desperately want to stop reading in between stories, pull my panties down, and jack off. That's all I can really ask for in a book of sexy stories, and this one definitely accomplishes that.

As for the actual physical book - it is not discreet, at all. There's an upturned, skirted ass on the cover, and another one on the back. If you need to read this one in public, it might be a good idea to slip a more bland book's dust jacket over it... or don't, and let people stare!

I lent this book to a submissive friend, and she is totally into it. I love that the stories in this anthology can be hot for kinky people as well as more vanilla people like myself. It's such a varied group of stories that you're certain to find at least a handful that you're into!