Early Embraces II by Lindsey Elder

An anthology like Early Embraces II is predicated on two assumptions: that we need more lesbian erotica (let's just say yes right away), and that there's something uniquely important and arousing about a first encounter--not only a first encounter between partners, but a first touch of a certain celebratory kind, the confirmation of a life direction. There simply isn't an analogous experience for straight women (e.g., 'I'm straight! Now I know for sure!'), since all the cultural signposts reinforce their steps from girlhood to sexual maturity. The lesbian initiation, on the contrary, always feels like the blazing of a frontier. In 'Camp Good News,' Lisa E. Davis tumbles into the underbrush with her counselor at a missionary camp. In Amy J. Saruwatari's 'Pass the Hershey's, Please,' two women steamily consummate a relationship that began in the Personals column. Not all these stories are beautifully written, but all have the ring of truth and the thrill of the first time. --Regina Marler