A book about all kinds of sex! A short story collection! A book with 27 authors writing stories anonymously! Bring it on!


Except...no. I don't remember being so disappointed by any short story collection as this one. In all anthologies, there is at least one great story and a couple of good ones. But this one was an exception.

Most of the stories didn't even make sense. I am all for open endings given that they are thought-provoking. There is nothing of that sort in this book. The endings of many stories are so ambiguous that I was more confused than I was before I started the story. Some of the stories read as if the author had never read a single erotic novel or even a sex scene in any book. It was all very awkward. Sometimes, I was so bored that was lulled to sleep while reading. Not what I expect from a book about sex.

There were 27 stories and I remember only one - Vis-a-vis 1953. That, too, wasn't a great story but it was passable.

A disappointed 2 stars.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

I loved everything about this concept but the execution left be completely deflated.

It started well. The first few stories gave me variety and some engaging content. But after a while it became harder and harder to persevere. 'LVIII Times a Year' contained the most despairing similes and euphemisms for the female body and it was the beginning of the end for me. I lost interest. I grasped that we were meant to find the narrator unlikable but he was so unlikable that nothing engaged me.

After this, I hit some major reading fatigue and haven't even managed to finished a book since so I think I will reread the stories after this one to give them a fair chance.

I loved the premise of Anonymous Sex: 27 of the eminent writers of our time writing about (one of) the world's most taboo subject(s), behind a cloak of anonymity. What would be the result?

Well, as it turns out, something that worked! It was an interesting enough read, though I much preferred some to others. There were also some stories I didn't quite 'get', but I think that's true of all short story anthologies.

I'm not usually a fan of short stories but I enjoyed many of the tales in this anthology - I really liked the idea that you didn't really know who the author was - I was definitely guessing as I read each one!

From the very sexy exploration of an academic's fantasies to the more avant garde tales of how people recreate, and reproduce in the near future.

This was an interesting collection of short stories and there will proabbly be something for everyone whether they are into erotica or not. I found some of these stories engaging and well written but others just didnt engage my attention or concentration and I found myself unbothered about the characters/stories.

I really must stop choosing collections of short stories - none of them seem to sustain my interest for the length of the book. As usual there are a few mildly interesting stories, but the rest seemed either pretentious or just not my cuppa. Perhaps its better to read them in chunks, with other books in between, rather than as a whole.

They are well written, but seem to lack the 'edge' or final twist that a really good short story should have.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK for allowing me access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Erotica is not a widely read genre of mine so short stories are always much more appealing.

This collection has a story for everyone. There is no common theme and each would or could have an audience of its own.

There’s a few stories that just didn’t read well to me, one in particular just ended so abruptly that it felt unfinished.

I’m glad I read it but it’s not one I would read again.

Anonymous Sex edited by Hillary Jordan and Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan is an eclectic mix of racy stories from a number of writers, but you don't know which author wrote which story!

Among the stories, unplanned liaisons on overnight trains came up more than once; an x-rated version of the Rapunzel story with a new twist, and a story of self-destructive tendencies are visited upon an English teacher who falls for a very special student.

Twenty seven stories in all written in different styles but all with a common theme present. Hard to put this one down!

I am thoroughly enjoying this book. It's a collection so some stories are better than others, but overall the quality is good, and the stories are quite stimulating.

I'm not a huge fan of erotica as it can easily be very boring or require a high level of suspension of belief. I wanted to read this anthology of short stories as I found the blurb fascinating.
I liked some stories and found others quite boring.
Not my cup of tea.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

WHEW THIS WAS WILD! Not for prudes; very spicy. Fun to guess who wrote what but even without that hook, it's a great collection of stories.

It’s a great idea, the concept of the story’s being anonymous leaves you interested to who it could have been.

Some story’s are good others not so much.

This is an honest review in exchange for an arc.

Perhaps I just wasn't in the mood when I began reading this collection......unlike some of the characters who -as they are short stories- quite properly often don't hang about before indulging in a variety of sexual situations.
It was interesting that they were anonymous although there is a list of contributing authors at the start. Even though a couple were known to me I had no way of linking any story to a writer.
Perhaps as it seemed in some cases this was a first attempt at writing something erotic and it did fail badly in some cases. There also were huge successes and some that brought humour, depth and a different slant (in all senses) to sexuality today (and in the future)
Not something I probably would ever have read so thanks to Netgalley for offering it for review.
For differing reasons a book to keep and dip into when required......

The premise behind this anthology of erotic stories is that a number of well-known writers were approached by the editors to write a short story exploring eroticism and sexuality. Almost thirty writers are listed in the book, and some of them are very well-known, but it is not clear who wrote which story, hence the title of the collection.

There is an entertaining variety of content and the stories go off in all sorts of directions although you do get the sense these people all see themselves as writers. You might be surprised how often literary conferences and festivals pop-up and, sometimes, the stories are a little over literary as if the writers are trying too hard to be oblique and original.

Having said that there are some neat innovations and variations – even positions – including imagined partners in the metaverse, a plane full of people about to crash, an ordinary couple making love, an encounter on a train, a rereading of Rapunzel and lots more. I liked the one about the horny schoolteacher dealing with her daughter’s sexual awakenings and showing up the contradictions in how we all handle relationships.

All in all, this is an entertaining collection taking a sideways look at the erotic and the sexual, and the weird things that people like to do to each other. It’s good value as well! If you read one story a day with Sundays off it would last you a month!

Thanks #NetGalley for my e-arc copy of #AnonymousSex in exchange for my honest review.

Having never read anything in this genre before I was drawn to be book initially by its ambiguous abstract cover., plus I do love a short story, so of course an anthology of short stories appealed to me.

I wasn’t sure it this was meant to be a collection of erotica or just steamy romance stories ? Either way I wasn’t sure that every author followed the brief. As some felt, I guess way to describe it would be, lost.

I find giving an anthology; especially of short stories by different authors. All of which here are anonymous, difficult to rate.

However saying this at the same time it stops one from having preconceived ideas of the book.

Because there was a mixture of both good and bad stories I think that the rating of three starts is only fair.

This was a bold and delightful adventure filled with love, lust, desire and intimacy. A collection of beautifully written short stories exploring sex from different perspectives across the globe. It’s an incredibly clever idea to publish the stories anonymously and very well executed - I’m sure there’s lots of people wishing they’d had this idea too!

The collection was a creative whirlwind with 27 authors giving voice to the narratives they might only be daring enough to write anonymously. There was something to take away from every story and most of all I loved those stories of empowerment and defiance and quiet acceptance of human nature.

I challenge anyone to read this without questioning how much truth is behind ‘I Don’t Miss You’ or whether Eloise and ‘Ursus’ from ‘Find Me’ cross paths again. I don’t think it’s even possible to pick a favourite tale from this wonderfully curated anthology but perhaps I’ll have to read it again, just to make sure!

Not going to lie this was a bit of a disappointment!
A lot of the stories I found very boring and just wasn't hooked at all so ended up skipping most of them. There were a few interesting ones which I really enjoyed but they were few and far between and couldn't make up for the rest of the stories which I had to skip or read but were boring. I imagine it was good for the authors to be anonymous but the few stories I did like, I would have loved to know who wrote them so I could go and read more of their work!
Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my views.

Unfortunately had to DNF this book, Whilst I found the concept of this book interesting I really struggled with some of the stories as they became long winded and rambling. I think the different writing styles of the different authors made it hard to read from story to story. Whilst this is a DNF for me it is a great idea and just for me.

I don't normally read this type of book, but I'm aiming to try new genres. I really enjoyed this book, while some books were better than others, I would definitely recommend this. Would advise checking TW's or making them more accessible.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC of this short story collection.

Firstly, I adored this collection, I know of only one of the authors, but I can see the quality of the rest easily here.

I enjoy the anonymity, it lends itself well to the whole premise of the book, sex of all forms, types, between different people, both negative, positive and other worldly. I rarely read a book featuring sex which is inclusive of the good, the bad, the ugly and the downright beautifully weird, but I’m thrilled I have found this here.

I think there was only one story, maybe two in this whole collection which I didn’t love. I’m rating it 4.5 stars as it’s truly one of the best collections I’ve ever read, however there is a lot of non-consensual sex in here which I feel has maybe been given too much of a prominent place.