Finishing up this book, I’ve had a bit of mixed feelings about it. All in a all, I think I’m just generally not really into reading erotica. I’d rather do it myself than read about it 🤷🏻‍♀️🤭 Nevertheless, it can be said that it is written in such a way that it would be appealing to women. Just as it is mentioned in the very beginning, “I had a feeling that Pandora’s box contained the mysteries of woman’s sensuality, so different from man’s and for which man’s language was inadequate.”

Having read “The Venus of Delta” right after “Closer” by Sarah Barmak, it’s still really impressive how even nowadays, so many things are not suited for female pleasure. Looking at the pornography that dominates the market, the majority of which is there for satisfying purely male pleasure, it’s not too much different from the situation Anaïs was in when writing these stories. I would actually suggest reading these books together, since beautiful parallels can be drawn. In “Closer”, it is described more from a research point of view and in “Delta of Venus” through fictitious stories of how women want to be touched, treated & desired.

There were some parts that set me off a bit though: The constant recurring feature of tons of people having violet eyes, the repeated obsession with everything Egyptian & Arabic and most of all, the lack of diversity in the representation of women. ALL of them were described as having huge, round, voluptuous, high & pointing upwards breasts. 🤦🏻‍♀️ I paid more attention to the female side, but I guess the same can be said for the described male physicalities as well, so it’s too bad the diverse side of reality was missing.

There are some beautiful character descriptions within the stories, one of my favourite ones was Leila,

She was tall. She used apache French, like a boy, but with a royal audacity. She wanted women who were proud of being Lesbians. She set the example. She wore men’s clothes despite police regulations. She was so elegant, so suave, so aristocratic, that people who did not know her bowed to her, almost unconsciously.

Another factor stunningly described, was the difference between male & female seduction:

She did not realize that the pressure of Leila’s hand in the taxi had plunged Elena into a state that was unlike anything Pierre had ever aroused in her. Instead of reaching right to the center of her body, Leila’s voice and touch enveloped her in a voluptuous mantle of new sensations, something in suspense that did not seek fulfillment but prolongation.

I would suggest the book to those who’d be looking for something spicy to dive into or I could also see this being a nice present to some guys to draw inspiration for pleasing their women.

★★★☆☆ (3/5)