Mrs. Giggles: This reviewer is irreverent and often hysterically funny. Reading her is like getting the low-down on erotic and romance books from your best, very well-read, friend. She reviews from the gut. Occasionally she'll review BDSM stories, and though she claims it's not her thing, her instincts are spot-on. Here's a taste of Mrs. Giggles:
Plot? Story? Character development? All of these seem secondary to the author's agenda here: the objectification, deification, and eroticization of the Alpha Male Asshole.
Book Utopia: I've mentioned Utopia Mom in my blog before. I adore her reviews. She is the most serious and intellectual of the bunch. Her stylish and nearly scientific analyses are a joy to read. She is in no way a snob. She reviews offerings from the obscure indy presses, as well as the high and mighty. She's both fearless and tactful. According to Erecsite (my go-to blog for erotica electronic publishing industry news), Utopia Mom is under-appreciated. Not by me. Not by a long shot.
Dear Author: The iconic Dear Author site is actually a group effort. Joan/SarahF is the only one who reviews BSDM, so I'm going to single her out. I'm not sure why she has a slash name, because I believe she is a single person. Joan/SarahF's reviews of BDSM stories are fascinating: she has a profound understanding of the emotional, physical and technical aspects of the practices. Reading her is like hanging out with a stern SSC Dungeon Mistress--who has a day job as literature professor. She'll call out writers of the BDSM genre when they fail, and swat them with her verbal flogger.
Teddy Pig: Teddy Pig (can I call you Teddy?) rarely reviews books, unfortunately. His focus is on e-book readers and the like. When he does review a book, it's a treat: he offers a highly personal perspective on BDSM and gay fiction. Teddy Pig's reviews are sincere, a little cranky, and sometimes in verse. Happily, he's perfectly willing to review older books. Here's a snippet of his review of the best book on gay trapeze artists ever written, published in 1979:
The Catch Trap in my opinion is more than just the average gay or even straight epic historical romantic codpiece ripper. Sure there is sex and heartache and drama and lots of heavy sighs and a couple of very violent moments but they are not the best part. There are distinct gay life lessons, real valid messages falling out of these pages even though it is written by an obviously intelligent but none the less straight woman.
