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Book Review: Making the Hook-Up edited by Cole Riley

September 10th, 2010

Ooo, what’s that?

With a picture like that, what else could it be but a compilation of steamy erotica?  It’s called Making the Hook-Up: Edgy Sex with Soul.  It’s written by black authors, and edited by Cole Riley, with the intention of doing away with black stereotypes, sexual and societal.

What’s it about? 

Three Kisses – Docta Love sets his sites on a pretty poker dealer at the casino.

For Nita – Nita helped Janice change.

Got Milk? – Randy takes control for the first time in her sexual life.

Rain – Yanni and Aden met by way of wrong number.

Strangers in the Water – Miriam remembers stories of strangers meeting in a river in the midst of a war.

Keeping Up with the Joneses – A man and his wife find themselves trying to keep up with the gay couple who just moved in next door.

Dangerous Comfort – A man finds himself in a sexy situation while watching Constantine in the theater.

Pharaoh’s Phallic – Derek walks in on Deidre and King Tut.

Lonnie’s Licks – Lonnie helps Stacey with her “habit”.

Hung – She can’t stop thinking about her against-the-rules encounters with Juror Number Nine.

Irresistible – Reverend Liz finds solace in a night with a criminal.

All Day – Darius and Janae play a game.

When the River – Rosemarie met a man of integrity.

Sex and Chocolate – After missing the mark in the Big Apple, Mia finds herself at home.

A Taste of Tyrell – Lizzy meets Tyrell at a film festival.

Welcome Home – Layla and Roni welcome their master home.

Lights on a Cave Wall – Imbe makes love to Kira with words.

Velvet – Sara meets Rille at a party.

How is it?

Rayne’s Rating:
Pros: Cons:
stories have substance
full of emotion
very sexy stories
characters seem real and have depth
gives the reader a peek in to various cultures
goes against many black stereotypes
doesn’t come across as “for” black people
There are a couple stories that don’t
stand up to the rest with regard to quality
and/or eroticism.

Until I read Making the Hook-Up, I never really understood just how awesome erotica with a purpose or a back-story could be.  Quite often, when writing my own erotica, I write scenes rather than stories.  So many of the stories in Making the Hook-Up are so much more than just erotica.

Cole Riley was looking to put together a book of stories of black people interacting romantically and sexually in ways you don’t generally see in books or the media. In particular, he wanted to show just how many dimensions and cultures go into the way black people connect with their lovers. I think the stories he chose did a good job of this.

If I had to pick a favorite story, it would be a really close call.  There’s a story about a woman conflicted by her culture, and another conflicted by her religion.  One about a woman who ended up finding solace in the very place she ran from, and another about a woman completely comfortable with her sexuality thanks to a best friend she no longer hears from.

I found myself closing this book feeling almost lucky to have read it.  I rarely have that reaction after reading anything, these days, much less a compilation of erotica.

The stories are almost all page turners.  Many of them are filled with culture, and raw emotion, and colorful descriptions of places I’ve never been, foods I’ve never tried, and atmospheres I’ve never experienced.  Cole Riley did an excellent job putting together this book.

Where’d ya get it?

That store sent this book to me for review. You can pick it up on Amazon.

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