The Pleasure in Pain is an overall mixed bag, as with many short story collections. Highlights include ‘Graphite’ by Amanda M. Blake, an excellent grimy little second-person narrative worthy of Clive Barker; the uncanny fairytale of ‘A Kiss with Thorns’ by K.M. Carmien is worth the price of admission by itself.

Some of the other stories are interesting in concept but mechanical in execution, or use beautiful language but lack coherence. One story which threads the needle - stylish and unwilling to make itself simple - is ‘The Roses of Heliogabalus’ by Sofia Ajram, a gleefully maximalist re-rendering of myth-history which sprawls at the centre of the collection. Like the rest of this anthology, it won’t be for everyone, but it’s well worth your time.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Thank you NetGalley and author Roxie Voorhees for the copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

"UNBURY YOUR GAYS
For centuries our stories of romance and love were hidden, coded within for future readers to decipher. There is none of that here.
Here's a shovel.
Twenty-five stories and poems explore the spectrum of queerness through love and lust, and a little blood. Twisted fairytales, possessed jewelry, a house that offers your desires but you can never leave, a god's bathroom glory hole, an asexual cult, and more show you THE PLEASURE IN PAIN.

Featuring Aleksandra Ugelstad Elnæs, Amanda M. Blake, Anton Cancre, Arthur DeHart, Avra Margariti, Caitlin Marceau, Charibdys, Clar Hart, Darren Black, Dori Lumpkin, Grace R. Reynolds, james ambrose, JB Corso, Jessica Swanson, K. M. Carmine, M. Lopes de Silva, Marisca Pichette, Minh-Anh Vo Dinh, Rae Knowles, Rain Corbyn, Sapphire Lazuli, Shelley Lavigne, Sofia Ajram, Violet Mourningstarr, Zach Rosenberg."

This is an entertaining book to read. With a compilation of different stories and narratives.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an ARC for review!

"The Pleasure in Pain" is a erotic horror anthology with varying range of queer. This is a very different type of read for me, but it definitely was one that held my attention. Each story having a different type of narrative and voice of it's own really gave me such an entertaining experience; I never felt like I was forcing myself to read each story, they held my attention.

A few of the highlights that I enjoyed were "A Gift so Sweet" by Zach Rosenburg, "Write My Eulogy on the Gloryhole Bathroom Stall" by Rae Knowles, "The Leatherman" by Darren Black, and "Invitation" by Jessica Swanson. Those are just a handful that I really enjoyed, but that isn't to say I had an absolute blast with any of the others. I am always fascinated by how everyone's storytelling is so different, voices are so different and yet in this anthology they go so well.

Conclusion, The Pleasure in Pain is a four star read, pushing for a four and a half star rating for me. The exploration of queer, horror, and erotica - this mixture was something I didn't realize I needed, but now I am craving more!

While short story collections can often be hit-or-miss, I was pleasantly surprised by The Pleasure in Pain. While there are some that are less engaging than others, the majority of the stories featured are gripping, intense and quite beautiful. The variety of authors and writing style aids in the genre exploration this collection takes, and makes for one of the most engrossing reads I've had in a long time.

There are lines in this that are so staggering I couldn't help but wonder how some of these writer aren't bigger names. Lines like "you consume creepypasta in great, gulping swallow, visit sites of supernatural occurrences, sleep in haunted hotels between roadside diners" paint such vivid images it's impossible not to get sucked in. While I don't doubt it won't be for everyone, if you're a fan of the horror genre, The Pleasure in Pain is a must-read. "I Wander The Earth Longing To Taste Your Beating Heart" by Minh-Anh Vo Dinh and "Motel Pozitive" by j ambrose are definitely the standouts.

I did end up DNF’ing this at about the 28% mark. This is no hate to the authors of this, I just don’t think I was the targeted audience for this. It was a bit too much for me personally, although I’m sure someone out there will enjoy it. Thank you anyways for the eARC!

Let me start off by saying thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of "The Pleasure in Pain," edited by Roxie Voorhees.

From the very first page, I found myself captivated by the unique and diverse narratives within this anthology. Despite my initial nerves, I was pleasantly surprised by how incredible each story was. There wasn't a single one that disappointed or bored me; each piece offered something new and thought-provoking.

Among the myriad of tales, "A Gift So Sweet," "Graphite," and "I Wander the Earth Longing to Taste Your Beating Heart" stood out to me as exceptional. These stories resonated with me on a deep level, exploring themes of love, desire, and the complexities of human emotion in a way that was both haunting and beautiful.

"The Pleasure in Pain" offers a wide range of narratives, from twisted tales to possessed jewelry, each with its own unique twist on the theme of queerness. The anthology challenges traditional narratives and offers a refreshing perspective on love and desire.

In conclusion, "The Pleasure in Pain" is a captivating anthology that pushes the boundaries of storytelling and explores the intricacies of queerness with depth and nuance. I thoroughly enjoyed my journey through these tales and would highly recommend this anthology to anyone looking for a thought-provoking read. With its diverse range of stories and exceptional storytelling, "The Pleasure in Pain" earns a solid four-star rating from me.

This was a decent read. Not very groundbreaking, but interesting and kept my attention. I liked the relationship between the leads.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

The Pleasure in Pain is a collection of horror erotica short stories (with a big emphasis on the erotica; with a few exceptions, most of the stories were horror-adjacent). Like most anthologies, it features a variety of authors and styles, resulting in a mixed bag, most of which were unfortunately not for me. I found a lot of the stories lacking and uninspired.

There were a few standouts: a short story about a trans pirate and their encounter with a sheydim (by Zach Rosenberg); a bizarre encounter with God and a gloryhole in a bathroom stall (by Rae Knowles); and a terrifying tale of BDSM gone wrong (by the always brilliant Caitlin Marceau).

Although I didn’t particularly enjoy most of the stories in this anthology, I would still recommend it to others; with such a big variety of authors and styles, you’re bound to find something you like.

Not sure what I expected, but this was not it. Didn't even finish all the stories. I was not the demographic for this book.

First of all, thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

The Pleasure in Pain is a book of short stories and poems that discuss important topics such as sexuality and life while also having a hint of horror.

I liked about a handful of the stories and poems. For me, with books like this, I either love all the stories or only love a few and it’s the latter with this one.

I was expecting more horror and less erotica. The horror that was there was the kind where you say “oh that was kinda weird,” and then move on. I wanted to be a little more horrified.

When I saw this book, I didn’t realize there was different authors and poets for each piece! That’s really cool in my opinion!

Furthermore, there were many beautiful lines.

I rated this book 3/5 stars!

I wasn't a fan of this series. I tried to jump around and read different short stories, but I didn't like any of them that I had read, and because I didn't like so many of them, I stopped reading the ones I had skipped over. I found that across the board, the writing was lacking and the characters were not ones that I found interest in. It was disappointing because there were so many short stories, but I couldn't find the ones I would have liked because there were so many that turned me away from the whole collection.