My review of BEND. I was lucky enough to purchase this book before it was banned for sale. I'm still not sure I have the whole jist on why it was banned as it seems the stories are not any more racy than some of the other work I've read recently. I suppose thats the intriging part though, it makes you want to read this book just to see what the big fuss was about. I purchased it because several of my favorite Authors were included and I was looking forward to reading their stories. I feel its best to give each story an individual review and I've outlined them below.Kick by C.D. Reiss - I love CD Reiss and I enjoy her 'Songs' series. I really thought this story was good, I liked the plot and found the characters to be interesting enough to keep my attention. My only issue is that I found it a bit hard to follow. I'm not sure if I just read through to fast or if some parts just weren't sinking in. It is a good story though and I feel it might be worth a re-read just to pick up parts I might have missed. I'm also looking forward to reading the next story in this series, USE, to see where the characters go.Unraveled by K. Bromberg - I really enjoyed this story. This is the first time I've read K Bromberg's work and I can guarantee I'll be checking out more of her work. In fact I have Driven on my TBR. I felt this story had the ultimate fantasy. I felt after the first few pages I had an idea of what was going to happen but that didn't matter because the writing was good enough to keep me interested and wanting to find out howit was going to end. COME by J.A. Huss - What can I say I'm a huge fan of JA Huss and her Rook and Ronin series so I knew I would enjoy this story. I really like the outline and the characters roles and feel this story reminds me alot of the movie Wanted with Angelina Jolie. The interaction between James and Harper is hot hot hot and kept me reading to see what they would do next. I'm looking forward to the next story in this series to see what JA has in store for us. Red & Wolfe by Ella James - This is the first work I've read by Ella James and I have to say I really liked it. I'm anxious to see when the next story comes out so I can find out what happens between Red and Wolfe on the island. I do feel I should mention that there's a lot of dialog in the beginning of this story, so much so that I found myself skimming through some parts just to see what was going to happen. I understand that this is all part of story telling and it is neccessary however it was just a bit much for me. But I'm glad I kept reading!!The Devil in Me by K.I. Lynn - I had to go back and re-read the description on this one so I could remember what the story was about since it had been some time since I'd read it. Oh and boy do I remember now. This was a good hot story. I think K I Lynn took the hotness to a new level, for example like in a church. On the flip side While I did enjoy this story I totally thought it was going to take a turn in to the paranormal just the way the characters were described as being drawn to one another. I would have been happy with a paranormal twist but since there wasn't I kind of got the impression there was something wrong with the main character, that's how intense the description was.Worth by Shay Savage - I don't normally like historical stories. I've read them before and have enjoyed them but I more enjoy stories in the present time. With that said I have to say I really enjoyed this story. The characters are good and the interaction between the characters feels real enough.These Men by Andrea Smith - I liked the writing in this story and loved the characters individually. However I found it a little awkward when the characters were together. I had a hard time comprehending how the relationships could change as they did so easily. Aside from the awkwardness I'm glad the writer went where she did with this story and I felt it was worth the read.STILL by Alessandra Torre - I liked the idea of this story but I found myself skimming through in parts. I wasn't sure I liked Riley's character as much as I wanted to. I really liked Brett though. I was a bit disappointed when Brett mentioned owning Riley then kind of made a joke of it later. I'm not sure if that was the writers way of hinting at another story or not. If it is I definitely think that could take this story in a new and exciting direction. One I would be interested in reading.Beg by C.D. Reiss - Reviewed separately under the Beg Amazon page. I loved this set of stories; the authors were so generous with their submissions (sorry!) and I really appreciated having access to authors I've never read before. I enjoyed all of the stories but special mention to Unraveled by K Bromberg, and of course Kick by CD Reiss (which is why I bought Bend) and whose other works I've loved too.'Unraveled' is simply one of the bravest erotic books I've read and really made me think about my own fantasies and boundaries. And when I thought it through I realised that the 'non-consensual' stuff is in fact consensual because the lucky lady had revealed her fantasies to her partner and he'd made them happen safely for her. It's totally hot. 'Kick' is awesome; great character build up, new themes/scenes, believability and real depth that had me begging for more by the end. God CD, PLEASE never stop writing!!!I'm with CD Reiss on this: 'fuck those who flagged Bend' - if you don't like erotica then don't buy it but leave it be for those of us with more open minds who want to explore. The characters are all consenting adults, and so am I and I choose to read what I like. Rant over...If you weren't fortunate enough to get this before it was pulled by Amazon (really!, given what is out there) then I strongly suggest you beg, steal or borrow a copy. Best wishes, APS: thanks to SueBee for informing us that Amazon is obliged to pull and investigate a flagged book and eventually ruled in favour of Bend (it was Unraveled that got it flagged, all the more reason to read it in my view) but the consortium had already decided to publish the stories individually by then. So you can buy them separately. I just hope Unraveled hasn't been toned down. I'm going to buy it again to show my support for the author.
What do You think about Bend (2014)?
This book give you so insight to other authors and the writting styles. Great Read
—tink
I read 1.5 stories and both were kind of abusive-y it felt. Putting down for now.
—shelly
I didn't like the stories of Bend except Unraveled by K. Bromberg.
—norimo
The best of each author. I loved every second of it
—Benzilla3
