Review: Show Yourself To Me: Queer Kink Erotica

Show Yourself To Me: Queer Kink Erotica by Xan West
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Ok. I absolutely LOVED this book. It was great. This was one of those books that I simultaneously didn’t want to finish because I wanted to savour it but wanted to finish because I wanted to read the rest of the stories.

So, a thing I want to talk about before I get into the individual stories is this: (this also serves as all the content warnings in this book)

[image description: A screenshot from the beginning of the book after the introduction black text on a white background reads:
A Note About Content
Most of these stories include some kind of pain play and some pretty intense D/s dynamics. Many of them
include public sex. Most include orgasm control and rough body play (kicking and punching). Many
include characters engaging in edge play of one sort or another.
Some specific information about content, to assist you in avoiding what you don’t want and/or
seeking what you do:
• Descriptions of/references to trauma: “Ready,” “My Precious Whore,” “Dancing for Daddy,”
“My Will,” “Strong”
• Age play and incest play: “It’s My Job,” “Dancing for Daddy”
• Consensual non-consent and rape play: “Missing Daddy,” “Please,” “Ready,” “It’s My Job,”
“How He Likes It,” “Dancing for Daddy,” “Compersion,” “Facing the Dark,” “My Will”
• Humiliation play: “My Precious Whore,” “The Test,” “It’s My Job,” “How He Likes It,” “Alley
Obsession,” “Dancing for Daddy,” “Compersion,” “My Will,” “Strong”
• Playing with homophobia (including use of homophobic slurs like “faggot”): “Missing
Daddy,” “Nervous Boy,” “Falling for Essex,” “Ready,” “It’s My Job,” “Alley Obsession”
• Playing with misogyny (including use of misogynist slurs like “bitch” and “slut”): “My
Precious Whore,” “The Test,” “How He Likes It,” “Dancing for Daddy,” “Strong,” “My Pretty
Boy”
• Playing with whorephobia (including use of misogynist slurs like “whore”): “My Precious
Whore,” “Dancing for Daddy”
• Daddy play: “Missing Daddy,” “Falling for Essex,” “Ready,” “It’s My Job,” “Alley Obsession,”
“Dancing for Daddy,” “Compersion”
• Gender play: “My Precious Whore,” “How He Likes It,” “Dancing for Daddy,” “Strong,” “My
Pretty Boy,” “The Tender Sweet Young Thing,” “Alley Obsession”
• Blade and knife play: “Missing Daddy,” “This Boy,” “A Large Full Meal,” “Willing,” “The
Tender Sweet Young Thing,” “Compersion,” “Strong,” “My Pretty Boy,” “My Precious Whore,”
“Facing the Dark,” “The Tale of Jan and Tam”
• Blood sports: “Missing Daddy,” “Ready,” “Facing the Dark,” “My Pretty Boy,” “Willing,”
“What I Need,” “Compersion,” “It’s My Job,” “My Will”
• Breath play: “Missing Daddy,” “This Boy,” “Ready,” “My Precious Whore,” “Kneeling for
Him,” “It’s My Job,” “Facing the Dark,” “How He Likes It,” “First Time Since,” “Willing,”
“What I Need,” “Strong,” “My Pretty Boy,” “The Tale of Jan and Tam”
• Water sports: “First Time Since,” “Compersion”
• Fire play: “Facing the Dark”
• Playing with rage: “Falling for Essex,” “Ready
end transcription]

This was the greatest thing to see ever. It made it 10 times easier for me to read this collection of short stories without being triggered. It let me know what I could expect and which stories featured what. A HUGE THANK YOU goes out to whomever decided this was a good thing to put in the book. Because it was a fantastic thing to include. One more thing I’d like to definitely include is a thank you to those who wrote about disabilities and people with disabilities playing in the kink world because that’s definitely a thing that happens and doesn’t get talked about enough. A lot of these stories were leather. Or heavily influenced by leather and because of that and it giving me questions to ask my friends who are leather I learned a lot about the leather community (and even got some resource links including books to buy/read). Also, almost every story involves a transgender or genderqueer person in it. Which was also fantastic since those are people that don’t often get represented enough in media. A few things that are decidedly not my thing that I’ve known since well before reading this are age play, daddy play, anal sex, and water sports. However, even knowing that, reading the stories that had them in them were really well written to the point that despite my dislike/not my thing/utter revulsion(water sports) to them they were still REALLY ENJOYABLE. And they were written in a way that was very palatable. And almost every story had sex in it. Which isn’t a bad thing by far. Just not something that all of us do with our kink.

Now, down to the stories themselves.

Missing Daddy This one is written kind of as a memoir of looking back. It is the story of a trans boy who is recounting a particular experience that he looks upon fondly. This story as stated above features consensual non consent (which can be a very fine line to walk upon).

Nervous Boy This story illustrated how nerves can either motivate you or kick your butt and make you not want to do something you want to do. It was also one of those random hook up type stories.

The Test This was a cute short story that takes place in a bathroom (which once I got over my initial ick factor was pretty damn hot).

The Tender Sweet Young Thing OH MY GOSH. I ADORED THIS STORY SO MUCH! A scene based off a song. Multiple tops. People with different disabilities. Accessibility discussed and featured. This hit on so many of my things I like that I was almost crying with happiness after it.

My Will This was a fantastic view of places that subspace can take you. And how real it can seem even though it’s not.

First Time Since This was mostly a story about moving on from a relationship that impacted you a lot. And about the relief that you can feel when you finally get to a place where you CAN move on in a healthy way.

Falling for Essex This was adorable. Two people who were into each other and trying not to show it until they found out the other was interested and things happen while watching some films and listening to good music.

My Precious Whore This was a fantastic view into sex work and how it can affect you in the kink world. Which is something that you don’t see often. And exploring shit you deal with in a safe way.

This Boy This was a short one page story about desires. And wanting to act on those desires.

It’s My Job This is a story about the responsibilities that a bottom has to their top. And how they don’t have to like everything that happens to them but they do need to show their top the respect of trying to do what they want.

My Pretty Boy This was a story that was more or less about avoiding heavy feelings in scenes outside of “I need you to make me cry”. Because some of us need to be detached from our feelings in scenes and need to just feel the pain/adrenaline.

Please This is another story with a hookup in a bathroom. That winds up really well.

How He Likes It This is a sequel to Please. It involves a really heavy scene in a hotel room.

Facing the Dark This was a story about a top that likes their bottoms to be firefighters. And to have them face their own fears safely, break them, and help put themselves back together.

Alley Obsession This was a random hookup in an alley type story. And it was really hot to read.

Willing This story had vampirism built into it. It was really hot to read. Rough, brutal, blood. All things I like.

Ready This one actually did make me cry. It deals with loss and getting over that loss in a healthy and safe way.

What I Need This was told from the perspective of the top and what they needed from their bottom for a successful scene.

Dancing for Daddy This was great because it featured a safe way to overcome parts of the past in a healthy way. I really and truly adored it.

A Large Full Meal This was a story about feeding your inner hungers with a partner who can accept those hungers. It was also another one that took place in a bathroom.

Compersion This is a cute story about a top who gets off watching his bottom play with others. It shows love between the top and bottom and talks about sharing in a way that fulfils both parties.

The Tale of Jan and Tam By far, this was my favourite story because it hit on so many of my personal needs and wants and desires that it was incredibly hot. Definitely hit some of my fantasy fuel. Shows safewords and ongoing consent in a scene. Shows how race can be a part of a scene negatively and how POC are treated by white folks.

Baxter’s Boy This is a story of someone’s fantasy of what might/could happen if they got the opportunity to play with the object of their affections. It takes place after they get home from a scene and are masturbating to the thought of it.

Strong This was an extremely hot gender play scenario. It shows the dichotomy of how different genders are regarded (even in the kink world) and different ways to play with them. It also both shows and tells how different females tend to be treated.

Buy it here:

Amazon|Barnes & Noble