TREMBLE and QUIVER by Tobsha Learner

Publisher: Plume
Date of publication: Reissued April 2013

Prepare to stimulate your senses and explore the deepest longings of the human heart. In Tremble, Tobsha Learner, the author of the international bestseller Quiver, depicts the pleasures of new and rediscovered love, lust, and obsession in a world where passion and magic are interwoven—and where boundaries are pushed beyond expectation.
 
In a Welsh village, a young woman’s sensuality is awakened by an outrageous inheritance; a drought-stricken Oklahoma town is offered salvation by a travelling rainmaker; a Sydney record producer struggles to satisfy his wife and his mistress—until one of them takes matters into her own hands.


Publisher: Plume
Date of publication: Re-issued April 2013

In twelve interconnected stories as naked and primal as passion itself,Quiver explores the full spectrum of human sexuality in all of its variety and complexity. Spare yet evocative, this explicit collection depicts the pleasures of new and rediscovered love, lust, and obsession. In the flashes that blur the line between fantasy and reality, each story captures the spontaneous erotic experiences of a small group of middle-class acquaintances, showcasing sexual interludes of kaleidoscopic range—heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual, exhibitionistic, and sadomasochistic. Each of these stories, alternating between a woman’s point of view and a man’s, a participant’s and a voyeur’s, expresses a passion for youth, excitement for the new, and nostalgia for love lost. Sensual and provocative, Quiver introduces a fresh voice to the genre of erotica.

My thoughts:

Any follower of this blog knows that I am open to reading anything.  I also am the romance/erotica reader of the team.  I was looking forward to reading both of these books.  Sadly, for me, they weren't my cup of tea. 

Tremble is an anthology of  fairy-tale like stories. I only read a couple of them.  After reading the first few, I was kind of turned off.  The first story, "The Root", is about a woman who inherits a mandrake root the turns into a living penis.  The penis follows her around. and gets jealous when she becomes interested in a real man.  What is erotic about that?   Eww.  In another story, "Virgin", a nun gets pregnant after touching a sacred relic (which happens to be the nipple of a sainted nun).  She then goes to an island to have the baby. The baby grows up rapidly and she has sex with him.  Just, no.  I could go on, but I think you get the point.   

Quiver is a shorter collection that looked like they should be more "normal" stories.  I gave up after the first couple of stories.  They just didn't pull me in and I found myself constantly putting the book down.  I didn't really find any of these erotic.  I couldn't connect with them.   The two books look like they have received mixed reviews.  I think these are ones that you have to try out for yourself.  

About the author:

Tobsha Learner was born and raised in England; she now divides her time between Australia, the UK and the USA. She is well known in Australia as an author and playwright. 

 http://www.tobshalearner.com/