Lady Smut"Outstanding prose complying with that genre of literature that I affectionately refer to as 'literary smut.'"
--Reviews by Amos Lassen
"Red Velvet and Absinthe is a Cleis Press classic, with lush worlds built into every story, and sensuality that reaches supreme heights. This anthology is as good as Gothic short fiction gets: dark as night and smooth as velvet."
--Books a la Mode
"These stories show that the old magic of Gothic fiction can still work in the right hands."
--Jean Roberta
"...For anyone who's fantasised about being ravished by Edward Cullen or Jacob Black (that's all of us then.)"
--Glamour UK
"...all these stories embrace the emotional and sensory richness integral to the Gothic tale."
--San Francisco Book Review
"The title says it all: a collection of erotic romance by well-known erotic author and anthology editor Mitzi Szereto. Vampires, ghosts, werewolves, things that go bump in the night, creatures that would be right at home in a story by Stoker or Poe, coagulate on these pages, raw and exposed as readers haven't seen them before, draped in danger and romance, lit by flickering candles and red tapestries that conjure desire beyond mere mortality."
--Portland Book Review
"Regardless of one's personal taste in terms of relationships and of literary labels, what really counts is the quality of fiction... If you're not too prudish and if you appreciate good fiction, I'm sure you will enjoy this book."
--The Short Review
"The passion you discover is worth sneaking off into the bedroom with your other and discovering your own passion. Just beware of what lurks in those corners..."
--All I Want and More
"With truly bizarre and just slightly paranormal and everything in between, Red Velvet and Absinthe offers readers many delicious stories to choose from."
--She Knows
"The focus here is on quality writing and story-telling... If you like the paranormal or are turned on by the unusual, I can't recommend this enough."
--Of Sex and Love
"I love compilation books and this one did not disappoint me. Some stories were written so well that I didn't want them to end. Other stories told just the right amount about the characters to leave me thinking about them long after the story ended."
--Kissin Blue Karen
"These stories bring out an atmosphere of intrigue, full of dark and twisted emotions we can all feel in the right light...in this case it is candle light that will inspire us... Deliciously Gothic."
--Love Romance Passion
"This is a lush anthology of paranormal romance.... Although sometimes erotic, these stories don't skimp on the emotional depth."
- Fresh Fiction
"Editor and writer Mitzi Szereto chose the stories, skillfully pulling together a whole collection yet allowing each story to maintain a unique voice... The collection holds a seductress in a painting, a vampire who stars in a hit television series, a doll made from scraps and wax, and the list of oddities continues."
--Luxury Reading
"All of these short stories explore romance of a different kind, be it Vampires, Werewolves, or unexplained otherworldly creatures."
--Vampire Romance Books
"The stories were superb and the sex sublime. This was an awesome collection of paranormal erotica, probably the best collection I have ever read."
--Rambles
"The darkness and desires enveloping the characters within these stories makes for an altogether fascinating read. Whether it is a vampire, werewolf or spectral being there is something in all of them that you can recognize... Each of these authors will enrapt you with the depth of their characters and the complexity of their storylines."
--Coffee Time Romance
"Altogether lovely, haunting, and deliciously decadent, you'll be snuffing out the candles long before you're done, if only to hide your own gothic touch beneath the sheets!"
--Bibrary Book Lust
"An intriguing collection of short stories filled with complicated relationships that, like absinthe itself, waver between being considered extremely dangerous and perfectly acceptable, depending on one's perspective."
--Night Owl Reviews
"Haunting, Intriguing, Sensual, Curious, Lustful, Spellbinding, Hot... There is something here for everyone."
--Romancing the Book
"These stories are about atmosphere and Otherness, and amping up the blatant sexual tension of the gothic classics into something more palpable. Really well done."
--The Book Rat
"Scintillating and suspenseful, this homage to Gothic fiction is a winner! Red Velvet and Absinthe scores with both sexy and scary thrills."
--Caridad Piñeiro, New York Times bestselling author of The Lost
"I urge all lovers of paranormal erotic romance to pick up this anthology! Perfect reading for those cold, autumn nights."
--Read All Over Reviews
"Haunting, Intriguing, Sensual, Curious, Lustful, Spellbinding, Hot... There is something here for everyone."
--Romancing the Book
"Dark, dirty, passionate, and paranormal... Great stories with erotic element firmly in place."
- Getting Naughty Between the Stacks
"Several of the stories in
are wonderful because of the language. They are beautifully written, poignant and touching. I particularly liked La Belle Mort, The Persistence of Memory and The Blood Moon Kiss."--Daemon Reviews
"Scorching hot and deliciously sinful, Mitzi Szereto's collection of stories of dark and preternatural hungers will have you panting for more."
--Adrian Phoenix, critically acclaimed author of The Maker's Song series
"The authors are all wonderful story tellers, weaving their own versions of Gothic Erotica."
- Blood, Lust and Erotica
"Fifteen different variations on the subject of the supernatural will keep the reader entertained from the beginning to end. This book has something for every taste."
- Sensual Reads
"Having literary pieces of art and being focused on more than just the sex is one of Mitzi Szereto's styles... a very enjoyable read."
--Pop My Cherry
"Run a hot bath, pour a glass of red wine, and slip into this enticing collection of sexy tales."
--Dianne Sylvan, author of the Shadow World novels
"[S]exy and often quite humorous... Enthusiastically recommended.
--Library Journal
"Thank God for Mitzi Szereto! Now the literary purists have someone new to go after with their pitchforks. Adding zombies to Pride and Prejudice was one thing, but SEX SEX SEX? It's sacrilege! Raunchy, hilarious, subversive sacrilege... which is the best kind, of course." --Steve Hockensmith, author of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls
"If Jane Austen had drunk a great deal of absinthe and slipped out of her petticoat... Mitzi Szereto's erotic parody of Pride and Prejudice might well be the result!" --Susie Bright
"If Jane Austen can survive the onslaught of zombies, she can surely swoon all over at the thought of Mitzi Szereto's witty and explicit new exploration of her classic novel. A sexy hoot!" --Maxim Jakubowski
"Mitzi Szereto's deliciously erotic retelling of Pride and Prejudice boldly turns Austen's classic on its pretty little head, knickers-side up. With keen wit (I laughed out loud many times), elegant prose, and a wicked imagination, Szereto exposes hidden lusts and truths, paying irreverent homage to Austen's romantic entanglements of yore while at the same time revealing a great deal about contemporary matters sexual and otherwise." --Janice Eidus, author of The Last Jewish Virgin and The War of the Rosens
"Mitzi Szereto's Pride and Prejudice: Hidden Lusts is a luscious tribute to Jane Austen. This erotic version of the classic honors the wit, romance and sociological observation of the original. At the same time, it's as though Szereto knows the wicked thoughts that went through many of our minds went we first read Pride and Prejudice. Austen lovers will savor this hot Regency romance--perhaps even your aunt who worships the PBS versions. And those who don't love Austen can enjoy this entertaining, smart and sensual novel." --Polly Frost, author of Deep Inside: Extreme Erotic Fantasies and Sex Scenes
"Mitzi Szereto's adaptation of Pride and Prejudice is a mysterious and delightful uncovering of random sexual encounters among the landed gentry. You will have a ball!" --Nick Belardes, author of Random Obsessions and illustrator of West of Here
From the Foreword
"Whatever the setting or the time period or the elements chosen, all these stories embrace the emotional and sensory richness integral to the gothic tale. We don't just read words on a page. We feel the red velvet. We taste the absinthe. We smell the flower and sweat. We hear the whispers and cries. And we experience the thrilling danger, the looming apprehension, the exquisite passion. That is the core of gothic literature and this collection delivers."
--Kelley Armstrong