Notes and Reviews

Lambda Book Report Summer 2006, Volume 14, Issue 2
Cecilia’s Corner, Cecilia Martin of Oscar Wilde Bookshop

Award-winning author Karin Kallmaker comes up with another hot, steamy, erotic and engaging book for us romantics at heart. 18th & Castro tells the story of the occupants of a particular building on a Halloween night in the Castro, where love and lust abound for all.

Each chapter is set up with a different woman or couple in the pursuit of love, or at least lust, for the night. We get engrossed in the lives of the long term couple getting reacquainted after the birth of their child, the strangers meeting for the first time, and the longtime friends admitting to love (to name just a few of the stories told). Though each character’s story is told in a single chapter, all the women are subtly introduced in the background throughout the book. This thru-line is an unexpected surprise because, at first glance, I thought this was a short story collection. But it’s a welcome surprise because it makes the book more interesting.

The best thing about Kallmaker’s writing is that she obviously takes great care with character development and exploring the world of the book: she is not about to write the “cheap and easy” formula novel. Because she cares, we care, and therefore the titillation and romance are deeply felt. If you are looking for a fun and sexy read to put you (or someone else) in the mood, pick up 18th & Castro.

In the Know 'Zine, August 2006

It’s hard enough to find erotica for lesbians and harder still to find depictions of what we do that are realistic. To find a collection of exceptionally written short stories that convey sex, love and romance the way that most lesbians actually experience it is beyond treasure.

There’s no whips, chains, humiliation or degradation in this book. If that’s you’re thing, go read one of the best of “lesbian” erotica series featuring lots of the above, including straight women, men and women who want to be men. I’m happy there are plenty of depictions of the above people having great sex. But as a lesbian, it’s just not what I want to read about.

If you want realistic, hot, steamy, tantalizing stories about lesbians who like sex with other lesbians, the kinds of women you could know, doing things you’ve either done or would like to try, this is it. Karen has pulled out all the stops with this one. Every single character is real. Each story has a plot or personal revelation at the core that I could relate with. Nearly every one turned me on, one made me cry, several made me laugh, and by the end I just wanted more. The range is sweet, easy and sexy to edgy, hard and incendiary. All feature full consent and nearly all are between loving, long-term or soon-to-be couples. In short, it’s full of stories about most of us, not the fringe.

What’s not to like about two women getting dressed for a costume party as Janeway and Seven, only to get sidetracked when a handcuff key goes missing? I adored the pirate story, with two long-term girlfriends exploring some role play. The story about the surgeon who gets a massage (and more) from her artist lover, in spite of constant interruptions rang so true to life, too. That the butch lover gets flipped is great proof that butch does not mean stone to many of us. The long-term couple stories were, in fact, my favorites all the way around. No lesbian bed death here! Not when one couple finds their way to the land of O in a car wash on their way home. Karin really knows how to show trust and love in just about any power dynamic.

The best part, for me, was the consistency of the quality of writing and the delightful way the stories intersect with humorous and poignant results. This is masterful storytelling that doesn’t get in the way of generating incredible heat. I’ll be reading parts of this book for years.

In Newsweekly, New England’s GLBT Newspaper
Richard LaBonte

One pleasure of reading a Kallmaker novel - she's written 20-plus - is that her fiction hasn't fallen into a formulaic rut. There are assured givens in every book: lesbians and love. And, first with All the Wrong Places and now 18th & Castro a lot of erotic noodling. But there's something original to every book, too; this latest is set almost entirely on Halloween in the Castro, with costumed women coming and going from an apartment building inhabited entirely by dykes. Some have lovers, some want lovers, some favor the frilly look, some love leathers - and all are out for a night of juicy action.

This is more a series of short stories than a novel, with a cast of characters who buzz in and out of each other's lives (and apartments) in the course of one busy night, their sexual encounters framed by the tension between two women perched on the apartment's rooftop to watch the parade of costumes below - and, of course, to fall in love. This is Kallmaker-brand fiction, after all.

Family & Friends, September 2006
reviewed by Patricia Pair, Publisher

Karin Kallmaker continues to amaze me with yet another story told in a totally different fashion than most... 18th & Castro takes the reader on an erotic journey and proves why Kallmaker is indeed the "Undisputed Mistress of Lesbian Romance.

During the Golden Crown Literary Society's annual convention, held this past June in Atlanta, Kallmaker was one of four authors who read an excerpt from one of their erotic works... I have to admit there is something truly special, not to mention seductive, about the author reading her own words aloud to a large group of lesbian fans and fellow authors...trust me, it's not something you want to miss.