Sapphistocated: 4 Tales of Mirror Geography is an anthology of lesbian tales.

The first tale, Double Decker by Alessia Brio, tells of karaoke singer Tess as she competes in a bar completion. With few viable competitors she plays the crowd and gets a hold on them, especially one girl. But Tess is not after an audience member but one specific woman. Will she ever get that woman to recognize the love Tess feels for her?

I liked the build up of this story. It was not rushed although occurs in one day. I loved the planned seduction Tess has for the woman of her dreams but her uncertainty in her actions make the story realistic. The build up makes the story hot even though there is very little sex. I could identify with Tess. There was an emotional connection, not only between the characters, but with me, the reader, as well. I wanted to see if Tess won in the relationship department. Fantastic read!

Next comes Jolie DuPre’s I Know What I Want. This is Allie’s tale of waiting tables while waiting for modeling jobs. One customer, Vivian, checks her out during dinner and invites Allie to her mansion where she offers her a job as the centerpiece of a party Vivian is holding. Allie becomes obsessed with Vivian. Then Allie is offered a job with a leading fashion magazine and must make a decision--Vivian or her career.

This was not my favorite story. It had an unfinished feel to it.  I Know What I Want needs to be longer to work out Allie’s feelings towards Vivian and Vivian’s intentions towards Allie. My feeling about Allie was she was looking for someone to pay her bills and keep her and Vivian felt all she had to do was throw money around to get what she wanted. Jolie DuPre can write sex but I think a longer story would make the sex even better because then I could feel an emotional connection with the characters and care what happens to them. Right now that is lacking for me and with a new character brought into the story when Allie begins working for the magazine I am uncertain who Allie will ultimately choose and why.

Beth Wylde’s Better With Age gives us the story of Olivia who had to make a choice when her family discovered her kissing Aleesha. Olivia tries to live the life her parents want her to live but eventually when she divorces they disinherit her and leave her to raise her daughter alone. Olivia’s past comes back and must be resolved when she discovers Aleesha lives in the same town as she.

I liked Olivia and Aleesha. Reliving her past Olivia must get past her regrets and forgive herself and ask forgiveness of Aleesha for the choice she made 20 years previously. As Olivia relives the past she must also confront the same situation her parents did when she discovers her daughter in bed with her female lover. It was interesting to get Olivia’s knee jerk emotional reaction towards her daughter but to see her thinking it out before reacting. Beth Wylde has given us a thoughtful tale that made me think of how I would react in these situations.

This anthology ends with Drawn by Yeva Wiest. Sydney is a manga artist who is very much into her work. She fantasizes of her character, Kisha. When on a date with the assistant, Beth, from her manager’s office, Kisha makes her presence known causing Beth to leave. Trying to make up with Beth, Sydney runs into Alice, her manager’s daughter, dropping the roses she’s bringing to Beth. Sydney is attracted to Alice but Alice is not the type to which she is usually drawn. Even though Sydney has brought Alice a client for her dressmaking business, it doesn’t stop Alice from throwing Sydney out when Kisha appears during a visit. Will Sydney ever focus on a real woman or will she be drawn only to her cartoon, Kisha?

I enjoyed Drawn by Yeva Wiest. It was fun. Sydney did with Kisha what I tend to do with characters in books. She brings her to life and Kisha takes over (fortunately the characters I read about don’t take over my life). The title Drawn is excellent for this work. It starts with Kisha being drawn by Sydney then moves to Sydney being drawn (attracted to) Beth then Alice. While I like Sydney, I really enjoyed Alice and Li’l Tonetta, Sydney‘s friend. They just laid it on the line for Sydney. She needed to get away from her work and Kisha. Sydney was having a character taking over her life and they told her to get a life. It was interesting to watch Sydney deal with her attraction to Alice, who is a big beautiful woman, which has never been attractive to Sydney. She has to deal with her size prejudices. Being a big beautiful woman myself I liked how Alice’s size makes Sydney think of what she might miss if she allows Alice’s size to stop her from exploring the potential of a relationship. Wonderful, thought-provoking story, Yeva Wiest!