REVIEW: Porn's Stars Book II by Chris Burrows

I stepped somewhat awkwardly into the pages of Porn's Stars Book II – and it had nothing to do with the gorgeous black stilettos I was wearing at the time! Having come to know Chris fairly well over the past year, opening the book was like walking into a strange restaurant for a first date with an old friend. As excited as I was about getting to know one another better, I found myself mentally counting the steps between the restaurant and his apartment. Even as those black stilettos were anxiously tapping away beneath the table, in my mind they were already laying in a heap (alongside his own) beneath the bed!

Much like his earlier collection, Confessions of a Transvestite Prostitute (reviewed here), there is a wonderful mixture of sentiment and sensuality here, a natural merging of the innocent and the erotic. The narrative framework is interesting, in that it places a pair of storytellers between the author and the reader, distancing us a bit from the subjects, and yet creating the space necessary to lose us in the stories. The stories being related by Chris have come, second-hand, from the lips of the lovely Porn . . . but are told in the first-person, as they were originally related to Porn.

Like I said, it’s an interesting framework, but it lends the stories a note of casual authenticity that really works. As erotic and adventurous as they are, each story sounds like something a best friend might regale you with over a few drinks – entirely believable, with an acceptable bit of embellishment (or, at least, poetic license).

These stories are as much about feeling sexy as they are about being sexy. Chris and Porn do a wonderful job of setting up each story, introducing us to the original storytellers, and creating some appreciable context for their adventures. We’re invited inside their heads to experience both the joy and the anxiety of getting ready for a date, of preparing for an adventure. A significant portion of each story is devoted to the game of seduction, to either the choosing of a partner, or the choosing by a partner. By the time we make it to the bedroom, we like the characters, and we want them to enjoy themselves – and not just because we want to vicariously share in that enjoyment.

As much as I enjoyed the erotic aspects of the book, however, it’s the narrative bridges between the stories that I think really push this collection to a higher level. Porn is a bright, perceptive, open minded young transsexual, and her thoughts on gender and sexuality are as simple as they are significant. More than once I found myself thrusting the book in the air with an excited “Yes!” or an emphatic “Exactly!”

Highlights for me included the story of Kristy, a heretofore heterosexual crossdresser who engages in a safe bit of flirting with an online admirer, only to find herself unable to resist his insistence that the meet in person; Jane, the transvestite who encounters the ‘drab’ version of a fellow crossdresser, and finds (to her delight) that Andy is just as desirable as Candy; and Katy, the beautiful transvestite who gets lost in the pleasures of a photo shoot, finding herself uncontrollably aroused by the experience.

If you’ve yet to experience the joys of Chris and his writing, then this is a perfect opportunity to slip on those boots (or shoes, if you prefer), adjust that dress (or skirt, or pants), and get comfortable. Even though this is the second Porn’s Stars collection, it can certainly be enjoyed on its own. I must caution you, though, that it will leave you wanting more!
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