Nerderotica by Nikki Crescent (#fantasy #genderswap)

The Nerderotica stories by Nikki Crescent are a peculiar mix of genres, fantasies, and fears. While they are definitely erotic, they also have a surprising dark side comprised of dubcon/noncon sex and (sometimes brutal) violence.

The first three stories contained within the Nerderotica Vol 1 bundle serve as an introduction to the world, with the power of the fantasy getting deeper and wider with each story. In the first book, D&D magic comes to life in a basement, allowing a trio of young men to cast spells upon one another. In the second book, that magic expands to carry a pair of young men into a fantasy world, and in the third it twists a bit, taking us to back the fantasy world but giving us a fantasy character POV.

From a geek perspective, these stories are a lot of fun. Nikki clearly knows the source material and she nails the details around things like creating characters, rolling for spells and damage, and dealing with things like traps. She also captures the spirit of those role playing sessions, complete with the awkward humor and immature behavior that leads to such inappropriate experimentation.

It is from an erotic perspective where the stories become something of a challenge. The gender transformations are rather superficial, making these boys look like sexy bimbos, but there is little in the way of sensory detail - how do they feel, think, and so on. As for the sex, it is largely non-consensual, rushed, often absurd, and full of awkward details. Considering these boys are all horny virgins, I just think there was a lot of potential here that is never quite explored. Similarly, I liked how often spells faded and transformations reversed during sex, but I think Nikki could have done more to deal with the bisexual implications.

If it sounds like I am being harsh, I do not mean to be. Nerderotica Vol 1 was a fun concept that does a lot of things well, and I am curious to see how Nikki has refined her craft, knowing that these are some of her earliest stories.

Nikki is a young writer from the golden prairies of Alberta, Canada. She spent her schooling years lost in her own imagination, writing everything from articles, screenplays, comic books, and short stories. Obsessed with the idea of love, fascinated with sex and captivated with the art of writing, Nikki decided to become a writer of erotic romance. Nikki Crescent is a top-selling writer of romantic and erotic fiction with over sixty titles across many sub-genres. Her fiction work has found her on Amazon's best-selling charts many times over.

Reviewed by Sally