To close out 2018 on a high note, Matt’s Smut Vault is taking a close look at some holiday themed erotic literature. Come with us as we try to put some spark into your cozy, overfed jubilant holiday routines. The first romantic selection in our veritable horn-o-plenty is, “Stuffed: A Thanksgiving Romance” by Jessica Gadziala. Thanksgiving-themed smut, by its daunting nature is surely a challenging task for any erotic writer, but Jessica Gasziala bravely takes her carving tool to our collective libido with this tale of the traditional fall holiday, set in beautiful New England.
In Stuffed we first meet Callie, a young woman that since relocating to Washington D.C. for her career, has subsequently missed the last half dozen of her family’s famous turkey day celebrations. Due to some off-screen economic BS, Callie’s schedule finally allows her to come home this year to see mom, dad, bro, cousins…..and most importantly, ADAM. Adam Gallagher, the handsomest boy in all of New England (not counting Tom Brady) that happens to be a close friend of Callie’s family, also happens to be standing over by the kitchen in all his rugged perfection. Before Callie needs to grab a mop, we’re quickly drawn the picture of a long-held crush that’s suddenly being brought to the front-of-mind after a six year delay. This is going to be one interesting Thanksgiving…
In regards to writing, Stuffed is a refreshing improvement over most titles that we cover at The Smut Vault. The modern dialogue and mild temperaments of the characters make for easy reading both solo and when reading the story to your partner. This is a realistic story for 2018, and it’s easy to visualize or even fantasize about as either the female or male leads. As I’ve mentioned previously, it’s long been a desire of mine to get a taste of what we call “Hallmark Channel Pornography.” Stuffed comes as close to this idea as anything I’ve read to date: a lovely mix of cozy family togetherness with the tension and payoff of a good romantic novel. That being said, just like The Hallmark Channel’s movie lineup, the content is not without some concern.
While Stuffed truly is an identifiable story, it’s clearly reaching with both arms to a specific target demographic. Callie is just as you’d imagine, mostly unaware of how hot she is in the way she presents herself, and in some ways is a caricature of the stereotypical millennial nerd. While an important character trait is her love of books and literature, other nerd “check boxes” are quickly filled in as we progress. Whether it’s her love of Firefly, her blue Tardis socks, or her Tetris bookshelves, some of the flavor of Callie’s background can come off as unintended pandering when read by someone who might not feel the same way. In any event, this certainly doesn’t harm the story overall, and the sex is red hot, while given in very healthy doses…knocking most of the crap off those Tetris bookshelves anyway.
Let me say that word again…sex. This particular three letter word is burned directly into my brain after reading Stuffed. The thing of it is, I’m seeing the word “sex” used to remark a general statement of a character’s sexual arousal, or even as a replacement for more clinical words in recent erotic fictional novels. Stuffed uses this literary strategy throughout, and it almost seems like Callie’s internal monologue isn’t sure what words she should be using in her experiences. When she’s touched provocatively, her sex tightens. When penetrated, her sex is heightened. Gee mom, that turkey sure was delicious, can’t even feel my sex anymore. Ok, while that last one was unfair, it’s almost like the character and maybe even the author is leery about using other common or perhaps vile synonyms to discuss either her arousal or her private parts. Personally, I think we can do better. While it’s a good policy to avoid dropping crude C-bombs all over the hot stuff in a romantic novel, we shouldn’t be afraid to get creative and see where we can explore fresh new synonyms for the sexual language going forward.
At a time when most Americans will be preparing meals, watching parades, and enjoying football, why don’t we add another tradition to this wonderful holiday? For all it’s challenges of content and circumstance, Stuffed is an intelligently written, sexually-charged work of erotic literature that should be on your reading list this autumn. Maybe while uncle Jethro is blathering on about the evils of “Big Toothpaste,” before Thanksgiving dinner, slip away from the table and take in this cozy jaunt to a harvest time hay-roll.
Stuffed: A Thanksgiving Romance by Jessica Gadzihah is available on Amazon.
Follow Matt on Twitter for more on Uncle Jethro’s dissertation on the evils of the oral hygiene industry.
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