The Monday morning Smut Vault train is pulling into the station, hopefully right on time (as always)! Today we’re going to take a step further into the world of taboos to have a closer look at a sub genre that’s frankly dominating the visual pornography world. When the sexual arousal is based more off of how someone looks, does that make it more or less erotic in our text based world? Can a good erotica author paint a better picture than a 60fps 4K subscription to one of those…adult websites? I’d certainly like to think yes, but there’s only one true way to find out. It’s time to learn about that other popular method of screwing that takes place at the local garage. Gear up with your torque wrench and moly grease for an automotive edition of the Vault, y’all!
The Mechanic by Hunter Briggs sets a scene so commonplace to the world of visual pornography that you can easily play out the exchange in your head. Betty, thirty-something, curvy, married and broke-as-fuck has a catastrophic engine failure in her car and needs a tow to a local shop. Neal, a muscular tatted up African American who looks to the MC as a bit of a trouble maker tows the car to his shop and confirms the large expense it’s going to take to repair the engine. Betty makes it clear that she’s barely got a dime to her name, and Neal makes his proposal just as clear. This car could be back on the road today…she’s just going to have to give him some sex.
While simple in setup, the author’s style builds tension quickly and the more lust minded reader is going to salivate over this concept alone. What’s troubling is the scene plays out a little too much like a video porno. Fuck it, let’s not beat around the bush, it’s WAY too much like a porn vid. If you’ve never seen a hardcore porn vid (ha), let me lay out a few key nuanced differences to erotica, particularly ones that brand themselves as “interracial.” For one, the visual aspects can do a lot of “show rather than tell” which a text story simply can’t reproduce. A great struggle of a written story that employs this interracial element is how we have to be constantly reminded of it…
Constantly fucking reminded of it…
In case you forgot in the last paragraph…
My point here is that the constant reminder of “this is a taboo interracial sexual encounter” not only cheapens the moment, but when done in this way comes across as a confirmation of stereotypes to my mind. The quid pro quo from a pervert mechanic brutally taking advantage of a desperate yet somewhat curious MILF isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but I feel when the characters are further corralled into a specific section of people in this context, it’s done for the sole purpose of engulfing the senses. I don’t mean to pick on the author here, I see what I believe to be an attempt at encapsulating a sub genre that’s making b-a-n-k in the porno world right now, and people who are genuinely aroused by this kind of sexual encounter shouldn’t be shamed in safely enjoying a fantasy of it. I think we can do better, but as long as all characters involved in the story come out satisfied, so who am I to say it’s wrong for you, if it’s only not the best for me?
Verdict: The Mechanic by Hunter Briggs is a stylistic attempt at interracial pornography done solely with words while keeping to the full spirit of its visual counterpart. The sexual elements work in a vacuum to those that are specifically seeking out the unique circumstances that are the works of pure guilty pleasure fantasy. While surely not for everyone, those with that certain palatability will be lined up around the block to watch Neal and Betty fog up the waiting room of the local garage. It’s not a place I’ll find myself too often, but I always spring for the roadside assistance package anyway.
Special thanks to Hunter Briggs for providing a review copy of The Mechanic to TehBen.com. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Author’s Twitter: @Briggs_Romance
Purchase Link: Amazon
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