The Eternal Party

You might like this book if you: -Enjoy kink, especially bdsm -Want a sex-positive story -Are looking for straight furry fiction -Struggle with grief and loss -Really, really like dildos

To summarize: The Eternal Party is a triumph of erotic furry literature with meaning. It shows not only how fun and creative kink can be, but also how it can serve as a positive force for overcoming things like fear, grief, and doubt. While unquestionably hot, The Eternal Party's real beauty lies in its use of kink as a vessel for character growth, and in the lessons it can teach the reader.

Full Review: This book wastes no time in throwing the reader right into the titular Eternal Party. It begins with Mila, a cat who has recently experienced an unknown tragedy in her life, entering The Eternal Party. In this magical erotic house, felines are magically compelled to obey canines. However, anyone granted entry to the party should also be someone who wants to be there, and who can come and go as they please. Mila is an exception, as she quickly discovers that the house will not let her leave.

Soon she meets Alonso, a fox who claims ownership of the cat in order to protect her from the house's other guests, and thus begins the story of the two trying to find a way for Mila to escape--a story of love, loss, and a whole lot of kinky fun.

Worldbuilding? Meet Housebuilding

One of the first things readers may notice about The Eternal Party is the worldbuilding (er...Housebuilding?) is leagues more creative than one might assume for a magical sex house. As Mila is introduced to the house, we learn that its daily events are set up like a convention, complete with panels on various sexy topics. Sometimes house-wide events make things more interesting, such as all the lights going out so that all sex is anonymous for a night. And among all of this, there's even a little mysterious magic system built in, running the house on a sort of kinky logic and keeping an aspiring mage or two occupied with studying its secrets. Each aspect plays a part in how Mila navigates through life in the house, challenging her character and helping her learn the ropes of the place.

Most thoroughly built up are the rules of how consent in the house works. It seemed like there was always a new idea being explored for how commands from canines to felines can be used and what they can and cannot do when it comes to consent. Some readers may avoid The Eternal Party thinking that it features non-consentual sex, but they can rest easy, and may even be fascinated by the thought that has gone into making sure everyone at The Eternal Party is having a safe and fun time. Even Mila, who is trying to escape the house, is kept safe by it and even able to enjoy herself at times.

I appreciated all of this worldbuilding. It made the house feel more fleshed out and helped suspend my disbelief, in addition to adding some organization to this dizzying whirlwind of indulgence.

Of Character and Kink

I mentioned in the beginning how kink is used as a vessel for character growth--particularly in our main character. From the beginning, it's apparent that Mila has gone through a tragedy that has left her emotionally wounded. What she experiences in the house immediately begins to expand her horizons and pull her out of self-isolation. I of course can't go into many specifics on this part for fear of spoilers, but I found it fascinating how kink is used in this story as a method of self improvement, giving characters more confidence, self esteem, skillfulness, and bravery. It's a somewhat rare deep dive into sex positivity. Many stories simply show sex in a positive light, but The Eternal Party goes a few steps further in showing how sex positivity can build someone up and make lives better. I think this is tremendously important to exemplify, so I'm glad the author chose to add that extra weight to the subject.

Straight, with Chaser

As a gay man, I was worried about not being the target audience for The Eternal Party. Mila's encounters are largely straight ones, with a few bisexual exceptions, so there wasn't much there for me in the eroticism department. Still, I didn't find the sex scenes off-putting. The majority of the focus is placed on the kink that surrounds the sex, rather than on detailing genetalia or penetration in excess. The sex scenes here also serve character or plot purposes, which helped me stay engaged in what was happening despite my orientation. There are also a few gay side characters who I found delightful, and their presence helped make me feel a bit more welcome at the party, so to speak. So I do recommend this book even if you are a straight man like myself. There is plenty here to keep you interested, even if not sexual. It would be a shame if I had passed on this book just for that reason.

A Sexy Book about a Very Unsexy Topic Of course, one can't talk about The Eternal Party without talking about its main theme, and indeed what the whole book is really about: grief. As I said before, Mila enters the house having experienced a personal tragedy, and her grief from that tragedy is the catalyst for her story and the driving force behind her experience of the house. It's a bold move, permeating an entire kinky, fun story with such a dismal struggle, but the author somehow manages to pull it off. Frankly, I'm amazed by the balance struck here. It's like taking two magnets of the same polarity and not only managing to to touch them together, but managing to make them attract. At first glance, it seems to defy logic. But throughout the story you'll see what connects these opposite worlds, and I think the sentiments shared in the book will honestly help many readers with their own grief.

At the end of the book, there is also an acknowledgement written for the late furry editor Kirisis. Kirisis was an important part of the furry writing scene who tragically passed away a few years ago, and continues to be missed. The tribute is beautifully-written and touching, and I highly recommend reading it before closing the book at the end of the story.

What's Missing? It's a cliche, but one of the main criticisms I have of The Eternal Party is that there isn't more of it. I kept wanting the book to go off in other directions, exploring the group of gay mages that apparently visited at one point, or learning about the life of the mage who built the place, or seeing what the themes are of other houses that may or may not exist. I think this is a story that's ripe for spinoffs and I can't wait to see if any are written.

Getting into more serious critique, the version of the book that I read included more than a few typos, to the point that groups of typos would sometimes became distracting during critical scenes. Hopefully those will be fixed in future editions.

I also felt that the epilogue went on for a bit too long. Though I think it delivered some important character elements for the reader to see, much of the epilogue felt drawn out and could have used some trimming.

Congrats, you have Escaped!

So that's The Eternal Party. Not only do I think it's a great book, but I think it's an important book as well. A depiction of the clear benefits of sex positivity, on top of the lessons on grief, make this a valuable part of furry fiction. It belongs up there with the greats.