Okay, I’m a lit fic, horror, some classic lit ( never a romance one though) girl. However, I’ve been craving some smut lately and I have no idea where to start. I am incredibly lost. I can kinda tell you what I want and I can tell you what I know I don’t want. But first off I do not have a preference for it being fantasy or real life.
Want –
Enemies to lovers.
Spice. Make it dirty
Decent writing
Things I am on the fence about but could be convinced-
One sided hate
Mafia. From my research there’s a lot of this trope in e2l. I’ve never liked mafia stories but if you think one is really good I could be convinced.
Arranged marriage
Things I do not want-
Non consensual
Bdsm or torture. I don’t mind soft kinky. I do not want to read spice with actual pain
A huge age gap
Incest
CORNY. I mean this as absolutely no hate to the romance community, as the things I read can be corny, especially horror sometimes. However when I was skimming some of the romance books at B&N I found them to be corny. I do not want a girl boss and frat boy duo who uses Instagram language and gets their terminology from buzzfeed.
Paranormal or monster. I don’t mind having powers or witches, warlocks, gods, demons, I would even be okay with vampires or fairies. I want my ghosts and monsters to make me have to sleep with the lights on, not to f them.
Hopefully you all can give me some guidance on where to start. Thank you!
by gothgirl_22
4 Comments
Ooh, welcome to the dark side! The folks at r/romancebooks are very skilled at taking detailed wishlists and turning out incredible recs (and steamy requests are not judged, they’re encouraged!) so I’d recommend asking there if you don’t find what you’re looking for here.
My two cents: you might consider Emily Henry. Not super super steamy, and her brand of romcom-esque humor might veer too corny for you, but she’s also sometimes accused by romance lovers of being too heavy/sad because her books touch on topics like grief, loneliness, some existential dread, etc. Personally, I love them, and I think they’re a great mix of romance, comedy, and feels, which makes them a good place to dip a toe in the genre. *Beach Read* and *Book Lovers* have a rivals/enemies to lovers vibe!
The Hating Game checks a lot of your boxes and is a good intro the romance genre
Book Lovers by Emily Henry
Yours Truly by Abby Jimenez
Fourth Wing is a very popular new adult romance fantasy that’s a bit notorious for its smut.