Reading smut has saved my marriage

[Anonymous]

Married for 10+ years, with young kids. Our sex life has been kinda meh ever since kids due to just the overwhelm of raising humans. Sex was definitely a chore 90% of the time and honestly something I NEVER thought about. Recently started reading sexy romance novels and THINGS HAVE CHANGED. Sex is something I think about, look forward to and actively participate in on a much more frequent basis. DH and I are getting along better too in our day-to-day interaction.

The books can be so cheesy (but not all! Some are great stories with fantastic female leads) but I’m hooked. Anyone else? I guess this is why those Fabio books were always at the grocery store growing up 😂

[Anonymous]

give us some examples of good ones

[Anonymous]

I love romance as a genre. Women are centered and you are guaranteed a happily ever after. It's also the genre that embraced diversity and representation is a BIG way. There are so many sub-sections of the genre, too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:give us some examples of good ones

What are you into? Historical (what time period)? Contemporary? BIPOC characters? Queer romance? Specific locations or settings?

There are also different levels of detail from "fade to black" and closed door to fully detailed.

I got recommendations...just tell me what floats your boat!

[Anonymous]

Same! I mean I don't think it saved my marriage but sex was a point of conflict for us when I was going through a period of depression and the kids were young. Finding smut made me want to have sex and it actually made me less depressed.

If anyone wants recommendations, a few that come to mind off the top of my head (some of these are really naughty so beware): Priest by Sierra Simone, Windows Shopping by Tessa Bailey, almost anything by Tessa Dare, (you could start with Any Duchess Will Do, although that might come in the middle of the series), The Nanny by Lana Ferguson, and The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang.

There are also a ton of pretty poorly-written, problematic ones on Kindle unlimited that I have just started devouring. Like Cora Riley's mafia romance series.

[Anonymous]

I recently tried to get into books like that but they just seemed so cheesy and predictable to me. They were not for me.

[Anonymous]

I haven’t read many romance novels, and I am usually a fantasy and mystery reader, but the court of thorns and roses series definitely awakened some sparks that were basically dead. I suspect DH is wondering what changed 😂

[Anonymous]

Yes could you please share some specific titles? I am a woman and porn turns me off because I feel like most of it is so degrading and violent towards women. Would love something that is erotic but not degrading and only focused on male pleasure.

[Anonymous]

Maybe not the target audience here but I love KJ Charles, especially Proper English which is f/f murder mystery romance. All her books are well written (and hot!) but most are m/m do this one especially stands out to me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:give us some examples of good ones

What are you into? Historical (what time period)? Contemporary? BIPOC characters? Queer romance? Specific locations or settings?

There are also different levels of detail from "fade to black" and closed door to fully detailed.

I got recommendations...just tell me what floats your boat!

DP, what do you have for me that's contemporary?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:give us some examples of good ones

What are you into? Historical (what time period)? Contemporary? BIPOC characters? Queer romance? Specific locations or settings?

There are also different levels of detail from "fade to black" and closed door to fully detailed.

I got recommendations...just tell me what floats your boat!

DP, what do you have for me that's contemporary?

You need to give me more details. Level of detail? Settings and characters? Is representation important to you? This is an extremely diverse genre.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I recently tried to get into books like that but they just seemed so cheesy and predictable to me. They were not for me.

There is something for everyone in this genre. You just have to identify what kind of story you want. Reading a couple books that weren't for you doesn't mean you've explored the genre. Let me help you find something. Tell me what you're into.

[Anonymous]

It is hard to fin quality writing though, and I find that very distracting from the smut part.

[Anonymous]

Rebecca Yarros

To the above poster, the smut is the point. I want quippy dialogue and explicit scenes, some of which might mimic my own past experiences thus re-ignite and/or push the boundary of what I personally find pleasurable but reading about it is delightful.

[Anonymous]

OP here. I’ve been focused on Kindle Unlimited books. I really liked the Devil series by Elizabeth O’Roark. A deal with the devil is prob my fav story, but the devil you know has my fav sex scene. All her books are very open door steam with good banter.

My fav book so far has been Scandalized by Ivy Owens. Plenty of steam but fabulous story.

There are MANY books that feature gross, male-driven storylines that feel like kinda rape-y. I don’t like those either so I’ve been surprised that most of what I’ve read has featured strong female characters that are funny and sensual. Susie Tate, TL Swan, Nicole Fox.