'Spicy' romance novels - everyone but me?

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Shamelessly posting in AIBU for traffic!

This morning on the school run I caught some of the mums talking about 'hockey books', I bumbled in confused because hockey is not an option for our dcs (v early primary) but apparently they were talking about these 'spicy' books they all read.

They hadn't told me as they thought I was too prim (!) but apparently they're all into them, basically it seems like chick lit but with lots of sex and 'spicy' scenes.

Is everyone reading this apart from me?? I'd never even heard of them until today and feel a bit left out.

Never thought I was prim, now wondering if I have been all along 😂

Such an interesting insight! I had no idea they could be published if they were badly written but I guess if they're viewed as 'throwaway' stuff rather than literature then maybe they get through on that account.

One of women at school offered to lend me one but I know nothing about bloody football, never mind hockey 😂

Maybe I'll steer clear!

Does anyone remember the Black Lace books? Mills and Boons but the next level up. I was quite into those in my late teens / early 20s.

My 13 year old is reading 'hockey books' . I've never censored reading material but now I'm wondering if I ought to! They seemed like YA fiction. Please enlighten me as to the level of smut, I'd rather her not be reading BDSM.

I suspect it's ice hockey.
And not about the hockey!

Not interested in the 'hockey' ones or the billionaires or any of those. But I do enjoy a spicy fantasy novel. Vampires. Fae. Demons. Dragon riders. That kind of thing.

Ideally you want a male lead who is a villain, or at the very least, an antihero.

Lots of these books are really terrible and just absurd with zero plot. But there are plenty which have a good fantasy plot and well-written characters and a ton of shagging with hot, brooding, morally grey and well-endowed men.

50 Shades Of Grey is unbearably shit, though. Terrible writing, tedious unsexy characters and the world's most insipid female lead. Literally one of the worst books I've ever started to read - I didn't bother finishing it.

I have to say that having read threads on Mumsnet where people opine about what is/isn't acceptable in the bedroom, I reckon a lot of Mumsnetters would be clutching their pearls. I often chuckle to myself when people on here claim that it's only men who get off on certain things and it's all down to them watching porn - because these books are always, always written by women and probably 95% of their readers are women too, and they rarely hold back!

I read a lot, everything from classics to contemporary literary fiction to crime to fantasy to non-fiction. I'm more than happy to include smut too!

Publishers will publish whatever will sell, hence all the shitey 'written by' celebs stuff on the shelves. But a lot of these are self-published on Kindle too.

Never even heard of any of these…! I hate anything with sex in it. Makes me cringe. In fact I’m half way through a fairly decent book right now that up till now has had hardly any romance in it and now suddenly the two main characters are bonking and it’s completely turned me off the book. Just gives me the ick.

I do have quite odd taste in books generally though. Mostly I read a lot of tragic life biographies and true crime stuff.

I read 50 Shades years ago and found it as unreadable as Twilight (non-spicy comparison) as this style of book is very amateurish to me.

It was originally Twilight fanfiction!

PSA: Dont listen to books with spice in the car....

If it's Icebreaker and the rest of the series, definitely definitely not appropriate for a 13 year old!

I saw the hockey ones in The Works and considered buying them for my teen as she's a fan of our local ice hockey team, then I read the blurb on the back and realised they might be a bit too adult for her just now. I bought the Pumpkin Spice cafe one for myself for a bit of autumn reading not realising it was in the same vein, and it was the most poorly written shite since 50 Shades. Serves me right for buying a book that's " recommended by TikTok" I suppose.

I would maybe have a closer look at them...I think choking may feature in a lot of them

My friend took great delight in telling me one of the golf or hockey books had lots of rimming in

Mostly I read about murder. Occasionally I'll read a spicy book. They're not great literature, but they're a fun diversion.

I have read lots of hockey books, no choking or rimming.

I mostly read murder - dark twisty detective novels or cosy crime (of which I have just finished a brilliant example, "A Case of Mice and Murder" - set in the inner temple if anyone else enjoys a bit of legal history interspersed with murder)

But a well written romance makes for a great holiday read. The Bridgerton books are pretty good and I also love a Satah Morgan, particularlyat Christmas time. My favourites though are the Maiden Lane series by Elizabeth Hoyt, an excellent regency romance series with a bit of swashbuckling highwayman type action

Never heard of the books you mention but obviously aware that there are spicy books out there. Personally for me I like to read, but spicy books are not on my reading list.

I used to really enjoy reading erotic fiction when I was younger, say 18-25 but not so much now. It does nothing for me anymore and I actually find it quite boring and samey.

Nah, I outgrew those types of books when I was 15. I think it’s kind of grim really, as a lot of them are very poorly written and full of cheesy cliches and gender stereotypes. That said, I know I’m a book snob so YMMV.

A friend of a friend has written some spicy romances. I read the Kindle sample of one of them (so just the first few pages) and knew it wasn't for me!
If you want romance without the spice, look for books in the "closed door romance" genre.

Yes, the first ACOTAR book only gets interesting in the final third, when it gets massively darker and more action-packed, and Rhysand starts to play a bigger role. The rest of the series is then much, much better. There's romance (and it's explicit) but that's really the subplot to be honest. I would add that the second book completely subverts what people imagine is being set up in the first.

They're not great literature and I'm not about to claim they'd have had a place on my English degree syllabus, but I find them to be good fun. Much as I find, eg, a James Bond film good fun while not claiming they're up there with the work of Ingmar Bergman or Andrei Tarkovsky.

Those kinds of books are everywhere but they’re not for me. I’m not even a little bit prim, I just don’t get any pleasure from reading about other people having sex. Bores me rigid in fact.

Oh I loved A Case of Mice and Murder! Can't wait for the next one.

I got into 'romantasy' books such as ACOTAR and Fourth Wing when I was going through a stressful time and it was pure escapism.
I read an awful lot and will rea pretty much anything but I really enjoy being drawn into a fantasy world which is really far removed from reality.

There's romance (and it's explicit) but that's really the subplot to be honest. I would add that the second book completely subverts what people imagine is being set up in the first.

I completely agree! I found the Feyre/Tamlin relationship frustrating. The second book really drew me in.

For some reason my kindle suggested a number of "spicy" books on a theme of undertakers/morticians which baffled me as my normal reading habits are Terry Pratchett and Jane Austen.

Anyway, I read one (set in Ireland, a young woman moves there from US for animation studio purposes) and it was satisfyingly rude.

I read one or two others but I got really annoyed by the male lead characters - for some reason we are meant to enjoy reading about strong female characters (always with a mysterious past, broken hearted but ultimately relatable and lovely) but the male characters all seem to have anger or anxiety issues that only the heroine can solve.

I don't want to have my fantasies ruined by another useless man (frequently described as having a beard, tight jeans, muscular thighs and a heaving member) who needs saved and the woman having to save the useless man in order to 1. Continue having thrilling sex and 2. Have a happy ever after.

So I knocked all that on the head. Unless someone can recommend exciting books that don't meet those tired tropes...

Haha, it's really not the kissing that people are interested in when they read this kind of romance.

Butcher & Blackbird features lovers who are both serial killers. They're not the kissy types.

I actually cannot BEAR cosy/fluffy/kissy romantic fiction. I'm only interested if it's dirty, dark and dangerous.