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Culture > Entertainment

Smut Books: Where to Begin

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Her Campus Placeholder Avatar Ashley Carranza
The opinions expressed in this article are the writer’s own and do not reflect the views of Her Campus.
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at UC Riverside chapter.

The rise in romance readers and BookTok accounts has been prominent since 2022. Romance books are the leading growth category according to NPD BookScan. BookTok has been a huge contributing factor to the 40% growth in adult fiction, two-thirds being romance. With the spike in content creators and romance authors, there are just so many book recommendations that finding where to begin can be a challenge. The gain in attention has created another separate hashtag called SpicyTok where content creators will specifically recommend the hottest book to read with smut in it. Here is a list of books to read in order of spice, author, and content level warning.

Coming in at level one, we have Miss Emily Henry. Her books range on the lower tier of spicy since her books contain more plot, humor, and romance than smut. They are amazing reads and I recommend starting with Book Lovers, as it is one of my favorites. The witty banter and playful enemies-to-lovers trope will have you fawning over the characters and investing yourself in their love life immediately. 

Level two, Ali Hazelwood with The Love Hypothesis. There is one sex scene in the entire book, but it will leave you wondering how the hell scientists get any work done. Her books have a lot of science content and a feminism-in-the-workplace vibe. Her books speak up for the smaller voices in the STEM community and give courage to women that are thinking of becoming scientist. She’s also LBTQ+ inclusive and does a great job with the love interest chemistry.

Level three, Tessa Bailey. Her amazing work in It Happened One Summer brings our SpicyTok books into advancing territory. With multiple sex scenes and lines like, “I want you. However you are, whatever you are, I want you,” make it swoon-worthy. You will not be disappointed.

Level four, Lucy Score. Her Knockemout series is filled with spice, small town romance, and a clan of strong women that will make you wish you lived in a place with that kind of support. Her characters’ witty banter make every interaction fueled with lust and smart remarks. Things We Never Got Over is an amazing book that has a great balance of smut and plot.

Level five, Elle Kennedy’s  Off-Campus Series introduced BookTok to Hockey Romance. With a group of friends, her series is sure to keep you hooked until the very last page. Here’s an excerpt from her first book,  The Deal. “Fuck, I want to kiss her again. I want to feel her lips on mine. I want to hear that throaty noise she made the first time I sucked on her tongue.” 

Level six, Ana Haung. Twisted Games was not shelved smut 374 times on GoodReads for no reason. Her Twisted Series brings us closer to dangerous waters. Her famous dedication to her readers: “To all the girls who said fuck Prince Charming, give me a scarred knight,” says just enough to real you in. 

Level seven, Emily McIntire’s Never After Series. Her first book in the series, Hooked, will for sure rock your world and have you rereading each smut chapter after dark. Be ready to read this one alone and with a glass of wine in hand. 

Level eight, Katee Robert. Her Dark Olympus series follows different Greek gods and their inner workings and lives. She takes a different take on Persephone and Hades and creates a playful and dangerous underworld that cannot be missed! Neon Gods was shelved 550 times as smut on GoodReads. If you are ready to read about sex dungeons, and throne sex, this one’s for you. 

Level nine, Sierra Simone. Both Priest and Sinner compete for honorable mentions. Her books take the lead on the list for spice. If you are ready to dive into amazing writing that will make your legs wobble, read anything by Sierra Simone. Thank me later. 

Last but not least, as a matter of fact, this author and series has high praise in the spicy community for her amazing work. Let’s give a round of applause to H.D. Carlton for both f*cking us up sexually and psychologically. Who knew Stockholm syndrome could be a thing readers would love? Her book Haunting Adeline in her Cat and Mouse Series is a dark and disturbing romance book of a stalker who will go to no ends to be with the main character. Read at your own risk. 

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Ashley Carranza

UC Riverside '24

Hello! My name is Ashley Carranza. I am a 5th Year Creative Writing major at UCR. I transferred from Compton College where I received two Associate Degrees in Biological and Physical Sciences, and Physics. I originally dreamed of becoming a dermatologist or psychiatrist my first year at UCR in 2021, but fell in love with writing in my first creative writing class. I was a Cell, Molecular, and Developmental Biology student , but after my second year at UCR, I changed my major to Creative Writing in pursuit of a writing career and education. I love to talk about books and discuss different styles of writing. I plan on applying to graduate school to receive an MFA in Creative Writing at UCR. I would love to teach others about writing and the amazing world of fiction we can create once we dive into a book. I love to read cozy mystery books, thrillers, and romance novels. I enjoy writing at coffee shops while sipping seven dollar coffee. I hope to one day write my own thriller and romance books. I love to hike and go to the gym. Topics I love to read and write about are dating, relationships, school, health, and education.