While I’ve read all kinds of romance books, steamy romance novels are definitely the ones that I’m more into because, well, the smut, the steam, the spice. You know what I mean! Every romance, either low or high heat, needs to have a romantic central plot line. They are focused on the romantic growth and development of certain pairings, and everything surrounding them has to cater to that romantic relationship. Steamy romance novels have the same format, but more descriptive sex scenes set them apart from the rest. So, be it the slow burn of soft kisses and small touches or the high heat level of sexual interactions and intense passion, they all have one goal and that is to develop the romance story.
Don’t Call Them Porn or Trashy, Please
Steamy romance novels are still judged by a large group of people. Maybe not as badly as years before — in the past, as soon as you said you enjoyed reading romance, people would say, “Oh, so you love reading porn?” rolls eyes (also there’s nothing bad about reading porn either! But that’s another topic entirely) — but it’s still very present in our society. If it has open-door sex scenes, people catalog them as trashy instantly. Or guilty pleasures! Don’t feel badly about reading steamy romance novels, it’s okay to enjoy sex-positive characters in fiction. No one should make you feel badly about reading romance books. Recently with the hype of TikTok, readers are sharing their love for romance, especially steamy romance novels. You can find a whole section on TikTok called #SpicyBookTok where you can encounter all the spicy recommendations people are reading. You are coming out of that tag with a whole list of books for your TBR! whispers It definitely happened to me. It’s clear readers are searching for spicier recs — I mean, the tag has 201.7 million views (!!!) already. You can also check out the tags #SpicyBooks and #SmutTok for more. So if you are a fan of steamy romance novels — of spice in your cake— this list will rock your world upside down. These 20 steamy romance novels are going to be the highlight of your everyday life. Be 100% certain that if you end up picking up any of these books to read, you’ll find all the steam. You’ll need to cool down between chapters! But what these authors do is spectacular and they will grab your attention so quickly you won’t notice you’re nearing the end of their book until it’s over. If you’re into epic love declarations as well, this article of the best love scenes in books will capture your heart! After partying too hard, Piper’s stepdad decides that enough is enough and he sends her to learn some responsibility at her late father’s dive bar in Washington. She butts heads with grumpy sea captain Brendan immediately, but their simmering attraction is clear to every single person in the town. Content warning for blood play, knife play, kidnapping, grooming, and attempted sexual assault. Eve is a mess. When her personal brand of chaos ruins a very expensive wedding, her parents draw the line. Because of this, she decides to take a drive and ends up finding a cute Bed and Breakfast that is looking to fill up the chef position. But the owner Jacob and Eve don’t hit it off too well! This is before she accidentally hits him with her car…oops Shae’s birthday is getting close and her older brother’s best friend, Kofi, is back in Antigua for her brother’s engagement party. Will this be the start of something new? Every Thursday night Kenny logs into Maya’s camroom. And Maya, excitedly, waits for the notification to come up. Their online relationship is definitely complicated, but it complicates further when they finally meet face-to-face, realizing that they have more secrets than they previously thought. When Aphrodite’s life is in danger, she is assigned a bodyguard. Unfortunately for her, her new bodyguard is her ex’s older brother, Hephaestus, who she hates with so much fervor. Each of the A Touch of Taboo books is hot as hell. This one is her latest one and probably my favorite of the bunch (but I cannot choose, don’t make me choose!). When her parents pass away, Hazel gets a guardian. Soon after, he ships her off to a boarding school and only sees her one day of the year — on her birthday. But now Hazel is turning 25 and that means getting full control of her trust fund. That also means that Devan’s work as her guardian is coming to a close. Rae moves back home to finish her college degree. Unbeknown to her, there’s a bigger plot in the works and it happens to involve her. After summoning a sexy demon, her life rapidly gets more dangerous. Will Leon be able to help her out before she ends up being sacrificed to a god? When Rain’s family arranges a marriage to cement a business merger, she runs away. To Sol’s hotel in New Orleans. Their lives will be forever changed after their first meeting. After the tragedy, the three realize that they are not alone in it, so they lean into each other. Though the grief of the events is still very present in their lives. But it’s clear they feel attraction and want to see if this has a happy ending. (It totally does!). Content warning for the death of a romantic partner before the start of the story, discussions of death, a sexually fluid adult with unsupportive parents, and conversations with the police. Tattoo artist Whitney loves Valentine’s Day. But this long weekend, she has no plans at all. On her way to get some adorable, pink cupcakes, she meets Vic on her Uber drive. They hit it off and decide to see where this goes. Jerusha is about to have her very first kiss, but with a shitty date, so she is not really looking forward to it. Luckily, her next-door neighbor saves her from that happening. Then, she asks Karl, the neighbor, for a kiss. Their story quickly develops from that point into a majestic, beautiful romance. Pro hockey star Shane and Boston Bears captain Ilya have made a career on their legendary rivalry, but when the skates come off, it’s another story entirely! The heat between them is undeniable, and as their relationship intensifies, they struggle to maintain it out of the public eye. A succubus and a death’s head hawkmoth fairy take you on an epic ride of smutty goodness. Avirin is arranging for someone to come and…let her feed on them. But the last person she thought would appear on her door is Pye, the coworker she hates the most.
