While I read and enjoy books with varying levels of spice — and I do not believe that every romance novel needs to include explicit scenes — I must admit that I have a soft spot for books in which the characters’ emotional and physical intimacy mirror each other. Sex scenes can highlight character growth, heighten romantic tension and advance the plot. And, above all, they’re fun.
Here is a list of some of my favorite steamy novels. It includes old favorites and soon-to-be-released gems — books that contain just one or two sex scenes and books in which the smut is the plot, books where the spice starts early and ones where the slow burn will make you tear your hair out. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!
By Sherry Thomas
I first read this book in 2015, when I was a wee grad student. Ten years later, whenever someone asks me to recommend a romance set in the STEM field, this is still the first one I mention. Eva is a material scientist on tenure track; after a one-night stand with Bennett, a cardiothoracic surgeon, she agrees to be his fake girlfriend and help him reconcile with his estranged parents. Thomas’s prose is beautiful, and the characters are complex and endlessly fascinated with each other. The back-and-forth between them feels so charged, it’s nearly as hot as the actual sex.
By Danielle Allen
This book not only has the best banter I’ve ever had the pleasure to read, it also has a perfect opening line. Aaliyah is ready to find “The One” — and, after lying to her family about her nonexistent boyfriend, she has just seven weeks to do it. So she gets on dating apps and decides to conduct all her first dates at the local bar. Enter Ahmad, the bartender. It’s a slow burn: Aaliyah and Ahmad become friends first, which leads to a healthy dose of pining that makes their happy ending even more satisfying. I highly recommend the audiobook; the narrator, Wesleigh Siobhan, is a master at conveying both humor and sexual tension.
By Ivy Owens
Gigi gets stranded at an airport with her childhood crush, Alec, and the two end up sharing a hotel room (among other things) in this entertaining novel, which mixes a celebrity romance (Alec is an actor) with a suspenseful thriller (Gigi is a journalist investigating an important story). The pair’s chemistry is instant: I’ve rarely encountered characters who are so combustible together, with plentiful spice that evolves in tandem with their emotional relationship.
By Adriana Herrera
This book is the future of the Omegaverse (I’ll give those of you unfamiliar with this erotic paranormal subgenre a moment to do some Googling). In this Sapphic polyamorous novella, the plot and the spice are one and the same: Melina gets stranded in a mountain lodge with two women who provide her with many orgasms during a difficult time. Sex-fest aside, the way the three women’s personalities fit together is what makes the story memorable.
By Jo Segura
Full disclosure: I loved this book by the queen of adventure rom-coms so much, I blurbed it. Miri, an archaeologist, is leading an expedition through the Brazilian rainforest to find the Lost City of the Moon. Rafa, who joins the crew as a photographer, wants to sabotage it. Not only is this book packed with action and archaeological lore, but Miri is impossible not to root for. Plus, there’s something special — and especially hot — about two people who fall for each other while their lives are on the line.
By Shirlene Obuobi
Another recent favorite I blurbed! This is only Obuobi’s second book, but she is already building a reputation for her stunning prose, emotionally resonant characters and powerful explorations of relationship dynamics. After a birthday party gone wrong, Jo, a cardiologist, resolves to give up her unrequited lifelong crush on her childhood best friend. Instead, she focuses her attention on Mal, who may be the best fictional man ever created. An important part of the story is Jo’s virginity, and when she enlists Mal to help her lose it, pure romance magic happens.
By Naina Kumar
After years of estrangement, Meena goes to Texas to finally ask her husband, Nikhil, for a divorce — only to find herself stranded with him because of a hurricane. This heartwarming and sexy novel is a beautiful, sometimes angsty examination of how a love story can be rekindled when one least expects it, and of the ways people evolve within relationships. The sex scenes come with lots of baggage, which makes them deeply emotional.
By Nisha Sharma
While this “Twelfth Night” retelling is the final installment in a trilogy (and my favorite of the bunch), it can be read as a stand-alone. Veera and Deepak are friends who’ve been harboring romantic feelings for each other for a long time. Once they become stuck in a fake marriage, the yearning intensifies, and watching them fail miserably to keep their hands off each other and guard their hearts is an absolute treat.
By Dani Francis
For the last year or so, I’ve been craving dystopian romance, and this book (which I blurbed) delivers. When Wren, a psychic rebel fighter in an authoritarian realm, is forced to join an elite military training program, she decides to use this opportunity to defeat the regime from the inside. But the longer she and her commanding officer, Cross, spend together, the more undeniable the attraction between them becomes. The only downside to this book is that it doesn’t come out until May; once it does, you can join me in impatiently waiting for the trilogy’s next installment.
Local bookstores | Barnes & Noble | Amazon (available May 6)
By Denise Williams
After Sybil loses a winning lottery ticket in a steamy one-night stand, Kieran returns it to her, and the gesture is captured in a viral video, which boosts his struggling bakery’s fortunes. The pair decide to fake date — just for a few months, to keep the sales going, of course. Williams always writes likable characters who lust wholeheartedly for each other, and this perfectly sweet and spicy novel is no exception.
Local bookstores | Barnes & Noble | Amazon (available March 25)
By Rosie Danan
Devin, a washed-up actor and former star of a paranormal detective show, wakes up in the woods, naked … and transformed into a werewolf. The only person who can guide him through this ordeal is Alex, a former fan of his show, whom he once offended. As a semiprofessional fangirl, I felt like this book was written specifically for me. It also has quite a bit of negotiated kink, which made me absolutely feral.
Local bookstores | Barnes & Noble | Amazon (available March 11)
By Kimberly Lemming
A biologist crash lands on a planet with her newly acquired pet lion, meets two sex aliens, and the three of them fall in love. With me so far? The truth is that no summary can ever do justice to the all-consuming experience that is reading a Kimberly Lemming rom-com. Her books are all hilarious, unhinged, heart-wrenching and fantastically heavy on the spice, while incorporating several fun and creative alien biology elements. This one is scorching hot, full of joy and unmissable.
Local bookstores | Barnes & Noble | Amazon (available Feb. 18)
By C.S. Pacat
This is the first book in a trilogy and, fair warning, things get dark. The series is full of intrigue, betrayal, battles and people who do terrible things — and somehow, this makes the relationship that blossoms between the two leads even sweeter. Prince Damen is captured in the war between two rival kingdoms and becomes a prisoner of Prince Laurent, who has no idea who he is — or that Damen killed Laurent’s brother. The constant tension between hate and love makes this book, and the rest of the series, unputdownable.
By Mazey Eddings
Opal wins the lottery and buys a farm in North Carolina. When she gets there, she finds Pepper, who insists that she is the property’s rightful owner. Cohabitation and fireworks ensue. This Sapphic rom-com is a perfect example of how explosive a well-executed opposites-attract trope can be. It’s a beautiful character driven story, at once cozy and deeply introspective, with plenty of spice and flashes of Eddings’s whip-smart humor.
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