In this episode, we are diving into a hot topic – the major increase in steamy, sexy “spice” content showing up across book genres over the past 4-5 years. And we’re not just talking about the expected erotic romance novels packing on the heat.
Lately, it seems that every genre, whether fantasy, thriller, or others, is more explicit than ever before. Fantasy books especially have gotten very spicy with entire new series created mostly just to titillate readers. There are even specialized spice and romance sections in bookstores these days, complete with racy cover art and chili pepper graphics to communicate levels of sexuality.
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We reflect on how the growth of “spice” in novels has also had positive impacts. For fans who secretly enjoy erotic content, it becomes more socially acceptable in the mainstream, which means there are now options to cater to every taste. Book descriptions and covers frequently telegraph right up front whether the reader should brace for fade-to-black tension or full-on sexy carnality.
We chat about how even just talking with friends about recent reads nowadays involves comparing spice levels. The trend has taken off thanks to bookstagrammers and TikTokers highlighting steamy books often shelved in special “spicy” displays right in stores. This makes finding read-alikes for viral sensual stories easy for interested readers wandering those aisles.
We estimate over 60% of books we’ve each read in the past year or so involve some level of spice, whether closed-door subtle or more graphic open-door descriptions. While romance and fantasy novels have charged ahead with the trend, explicit moments now commonly appear even in thriller and other genres too catching readers unaware.
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We speculate that a major shift occurred in the wake of the Twilight phenomenon years ago. Those more chaste vampire books left many teenage fans of the era longing for author Stephenie Meyer to escalate beyond her fade-to-black intimacies.
Perhaps the pent-up demand sparked the now adult readers and writers to flood all genres with the steamy storylines they craved back then but never got. We laugh that the desire might even have directly spurred the creation of the “new adult” romance category catering to more mature sexy fare.
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Amusingly reminiscing about “scandalous” book discoveries when we were younger, Shirin shares how she snuck the Gossip Girl YA series past her mom who had no idea how sensual content lurked within those pages. After a quick laughter-filled detour about the potential real-life popularity of “hot farmer” romance books and reality dating shows, we ultimately conclude that the mainstreaming of spice interwoven throughout all genres is overall a great thing. While some erotic moments feel gratuitous to the plot, readers can now choose their steam-level comfort right from the book jacket.
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