As we head towards the latter days of 💙Winter, the temperature outside is slowly creeping upwards, but it’s still not warm by any stretch of the imagination. If you want something to warm you from the inside out, there are few better things than a spicy romance novel.
In case you’re not clued in on modern literary terms, spicy means nothing ꦦmore than sexy. Spicy romances have a lot of sexuaᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚl content, often described explicitly, and can leave even the most stiff-lipped of readers feeling hot and bothered.
There are countless examples of spicy romance, one of the most famous (although not good in any sense) is Fifty Shades of Grey. That won’t be included on this list, but it is a recognizable example of the💜 subgenre.
Here are 10 spicy romance novels that are, unlike Fifty Shades of Grey, actually worth reading.
Twisted Love by Ana Huang
As is pretty common in the spicy romance subgenre, offers an amazing example of a male character whose behavior would simply not be tolerated in real life, but somehꦯow makes him likable in terms of his character.
Twisted Love is a story of two troubled people, Ana and Alex. Alex is Ana’s brother’s best friend, and although they shouldn’t fall in love, of co🔯urse they do. There are dark moments, but most importantly for the purposes of this list, a lot of spice.
Neon Gods by Katee Robert
Don’t get caught up on the fact that is a dark and smutty retelling of Greek gods and goddesses. Hades and Persephone ruled over the underworld together, and this is a modern🐓ized retelling of that tale filled with spice and darkness.
It’s not as if mythology isn’t inherently filled with romantic ideas anyway, but Robert adds a whole new level, piling on the chemistry between the two main characters in a way that will always leave you wanting more, even when yo🎃u’ve finishꦉed the very last page.
Praise by Sara Cate
Most people, at some point in their lives, experienced a breakup that left them feeling empty and worthless. It’s an experience that’s easily relatable, and that’s how begins, but it’s far from where it ends.
After Charlotte is left hollowed by a horrible breakup, she mistakenl🐬y gets dragged into a BDSM-ba💜sed affair with her ex’s father. Oh, and he’s also her boss, and twice her age, all of which makes the relationship entirely forbidden. But that’s what makes you want to keep reading, because surely this can’t end well?
Priest by Sierra Simone
It’s common knowledge that a priest must take a vow of celibacy, but that doesn’t make keeping it easy, and therein lies the main plot of by Sierra Simone. Tyler is a 29-year-old pr🌳iest in char🍃ge of his own church, and he has done some very un-priestly things.
Priest acts as a confession for the main character, who despite his vow of celibacy and role as a priest, has broken every rule in the book after meeting a woman he cannot stay away from. So much so that he had sex with her on the altar of his church. That’s a lot of sin, and Priest is filled with sinful mom♉ents to enjoy, as well as a sweet love story to boot.
Bared to You by Sylvia Day
If you want a love story filled with both sex and angst, then is an absolute must-read. Two damaged people come together for a spicy romance that helps them to fix themselves and each o🅰ther, with many, many NSFW (not safe for work) encounters along the way.
Admittedly, the story does, at times, take a backseat to the sheer amount of smut iꩵnvolved. However, that doesn’t mean that it’s not worth reading if you need a story to keep you going between steamy scenes. Both main characters grow together, overcoming trauma through each other.
Left of Forever by Tarah DeWitt
Let me just put this out there: I’m a sucker for a second-chance romance, and is an amazing exampl♓e of the trope with a lot of spice thrown in for good measure. Wren and Ellis fell in love as kids, they had a life and a child together, and then everything fell apart. But is that the end?
No, it’s not. What starts off as a simple weekend dropping their son off at college turns into a “one last try” road trip filled with love, memories, and arguments. Left of Forever is filled with huge feelings and hurdles to overcome, as well꧋ as some seriously steamy moments between the🎶 former husband and wife.
The Fine Print by Lauren Asher
There’s a common theme that runs through steamy romance novels, and it revolves around an impossibly rich man falling for a woman with barely a fraction of his wealth. There’s definitely 🐼a questiona𝓡ble power dynamic involved, but there’s also a “forbidden” and risky appeal to the entire trope.
is a good example of this trope done well, because the power imbalance ends with the money and doesn’t transfer into the bedroom. Zahra is feisty, and she isn’t afraid of Rowan, who happens to be her boss, so he can’t push her around because he’s loaded. There’s also a large element of enemies-to-lovers involved here, so if that’s your thing, you’ll love The Fine Print.
Beautiful Bastard by Christina Lauren
Another tale of an employee and her boss who are incapable of staying away from each other despite the rules and self-imposed limitations, 🏅was originally released online under a completely different name. Now, it’s been fully published and is loved by fans of the spicy romance subgenre, for 🍒good reason.
Things are a little crazy at certain points within the story, and there is a huge amount of smut that sometimes overpowers the actual narrative that Lauren is trying to portray. However, if you’re looking up a list of spicy books, then you’ll probably ꩵbe okay with that.
The Hook Up by Kristen Callihan
A hook-up becomes a “situationship” that becomes more. It’s a common trope within romance, and although there’s nothing particularly new brought to the table in terms of narrative within , there’s a lot to love.
Anna and Drew could not be more different. He’s the quarterback, endlessly popular, and lives his entire life in the limelight. She’s prickly, funny, and couldn’t care less about him or his ball-throwing abilities. But then something happens to bring them together, and they both want different things, but can he convince her that he’s more than he seems to be?
Bohemian by Kathryn Nolan
A shy nerdy guy who ends up in charge of a struggling bookshop, and a model who only goes there for a photoshoot ends up finding more than she bargained for. That’s the main pairing in this story of love and steam, and that’s what makes stand out in an ocean of ♉rich-man-poor-womanꦛ pairings.
There’s also a looming choice that both the main characters and the reade💛r must face, and althoug♛h you see it coming from a mile away, it doesn’t make the decision any easier. Do you take a chance on something that you never expected? Or do you savor the memories and move on?
Published: Feb 4, 2025 09:23 am