I got inspired to write up this post* after a little bit of interesting Twitter fun yesterday. One of my tweets in the #AskELJames twitter chat got a lot of attention (for a nobody), and one of the things I wanted to use my 15 minutes of twitter fame for was to tweet out GOOD erotica or romance novels by authors who don’t treat readers and critics like trash. So, in an effort to do that, I’m going to give you my favorite go-to romance/erotica authors and books. Go forth and read trash, my friends.
*The entire text of this post will also appear in my ongoing Book Suggestions Post that you can find by clicking here.
The Romance/Erotica You Can Read and Not Hate
Charlotte Stein writes some of the sexiest and best first person erotica I’ve ever read. I consistently go back to her short stories when I want a quick, steamy read. My favorites of hers are Sheltered, Make Me (omg the best MMF of ALL TIME), Power Play, and Beyond Repair.
The Neighborly Affection Series by M.Q. Barber … is like comfort food reading to me. It doesn’t matter what kind of reading mood I am in, or how long it’s been since I read them, Henry and Alice and Jay make me happy.
Christina Lauren write (writes?) the most perfect erotic romance novels just … full stop. If you are into dirty talkers, snarky heroines, indulgent but not scary kinks, then you cannot go wrong. My personal favorites are Beautiful Stranger and Dirty Rowdy Thing.
Sarah MacLean is the queen of regency romance. Bekah mentioned her as well in her book suggestions because she is Just. That. Good. If you’ve never read historical or regency romance novels, start with Sarah’s Numbers series. They have enough contemportary notes in the them to keep a skeptical regency reader from being pulled out by anachronistic details. I love her so much I can’t even pick a favorite, but just know that the reveal at the end of No Good Duke Goes Unpunished FLOORED me.
The Magpie Lord is the first in what I like to call my new favorite genre: gay wizard regency novels. KJ Charles is a really talented author who blends a bit of fantasy, erotica, romance and horror into a super fun series.
Cara McKenna writes my real life type (blue collar hotties) without resorting to stereotypes or over-used tropes. Her books are hot without making you wish the hero was a little more flush. Best of hers: Willing Victim (Southie Boston boxer with a mean kink), Hard Time (prison romance with HOT LETTERS) and Her Best Laid Plans (Is that a hot Irish bartender? Yes, yes it is).
Play by Kylie Scott is the 2nd book in her Stage Dive series (about what else but a hot foursome rock band and the women who win them over from their whoring ways), and it is SO so SO so fun. Mal and Anne are sweet and hilarious and super hot.
Immortals After Dark by Kresley Cole … in case you are looking for super hot and well written paranormal romance novels. These are it.
The Temptation series by Ella Frank is super romantic, super hot, gay romance. It’s really just the perfect mix of sex and romance and angst. If you’re into two dudes. Which I am.
And the series that defy categorization and make me jealous of their perfection:
The Original Sinners by Tiffany Reisz. I’ve been suggesting you guys read The Siren since one of my very first posts on That’s Normal. The books in this series are more erotic suspense thrillers than they are romances, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t romantic. That you don’t pull for happily ever afters for your favorite pairings. But whatever your pleasure, you will be fully immersed in the sinners’ world.
Fever Series by Karen M. Moning. Do we need to talk about Barrons and Mac anymore than we already have? Read these books already. The whole series will take you a week, tops, and you won’t stop talking about it for … oh, at least five years. If we are any indication.
What are your go-to romance titles?
