Culture
9 Steamy Books to Read This Valentine’s Day and Beyond
Including erotic tales, fan-favourite romantasy books, fake-dating tropes and so much more.
Indigo
There’s nothing like a good book—especially if that book is has heavy doses of swoony-worthy chemistry, characters who would make dreamy (or questionable) romantic partners off the page and sizzling erotic scenes that make you feel like you’re holding in a secret while you’re reading on the commute home. Ahead, we’ve picked nine of our favourite steamy books that you can read right now.
The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang
Author Helen Hoang’s debut novel (and the first book in an all-around excellent trilogy), The Kiss Quotient follows math-obsessed Stella, a 30-year-old woman living with Asperger’s. At this point in her life, she doesn’t have much experience with intimacy of any kind, so she does what any logic-fuelled thinker would do: comes up with a plan. That plan? Devising a checklist of all the sexy experiences she thinks she should have had by now, then hiring a very hot escort named Michael Phan to work through it. It’s not long before Stella has learned how to enjoy their steamy sessions—or before their business-first relationship starts to burrow its way into her heart.
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
With “romantasy” series like Fourth Wing and A Court of Thorns and Roses all the rage, let’s take a moment to honour some of the genre’s forebears, shall we? Diana Gabaldon’s ongoing Outlander series first debuted in 1991 and chronicles the saga of Claire Randall, a 20th-century British nurse who travels back in time to 18th-century Scotland. There, she meets the rugged Highland warrior Jamie Fraser, and let’s just say that their adventures involve a lot of time spent between the sheets. After all, there’s a reason this series inspired a notoriously steamy TV show adaptation.
Take a Hint, Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert
I can’t imagine a real-world, normal-person scenario in which pretending to date someone actually makes sense, which is why the fake-dating trope is so delightful to read. Enter Take a Hint, Dani Brown, the second book in Talia Hibbert’s Brown Sisters trilogy (though each can be read as a standalone novel), centres around Danika is a successful academic who is more about work and casual dating than she is about relationships. But when a video of former-rugby-player-turned-security-guard Zafir “rescuing” Dani from a fire drill goes viral, the pair agree to play up their flirty dynamic to garner publicity for Zaf’s sports charity. All the while, Dani hopes to add a bit of fun to their arrangement with seduction, but Zaf might be too big of a softie to let her patented no-strings-attached thing fly.
One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston
Writer Casey McQuistion is best known for their debut romance novel, Red, White & Royal Blue, which makes One Last Stop vastly underrated. This romcom follows August, a cynical-about-love 23-year-old living with too many eclectic roommates in NYC who is waiting tables to get by. Then she meets the effortlessly cool, punk-rock Jane on the subway, who might actually be the girl of her dreams. The only problem? Jane is actually from the 1970s and is somehow stuck on the train. The book is sweet, charming and, frankly, sexier than anything involving the subway has any right to be.
The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory
Honestly, when it comes to getting steamy, you pretty much can’t go wrong with any Jasmine Guillory romance. So, for the sake of simplicity, let’s start with her delightful debut, The Wedding Date. It’s the night before his best friend’s wedding festivities kick off, and pediatric surgeon Drew still doesn’t have a date. When he gets stuck in an elevator with the stunning Alexa, the chief of staff for a Californian mayor, he asks her to go with him—and, surprisingly, she agrees. Afterwards, they’re supposed to go their separate ways, but they just can’t stop thinking about each other.
The Pisces by Melissa Broder
If you watched The Shape of Water and thought, “This is really romantic and not at all weird,” then The Pisces is for you. The book follows Lucy, a woman who moves to Venice Beach and has had more than her fair share of terrible and lacklustre dating encounters. There, she meets an alluring merman and they embark on a shockingly erotic affair that soon delves into deep obsession.
Mile High by Liz Tomforde
If you’re on the side of #BookTok that’s obsessed with hockey romance novels, consider Mile High essential reading. Set in Chicago, the novel focuses on Stevie Shay, a self-assured flight attendant who gets a prestigious job working on the private-plane for Chicago’s professional hockey team. At first, she’s unimpressed with the team’s superstar playboy, Zanders, and his attempts at flirting and pushing her buttons, but the two can’t deny their intense mutual attraction for long. And, if basketball or baseball align more with your sporting interests, author Liz Tomforde has you covered there too.
Seven Days in June by Tia Williams
Seven Days in June is a second-chance romance that gets a little meta: protagonist Eva Mercy is a single mom and bestselling erotic writer. Then at a work event, she runs into novelist Shane Hall, her former (and, to the other writers at the event, secret) teenage flame. The chemistry between Eva and Shane is still off the charts, which is evident as the two reconnect over the next seven days—even if she’s still wary over the heartbreak from 15 years earlier.
Bad Behavior by Mary Gaitskill
Acclaimed writer Mary Gaitskill’s short story collection Bad Behavior was first published in 1988, but it has stood the test of time. Each of the nine stories found within are short on romance, and instead go deep into longing, desire and the vulnerability at play in sexual dynamics of all kinds, all but guaranteeing you’ll want to keep turning the page.
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