Exactly!! Samee😭

Same, I thought she thought she had a higher tolerance for some pepper and found out otherwise.

I knew it was a book, but I couldn’t have the love of me figure out why she called it that

I thought it was a character name from Game of Thrones for some reason

Lmaooo

Chicks with swords... Am I right?

Chicks with swords... Am I right?

🙋‍♀️

Yess

🙋‍♀️

Fanfic websites get absolutely wild, and I was on Tumblr before they banned NSFW content (or at least tried to). Some of the stuff booktok claims is spicy is kind of surprising to me. I guess a lot of them are on the younger end, so it makes sense, but the comparison is very funny.

@@bishielurfer If I had to guess, in spaces like Ao3 where NSFW is allowed the spice scale starts at explicit sex and goes up the kinkier/more fucked up and taboo it is while on booktok the starting point is "the barest hint of romantic or sexual tension" and goes up the closer you get to explicit sex. So the ceiling for booktok is like the the floor for Ao3. Do I have it correct?

​@RandomJayne You nailed it. If a fic says it has explicit sex than it has fully explicit sex. It just goes up from there!

I’m a longtime fanfic reader who is recently getting into romance novels, and the last one I read was pretty explicit, but faded to black right in the middle of what would have been a pretty key scene in a fanfiction. Fanfic readers would have revolted if a writer had posted that chapter with its porny cliff hanger, then the next chapter is just pillow talk the next morning. It was especially weird because plenty of other scenes didn’t fade to black.

There was a time in grad school where this indie author was handing out a bunch of copies of his book for free. There were some poorly disguised scenes that involved octopus arms and it became a game in my cohort to see how much you could read aloud before someone got visibly uncomfortable. My days of diving down fanfic rabbit holes paid off in spades. The only thing I cringed at was the terrible, clearly unedited writing.

'Lucien was pretty sassy' 😂 Lucien was my favourite character for a good portion and then The Mysterious Stranger at Cal-En-My (audiobook reader I have no IDEA how that is spelt). The Mystery Man is panning out I have to say 😏

Did he flip to the chapter 55/56 part of the book? Like, cabin, or illyrian camp?

@@applejuice565 the last spicy scene before the cabin, in the heat of it with my favorite line ever involving a table (if you know you know)

Sophomore year, 15 years of age, I did a book report on the 6th book of the Anita Blake series. First book I read in the series, Dance Macabre. Spicy is the word for the series considering the... Settings of the world. Great series.

oh my goodness I am so sorry for you (that is the worst possible thing that could happen)

You sure it was a random section 🤭

Admittedly I might prefer that. I am that person who yells at the book "you two need to put your pants back on and figure the plot out."

That's how I was when reading fourth wing and iron flame lol

Same here

Came here to say the same about ACOTAR and Fourth Wing. It's all about the fantasy and plot for me. I listen to the audio books and sometimes just hit the forward button once or twice.

If acotar is low spice then I refuse to read any more oml I hate those scenes so much, it one pops up the whole series is immediately over. Doesn't exist anymore

@@kasi0034acotar has no plot 💀

wait... it gets spicy later? or in other books in the series ?

​@@marig9236 Acosf was too much for me even though I like spicy books a lot. (I loved it regardless 👀)

​@@nivi2107 bro i bought the whole series but I hate spice (I am just a huge fantasy fan) ༎ຶ⁠‿⁠༎ຶ After reading your comment i am scared to read the last books or start the series.

@@secretofbeings just get started. You can always skip the spice. Though in acosf you'll be skipping half the book. But still worth the read

​@@secretofbeingsthe first 3 books are relatively low spice. 1-2 Spicy scenes a book and they only last a couple pages. The fifth book is very high spice. But the first three books were originally intended to be a trilogy. So if you aren't a fan of spice then you could easily stop there.

Wait, really? Ive only read three nora roberts books (and to be fair two of them were quite old) but i remember there wasnt any more than two scenes in each book. Is ACOTAR at that level? I had gotten the impression that it was really spicy

I'm rereading sign of seven from Nora Roberts and there's not as much snu snu as I remember but there is so much sexual build up and tension. She really committed to her romance and the paranormal story line so good too. Acotar while I enjoy the books so far the romance just seem to happen there's not a lot of tension or build up to them getting together it's just we belong together let's do it all the time! So I think that made it seem tame to me because I felt less invested in the romance. Just snu snu is great if that's what you want. But the tension and build up to the snu snu is what makes it more memorable. It gives Nora Roberts books some spicier spice imo! Lol 😆

@@Nioriel26 ah, that's true, she's really good at tension!

@@Nioriel26 This is wild to me because imo, ACOTAR was nothing but sexual tension and build up for the first 2 books. Even when she was with Tamlin, there was sexual tension and build up happening between her and Rhys lol

Nora Roberts spicy? There's a built up of tension, but in the end I would normally rate her books a 2, or maybe 3 of spicyness... Then again, I've read fanfiction that pretty much goes beyond 5 out of 5, so....😊

That’s called erotica

Role play sex in books isn’t a thing unless it’s specifically talking about bdsm or something. That’s just the couple dynamic. They’re not all healthy. So people should read with discernment

And erotica is indeed a genre and a valid one

I completely relate. Maybe if your book is neither YA or adult, it could fall under New Adult? It’s a relatively new genre to bridge the gap between YA and adult fiction

As someone who actively looking for Non-Spicy adult books, there is DEFINITLY a market for it. Just because it's adult does not mean it has to have spice. Honestly, i'd prefer if writers took the time to make their characters fall in love rather then fall in lust. But falling in lust is quicker then having actual character emotional growth.

When I was younger, I really enjoyed the explicit sex scenes. They were naughty and I felt somehow I was doing something exciting by reading them. As I've gotten older they've become boring. I would much rather read a well-written story of people whose emotions are growing. Realistically that pulls me in more than something that has a lot of arms and legs going everywhere. Sometimes a sex scene in a story can be very satisfying if It fills an emotional beat in the story.

There's a number of new adult writers that write books that are too mature for YA but are clean. I prefer books that actually focus on the relationship. Cuz that's what's gonna last. Hot lust ain't gonna get you far alone. So books that are just heat I drop. Without companionship development it won't last. No matter how much they are "mates"

As someone who writes, too, I would say you cen definitely include or exclude as much smutt as you want and still make it an adult book. To me, the level of smutt in an adult-oriented book would depend on what focus I want to give it. If I want it to be explicit, it can go hard on both the darkness/violence and the smutt as one can be used as relief (for the characters and their mental states if it's a consensual pairaing), while the former builds the need for closeness and relief. If the focus is on the darker parts, and you want to highlight how the relief gained isn't enough, you could even have fade to black and work in how the stress keeps building for the characters and nothing is helping. Rant over lol, sorry. Not sure if that helped or was unnecessary.

I also need to know.

Omg I saw these today when u search “acotar jewelry” one of the ads were for these earrings!

Oh good lord

Yeah, I don’t know why some people think that ACOTAR is just filled with smut, only the last book in the series has multiple explicit scenes, the main 3 are quite tame.

​@@Sh4d0w_L1ckerI think it's the mentality of the characters. For those of us who don't actually think about sex ALL the time, it's uncomfortable to read about a couple who really aren't interested in anything else in their relationship. They may not 'do it' until well in, but it's clear from the start and all the way through that to Rhysand, Feyre is just a sex toy he will play with when he gets around to it; there's no appreciation for or even DEVELOPMENT of her personality.

@@cmm5542 I couldn’t disagree more, did you actually read the whole series? But anyways, why are you reading fantasy romance if you don’t like reading about romance? Just read fantasy without romance if you’re not into it. You’re reading romance then complain that the characters are romantically involved.

​@@cmm5542Just sounds like a you problem. You know most people don't think about sex all the time but don't feel uncomfortable reading about sex. If you don't like it, don't read romance. It's also pretty obvious you haven't read the books or chose to severely misunderstand it, probably because of your own bias.

The funny thing is, I'd rate the ToG series as the lowest level spicy, ACoTaR as medium spicy, and CC as the most spicy of her series 😂😂

Harlequin Romance actually has a spicy rating for their book lines and I kind of wish everyone had one.

I feel the same way! Fortunately I prefer historical romance to fantasy . . . actually I've been blindsided by the ratings of some of that . . .

Lol yeah I read the entire throne of glass series (which thankfully is much less spicy than acotar) when I was 11, I didn’t understand any of the… yknow but loved the story, then i reread it again when I was 15 and was like “omg how did I read this at 11” then I proceeded to read acotar lmao

You're doing a far greater service than you know to us aces!!🥰 Sending love and hugs!🤗

I feel the need to clarify - this isn't a challenge by any means, moreso "thinking aloud" for myself. if someone finds ACOTAR super spicy, or feels like OP period and feeling uncomfortable about that sorta thing, I actually heavily recommend AGAINST trying the Beauty series because it'll prob be extremely uncomfortable for you and there's no reason to make yourself uncomfortable. the book isn't so necessary that you need to even try unless you WANT that sort of content

I think I've seen a bit of Anne Rice's SB series, and I'm like, wow...I love my spice, but I think AR has beyond my own comfortability range...I think. I'd have to take a trip to Books-a-Million or B&N to try and re-read it. It's been a while.

D:

@@a.katherinesuetterlin3028Anne rice wrote erotica. People need to start looking at genre again and not just mixing everything under the label spice

That’s an erotica series vs a fantasy romance with sexual elements. Subgenre matters so people don’t shame books for them not knowing what they getting into when the information is free

That’s only the first book… they get dramatically more spicy the more books you read

Sure, but the video was specifically about ACOTAR and she says she had to skip "huge sections" because of the smut...which...is a bit misleading. Granted the following books do contain more spicy content.

Yeah... I hope she didn't try to read Silver Flames 😂🤣

​@@EnolaElorie I guess she is referring to the series as a whole since she said huge sections, because usually if you talk about the whole series you call it acotar or a court of thorns and roses, so it can be a bit misleading when it's also the name of the first book.

What do you call the full series?

You mean writing? Or fighting...

@@qwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnm3093 writing, I spelt it wrong 😭

Finally someone who doesn’t like spice. I need book recommendations!! Please and thank you

Don’t get me wrong I don’t mind spice, but it has to be well written, make sense for the plot, and not over do it. Once it’s all they can do/think about I start skipping cause it gets sooo boring, and don’t get me started on the stupid word choices, ie throbbing member immediate ick

Also on team 'most sex scenes are boring'. Like, I love flirting and buildup, but most descriptions of two people having sex make my eyes glaze over

​@@bamagirlce12Yep, as an old-fashioned religious person I expected to be shocked when I sort-of-accidentally discovered fanfiction. The only thing that DID shock me was the glamourizing of abuse - with most normal sex scenes I was like 'THIS is what all the fuss is about? Spare me; I'm going back to the PLOT!' 😂

​@@bamagirlce12 No bc same. It doesn't make or break a story for me, but sex scenes are soooo bland, boring and stale. Love the build up of the relationship, the flirting and the banter and the characters slowly getting closer, but I find the writing 99% takes a nosedive whenever sexytimes come up. And it's not bc it's vanilla or anything like that that makes my eyes start seeing through the pages whenever a sex scene happens, no no no, even if it's all hardcore or whatever, it still has me snoring, so I _know_ it's the writing. Not only that, but the writing _post_ sex scenes also tends to become worse in general, bc the writers get lazy with the characters and their dynamics and almost always fall back into making them satellites with no other thing going on in their mind than each other.

Unfortunately, there are VERY few books without sex scenes (or a 'fade to black' kind of scene) that are mainstream. Sex Sells, unfortunately. This is why branching out of mainstream is always a great choice.

@@GummyDinosaursifyI've honestly just avoided romance as a whole. Its just easier at this point plus my fav genres don't really align with romance sub plots so I'm in the clear.

Me too. I enjoy the tamer stuff too, it's fun, but ACOTAR is like the bell pepper of my spice range.

What do you read? I would LOVE spicy recommendations!

@@AB-zr8pu haha I know exactly what you mean! Season for everything, even if I do tend to lean towards the spice. Right now I'm reading the temple brothers and it's sorta medium spice, if that. But very wholesome.

@@alinab6571 ooh geez! There's such a range! I go through books like fairy floss! What's your vibe? You like the HEAs? The Dark Romance? Books that make you cry? There's so many different styles within that as well. I could go on 😅 But right now I'm reading the temple brothers, medium spicyish but very wholesome.

​​@@alinab6571 It's done as post apocalyptic SF but the Beyond series by Kit Rocha is very spicy. Basically motorcycle gang controls one of the sectors surrounding the central city which uses its power to be control the sectors although the sectors try to use their monopolies to undermine the city. City is very puritanical while the sectors, in addition to their manufacturing, also market pleasure and hedonism (with more or less ethics and consent depending on the sector leader). The motorcycle gang has a casual attitude towards sex (including BDSM) but is serious about consent. The product they distribute to the city and other sectors is alcohol but in the club/ bar within their sector, they also have entertainment consisting largely of fights or erotic dancing. The books are romances with the individual members pairing up or finding someone outside the gang and bringing them in but over the course of the series you get the conversion from motorcycle gang into savvy sector government (including taking advantage of people's prejudices) and eventual positioning to counter the city's rule. Kit Rocha is actually a pen name for a pair of authors working together but you also have to be careful because there is another author with very similar name (possibly trying to piggy back on their success but don't know details). Edit - grammar

Bro same i bought it 4 days ago and will read it after my finals 😂

Because, those details aren't important to the storyline. The planned sex scenes in every chapter are too predictable, it feels like porn. I feel like it takes away from the intimacy of the couple. Sex sells I guess.

You're definitely not still taking about acotar, there was 1 scene with a whole lot of buildup.

This is like saying you don't understand why people don't pineapple on pizza. It's just a preference. You like smut, other people don't.

For me, it’s because I’m ace and I love romance but spice is just repulsive to me.

I'm late to the party but here is my two cents. Personally, I'm not uncomfortable with the spice per se. It's more to do with the fact that most writes have no clue how to write smutty scenes or the build up to the moment well.

Love Patricia Briggs. I will have to try out some of the other ones.

I'm so curious why you don't like the writing style? It's my first sarah j Maas series and there's just ... something ... I dont like and I can't put my thumb on it. I'm slugging through the 3rd book and have lost so much interest.

Karen Marie Moning fever series 🥵❤️

But everything in their relationship is heavily sexualized even when they're NOT 'doing it', they're thinking about or planning on or wishing they could be until I'm like: 'Do you really have anything ELSE going for you as a couple?' I mean, Rhysand even sexualizes Feyre when he was teaching her to read!

I was scrolling here looking for this information so thank you, I'm not reading books just to answer this question. Yay, context!