These page-turners are turn-ons (and trending on BookTok)
They’re friends to lovers. No, they’re enemies to lovers. No, it’s a fake relationship. The classic: “Whoops, we booked a hotel room with just one bed, guess we’ve got to share it!” It’s a brooding hero with something dark up their sleeve. It’s a fantasy land where any desire can be met.
Whatever the plot, it’s hot. Smut and “spicy books” are all the rage online, with over 1.4 million posts on TikTok under the hashtag #SpicyBookTok. “Smut” dates back to the 17th century and is related to the German word schmutzen, meaning to “make obscene.” Spicy books can span genres — like romance, thriller, or fantasy — but if they contain sexually explicit scenes, they’re often referred to as smut, and readers come together to rave about these R-rated reads.
When I first came across this trend, I thought back to the Harlequin books I had seen while working at Value Village. Their over-the-top covers with delicate damsels clutching onto shiny, muscular men. Their titles, with words like, “forbidden,” “temptation,” “seduction.” $1.49 each. Seniors would shamelessly drop stacks of them on the counter as I rang them up. In the 1960s, Canadian company Harlequin was the biggest publisher of romance in the world. Flash forward to today, their website promises each story will have “one hero, one heroine, and an implied committed relationship at the end.”
Boring! The smut going viral on TikTok is not your granny’s erotic fiction novel. Books like Twisted Hate serve steamy hate-sex while Playing with Hellfire is paranormal and hot as hell. Priest delves into a priest’s triple-X confessions, making a Goodreads commenter say they felt they “should be taking a cold shower right along with Father Bell.” Innocent-looking books like Icebreaker or The Love Hypothesis are discreet enough to take on public transit, but they’re also big for their sex scenes. According to publishing company Simon and Schuster, Icebreaker has sold over 1 million copies worldwide.
These titles trend on BookTok, TikTok’s worldwide book club. Here, users share their latest reads and get new recommendations. Smut is tagged under #SpicyBookTok, where books are rated with red pepper emojis on a scale from 1 to 5. Books are reposted and shared throughout the community, eventually reaching best-seller lists. Bookstores like Indigo have dedicated sections at the front of their stores for TikTok-famous books, while ELLE reported that online sex-store Lovehoney saw a 78 per cent increase in searches for “smut books” this year.
Why is smut so popular? The Guardian says Gen Z is going through a “sex recession.” Many people are seeking out smut over a partner. It’s much easier to crack open a book than to be disappointed by dating apps or the lack of third spaces to potentially meet someone.
Also, smut is largely written and consumed by women. The genre embraces female sexuality, which has long been associated with shame. Here, women are free to express their desires and explore themselves. They get to write their own sexual narrative.
Additionally, smut can be directed from the female gaze, giving women authority over their bodies and imaginations. A Mashable article pointed out that erotica can be a way to rewrite negative sexual experiences and process trauma. Furthermore, the article mentioned that people use smut to process attacks on their sexual and reproductive rights. In this political climate, having a safe space to explore female sexuality and autonomy is incredibly important.
You can look at smut through many perspectives. Sure, it can be a trashy, dog-earred, thrifted Harlequin. It can be the cliché Fifty Shades of Grey or the latest bestseller. Smut can be empowering, silly, steamy, or not your cup of tea. Of course, it’s not all created equal. Once, my friend and I found a library book of fairy tales turned erotic. I don’t think Goldilocks and The Three Barons was “just right” for anyone.
Whether you’re on the naughty or nice list this year, you don’t have to be ashamed to add smut to your holiday wishlist. Reading is supposed to be good for the brain. Plus, it’s an escape from the real world. So go ahead, curl up, and flip the page into fantasy. In every book, there’s a climax waiting to happen.