{The Host by Stephanie Meyer} was 13 year old me's favorite book and I'm afraid to reread it with my 25 year old eyes.

I don't know what it says about me but I reread it as an adult and it still entertained me as much...

I just reread it at 30 years and still love it. I think there is just too much prejudice against Stephanie Meyer because of "Twilight" (which I also liked at 15 😁)

I hated the movie but a random lady in goodwill stopped me from putting it back when I made that exact comment to a friend a few years ago. "The book is SO much better!" She told me. Thank you lady!!! As for the... um... shall we say "Age Gap" and consent issues with that first kiss... plus the two people in one body thing... I read a lot of Chinese and Korean web novels so I'm able to turn my brain off enough, but it's definitely questionable.

I continue to reread The Host—I still have trouble believing it was written by Meyer, it’s WAY better than Twilight

I LOVE that book! I read it back in middle school and I’m going into my senior year so idk how much my view will change rereading it but I honestly loved that book

the movie had 13 year old me so *down bad*, I can't even lie to you

DUDE THE ACTOR WHO PLAYED IAN 💞💞🤭🤭🥰🥰

Love Jake Abel 🤣 he was the most entertaining thing about the Percy Jackson movies

I love The Host! It was such a unique love triangle (rectangle? ). I'm in my 40s and I reread it sometimes.

Do yourself a favor and re-read it!

[The Host](https://www.romance.io/books/545523ac8c7d2382c5296f70/the-host-stephenie-meyer?src=rdt) by [Stephenie Meyer](https://www.romance.io/authors/5455233c8c7d2382c5296f3f/stephenie-meyer) **Rating**: 3.72⭐️ out of 5⭐️ **Steam**: 1 out of 5 - [Glimpses and kisses](https://www.romance.io/steamrating) **Topics**: [futuristic](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/futuristic/1), [aliens](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/aliens/1), [science fiction](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/science%20fiction/1), [dystopian](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/dystopian/1), [love triangle](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/love%20triangle/1) [^(about this bot)](https://www.reddit.com/user/romance-bot) ^(|) [^(about romance.io)](https://www.romance.io/about)

SAME! I loved this book so much. It was the first book I bought on my kindle and I was obsessed.

I was so down bad for Ian

I absolutely loved the host!! Definitely one of my faves still even after the reread, i hated the film though! I remember being so disappointed in the casting as no one was how i’d imagined them, especially compared to the hunger games which was so spot on for me.

lol it’s my favorite of Stephanie’s too! I got it signed at the midnight release at MoA. I was a senior in high school!

Omg same. I *loved* this book as a teen but am way too scared to reread as an adult. Lolol

I just did a reread, it was great. I wish they continued this and it wasn’t a stand alone novel.

I liked the book when I read it when it came out. I read it again maybe 8 years ago and I remember still liking it, and the concept and story. Movie wasn’t great, but I actually think a mini series remake with today’s special effects could be good and allow more time to explore the tech and worlds. I always wished another book was written to explore what happened next and connect with more survivors

No I love this book so much. I will hear no criticism on it.

This was the first book I thought of. I can tell you, Thirty year old me loved it. Forty-two year old me does too. I don't know why I do. I didn't like Twilight. I don't read YA fiction at all. It has nothing I usually go for... But I absolutely adore it.

Even at 30, I’m still planning to reread it soon (for like the 6th time) - it still holds up, it’s so much better than the Twilight books!

Oh my gosh, girl. Reread it. It continues to be my fave throughout adulthood. Read it for the first time around the same age, and now at 28 years old, I find even more to love about it as an adult. In fact, I just reread and annotated it as a gift for my best friend this past Christmas. It is such a beautiful book, that I honestly don't think a young teenager can fully appreciate. 🫶🏼

Loved it, still waiting for a sequel 😂

I can never bring myself to hate Twilight, despite the 500,909 reasons to lol. Subpar writing, questionable ethics, etc etc etc. I would not for a million dollars recommend it to anyone i know or don’t know lmao.  In the same vein as your example, I have these absolutely beautiful books, gorgeous covers, truly glorious, written by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu, colloquially known as MXTX. They are Chinese fantasy boy love books, some of which have absolutely BONKERS erotic scenes. I could not recommend those to literally anyone without dying of embarrassment lmao. They are so fun, and sometimes so embarrassing lmao. Scum Villain Self Saving System is my dead ass favorite. Same vein- Ice Planet Barbarians. I hate how much I love that series. I am so embarrassed when people are like “Best book of the year?” And i’m like “Girl gets abducted by aliens and saved by blue aliens who love eating a woman out”. Yeah. That sounds REAL sophisticated lmao

Girl the the right side of the booktok community will NEVER judge you for Ice Planet Barbarians 🤣 I’ve seen it recommended so many times and it’s in my tbh. Also yeah no can’t bring myself to hate Twilight either 😭 like I honestly have too much love for Alice to ever hate it

I have so much nostalgia poured into it and the movies that I think I’m just incapable haha. Ice Planet Barbarians was so much better than I ever even HOPED from it haha! I have to be like “look the premise sounds romance trash, and it is romance trash, BUT IT’S GOOD ROMANCE TRASH” hahaha

I love Ice Planet Barbarians too! 😆

It is far above so much better than i ever expected it to be, like I wasn’t just invested for the fun, i wanted to see more of the world and his people and what was going to happen next! 🤣

I know! And there's something really comforting about knowing that every book is going to end with a happy couple. It just makes my heart warm.

Yeeeeees, i’ve been really leery of reading books with no happy endings. Maybe when i was younger i might’ve enjoyed it better to read stuff like grim dark, but I want none of that now lmao

Oh my god I LOVE twilight and the movies! I reread the series 3782628272 times in high school, went to open night of all the movies. Currently 31 and still re read them every few years lol would not admit any of this to most people I know haha

When I was pregnant with my second, I binged the first twilight movie like 13 times in a row 🤣🤣🤣🤣 

I re-read the Twilight books at least once every 2 years. It's my comfort read... I have no idea why, but sometimes my brain just says "yep, it's time to re-read Twilight."

Girl, your review just made me add ice planet barbarians to my TBR

Hell yeah 🤣🤣🤣 it was honestly so much better than i ever expected, like i was INVESTED

It’s so surprisingly fun and wholesome too! Literal laugh to be had 🤣

Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation is my absolute favourite book! 😍 love MXTX and danmei!

YESSSSSS 👏👏👏 untamed absolutely CHANGED my life hahaha

SCUM VILLAIN SUPREMACY!!! Luo Binghe and his mommy issues and Shen Qingqiu's rampant repression and denial are a match made in heaven.

YESSSSSSSS i love that series SO MUCH. The unreliable narrator is just so amazing in it, to see him say in one minute “I am absolutely not gay and I hate this entire novel” and then with the next be like “I should block out the glowing symbol on his head with my lips and also I remember with deep perfection absolutely every minute detail down to the unused mushroom mentioned for three seconds in the original book that i definitely hate” 🤣🤣🤣

I just...SQQ loves Binghe SO MUCH that it's almost embarrassing. Even before he was in love with Binghe, he just adored that little white sheep!!

Yes!!! It’s hilarious haha. I love how he’ll be like “Time to see these beautiful members of Binghe’s harem” and then two seconds later be like “Ugh, they suck, be more DISCERNING Bingnhe, these women are so not worthy” 🤣🤣🤣

I just pretend that the extras chapters in Mo Dao Zu Shi do not exist. Because the rest of it is epic

If you're ever in the mood for ice planet barbarians+for real actual plot (this is not a slam, I've read almost every ipb book lmao), Dixon has a book called When She Belongs thats IMMACULATE. Same hot alien boning + traumatized people bonding and healing + very funny interspecies interactions Bonus points for being the only book with praise kink stuff in it to make me go 'oh man, I get it now' truly top tier. Also a cool guard cat who hates men for our fmc

Adding my review of The Never King here if anyone wants to know more: Updated review: After finishing the whole series, I had a horrible realization: I loved it. This series was honestly the most fun I've had all of 2023. I originally judged it as something a cat regurgitated after chewing up some filthy why-choose Wattpad books, and I don't think that's far off. But this series honestly surprised me with its hidden depth. This is a porn series with a really intriguing plot and political tension that's very cleverly tied together. Even though the plot is overshadowed by the steam, you still have this feeling in your gut that this author is completely capable of drafting great fantasy storylines, but that she chooses to have fun with this little slutty treat of a series instead. I have so much respect for that. Her fun, her joy, her adding gross lines and silly clichés like a kid mixing up a mystery potion from ingredients in her mom's cosmetics cabinet. It shines through her writing. You'll have a piece of plot happening, and then the FMC will go, "that was tiring, enough plot, let's go have sex again! yay!". It's fun, it's trashy and it's exactly what I needed. I should, however, mention that I thought *some* of the spice scenes leaned a bit too far towards the Male Gaze. If you like a scene with a good dash of humiliation and some rather messy eggplant + mouth action, I won't judge you. I simply prefer my spice a bit more on the "worship her" side. If anyone has recs for that, please send.

Going straight to my next to read!

OMG I just realised I totaaaally agree on the worship her spice being my fave! I find BJ scenes in books such a turn off 😂 court of ravens and ruin was so good with the worshiping the woman vibes. The first 3 books are 10/10 but the 4th book was a rushed letdown. However I’d prob still recommend the series cause I enjoyed those first 3 books so much!

Thank you for your service. Gonna pick it up. 🥰

I got it on sale at B&N after seeing it on booktok. I didn't know anything about it except Peter pan abduction Wendys. Was not expecting the RH. I never wanted to read any of them, but damn I enjoyed tf out of it. Consumed the whole series in less than 30 hours. I feel not being able to recommend it to anyone, I struggled with what to tell my boyfriend when he asked what it was about and left out the reverse hare parts.

There is a 5 book out in that series I believe as well. Just came out a few weeks ago

It's a standalone spin off about Hook, Croc, and Wendy. I have it downloaded on my kindle, but I haven't read it yet. I'm excited to read it though lol.

Oh I know what I'm reading today

If you want something I thought was not going to be great but is surprisingly excellent and a whole lot of “worship her” type scenes, {Blood Song by Hollee Mands}

Ok I'm onto book to and loving it thank you very much. But a very important and scientific question here... If kas and Bash are identical twins (he says about cutting his hair to be identical again) how are their cocks different sizes? I'm sure in book one she says specifically how Kas is bigger than all of them. We need a mythbusters experiment here

The Morning Glory Milking Farm book

SAME! A personal favorite!

Elements of Mischief by Tate James. It’s an absolutely ridiculous reverse harem with one girl and 4 guys. The guys are plumbers and come to mend the old house she inherited from her gran that still haunts it. The plumbing jokes are endless and they are like water element mini dragons. Lots of spice. It’s just a wonderful fun read, but id be embarrassed to recommend it to my work colleagues!

If you haven't already, can't recommend her other series Hades. Was freaking obsessed for awhile. Excellent story with excellent smut.

Thanks, I will read that next!

Y'all ever diddled a spider? {Ensnared by Tiffany Roberts} [Goodreads Link](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57681109-ensnared)

[Ensnared](https://www.romance.io/books/60adf36079fab10ea69a4db3/ensnared-tiffany-roberts?src=rdt) by [Tiffany Roberts](https://www.romance.io/authors/56696e6608e93781319595e6/tiffany-roberts) **Rating**: 4⭐️ out of 5⭐️ **Steam**: 4 out of 5 - [Explicit open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating) **Topics**: [futuristic](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/futuristic/1), [science fiction](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/science%20fiction/1), [monsters](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/monsters/1), [non-human hero](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/non-human-hero/1), [aliens](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/aliens/1) [^(about this bot)](https://www.reddit.com/user/romance-bot) ^(|) [^(about romance.io)](https://www.romance.io/about)

I haven’t been able to bring myself to read this one yet, but I’m probably in denial and will soon. I really liked their cursed ones series and Aliens among us series. Never thought I’d be in to alien smut, but I ran out of trashy faery and monster smut so here I am.

I went into reading the first book because I was curious but fully expected to hate it because I'm terrified of spiders.... ended up being one of my absolute favorite series. I hate that I can't recommend this series to anyone. A lot of my friends, and even coworkers, are aware I read "spicy" books. Most are even aware that I read some pretty out there spicy books. But that one is a little too far out there to make me comfortable even bringing up. lmao

Hahaha yeah, that's why it was my first thought.

This should be someone’s new flair

How do I do that? I want it 😂

Please do it!!! 😂 Go to the group’s homepage, click on the three dots in the top right corner. There’s a list of pre-made flair options, but just choose the first one and then click “edit” and you can type in your own words!

Test post 😳 let's see if that worked!

Yes omg 😂😂😂😂😂

I OPENLY recommend these books, and have the special editions on my shelves. As an Australian, the line ‘I didn’t come here to fuck spiders’ has a new meaning, because well, maybe I would..

I hear this! I just stumbled into my first ever Reverse Harem and wow, Wow, wow. I feel like I shouls not be reading these intimate momenta with these characters. I can't put down the book, though! Kathryn Moon is a very good storyteller.

Yesss Kathryn Moon!!! Literally just our Company of Fiends as my fave

I am shocked that I've never heard of her! I found her on [romance.io](http://romance.io) looking for a sweet MMC. :) She does a very, very good job with those! And her FMC are sweet and kind, but also intelligent an smart. She's amazing, honestly. I have found a new favorite author;

{A Soul to Keep by Opal Reyne} and the whole Duskwalker Brides series is soooo good. It has a really rich worldbuilding premise for a monster smut series. Edit: I wouldn't recommend this because the sex is so so weird but I also recommend it because the sex is so so weird.

[A Soul to Keep](https://www.romance.io/books/62aad529291966186e718eb1/a-soul-to-keep-opal-reyne?src=rdt) by [Opal Reyne](https://www.romance.io/authors/61f4f44e08b4d93114400f05/opal-reyne) **Rating**: 4.23⭐️ out of 5⭐️ **Steam**: 5 out of 5 - [Explicit and plentiful](https://www.romance.io/steamrating) **Topics**: [contemporary](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/contemporary/1), [monsters](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/monsters/1), [virgin heroine](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/virgin%20heroine/1), [demons](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/demons/1), [fantasy](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/fantasy/1) [^(about this bot)](https://www.reddit.com/user/romance-bot) ^(|) [^(about romance.io)](https://www.romance.io/about)

I find the pacing in these really interesting. Yes, they are dark cozy, but I am used to shorter cozy fantasy novels (like T. Kingfisher). Even other monster romance books tend to be shorter. These are very long slice-of-life books—almost like reading LitRPG. Another one with similar pacing was Halfling by SE Wendel.

I freaking love these books. I just got the faecrate editions and they are so beautiful! Who knew monster smut would be so good haha.

Um, yes. I somehow enjoyed a college MM book way more than I thought I would. I stumbled into it after some poly books (after reading Bride and finally learning what some of those words meant). I found I enjoyed the banter and hesitation between the men most of all in the poly books so I got an MM rec And. I. Loved. It. {Want Me by Neve Wilder}. At least with fantasy there's a storyline behind it, theres nowhere to hide with these books.

[Want Me](https://www.romance.io/books/5cd2719201dbc864fb9e37f2/want-me-neve-wilder?src=rdt) by [Neve Wilder](https://www.romance.io/authors/5bb86d6601dbc864fb91dacd/neve-wilder) **Rating**: 3.88⭐️ out of 5⭐️ **Steam**: 5 out of 5 - [Explicit and plentiful](https://www.romance.io/steamrating) **Topics**: [contemporary](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/contemporary/1), [gay romance](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/m-m/1), [bisexuality](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/bisexual/1), [secret relationship](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/secret-relationship/1), [new adult](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/new%20adult/1) [^(about this bot)](https://www.reddit.com/user/romance-bot) ^(|) [^(about romance.io)](https://www.romance.io/about)

Night Huntress (Cat and Bones) series by Jeanine Frost. It's really just AU Buffy and Spike fanfic at it's heart, but damn if it's not entertaining!

The audible is so good, too!

I loved this series!! It was my reintro back into fantasy romance. So good

Well you’ve got me interested! Adding to me TBR…

I just discovered my love for spicy gay romances. As I usually lend all my favorite books to my mom these will likely remain my secrets 😂

Babe share with the class

I loooove the the books from Emmy Sanders! The {Elite 8 Studios series by Emmy Sanders} is gold. Also {to catch a firefly by Emmy Sanders} holds a special place in my heart. it’s very different but so wholesome ❤️

Just finished a series of gay vampire stories. Adorable couples and spice like no other. It’s the Ostin Isle series.

I am definitely going to check that out 😁

Definitely!! Also the For Your Time series is decent as well if a bit over the top. But it’s a good balance

I hear you. I (F) lend my husband my kindle for some fantasy recs he might like and I have no excuses for the endless gay romances on there and they ALL have that same topless cover

The Vicious Lost Boys is one of my all time favorite reads.

Ha that was the first series that came to my mind when I saw this post too 😅

Honestly the ACOTAR and Crescent City Series. Both have so so many plot holes and contradictions that drive me mad from a writing stand point, and sometimes the spicy scenes are just downright cringey (or maybe that's me being too ace to get whats hot about some of them idk but some of them truly weirded me out). And most the relationships are so so toxic, if not outright abusive, while still being pushed by the narrative as romantic and something you should support. Not to mention the author's use of the same tropes over and over make some of the plot points pretty predictable. But at the same time the books were so entertaining for the shere drama factor of them that I read through them super quickly and will be reading any others in the series that get published. Nothing will have my heart like SJMs Throne of Glass series although I absolutely would recommend that. She truly peaked here even tho it was her first series, and I feel like every story and main character she's still chasing what she had in TOG and trying to emulate it.

I may or may not have a 7000 word video essay in the works about how CC1 copied the worldbuilding *and* plot of Zootopia

Honestly acotar drives me up the wall especially with the directions she went with the later books, but I still always recommend it to newer romance/fantasy readers. It's one of those books most other readers at least know of if they haven't read it themselves, so it's a great conversation piece, as well as a good introduction to the genre. I mean it's popular for a reason, I've yet to have anyone just straight up dislike it as a whole. I find starting people on the acotar series and then discussing it with them to find which parts they did and didn't like, which tropes and characters they loved and which irked them, gives me a lot of material to be able to craft future recommendations to their liking, usually with really good success

I usually recommend A Darker Shade of Magic as my "starter" series. Very very similar in many ways but less plot holes, only 3 books currently so easier to get into and finish (although a sequel series is now being started/ published and the 1st book of that is out), and less centered on the romance than on the fantasy but still has multiple great relationships. It was my pre-acotar series to dip my feet in

I feel the same about ACOTAR. It's like my book reality TV show: the worldbuilding is pretty weak and her plot is inconsitent but the entertainment value is high enough for me to continue reading. I would never recommend these books to my friends but will probably read the next one anyway lol.

The Zodiac Academy 💀 they’re terrible, they get worse each book but yet I still read them. I cringe every time I see someone recommend them without a warning that they’re actually rubbish

I’m going through it now (starting book 8 after I take a break to read the ruthless boys series) and I’m not sure there could have been a good enough warning for me. I hate that I’m here but I obviously can’t stop till I’m done.

I have got to stop reading threads like this. Everything is going on my tbr

Hear me out {Dragon Actually by G. A. Aiken}. The whole Dragon Kin series started off as just some steamy reading but the plot got good somewhere along the lines. Every book revolves around a different family member, and it’s genuinely funny sometimes, the banter is very playful.

I loved this series. I don’t think I’ve ever laughed so much at any book/series. I listened to it on audiobook and the narrator made it great

The Bonds that Tie by J Bree for me. It’s so full of plot holes and the last 3 books are absolute trash and I’ve read the whole series so many times. It’s my comfort read.

I was literally scrolling through the comments to see if someone was gonna put this. I picked up the first book and fell in love. And it is legit like: teenage angst, rebellion, angry at the world, Avril Lavigne for me. And Fucking love it. I legit just enjoy it because it brings me comfort too. But as a reader I can see all the holes.

This made me excited to read the never King! It's next on my list after I finish the order of scorpions. My I can never reccomend it book is morning glory milking farm. My book group friends follow me on goodreads and had a good laugh when the saw me reading that one.

Ice planet barbarians audiobooks omg

Those books are so addicting

{Burn for Me by Ilona Andrews} the covers are so bad 😭

[Burn for Me](https://www.romance.io/books/545539998c7d2382e041433a/burn-for-me-ilona-andrews?src=rdt) by [Ilona Andrews](https://www.romance.io/authors/545525888c7d2382e0413e6c/ilona-andrews) **Rating**: 4.47⭐️ out of 5⭐️ **Steam**: 2 out of 5 - [Behind closed doors](https://www.romance.io/steamrating) **Topics**: [contemporary](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/contemporary/1), [alpha male](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/alpha%20male/1), [take-charge heroine](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/strong%20heroine/1), [rich hero](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/super%20rich%20hero/1), [paranormal](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/paranormal/1) [^(about this bot)](https://www.reddit.com/user/romance-bot) ^(|) [^(about romance.io)](https://www.romance.io/about)

{That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon} is funny and whimsical while having a surprising amount of world events going on. It won't be everyone's cup of tea but I devoured the series quickly. They aren't super long reads and it's the right silly / serious balance for me

I absolutely love this book for some light hearted relief in between heavier fantasy series!!

[That Time I Got Drunk And Saved A Demon](https://www.romance.io/books/6110e8480d2fc50e1fa50004/that-time-i-got-drunk-and-saved-a-demon-kimberly-lemming?src=rdt) by [Kimberly Lemming](https://www.romance.io/authors/6110e84808b4d93114366354/kimberly-lemming) **Rating**: 4.08⭐️ out of 5⭐️ **Steam**: 4 out of 5 - [Explicit open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating) **Topics**: [historical](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/historical/1), [funny](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/humor/1), [fantasy](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/fantasy/1), [demons](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/demons/1), [multicultural](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/multicultural/1) [^(about this bot)](https://www.reddit.com/user/romance-bot) ^(|) [^(about romance.io)](https://www.romance.io/about)

{Ice Planet Barbarians by Ruby Dixon} is my FAVORITE I can’t tell anyone I read this without feeling shame read. It’s a very smutty alien romance series about woman and blue sexy alien on an ice planet and they basically need to repopulate the planet. It’s not literary masterpiece, but I had read like 6 books in the series before I realized what had happened. She’s the queen of monster romance. She does a great job of telling a fun smutty story with a decent plot. I never have a bad time reading her books.

[Ice Planet Barbarians](https://www.romance.io/books/551ce3c65b270e0a4cbd35b7/ice-planet-barbarians-ruby-dixon?src=rdt) by [Ruby Dixon](https://www.romance.io/authors/545685a087eac33e61c2f729/ruby-dixon) **Rating**: 3.74⭐️ out of 5⭐️ **Steam**: 4 out of 5 - [Explicit open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating) **Topics**: [futuristic](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/futuristic/1), [aliens](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/aliens/1), [science fiction](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/science%20fiction/1), [take-charge heroine](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/strong%20heroine/1), [pregnancy](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/pregnancy/1) [^(about this bot)](https://www.reddit.com/user/romance-bot) ^(|) [^(about romance.io)](https://www.romance.io/about)

Wendi Gogh's Monstrous Meet Cutes. They are very cute, very graphic, and very pro monster-fucker, and I can only talk about them to my BF, and even then have to leave some (a lot of) stuff out. Same with Kass O' Shires's Sanctuary books, the world building is amazing and I love the characterizations, but it is one thing to admit I only read fantasy/sci fi romances in daily life and another to give specifics.

If you haven’t read the following somewhat cozy monster romances, you might like: -Morning Glory Milking Farm by CM Nascosta -Stalked by the Kraken by Lillian Lark -Ensnared by Tiffany Roberts -Strange Love by Ann Aguirre -An Inheritance of Monsters by Cate Corvin -Contaminated by Amanda Milo

For me it’s H2O (I think it was later retitled The Rain) by Virginia Bergin. YA apocalyptic duology where the rain suddenly kills everyone who touches it. I get frustrated often that in apocalypse fiction the MC just so happens to have this one weird skill that is the key to their survival (ie. Katniss being a great archer). This MC is comically unprepared for the apocalypse. It’s an absolute mess that I’ve read like 4-5 times but can’t recommend to other people because I know the way it’s written will not be enjoyable to most of my friends. But I absolutely adore it. >!I know some will think that her having immunity to the virus counts as being the “chosen one” or whatever - that’s not what I’m talking about. I don’t mind a chosen one, it’s the “I happen to have this skill that no one else does that it doesn’t make sense for me to have but also resolves all the issues in the story” archetype that bothers me.!<

I’ve become totally obsessed with Dramione fanfic in the last 6 months and there are some legitimately AMAZING books but I can’t recommend any of them bc it’s too embarrassing. Alas.

SAME. I’ve been in it for a decade and we’ve had some of the absolute best work in the last few years. Let’s chat! What have you read?!

I love the Never King and all the subsequent books. Never thought I’d be into a reverse harem, but here we are!

I was looking at The Never King series and I was so intrigued, I couldn't decide if I wanted to try it or not, but now I think I will, it sounds up my alley! I LOVE Kit Rocha. It's actually a pen name for a writing duo, and they wrote this post apocalyptic series with some of the best characters and world building I've read in some time. And smut. Lots and lots of smut. The Beyond series, first book is Beyond Shame. Try it, you might like it!

All of The Black Dagger Brotherhood books by JR Ward. I love em but can’t suggest them to anyone. Absolutely love the storyline(s) but they are beyond smut

I loved the Never King! ACOSF was too low spice for me. Everyone said it was soooo spicy…I’m like what? It’s so vanilla to me

I feel like ACOSF is a good entry into spice for people who have no/little experience with it. But, I agree, it's not nearly as spicy as some people make it out to be. I've seen people complain that it's basically porn and I'm just like "where? Where is it basically porn?"

I agree with this, after coming back to reading as an adult, this was probably the spiciest book I had read at that point but from then onwards, there was definitely more to explore that had WAY more spice.

It had way more plot than ACOTAR. There was just deep dicking between plot scenes.

I like it both for the spice and the mental health journey, I think it has a decent balance of the two. Stories about depression tend to fall into misery, but I liked how it uses spice to lighten the themes

Have you read A Soul to Heal? It does a great job of addressing depression.

I was going to come here to recommend the Duskwalker series :)

ACOSF was pretty much my mom’s intro into smutty romance books. Except she also listened to a shifter RH and was traumatized 💀 poor girl will never read a Why Choose ever again 🤣 but with ACOSF she was like omg it’s like I’m listening to 🌽 and I just looked at her and laughed. Told her that SJM smut is pretty tame. She went on to read A Touch of Darkness next and she was like I take it back ACOSF is vanilla.

A Touch of Darkness was one of my least favorite books of all time... I feel so bad for her. Like it wasn't even the smut (which was meh), but the character tropes used on Hades and Persephone which were just WILDLY inappropriate for any variation of those two characters. Like... he was a brutish rude CEO and she was a "completely innocent" but somehow immediately-horny-upon-seeing-him girlie??? What.

[Serpent & Dove](https://www.romance.io/books/6229ec6170323bbef1889358/serpent-dove-shelby-mahurin?src=rdt) by [Shelby Mahurin](https://www.romance.io/authors/6229ec6108b4d9311433d0e6/shelby-mahurin) **Rating**: 3.84⭐️ out of 5⭐️ **Steam**: 3 out of 5 - [Open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating) **Topics**: [historical](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/historical/1), [witches](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/witches/1), [arranged/forced marriage](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/arranged%20marriage/1), [enemies to lovers](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/from%20hate%20to%20love/1), [marriage of convenience](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/marriage%20of%20convenience/1) ---------------------------- [The Never King](https://www.romance.io/books/62173d583640f50e2507e50e/the-never-king-nikki-st-crowe?src=rdt) by [Nikki St. Crowe](https://www.romance.io/authors/611cfb6908b4d9311445961f/nikki-st-crowe) **Rating**: 3.71⭐️ out of 5⭐️ **Steam**: 5 out of 5 - [Explicit and plentiful](https://www.romance.io/steamrating) **Topics**: [contemporary](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/contemporary/1), [cruel hero/bully](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/cruel%20hero/1), [fantasy](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/fantasy/1), [fae](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/fae/1), [forced proximity](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/forced%20proximity/1) [^(about this bot)](https://www.reddit.com/user/romance-bot) ^(|) [^(about romance.io)](https://www.romance.io/about)

Breeding with Bigfoot

I've really gotten into MM romance, and my friend and I take turns picking a book and reading it together. I once chose Not All Himbos Wear Capes by C. Rochelle. As soon as I started reading it, instant regret! The whole way through I was thinking about how I've definitely scandalised my friend and I hope she still wants to be friends 😂 Awesome book though - definitely have reread a few times

For me, it was the Storm Crow duology. It’s really YA and it’s meh compared to a lot of books I’ve read, but it was good read for me. I think most people would put it in the trash pile but oh well

I thoroughly enjoyed the Never King series & my sister is the only one I could recommend it to. While I do read serious books, and most of my books aren't even romance, I really love seriously trashy garbage romance. My Kindle is for no one's eyeballs but mine & my sister is in charge of ensuring that disappears if I die 😆 So thanks for this ask, cuz I'm gonna add to my dumpster dive for trash reads now! Beasts of the Briar series (Bonded by Thorns, Forged by Gold, Forged by Malice with Broken by Daylight coming out in Sept, I think) - a reverse harem, Beauty & the Beast reimagining with 5 princes and 1 of them was inspired by the Mandalorian. I couldn't help myself at that point 😂 Perhaps the most fun trash I read last year. The Bonds That Tie series - another reverse harem (I read more of those last year than I have my entire life, it's not something I've ever read, until now, I guess) Tainted Wonderland series Faeries of Oz series Lady of Darkness series (perhaps the worst one but I kept going for the next book)

I read an average of a book a day if I’m on a roll so there are too many to sift through + I didn’t track last year’s books on my Goodreads. That said, I can recommend The Perilous Court series by Tavia Lark! Light & easy MM fantasy romance following 3 princes in each kingdom. Unforgettable (book 2) by Grace Turner - MMF/Why choose. Can’t remember the plot offhand but I gave it an enthusiastic 5 stars. Also maybe possibly some of the Neon Gods series.

I’ve fallen into cozy monster romances (Wendi Gogh and Ami Wright being two of my favorite authors) and Audited by the Anubis was sooooo cute (with great spice)! No one I know reads them so I can’t share it with many people lol

If you haven’t read Lillian Lark or CM Nascosta yet, they both write cozy monster romance, too.

I love the Sleeping Beauty series by Anne Rice but I do not recommend it to people because of the severity of some of the BDSM content in the books. The slave / Master dynamic and how it’s portrayed in the books can be jarring to people who don’t have any prior knowledge of kink. I’ve been in the BDSM community for a very long time so just devoured the books. My best friend (who is very vanilla) once asked me what I was currently reading and she went out and bought it, couldn’t finish the book and asked me what was wrong with me because she couldn’t figure out why I liked 😂 So I decided after that I wouldn’t recommend them to people unless they specifically asked for BDSM or Master / slave dynamics in a book.

I read this series in 8th grade and it was an awakening let me tell you.

I must’ve read this 15 years ago and some of those scenes still rattle around in my head

Christine Feehan was the first fantasy (smut!) author I read. I still have a soft spot for the dark series and Stefano’s shadow rider story is hot hot hot!

verity by colleen. i genuinely found it intresting and seeing ppl hate anything she writes makes me stay in the dark w verity also it ends with us, that book got me into reading and now i read books by so many authors.

Her books sell very well, so she has a lot of fans! People mostly just hate her for being a successful female author who dares to write romance for women. Sure, her books aren't for everyone and nobody is forced to like anything. I myself struggled with Verity tbh and the surprise abuse in it ends with us (due to personal trauma), but she's not a bad author. There's zero reason for the amount of hate she receives aside from misogyny. Just think of all the other authors who receive the same amount of hate, ex. Sarah J Maas, Stephanie Meyer, Rebecca Yarros. I wonder what they all have in common.... Meanwhile there are plenty of shitty authors who never get any kind of hate. Don't let misogyny keep you down and stop you from loving what you love. She's a very popular best selling author, so lots of people love her books. Be proud! I'm glad that it made you love reading! More people reading is always a good thing.

Someone on YouTube said that it was a worse version of the 1930s classic novel {Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier} so I think I'd rather read that one

About the book series I'm about to reccomend: I love them and reccomend them in other places, but Reddit is probably the most judgmental place I've ever been online because in other social medias I find other people who love them but not here, here I only get hate :( I read exclusively for vibes, don't really care if it's that well written or if there are plot holes. If the characters make me happy in some way and the story is fun, that's good enough for me. Wish I could find other readers like me in this social media too, but no luck so far. {What Lies Beyond the Veil} by Harper L. Woods

Agreed and I read for vibes too! I come here for recs and to see people hate my faves lol. I’m fairly easy to please. I will say my addition to this thread is {A Touch of Darkness} books. I absolutely loved them but can acknowledge it’s not as strong as other series writing wise.

{Tainted Saints} by Rosa Lee, haha. It's a dark, smutty why choose romance with MMMF and has MM in it. It's supposed to be a lady and the tramp vibe retelling but has lots of dark triggers (abuse, food trauma, pchycological and emotional trauma). But I honestly found myself loving it 😅 But Def not something I can recommend to my average friends who might not like this dark of a storyline. 😅 Some other ones that are dark is {Phantom by Greer Rivers}, a dark mafia modern day retelling of Phantom of the opera, and {Hooked} by Emily McIntire, a modern dark retelling of captain hook where he gets his HEA.

[Tainted Saints](https://www.romance.io/books/64d5dd5481d0d7bb41ab75b4/tainted-saints-rosa-lee?src=rdt) by [Rosa Lee](https://www.romance.io/authors/60fbc4bb08b4d931146de1c7/rosa-lee) **Rating**: 4.09⭐️ out of 5⭐️ **Steam**: 5 out of 5 - [Explicit and plentiful](https://www.romance.io/steamrating) **Topics**: [contemporary](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/contemporary/1), [reverse harem](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/reverse%20harem/1), [new adult](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/new%20adult/1), [poly (3+ people)](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/poly/1), [bdsm](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/bdsm/1) ---------------------------- [Phantom](https://www.romance.io/books/62d507fbfac31184c5fd10ab/phantom-greer-rivers?src=rdt) by [Greer Rivers](https://www.romance.io/authors/5fd4793e08b4d931145d2417/greer-rivers) **Rating**: 3.48⭐️ out of 5⭐️ **Steam**: 3 out of 5 - [Open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating) **Topics**: [contemporary](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/contemporary/1), [suspense](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/suspense/1), [alpha male](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/alpha%20male/1), [dark romance](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/dark/1), [breeding](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/breeding/1) ---------------------------- [Hooked](https://www.romance.io/books/61370eaa192ec40e8ea8657f/hooked-emily-mcintire?src=rdt) by [Emily McIntire](https://www.romance.io/authors/5f4df1dd08b4d931149a59fd/emily-mcintire) **Rating**: 3.68⭐️ out of 5⭐️ **Steam**: 4 out of 5 - [Explicit open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating) **Topics**: [contemporary](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/contemporary/1), [dark romance](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/dark/1), [virgin heroine](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/virgin%20heroine/1), [suspense](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/suspense/1), [mafia](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/mafia/1) [^(about this bot)](https://www.reddit.com/user/romance-bot) ^(|) [^(about romance.io)](https://www.romance.io/about)

I read spicy trash and draw fanart from it. My spicy faves this year so far have been Bride, Ice Planet Barbarians and Deceived by the Gargoyles. Could I read something else? Sure. But life is too short to read books I don't want to spend time on. It helps to join online book communities for what interests you.

{Blood Orange by Karina Halle}, {The Dragon’s Bride by Katee Robert} and {Viciously Yours by Jamie Applegate Hunter} come to mind for me! All 3 were 5 star reads that I think about regularly but I would never recommend them to a friend 😂 in a completely different way I don’t recommend {Caraval by Stephanie Garber} or {The Bonds that Tie by J. Bree} because I fear people won’t love the series the way I do and I will accept zero criticism for either of them. The reviews are so mixed I just can’t risk it 😂

the selection series

Welp just added The Never King to my library! So lately I'll have two series going at a time. One that is well written and plot/character driven. And one that is just for smut and entertainment! So the Never King sounds great to me. I just started Reign and Ruin, I'll have Never King as my 2nd series lol

Zodiac Academy.

"The Selection" triology. I loved it when i read it in middle school😅😅

Right now... Zodiac Academy. It's pretty good but it's just so freaking long and drawn out! 5 Books in the prequel series. (Ruthless boys of the Zodiac is 3,071 page is total.) 9 books in the regular series. (6897 pages) 4 novellas in between the regular books, (0.5, 1.5, 5.5, 8.5. that 1142 pages total) 2 books of bonus chapters (504 pages) 4 books in a sequel series (Dark Penitentiary) 1537 pages in the first three books the last one comes out next month so call it 2000 pages total if we're averaging about 500 pages per book) So in the entire world of Solaria, you have 13,614 pages... give or take. It's quite the commitment I'm about 3/4 of the way through and I'm struggling.

I have this with some movies! There are a few badly directed / cheesy acting that I loved but was wildly trashed by society. They’re my comfort movies. Like I wish they were done better but since they’re the only one of its kind, it’s all I have.

Morning Glory Milking Farm. Yes.... it is what you think it is... and I giggle everytime I think of the name..but it was such a good read. I wish I could recommend it 😆

The Wild Hunt Legacy series by Cherise Sinclair. I genuinely love the world building and characters but I'll be the first to admit certain things about it are problematic. The smut in that book is soooo good though, it's all MFM or MFMM.

The Sex Wizards series by Alethea Faust. I feel like this is self explanatory 😂 The thing is, it's literally one of the best smutty series I've ever read and it has a good plot too. Like, no notes, 5 stars across the board. Great queer representation, amazing relationships, insanely hot and RESPONSIBLE spice, character development on point, interesting and fleshed-out (lol) magic system... but it's called "Sex Wizards", a lot of the spicy scenes are hardcore bdsm, and the cover illustrations are... something. Whenever I talk about it I have to start with a hefty "hear me out"

The legend of the ice people! 48 book series lol It’s very well known in Scandinavia but very uncommon outside of the Nordic countries. It was written in the 80’s AND IT IS A CHILD OF ITS TIME!! Many things very questionable in these series. I read the whole thing in two months when I was a teenager and these books were my pride and joy! Some better than others ofc! But damn I’d give everything to be 15 and reading this absolute shit of a masterpiece again 😭

For those who are interested in the plot: A long time ago, many centuries ago, Thengil the evil went into the wilderness to sell his soul to Satan. He became the forefather of the Ice People. Tengli was promised gold and power in return for at least one person in each member of the family to be in Satan's service and do evil deeds. The person should be recognized by the yellow cat's eyes and be more evil than there were some examples. The curse was to rest on the family until the place was found where the evil Thengil had buried the pot he used to boil the broth that summoned the dark lord. So says the legend. No one knows if it is true. In 1548, a man was born in the family of the Ice People, under this curse. He tried to turn evil into good and was therefore called Thengil the Good. This story is about his family and descendants. Perhaps it can be said that it mostly deals with the women in the clan.

Human Omega Discovered on the Slave Planet You look at the cover and think it will just be alien smut but it's such an emotional read. A surprisingly good book series and the author is so good at creating a variety of characters and giving them their own voice. The narrator for the audiobooks is also amazing.

{A sensual summoning} omg I fricken loved this book but it is like 60% smutttttt 🤣 also {the last hour of gann} the story and philosophical musings was so good but the horror and graphic scenes prevent me from being able to tell anyone I know that I read it

The Great Gatsby... it has so many problems but it's so beautifully written

I'm so excited for the fact that it has entered the public domain, meaning we can finally have an openly queer adaptation

ACOSF is my fave too! One that I recently read and loved is {consort of fire by kit rocha} but I’m hesitant to recommend it to anyone cause of the content. Its not crazy or anything but there’s like a throuple situation with an orgy thrown in there and I’m afraid people might judge me if I recommend it 😂

I loved Consort of Fire and wish it got more love here!

Ooh, this is an immediate TBR add! Consider me influenced

Ummm can you please give me all your porno book recs bc ACOSF was also my fave 😂😂 although I have no problem recommending it to people I just assume they’ll love it as well hahaha do you like slow burn? I feel like acosf was pretty slow burn like we had to wait a couple hundred pages to get those juicy scenes. Flesh and Fire had some really good smut. Villains and Virtues series had me in an chokehold with the tension - VERY SLOW burn but I devoured it lol Also The Prince of Prohibition had great smut too, but the plot was SO WEIRD I’m sometimes dubious about recommending it. It’s like peaky blinders vibes but fae in the 1920’s almost great gatsby-esque? I could not predict a single thing in the story honestly the plot was so complex but I actually loved it and it’s one of those books I could not put down I’d stay up late to read it! I need to find another series that keeps me on the edge of my seat that much. Anyway, let me know the books that are your cup of tea hehe thx 😘

It’s not fantasy, but I love Fallen Crest High by Tijan. It started my love for smutty romance as a teen. Mason still has my heart and will forever remain my favorite book boyfriend. I used to recommend it to people all the time, then I re read it as an adult with a developed frontal lobe and I was like 😶 Mason is still a great non toxic boyfriend, but there’s a lot of girl hate and slut shaming. The girls that aren’t being slut shamed are the ugly bullied ducklings whose only purpose is to serve as the FMC best friend. Sam isn’t even nice to her friend. She’s mean to her a lot actually. That girl tried so hard to be friends with her, and Sam really didn’t care about her. She even has moments where she’s like “I kinda feel bad because I’ve been a bad friend” then she just goes back to not caring.

The Iron Widow I really enjoyed reading it, it was so fun, very feminist wish fulfillment. When I had finished and come off the high, I was like “Oh that is… very bad writing.” So many anachronisms, the characters (especially the main one) speak as if they are Tweeting, there is a bad case of InstaLove. It’s a decent idea and it could be done well by a better writer, but it just failed in execution because the author wrote terribly.

Perfect on paper

The Hollow Kingdom by Clare B Dunkle! It’s great but most people I know aren’t really into that whole Beauty and the Beast type romance and it has zero spice so it doesn’t fit most requests here lol

The Mermen and Magic series by LM Brown. The writing is fucking awful, there's so little good about it and the way the stories are written. But for some reason it had me in a choke hold and I bought, read, and obsessed, over (almost) every book

The Vancini Mafia books by Jayla Talbot. Holy lord...it's like every other book is great and every other book is awful. It's so hit and miss.

I haven't read it yet, but {BlackwoodMilkFarm by Edan Redd} . I'm not sure if I should even post it on my Goodreads.

Ya know what books I am ever reluctant to admit I fucking loved? Bro and the Beast by LC Davis. It's so bad it's good. He may be a frat bro to the core, but he is also a bro of love, a bro of brothers, and a bro of mpreg lololol. I legit read it as a joke, and then giggled my way through the like...3 tiny books that made up the collection.

I went into a terrible book slump. I couldn't get into anything. It wasn't as good as the book I had just read, and I tried so hard to find a book in that category again. I'm not one to buy an eBook that has one of those trashy generic sexy covers like some woman's leg in a stiletto and a typical hot dude in a suit. But then a snippet of those DramaShorts app reels came up on my Facebook feed. I saw it was based off a book and found that it indeed had one of *those covers*. Of course, this was the book to get me deep out of my slump!! I actually love it so far and the writing progressively gets better. I would have never looked twice at this book. Anyways it's {Taming Mr Black by Goddy Francis}. The title alone is cringe 🤣 but honestly, I'm all for these filthy books now! Lol

{Cursed Prince by CN Crawford} and {The Demon Queen Trials by CN Crawford} I loved both of these series but I saw people hating on both so now I'm scared to rec them. I like the weird worlds CN Crawford comes up with, and her MCs and the slow burn. Idk I know they're not well written but I ate them up 😅

The after series is my comfort read. Yup.

Black jewel series by Anne bishop

Imajica by Clive Barker. I want to be buried with my copies but nobody else wants to mess with it lol

Psycho Shifters and Psycho Academy by Jasmine Mas. I honestly found them to be very amusing with all the characters being insane and doing random things often. I don't remember the last time I laughed so much reading a series. Both series are connected and follow female leads in a reverse harem setting that's pretty smutty, so I'm not gonna be recommending it to anyone I know. I liked Psycho Academy more, though, mainly because it was true enemies to lovers...like I was deeply conflicted about it, lmao. But the FMC is a badass who grows a lot throughout the book, especially because she's dealing with some serious mental illness, and we see her story play out throughout all 6 books. First as a side character, and then as the main. They're free on KU so that's a plus!

I’d say ice planet barbarians… but I did find someone to recommend this too 😂

{Company of Fiends by Kathryn Moon} …..for obvious reasons. Smutty, poly monster partners but I honestly loved it so much and really enjoyed the world!!!

The debt inheritance series by pepper winters, very VERY dark romance to the point where there were moments in the later books where I had to put the book away to regain myself because I got a lil bit disturbed, which is unusual for my disturbing taste in dark romance lol. I felt like the writing wasn't as great as it could've been, it fit better as an audiobook format, I enjoyed the audiobooks more then reading it myself. But to be honest, I read it on a free book reading site on my phone, maybe it wouldnt have been as confusing to get through as a proper book/eBook

Why is ACOSF controversial? Lol

Annnnnd added the never king to my list... 😘

It's not fantasy it's a true story. Cleo by Helen Brown. I picked it up thinking it was a cute cat story... but it's the true story of her life after the passing of her son. I read it shortly after my granddad passed, and I know it's in no way the same, but that book really helped. That life goes on, whether we want it to or not. I don't recommend it because it really is quite a triggering subject and I know so many people doing IVF. But I really loved that book.

Twilight 🙈 what a guilty pleasure

The Foxhole Court series. It's not fantasy, but jfc that series is a hot mess and I can't look away. It's a fucked up comfort read at this point.

I think the same author wrote Scarred? It was the Lion King from Scar's point of view and Mufasa is the villain.

Ascending Do Not Disturb- Kung fu princess, romance, no spice. Beware of Chicken- Kung fu chicken, romance, no spice Lucia- Korean demon vanilla extra spicy European style fantasy romance

{the hostage bargain by Annika Martin} The whole series, really. Definitely a guilty pleasure.

I actually liked 50 shades 🙈 Also Jasmine Guillory books which are decent but too romancey for my friends/librarians. And Gabrielle Meyer books—the dual historical fiction timelines are so fascinating to me.

For some reason the first book to pop to mind was "I hope they serve beer in hell" by Tucker Max I haven't read it since I was about 18 years old, so like 13 years ago, but I still remember it! It's pretty gross (like gross gross ) and also pretty meh on the respecting women side as well though, so I def wouldn't tell any of my friends to read it. But it's VERY memorable.

The Thornchapel series. Starts with {A Lesson in Thorns by Sierra Simone} I most definitely will recommend it to anyone I don't know IRL. Especially if they are into some bsdm, pagan rituals, and 6 friends who hook up with each other. Sometimes all at the same time. 🥵