Booking Through Thursday: Hot Reading

Deb of Booking Through Thursday writes:

 

Well, folks, I don’t know about where you are, but right here, it’s HOT. So…when you think about “hot reading,” what does that make you think of? Beach reading? Steamy romances? Books that take place in hot climates? Or cold ones?

 

Steamy romances fit the bill right now. There is a genre of romance I deliberately avoided until this year, when I decided to stretch my reading comfort zones. I have sampled one book each by Lisa Marie Rice, Robin Schone, Pam Rosenthal, and now Jade Lee, all erotic romance writers who have received high praise for the quality of their writing. I will not argue with that, particularly in Lee’s case, although ironically I did not realise she wrote in this genre until I was well into the novel, Tempted Tigress. More about that book another day.

In well-written erotic romance sex is not titillation for its own sake nor is it filler - it has as much purpose as any other action or event. And it can be as emotional as the most tender love scene. I wish writers of literary and mainstream fiction would have the humility to analyse how a sex scene should be integrated into a story and properly turned into a device for character study. Then we would be spared groans and blushes over their ineptitude.

But here is the problem for me. Although Meredith Duran’s debut romance - The Duke Of Shadows, which I will post about on Monday - broke me out of the habit of ignoring the love scenes between a hero and a heroine I care about, my mind puts up a guard and I emotionally start backing away as I read protracted sex scenes. No matter how well-motivated, or how clever the insights afforded into the characters, or even despite the cultural philosophies they can illuminate. I can force my intellect to engage with the words, but I become like a cautious observer of style and my interest is polite.

This may change in the future. I am more comfortable in my skin now and react differently to things that utterly disconcerted me when I was younger. Still, for now, once I have finished putting down my thoughts about Tempted Tigress I will set erotic romances aside. But I can sincerely recommend the four authors I named at the beginning to those who are curious: Lisa Marie Rice for candy lovers, Robin Schone for the relationship between sex and self, Pam Rosenthal for historical fiction/regency romance enthusiasts, and Jade Lee to those with a distinct literary bent.