Romance is my go-to genre for a lot of reasons — the comfort of a guaranteed happily-ever-after. The empowerment of a narrative that can be proudly progressive or feminist or queer. The sheer joy of experiencing fictional people fall in love, and getting those butterflies in my own stomach all over again.
And then there are the sex scenes.
Listen. I love sex scenes! I enjoy them for the way they continue to develop character and provide tension (and release) in the relationship. And in case that sounds like I’m reading Playboy for the articles, I also just love it when they’re hot and unique and stay with you long after you’ve read the book.
On that note, here are five that live rent-free in my head:
- The Roommate by Rosie Danan has a DOOZY of a first sex scene. When uptight Clara moves in with porn star Josh, she can’t help but think about her own pleasure and how often she’s been, well . . . denied it. Josh promises her that he can get her off using only his hands, and without removing her underwear. You gotta love a man who can work under such constraints.
- Sometimes a good scene doesn’t even have to involve the characters having sex with each other . . . or at least, it can redefine what that means. In Ava Wilder’s How to Fake It in Hollywood, Ethan and Grey are two actors in varying stages of their careers, set up by their publicists to fake date. The very real tension between them becomes unbearable until one night, when Grey decides to give in to some self-pleasure . . . and leaves the door cracked open.
- Much like real estate, a good sex scene can be about location, location, location. That’s where Amy Lea’s Set on You takes readers with Scott and Crystal, who do a little light trespassing into a model home. When they find a giant claw-foot tub just sitting there, minding its own business . . . well, what else are they to do but use it?
- Some of my favorite scenes are ones that flow seamlessly from humor to tenderness to sensuality and back again. In my mind, no one does this better than Talia Hibbert, like in Act Your Age, Eve Brown when Jacob sits down on Eve’s bed . . . right on top of her purple, sparkly dildo. It’s silly and a little embarrassing and then, suddenly, incredibly hot.
- It’s also about what comes after the sex — whether that means the characters regret their impulse or worry about what this next step means for their relationship. In Alexandria Bellefleur’s Count Your Lucky Stars, Margot and Olivia were childhood friends and teenage loves, until they lost their way together. After they find their way back to each other as adults and hook up for the first time, Olivia catches Margot tracing their initials on her skin, mimicking the doodles she used to do back in high school. It’s a moment of true intimacy and tenderness, made all the sweeter for the contrast to the steamier parts that came before.
I could list more of these for days — it’s a crowded house in this brain and not a single dollar of rent to be found. What are some of your favorites?
Alicia Thompson’s novel Love in the Time of Serial Killers is available at Amazon and Bookshop.
