On Steaminess and Subjectivity

And a bit of thinking out loud

I once recommended a book for a cross country plane ride to a romance reading friend of mine. I knew it was on the steamier side but I also knew that she read a lot of open-door romance. When she got back from her trip, she told me, still sounding mildly shocked, “that book had so much sex in it”. The book, in case you’re curious, is Sweet Filthy Boy by Christina Lauren, the first installment in their Wild Seasons series. It does, in fact, have a lot of sex in it. Those scenes are really well-done and play a major part in developing the main characters’ relationship but, in retrospect, it’s perhaps not the kind of book you want to read on a plane where there’s the possibility of someone peering over your shoulder.

I do think there’s a desire among romance readers for some kind of steaminess scale, whether it’s because they’re startled by explicit scenes in a book with a cute cartoon cover or frustrated by fade-to-black in a romance where the characters are constantly talking about their intense physical connection. But it’s also an incredibly tricky task. Sometimes I even pause when differentiating between open door and closed door. If there’s one short lacking-in-detail scene with some suggestive lead-up, is that really open door? Would the readers I know who prefer closed door still enjoy it? My personal steam tolerance is very high so I have a suspicion my own sense of what’s low steam might be a bit skewed. In a lot of ways, it’s easier to identify what’s high steam, like a Tessa Bailey or Katee Robert book, than what’s low or moderate steam.

I’ve seen attempts at this, like Entertainment Weekly’s Hot Stuff romance column. They include a heat rating that goes up to five flame emojis but much to the disappointment of my librarian brain, there’s no explanation of the rating scale. I also find myself disagreeing with the ratings quite a lot. One to Watch by Kate Stayman-London, which has a very vague scene that lasts half a page before fading to black, is much less spicy than Two Wrongs Make a Right by Chloe Liese, which has several explicit, lengthy sex scenes. Yet they both received four flame emojis! (I recognize I’m a little too fixated on the flame emojis. My inner data nerd just needs some consistency.) I’ve also seen similar steam scales bouncing around Bookstagram and they’re similarly lacking in explanation.

So I’m going to attempt this potentially impossible task myself. In my mind, there’s roughly four steam categories, which I’m going to play around with for my next reading recap:

• Closed-door: exactly what it says on the tin. Anything beyond kissing happens off the page. Example: Just Like the Movies by Kerry Winfrey,

• Minimal steam: One or two short scenes where things are happening but the details are hazy. Example: Part of Your World by Abby Jimenez

• Moderate steam: One or two longer, more detailed scenes. Example: Georgie, All Along by Kate Clayborn

• High steam: Multiple explicit, lengthy scenes. Example: Heartbreaker by Sarah MacLean

I’m curious: what do you most want to know about a book’s heat level? And what makes a difference in your reading experience?

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Currently reading: The Dearly Beloved by Cara Wall. I’m only about thirty pages in but so far I love Wall’s prose and subtle characterization.

What’s bringing me joy this week:

• Rye Lane on Hulu. This is a charming romantic comedy set in North London, where two strangers end up spending the day together after an awkward meet-cute in an art gallery bathroom. I was very into the director’s visual choices—the color palette of this film is really striking—and the two lead actors and I can’t wait to see what all three of them do next.

• The pink clouds of the cherry blossom and magnolia trees in Central Park. I went for a long walk through the park and around the reservoir and it was absolutely magical.

• Once again, the Daisy Jones and the Six series. I watched the last episode on Monday and I’ve been listening to the music all week. I thought they made some very smart choices in adapting it and that Riley Keough as Daisy and Camila Morrone as Camila were just perfect.