What's the point of a sex scene, anyway?
And a few recommendations for steamy storytelling
Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about sex scenes and books that do them well. It’s a topic that’s been on my mind as I edit my novel and as I see more marketing that leans hard on smut, spice, or multiple chili pepper emojis. (Side note: can we please stop calling books smut or spicy books? We can just call them romance novels because that is, in fact, what they are.) But what frustrates me is the overreliance on a generic idea of smut instead of a focus on the unique role sex scenes can play in romance novels and their storytelling power.
Of course, not every romance novel has to be open door. In fact, I’ve read books where the physical connection between the main characters never really builds and the open door scenes feel jarring. I’ve also read closed door romances that simmer with tension and longing that’s equally satisfying, like Mimi Matthews’ wonderful Victorian romances. Ultimately, I think an open-door scene is a tool in a novel’s arsenal. Just like a passage of dazzling imagery or a chapter ending that makes the reader jaw’s drop, it’s a gift for the reader to enjoy. It’s a breathtaking moment of intimacy not just between the characters but between the characters and the reader. And it’s a crucial place for us to learn about the characters, their relationship, and why they belong together.
I don’t believe that open-door scenes necessarily have to move the plot forward or that you should only have so many in a book. But I do think that they should tell us something about our main characters and how they relate to each other and I think they should be building towards the emotional intimacy that can only come at the book’s climax. In other words, the central couple might be having sex on page 12 but still holding back from each other emotionally until page 280. Seeing people at their most stripped down, literally and figuratively, gives us rich insight into their characters and for a genre that often lives and dies by its characters, that’s a delicious present for the reader.
To be clear, if you prefer closed-door romance and all the simmering yearning it brings, that’s great! (Another volume of my closed door recommendations is coming in March.) But I want to gently encourage readers to think of sex scenes as a narrative device, to analyze their power, and to view them as another part of a romance writer’s craft to be savored. Below are a handful of high-steam books, meaning titles with multiple detailed and explicit open-door scenes, that I think use those scenes to tremendous effect.
Any Duke in a Storm by Amalie Howard: This adventure-packed historical romance set in the Caribbean in 1868 features a compelling, spiky, and ultimately tender give-and-take between its spy heroine and smuggler hero that plays out in their intimate moments just as much as in their arguments, as these two powerful people learn to be vulnerable with each other.
Sweet Filthy Boy by Christina Lauren: Mia and Ansel, the central couple of this book, go from hot one-night stand to waking up married in Las Vegas to seeing what a partnership between them might really look like over the course of a summer in Paris. A smart, funny look at what happens when fantasy becomes reality and how fantasy can make a relationship more real.
Hate to Want You by Alisha Rai: This angsty, high-drama second chance romance is intense from the very first page. Former high school sweethearts who meet up once a year in secret, and whose families now hate each other, Nicholas and Livvy can’t be together and they can’t stay away from each other. Rai’s open-door scenes capture that tension and their physical connection in all its sizzling glory.
Business or Pleasure by Rachel Lynn Solomon: A clever take on the sex lessons trope that I’ve been recommending to everyone since the minute it came out in 2023. Solomon excels at capturing the tiny awkward moments that come along with first times, the power of communication, all the different things that intimacy can mean to different people, and the intoxicating power of connection.
Let’s chat in the comments! Let me know how you read open-door scenes and which books you think do them well!
Programming note: No newsletter next week but I’ll be back on the 28th with my February reading recap!
Currently reading: Dawn by Octavia Butler, for some mind-bending sci-fi.
Recommendations, miscellany, and little bits of joy:
The Encores! series at City Center and the absolutely gorgeous theater itself. I went to see their revival of Urinetown with a friend and really enjoyed it.
Catching up on the new season of You Must Remember This, one of my all-time favorite podcasts.
The seasonal cruller at Daily Provisions, a bright passionfruit that’s a welcome splash of citrus in the midst of winter.
Finally visiting the gorgeous Rizzoli Bookstore near Madison Square Park
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I read Deep End by Ali Hazelwood this week and went in with some trepidation because I wasn’t a big fan of her last two books and had heard that this one has some pretty explicit sex scenes. I tend to prefer books that focus on yearning and pining over lots of descriptive sex scenes but l absolutely loved Deep End, partially because it does exactly what you describe, the sex scenes are part of the narrative of the romance, they serve to add context and understanding to the overall relationship and deepen the connection between the characters.
I am living NYC life vicariously through you, Natalie! We saw Urinetown twice in its initial Broadway run years ago, and we are a bit crushed that we aren’t there to see the Encores production (we love Encores!).