Last week I read About That Night by Julie James. James writes sexy contemporary romances. Her characters are strong and her dialogue is some of the most witty I’ve read in contemporary romance. I love her books. I’d recommend them to anyone looking for strong, smart characters, witty dialogue and a sexy story.
Notice I used the word “sexy” to describe her books? They are. Very sexy. But you know what? There isn’t a lot of sex in her books. In Just the Sexiest Man Alive, her debut, there was no sex at all. It was alluded to at the end, but that’s it. Everything was off scene. In her following releases, Practice Makes Perfect, Something About You and A Lot Like Love, there’s some sex A few scenes and that’s it. About That Night was a little spicier, but pretty tame by romance standards today. And you know, I still find her books sexy. As a matter of fact, I think her stories are stronger for it.
Listen, I like sex as much as the next girl. Maybe even more than. But I’m tired of sex in my romance. Yes, I said it. I’m tired of sex in romance. Or, to be more exact, I’m tired of too much sex in my romance. 90% of the novels I read have more sex than story. Lately I find myself skimming those scenes, if not flat out skipping them altogether. And you know what I’ve realized? If you take out the sex, there often isn’t much left.
Don’t misunderstand, I’m not saying I want to go back to the fade-to-black novels of yore – but is it too much to ask for a little romance with my sex?
What do you think? Are you tried of having all lovin and no story? Or am I off my rocker?
I have to agree with you to a point. Depending on the book I’ll usually read the first sex scene…maybe another after that. If there’s more and I’m not really into the story then I skip it all together. Now, if the story is really moving me and I’m completely emotionally involved? I won’t skip a single word. lol
And I LOVE James’s books, with or without sex. 🙂
I completely agree with you on this one. I actually prefer that sex be kept to a minimum or even off-page – I want the story that builds up to the act….but I don’t need to read about the act to enjoy the story. A also admit to skimming those scenes in my books.
I think it was Jill Shalvis that posted a question on facebook not too long ago to readers about sex in their romances?? Whether they like their romances sweet or spicy? I answered somewhere in between – I like the story, but skim through the sexier stuff.
I’m perfectly happy with one. Sometimes, two, if it REALLY works for the story. More than that, I’m not interested and skim. There are, as always, exceptions, but like you, I’m there for the romance, not the sex. A great author will make the latter contribute to the former, but not all authors are great.
I completely agree with everything you said! 🙂
I completely agree with you although i find that i DO need a sex scene or two in my books but not five or six or seven…. or even pages and pages of it.
So true! In too many books sex seems to represent that they really love each other and cannot stay away. But I actually feel it is suspect. I want the book to convince me that they will be OK outside the bedroom, once the first rush of attraction settles. And sex scenes without proper emotional build-up to support them just get boring.
I like the sex scenes myself. I do like them to move the plot forward but I’m quite happy to read a romance where there is character/relationship development in the sex scenes (eg KA Mitchell – if you took out the sex scenes there wouldn’t be much left but they’re not just gratuitous, they’re there to drive the story as it is, in part, how the characters communicate).
If I’m generally bored with a book or otherwise not enjoying it, I MIGHT skip a sex scene (or DNF the book) but otherwise, I never do!! 😀
I hate when sex is substituted for romance. But if the love scenes and sexual tension enhance the romance — and are kept at a reasonable minimum — all the better.
I recommend Kaki Warner’s historical westerns. Like James, she does a good job of sexy without much sex.
I find it almost refreshing these days to read a “sweet” romance. I really don’t miss the detailed sex scenes at all. I mean, how many variations are there really on “insert Tab A into slot B”? I think the main reason I’m tired of the neverending smexing is that I find myself resenting all of the wasted pages that could have been used for character or plot development instead. Don’t get me wrong, I have no objection to the occasional love scene, I just wish there was more balance.
I’ve noticed that there are a lot more love scenes in romance novels these days and I have to wonder if that’s the reason I read a lot more YA books now. I’m not sure but I do get tired of reading the bajillion love scenes in a book that isn’t even that long. I find that the books that I’ve enjoyed the most in the past couple of years were books that didn’t have very many sex scenes at all.
Like you, while I wouldn’t want love scenes to go away completely, it would be nice if there was more story than sex.
I don’t like books with sex scene after sex scene and they’re all similar. If there’s gonna be more than one, they gotta be different and they can’t be too close together. There’s gotta be a reason for the sex…not just to fill pages.
If you take out the sex, there often isn’t much left.
This is the crux of it. The sex should enhance the relationship, not BE the relationship.
I completely agree. And it’s one of the reasons that I still enjoy reading Harlequin lines like SuperRomance. The romance is the key.
Oh, and completely agree on James’ books. *love*
I go back and forth. How’s that for wishy-washy? I love sexual tension and some sex scenes, but some authors go too far.
I just re-read Devil’s Bride and still love that book. But in her more recent books, when the characters start getting sexy with each other, it takes over the plot – sex starts by page 100 and then the plot practically disappears.
And yet, I don’t generally get into anything so sweet that the H&H never do anything sexy together. It’s a big part of loving relationships.
I agree with you totally, I always love the sex scene’s in the Cat & Bones books because there is only usualy about one or two scenes per book, it’s definatly quality over quanity for me. Some times with a lot of books there is just to much and I find myself getting really bored with it and just skipping through it.
I agree, I do tend to skim a lot of sex scenes and when the sex scene comes late I am happy cos I want a story
Yep yep. I love great sexual tension, but I’ve been tired of sex scenes for a couple of years now. I have to read so many of them for work that I usually end up skimming over them in books I read for fun. I think it takes a lot more skill to write great chemistry and tension than just to describe the physical act.
@Phyllis: I’m all about the sexual tension. I LOVE the sexual tension but when there’s so much sex that the plot suffers for it, it annoys me. I’d rather have a good storyline over loads of sex.
@Luci: Have you ever read a love scene by Stephanie Lauren? Those suckers go on for pages (and ages too, haha).
I think you are right on target—the question of too much sex is a moot point; a solid romance can justify all the randy dandy sex if it is actually strengthening the characters’ relationship or personal development in some way. Is this not the most integral foundation to a romance—building a solid relationship?
I think I’m now increasingly bored with stories written by contemporary authors because they just don’t build up adequate conflict and resolution to make me care for the characters in the first place, so why should I sift through these scenes where they’re practically forced into having sex with each other? Repeatedly?
Arguably flirting and suggestiveness are sexier—it’s the angst, the anticipation and the element of surprise that is so tantalising. The more the writer capitalises on this thread, the more fantastic the love scene(s) will be (usually!). So in this case, I would be happy to wade through pages of sexy times. The old school romances were very good at this. Sure, they’re prim or un-PC by our standards now, but they at least elicited more genuine emotional responses from their characters.
And on that note, I wish writers would invest in having their characters becoming best friends, and not just best bedmates. So again, camaraderie and banter should come into play, which is something so fundamental to a healthy and lasting relationship. I remember being markedly surprised when I saw a historical romance hero describe the heroine as his best friend. It was a Tessa Dare novel, I’m pretty sure. It was seemingly inconsequential but it held so much depth.
I’ll stop ranting now!