Turn off the porn, here are five erotic book recommendations instead

Think erotica, and your mind may immediately think Fifty Shades of Grey. And there’s no blaming you, Christian Grey’s red room, his billionaire ways and his fetish for BDSM, bad egg or not, have put erotica on the world map. But there is a whole lot better out there. From old-school romance to racy contemporary romps, we bring you five erotic recommendations that are more than simply “guilty pleasure”. 

The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang

Brought back to the fore by TikTok, this debut novel is nothing like you would have read before. It’s charming and, at times, incredibly sexy—a swoon-worthy romance that tells the story of Stella, an economist on the spectrum, and the male escort she recruits to give her some sexual experience. Though Michael, the escort, attempts to keep his relationship with Stella as professional as possible, it isn't long before the two start falling for each other. Hot, heart-warming, and tender, it is everything you need if this is your first tryst with erotica. 

Girl Meets Boy by Ali Smith

Ali Smith's remix of Ovid's myth of Iphis and Ianthe is fluidity at its best. A story about girls and boys, girls and girls, love and transformation, puns and doubles, reversals and revelations—this one is a mix of all things funny and fresh, poetic and political, steamy and romantic. It tells the love story of Anthea, who works for a company producing bottled water, and Robin, a genderqueer environmental activist, and what follows when their worlds collide. 

Lilith's Brood by Octavia E Butler

Okay, you’ve heard of sci-fi legend Octavia E Butler, but have you heard of this one? Maybe not, because it was originally written as three parts of a trilogy—Dawn, Adulthood Rites, and Imago—that trace stories around the evocative and sensual process of human transformation. We cannot recommend Dawn enough but don’t say we didn’t warn you to have your beds ready for the aftermath. 

Emmanuelle by Emmanuelle Arsan

The erotic scenes in this one are as if out of a dream. We follow the life of a young bisexual Frenchwoman in 1967, Emmanuelle, as she explores her desire with women and men everywhere—from her overnight flight to a squash court to an opium den. This one is literary, and the plot minimal and a pleasure in every way.

The Last Nude by Ellis Avery

Inspired by the life of artist Tamara de Lempicka, the book is set in 1927 Paris, and follows the love affair between a young Italian-American runaway named Rafaela and a wealthy aspiring painter, who convinces Rafaela to serve as her muse, going on to paint her most iconic Jazz Age images. The Last Nude is about craft, love, desire, regret, and hope that can transcend everything else.