The Rise of Smut

AIO:

• Erotica is fiction with explicit sexual content designed to excite and arouse the reader. It’s often written through the female gaze, blending emotion, tension, and fantasy.
• Smut and erotica are particularly popular with women because it empowers them to own their sexuality and imagine pleasure on their terms.

Years ago, people hid their spicy books under the bed. Now? They’re posting annotated highlights on TikTok and screaming about Chapter 4 of A Court of Thorns and Roses.

Erotica - or as TikTok’ers love to call it, smut or romantasy - isn’t a guilty pleasure anymore. It’s a cultural movement. A renaissance of women owning their desire and reclaiming their pleasure. From BookTok hauls to IG reels of people fanning themselves mid-chapter, the demand for erotic fiction has exploded. But what does erotica mean? And what is romantasy? Why does it resonate so hard, especially with women?

What is smut?

In simple terms, smut is erotica, but fantasy-fuelled. It’s the kind of writing that blends plot with pleasure, and desire with character development that you swear you’re not getting attached to (but secretly you are).

It’s the opposite of old-school, male-gaze porn. Smut is the female gaze in book form. It’s character-led, romantic when it wants to be, filthy when it needs to be, and written in a way that prioritises how it feels rather than just what happens.

Smut gives you permission to explore fantasies safely, privately, and without shame. It’s escapism with spice. Fanfiction gone feral. Its romance dialled all the way up until the pages basically combust.

Why Smut and Romantasy are popular

We have a few ideas why these books may be making women reach for their favourite toy mid-paragraph.

It’s fantasy as a force for sexual confidence

Reading erotica plants seeds for you as the reader and allows you to imagine yourself in those scenarios. “What if I tried that?” “What if I asked for this?”. This spicy literature is letting women articulate pleasure on their own terms. From fantasy come bravery, bravery becomes communication and communication becomes mind-blowing sex and stronger relationships (whether to yourself or with someone else).

Women are reclaiming their desires loudly

Traditional media has always centred male pleasure. Erotica flips that. Female pleasure drives the plot.

Erotica isn’t fading

Erotica isn’t fading, it’s evolving. From traditional publishing to indie authors dropping monthly smut bombs on Kindle, the genre keeps expanding and innovating.

We’re so obsessed we’ve created our own erotica stories - written to be delicious, empowering, and wildly addictive. This is smut made by women, for women and celebrating pleasure as something you should enjoy and not hide. So, if BookTok has awakened something in you…you’re in the right place.

Your next favourite spicy story is waiting right here for you.

The Best Romantasy Books

Here’s some must-reads that have had us in a chokehold at HQ:

Slow burn Romantasy:

• Marked by Masks and Secrets – Maggie Sunseri
• The Silversmith – L.J. Claren

Feral MMC (Male Main Character):

• From Blood and Ash – Jennifer. L Armentrout
• Stalked by Seduction – Maggie Sunseri
• Of Blade and Wings – Eliza Raine

Emotional Devastation:

• The Throne of Ash Series – Sarah J. Maas
• Crescent City – Sarah J. Maas
• Blood of Hercules – Jasmine Mas

Dragons, Lust and Chaos:

• Fourth Wing – Rebecca Yarros
• Sins of the Zodiac – Caroline Peckham

Feeling hot under the collar at the thought of diving into one of our many picks? You can thank us later.

Love,
AS x