We have our first Rec League of 2020. I discovered this request buried in the archives of my inbox and put it on the calendar. However, I forget to note the sender. If this is your request, my apologies! But I hope you get some great reading suggestions.
I feel the request is pretty self explanatory: the requester is looking for erotic romances without BDSM elements or relationships.
Tara: Meghan O’Brien writes a lot of f/f erotic romance like that. Off the top of my head, I can recommend The Sex Therapist Next Door, Camp Rewind ( A | BN ) and Her Best Friend’s Sister.
Sneezy: Oooo – tricky tricky!!!! A lot of Kit Rocha’s backlist under their other pen name, Moira Rogers, probably fits. Their Bloodhound series and Down and Dirty trilogy in particular, and I remember their Southern Arcana series being really hot, too.
Frozen by Meljean Brook is another one.
Grace Draven also wrote some hella hot novellas. I know Wyvern is still sold, but I’m not sure I’d Draconus still is.
Catherine: I have no suggestions but I can see already that this is going to be bad for my wallet.
Oh wait, what about Emma Holly’s early work? Beyond Innocence and Beyond Seduction ( A | BN | K | G | AB ) might fit the bill.
Tara: I had a look at my Goodreads and found a couple more f/f ones that I forgot. Fire on the Ice by Tamsen Parker takes place at the not-Olympics and has excellent bi and poly rep.
Harper Bliss has an ongoing series going called French Kissing ( A | BN | K | AB ) that focuses on a few couples who are all connected by an ad agency. It’s sort of episodic, like a soap opera, so the different “series” have to be read in order.
Elyse: Looking Inside by Beth Kery.
Charlotte: The challenge I have with this request is figuring out what I classify as erotic romance. I usually think of ER as a book in which the sexual relationship (not just the romantic relationship) plays a key role in a character’s, or the couple’s journey AND the sex scenes fall on the more explicit end. I can think of lots of romances that faller on the hotter end but that I don’t mentally classify as ER based on my own definition.
Karina Halle’s Nordic Royals ( A ) would be a good example – very hot, but I don’t think of them as ER. Meljean Brook’s Frozen, on the other hand, I definitely consider ER (and strongly recommend), as well as her The Beast of Blackmoor novella (written as Milla Vane).
What books do you think would qualify? And how would you define erotic romance?
I’m not sure if they count, but Christina Lauren’s early books in the Beautiful Bastard series were very hot. For me especially the second one, Beautiful Stranger did it, exploring voyeurism at its finest if you ask me. I still fan myself when I think about it. But I also remember the first one being real hot, although I didn’t like the plot as much.
Stranger I Married by Sylvia Day is kind of problematic at moments but I loved it much more than I thought I would. It’s not written in the bdsm vein of Sylvia Day, it is one of the historical erotic romances I actually liked a lot.
And I have some novella recommendations:
How to Tell a Lie by Dephine Dryden – two sexy professors exploring online and offline romance.
Big Boy by Ruthie Knox – bit more lyrical, I am not sure if it is strictly erotic but the sexual relationship is central and is a much more impactful read than I anticipated.
Tikka Chance on Me by Suleikha Snyder – I would say this would also count, not hardcore erotica but real steamy and has a plot. One of my favourite novellas I’ve read in 2019.
I’d say erotic romance is any book that features scenes that are explicitly described. Unfortunately the majority of them do seem to feature a BDSM element, so I’d welcome any recommendations (although I hate any book that starts with sexy time between the two main characters I DNF’ed a few recently, I like a bit of build-up and tension!)
I think a lot of Charlotte Stein’s catalogue would work for this request. Off the cuff, I’d say Never Loved, Never Better, and Sheltered fit the bill. I’m pretty sure Never Sweeter and Addiction also work, but I am due for a reread.
Anne Calhoun. I think some of Alisha Rai’s earlier books may qualify.
I think some of Cara McKenna´s books would qualify – her Sins in the City series is an exploration of sexual fantasies (with no BDSM as far as I recall)
I feel this one. BDSM is so not my thing.
I’ll lead with my absolute favorite Personal Assets by Emma Holly. It has actually become a comfort read because there is some nice emotional content. It has two romances & every kind of kinky scenario, but no BDSM. Not true of all her books, so deep dive the backlist with care.
Next would be Lauren Dane’s Brown Family series. The second book, Coming Undone, features Brody Brown, who is my book boyfriend. MINE!! The 1st book, Laid Bare, briefly goes there, but I tend to think of it as B/d lite. There’s no Club or Lifestyle, just some play. You don’t need to read it to read the rest of the series. Her backlist – I especially like her space opera, The Federation Chronicles – is also full of smexy good times sans the BDSM.
Anne Calhoun is who I thought of, too. It’s been a while but I don’t think there’s BDSM in Liberating Lacey. Uncommon Passion has one scene that I can recall, and it’s really not the focus in that book.
A couple of months ago, there was a long conversation at All About Romance which started when someone asked about how to term various heat levels & sexual explicitness in romance novels (everything from “Closed Door” to “Molten”). I feel as if I’ve linked to AAR posts a lot recently, so I won’t put a link here—but it was an interesting conversation if you want to look it up.
I think my issue is trying to separate what makes a story “Erotic” versus what makes it simply a romance with lots of sexual chemistry and hot sexy times between the main character To me, an erotic romance always focuses almost exclusively on the sexual relationship between the MCs with very little outside social interactions or themes. Perhaps that is why BDSM romance has almost become synonymous with Erotic romance—a lot of BDSM is narrow-focused on how the sexual dynamic plays out, without much external storyline. (I don’t recall a BDSM romance where, for example, the heroine was trying to get her bakery business off the ground.)
There’s also a matter of sexual tension. Some Harlequin Presents romances are able to ratchet up the sexual tension to amazing levels while having very little on-page sex (and what there is is usually described in a very euphemistic way). Caitlin Crews is especially good at that. Her NO MIRE SWEET SURRENDER is one of the most erotic (as in, lots of sexual tension) I’ve read, but it has relatively little on-page sex.
Of books that have fairly explicit sex scenes, but also have other plot elements and no BDSM (although perhaps some occasional mild D/s), I’d recommend looking at books by Julie Kriss, Kate Canterbary, Anne Calhoun (although there is some handcuff role-play in LIBERATING LACEY and TRANSCENDENCE is definitely all about dominance and submission), Kendall Ryan, J. Kenner (check carefully, some of her earlier stuff has D/s and BDSM elements), Sarina Bowen, Melanie Harlow, Zoe York, Julianna Keyes, Jackie Ashenden, and Rachel Van Dyken.
NO MORE SWEET SURRENDER. Edit is your friend, DDD.
Thanks for this! Erotic is great, BDSM is completely NOT my thing & actually results in the opposite reaction.
Emma Holly wrote a lot of erotic romance (with some wonderfully strong romantic elements in them) that didn’t have D/s themes!
I think Jaci Burton fits. I’ve really liked her sports series, it’s been a while, but I can’t remember any BDSM.
Christina Lauren’s early stuff would also fit
@Viktoria, YES! Sylvia Day’s historicals are so good. My personal favorite is Seven Years to Sin, also good for people who like the no baby HEA.
Speaking of historicals, I was remiss in not mentioning Susan Johnson’s books from the 80-90s. They may or may not hold up, even though she put A LOT of research into them (footnotes people!), but good Lord she was inventive.
I agree that erotic romance generally includes sex as a major component of developing the characters’ relationship, and differs from erotica by requiring a HEA/HFN. Basically, I’ve come to expect ER to be a sexier, more explicit example of stories from any genre, and which may or may not include LGBTQ+ and/or polyam representation.
If an author started or developed their career at Ellora’s Cave, Loose-Id, or even Samhain, chances are their early backlist contains some ER. I think that any author who has a back catalogue of erotic romance will likely a) have some titles that include BDSM, so if kinky books are not your kink, be sure to check; and b) have some titles that aren’t as hot as others and may not fall under the ER umbrella.
In addition to others mentioned upthread, I would suggest going through the backlists of Lorelei James, Jayne Rylon, Mari Carr, Mel Teshco, Shayla Black, Jenn LeBlanc, Tracy Wolff, Samantha Kane, Rebekah Weatherspoon, Opal Carew, Elle Kennedy, Lexxie Couper, Eliza Lloyd, Olivia Cunning, Justine Elyot, Caitlyn Willows, Sierra Simone, Thea de Salle, Tessa Bailey, Em Petrova, Sami Lee, Megan Hart, Amy Jo Cousins, Nicola Davidson, Lynne Connolly, Kaitlin Maitland, Allyson Lindt, Myla Jackson, Delilah Devlin, Lauren Hawkeye, Cathryn Fox, Christine d’Abo, and Kristen Ashley.
I can’t believe I forgot my girl, Kati Wilde. Everything she writes is smoking hot, the heroes are alpha without being alpha-holes, and she’s published in different genres (MC, fantasy/fairy-tale, shifter, contemporary). There is no BDSM in her work, as far as I can recall. (I should caution that there is some violence in the Motorcycle Club romances—but it’s not OTT.)
I would also recommend another of my favorites, Sybil Bartel—especially her Alpha Bodyguards series. There is generally a D/s dynamic—at least initially—between hero & heroine, but Bartel’s heroines aren’t pushovers and don’t take any crap!
Passion by Lisa Valdez (2005). The older novellas by Emma Wildes or Elle Kennedy. I am getting old.
I agree re: Jaci Burton. Again depending on your definition of ER, Sarina Bowen’s are pretty sexy, Deborah Bladon’s standalones, I’m just starting a Kimberly Knight (Saddles & Racks) that I think may fit in that category. Also I’ve only read one in the series but Dirty Games by Samanthe Beck.
Sawyer Bennett’s 2 hockey team series (many many books for you!) are awesome – varying in explicitness, but certainly not BDSM like her 2 Wicked Horse series. Tracy Wolff, some of Lauren Blakely’s, and some of Lisa Renee Jones. I also agree with the comment that this going to cost me a bunch of money…but I appreciate everyone’s recommendations!
The Ice Planet Barbarian series by Ruby Dixon is crazy-sauce (but SO) entertaining, and I think it would qualify under this heading. Actually the women hold most of the power in this series and it’s kind of nice to see. I’m excited to see this as BDSM is not my jam either.
I second Anne Calhoun, especially her Irresistible series: https://www.goodreads.com/series/148634-irresistible
I thought of another place you could look: books published by Harlequin’s DARE line and books published by their now-discontinued BLAZE line. I’ve not always been a fan of the DARE books (I find the conflicts between the couples to be simultaneously overblown and then too easily resolved), but there’s always plenty of steam. Check the descriptions because I think there are a few stories that include some BDSM elements, although not many. I especially liked the books Meg Maguire (aka Cara McKenna) published through the BLAZE line—although do check the copyright pages because I think she republished them with new titles a couple of years ago.
Noelle Adams has written some erotic romance under the name Claire Kent. I don’t recall any of it being BDSM. I actually prefer the Kent titles but apparently they don’t sell as well. Curve Ball is one of my favorites by Charlotte Stein.
I really appreciate this topic.
“Exposed to You” by Beth Kery would fit. Sweet Agony as well as “Run to You” by Charlotte Stein. Pretty much anything Charlotte Stein. Especially “Deep Desires” where she accidentally catches her hot neighbor changing his clothes through the window of her apartment then can’t help but keep looking when he does it around the same time of night. Until he sticks a sign in the window after one such peeping incident that just says “your turn”. It is super hot.
PRIME MINISTER by Ainsley Booth? I can’t remember if it had BDSM, but it definitely had hot times.
And pretty much everything by JANE O’REILLY — but especially INDECENT EXPOSURE (erotic photographer and her accountant). That’s one of my favorite molten hot books. Lots of voyeurism, very little or no BDSM.
Definitely Claire Kent, Escorted, one of my favourite erotica’s.
Erin McCarthy’s racecar driver series is one I kept returning to a few years ago. There may be a book in the later ones with BDSM elements, but most of it is not. A lot of her other books would be as well, but I have a feeling she started writing NA or ya and not as steamy.
I was sold on the “space opera erotic romance” rec from @DonnaMarie comment #6 so I picked up the first of Lauren Dane’s Federation Chronicles, Undercover – and just a heads-up, that one is a hardcore dom/sub dynamic. Major turn off for me!
Also PRIME MINISTER by Ainsley Booth explicitly states in the description that it’s BDSM.
Don’t have any recommendations, but based on the comments here there seems to be some confusion/disagreement about what BDSM means. Maybe it would be helpful to define more clearly what the recommendation wishes to avoid. D/S dynamics? Bondage? Play involving pain? I also think there is a weird tendency in romance to think a man suggesting he might spank his female partner for being “bratty” is normal/vanilla, but a I’ve yet to see a woman suggest she has some right to spank or otherwise punish her male partner unless the context is specifically BDSM. Which is depressingly patriarchal.
@Julie, sorry, she does go there in some, but not all of her books. Just like most of her series have an F/M/M story there’s one one where the D/s can be strong. Undercover has both. Should have warned you.
@Merle: I think that’s what I was trying to express in my comment (#8) above. I’ve read books with no D/s or BDSM; I’ve read books with varying levels of the dominance & submission dynamic, including role-play, but there’s been no bondage/restraint/pain-infliction; I’ve read books where there’s a limited level of restraint/spanking; and I’ve read books that had some hardcore bondage and pain-infliction. All of them were “erotic” in one way or another, but the definitions of what makes something erotic is hard to pin down and the boundaries between various types of erotic writing are very porous. One woman’s “relatively-mild D/s erotica” is another woman’s “oh hell no!” As the hero of Eve Dangerfield’s SO STEADY tells the heroine: “It’s ok. We don’t choose what does it for us.”
@DonnaMarie, no apology needed! It was just that reading this thread and trying that book yesterday made me realize that for me personally, the D/s relationship dynamic is the biggest turn off rather than BDSM in other contexts. And also that I don’t know all this terminology/abbreviations as well as maybe I need to.
To me any kind of formal D/s is an element of BDSM so if I’m looking for not-BDSM then I’m looking for not-D/s. It is possible to have erotic romance without BDSM, but it’s hard to find. That’s probably why the original requested asked for a Rec League.
@Merle I feel the second half of your comment so hard.
Relatedly, I have no idea where pegging falls into any of these distinctions. The only romance I’ve ever seen it in is Anna Cowan’s Untamed, and I find it really hard to imagine it used in anything but the hardest-core of D/s romances even though it doesn’t need to have any D/s connotations at all.
Seconding DiscoDollyDeb’s suggestion of the old Harlequin Blaze line (RIP Blaze, miss you so much). They vary a lot in heat level, though. I vaguely think the older ones were more consistently focused on the sexual content? but might be making that up. Tori Carrington’s books were maybe the most consistently racy; their actual mission statement seemed to be to push what they were allowed to get away with, although I think not in a BDSM direction (but it’s been awhile). Sarah Mayberry, Meg Maguire aka Cara McKenna, the one Tiffany Reisz trilogy.
Some of Victoria Dahl’s contemporaries were pretty hot too. No D/s.
Rose Lerner calls her historical “A Taste of Honey” an erotic novella & I agree. No D/S there. & is pegging! The thing that might put some people off in it is all the kitchen sex… (In a commercial kitchen at that)
Judith Ivory’s the Proposition is maybe not erotica but he whole book is permeated with sex and thinking about sex, in a historical novel with a linguist heroine and a rat catcher hero. (There’s an unnecessary twist at the end but just ignore it)
I think one of my problems is defining erotic, because that does seem to be in the eye of the beholder! Lorelei James has a couple series set in Wyoming-the only one I can think of that has the a hint of the BDSM is Cowboy Casanova. I do believe she has another series with that theme-so I would stick to the cowboy stuff.
Samantha Kane has a Brotherhood in Arms series, it is a MMF triangle, but I don’t think there is any bondage going on there.
Good luck!