I really hate when people on TikTok are like "I wanted to read this but I found out there was no smut 😢😢" it's so creepy to me, why do you need sex in a book it for it to be readable? Gross lol😊
The smut low-key ruins it when people feel like adding smut is a requirement rather than a natural progression to the story or it making sense for the characters. Needlessly sticking it on ruins stories.☹️
I agree with you partially, I just don't agree with the kink/slut shaming. I personally don't care what other readers are reading in their literal own time, that's their business, it doesn't concern me and shouldn't concern you. 😊
A friend and I talked about this a couple months ago and we came to the conclusion that booktok has a 🌽 addiction but since it’s in book form, it’s not nearly as condemned as people addicted to adult videos.
IKR, people usually get ashamed while saying "I was watching 🌽" but no, for booktok, it's something to be take pride in, like, I have heard people be like, "look at all you losers watching disney while I just read three books full of smut last night". It's giving "tween-who-just-found-out-what-🌽-is"
I agree 100% with your take on smut. I find myself skimming over it too, especially if there’s so much of it, and instead searching more for the fluff and genuine connection between the characters. I feel like authors try to throw so much smut in the book because they think that’s what people want to read, but it doesn’t hit the same if the author hasn’t even built up their relationship or anything.
I honestly dislike smut so much, like it irks me anytime I see it in my books. I’m also 15, so it probably has something to do with that. Like I love reading romance to see two people grow and change for the better with each other, like that’s why I’m here girl, and then a smut scene will pop up and it just makes me dislike the book. For me it takes away from the plot and the reason why I’m reading, like I want to read about the emotional part of a relationship, not just the physical yk?
I don’t read a lot of romance (I tend to gravitate towards nonfiction; I cry easily during emotional books now), but when I do, I want something with great character development and chemistry. So I usually read classics with romance in it if I want my romance fix : Jane Austen, Louisa May Alcott, even Tolkien (Beren and Luthien are amazing) or Agatha Christie (I reread “The Moving Finger” more for the romance than for the mystery at this point). There is so much richness in watching the characters grow as people and towards each other. I have read every Agatha Christie book multiple times; I know that sex/sexual desire is a common motive for murder - but I don’t want to have to have it described to me in intricate detail (not something I enjoy or am comfortable reading)… especially not at the expense of the story and the characters.
I do wonder the use for smut scenes in portraying intimacy between characters, but personally sex-related stuff repulses me as an ace so I just skip over it. I regret having read this one book that just had a bunch of sex scenes whenever the two mains hung out together (and ended with a sudden, violent bury your gays trope).
nah bc tell me why i caught my 12 year old brother reading a copy of icebreaker his friend lent him.... like a year ago he was obsessing over middle grade dragon books
YES!!! My middle schoolers that I teach, boys and girls, were passing around a copy of the book that one got from her older sister. The fascination and craziness of that scares me lol.
Personally, as someone who does read fantasy, horror, and thriller (not just books but also manga, comics, and fanfiction), I do like romance just as any girlie but booktok is just not it for me. I think manga readers can agree that in terms of romance, manga does it better and more diverse. Not just in terms of hetero cis relationships but also queer relationships. My issue with booktok is that they don't really have much chemistry or it isn't earned to actually convince me.
10:46 it’s equivalent to corn 🌽. And it’s also overkill when every book they rec is smut. Or pushing smut on underage bikers. Trying to push YA authors to put smut in their books. Thirsting over the wade guy or whatever. Like side eyeeeeeeeeeeeee
need recommendations for books with normal “smut” that’s actually earned and not just thrown in my face within the first 50 pages….. I have no issues with ppl who read it cause like you, I use romance as a palate cleanser. I like a bit of yearning and it’s crazy that because the “spice”, “smut” dark romance niche has boomed so much, the chemistry that would normally lead up to a sex scene is just pretty much non-existent in the popular books that get recommended over and over. It’s one of the primary reasons I jump into YA more often now because at least I know imma get a bit of yearning with some valid immature hijinks!
i do recommend the book i mentioned in the video, lipsticks and camera clicks. i also recommend only for the week and one week in paradise. only for the week does have smut in the beginning but it makes sense with the plotline.
I was reading wildfire by hannah grace and tell me why they were boning within the first few chapters. I returned the book back and I didn't even finish it because I could just tell the book was not going to get any better from there.
it’s been *years* since I’ve read that! I’m currently reading Les Miserables (and since I’m reading the unabridged version, it’s over 1400 pages, so think that it might be a while until I get around to rereading The Picture of Dorian Grey… especially since I really want to read Crime And Punishment sooner rather than later; it sounds amazing and almost like it has some shades of Edgar Allan Poe to it.
@@tahlia__nerds_out my friends all love the les mis movie and I've been wanting to read it I'm just curious if it will keep my attention with it being as big as it is
one thing that IRKS me in books is when there is way too much smut. i don't mind if its only a LITTLE, I can just skim past it but when there's smut in like every chapter, it gets a bit...yk WEIRD. And I feel like smut in books ruins the chemistry between the characters as it shows mainly the physical parts and not those cute lil fluff parts ygm (its so had to explain omds)
100% agree that a lot of authors have replaced chemistry with smut. It seems like the couples kiss and sleep together earlier and earlier in the book with each new release!! It makes the romance way less believable for me tbh. I've really gotten into slowburns lately
The way I was just about to write my own essay on this. I think another thing that isn’t talked about when it comes to this is how it not only normalises 🌽 as regular literature(which it’s not), but it also can lead to miseducation on how essex(trying to avoid violation rules here) should be had in terms of health. A lot of books that have essex in them tend to show it as almost like a step in a coming of age sequence, when it’s not. I could go on about this for ages, but I’ll save that for the essay.
Smutification of YA books is a big problem right now, and it's the newst trend. It started with booktok pushing adult smut to youth, and now it made its way to YA books. In my library i see girls and young as 13 reading adult smut with dark themes, and they think it's romantic. It's totally messing with their impressionable not fully developed minds.
I feel like if smut book were well written then maybe I'd read one but generally their not..also i really just don't like to read alot of sex or related things in books because its cringe...also it's way too detailed sometimes and that's just nasty
I skip smut scenes personally cuz I find them cringe but insinuating everything is a smut addiction is so weirddddd. Like does a book *have* smut, in the same way a movie or tv show has a sexy scene, or is it a smutty aka erotic book? There's a difference and no one wants to consider that because they'd rather call women on tiktok porn brained lmao No way people think Emily Henry is smut 😭
thank you for another video essay!! first: i feel like reading romance is definitely not hitting and i think the same people romanticize or fetishize are the audience and authors are not giving because it doesn’t take much to appease this audience second: kids and reading smut as a encouraged thing will never sit right with me. everyone’s psych is not there and it doesn’t matter what gender you can quickly become addicted to third: i think tiktok is just like deranged sometimes. like those comments are on like all topics it’s CRAZY.
I hate when I'm really enjoying the chemistry between two characters, and I'm falling in love with the characters but then enters the explicit sex scenes and the dirty talk literally makes me cringe and I can't look at the characters the same way 😅 If a male character utters the words "milking" during a sex scene I cannot cope and it's ruined for me 😂
I agree with all of this, tho im coming from a different perspective. I started reading smut in the form of gay manga (BL/Yaoi) as a 13/14 year old teenager. It was definitely too young for me and gave me some weird ideas about sex and queer relationships. I'm bi, came out years after this phase, and while I still read some "spicy" comics, I've really expqnded my horizon. I always read different types of manga, but I've started reading books and listening to audiobooks. What I've learned to appreciate in queer books now are the stories and representation of realistic or deeply romantic relationships, rather than just the smut. A comic I've come to really enjoy is Revelations in Eros, which is a real-life comic about a young Mexican man whose going to college in Arizona and learning to love himself and not feel like a sinner for loving other men. It's free on Webtoons and Tapas, I'd recommend it for anyone who can handle a tragedy
This is such an eloquent take that really goes into depth. I always felt rubbed the wrong way by how *some* booktok books had gotten so popular, specifically haunting adeline. I know im younger (16) but just the idea that so many people found that book enticing was so weird and i couldnt understand the draw to it. Earlier this year i read icebreaker cause im a big hockey fan but after i finished, it felt low quality. something more fanfic-y than published book and something tells me that fast paced, low brainpower sort of book really gets people who dont like reading to start reading
As someone that doesn't use TikTok, I've had the interesting experience of watching every booktuber suddenly upload video after video of terrible books they found on there and I'm really starting to wonder what the hell is going on on that app... Anyways, I enjoy smut when there's like, actual romance, you know? I've read two gay love stories recentlythat were pretty explicit but like, they took their time with building up their characters before their pants fell down. From my POV it looks like there's a lot of hate bc the most common complaint I've seen (on this platform) about Booktok books is that the smut is whatever and there's 400+ pages of like, no actual plot? As an outsider looking in I'm curious about people's thoughts on this.
Non-readers are treating it as any smut in books=erotica bc they don't know how genres work. Bc they know good and damnnn well 2 smut scenes in a 600 page fantasy isnt no dang erotica🤦🏾♀️ Also even though smut addiction is not a real addiction, I do think its interesting that the people who believe in it, and place that title on women in booktok, then go on to mock. Even though addiction should be taken seriously. It gives fake concern and "I lowkey just wanted to bully women for something they like." Lastly, I hope you keep making the video essays bc they're eating so muchhh😩. I saw the tiktok you had made when everyone was asking you abt smut. Idk why ppl got frusterated bc I don't think its wrong for creators to want meaningful engagement on a video. Bc you worked on a rec video and all ppl can do is ask the same question and disregard what you were trying to initially say abt the story.
it’s not just non readers tho! when i saw a thread of people making fun of people who read romance thinking it was the same as smut it was FULL of readers. i was scrolling so long! i do agree though ik smut addiction isn’t a real addiction and honestly neither is porn, i really just said it for the clicks 😭
I could measure when smut became more common in romantasy books with Cassandra Clare. In Mortal Instruments, it took SIX books for clary and jace to have sex In Infernal Devices, it took 3 books for will and Tessa to have sex. In the Dark Artifices, Emma and Julian have sex in the first book
To add to your point I think the first series with clary and jace was only originally supposed to be the first three books. So a s*x scene wasn't even in the original plan. But I'm glad she still held it off until book 6 because I remember it feeling earned and sweet
@@nuzhatnayeem1119 wait that actually so funny I can't believe I didn't remember that😭he was probably carrying it around with him since he found out they weren't actually brother and sister
I think most straight men may not read romance books, but some gay men like me LOVE romance books. I don't care if it's straight or queer romances, I just love romance!
I was exactly the same when I was first reading romance and now, I find myself skimming over so many sex scenes in romance books because they are almost all carbon copies of each other. Every position is the same, the dialogue is the same, and even the length of the scene itself is the same. I totally agree with you that authors are exchanging smut for chemistry, and I think it's because they know that's what's going to sell.
I’ve realized that I like romance in a book, but I don’t actually like it to become smutty. I’d rather it fade to black because honestly smutty scenes tend to just be cringe for me and I’m more interested in seeing what dynamics the author shows between the character and shows how their relationship works and grows. Also, tbh i can’t really speak on this too much since I only speak English, but I feel like smutty is extremely cringe in English because of the types of words that have to be used. It’s basically either medical terms or slang that I find impossible to take seriously. It’s just not it for me.
Agree w ur take on Smut! I now skimr through smut scenes. I don’t know if anyone has read the twisted series, but I truly love twisted lies! People were complaining about how there wasn’t a sex scene until 300 and something pages in and I was OK with that. I was just enjoying the characters vibe.
@@adrie2408 I hope you like it as well, but I understand it’s def not for everyone! I agree w u skipping the first book cause it was a hot mess (entertaining but a mess). I wasn’t too fond of the second book, but it is highly loved and praised. I acc loved twisted hate, until the painting story line and the break up scene. But Josh and Jules to me had great banter, do you mind me asking why u didn’t you like it?! Twisted lies is more of a slow burn and I liked seeing Stella be in an awkward stage of adulting where she’s seeing her friends get married and get into their careers and she’s still an intern.
@@bored151 what Josh did in retaliation towards Jules was dirty and messed up fr. Mind was blown and couldn't believe he did that. But that's not why i didn't like it though. For me, i think there was just too much spice for me to care about the characters and the plot that i lost interest part way. Like the pact they had was literally made to be each other's fbuddy and the whole i hate you situation was superficial to me. However, i did enjoy for the most part their sexual tension and banter but it was lacking on a emotional level/ connection to me. Sorry for the rant haha
I went to a local book club meeting for the first time last week. We read King of Battle and Blood (‘‘twas fine) but I was kind of baffled at how many times I heard the word smut. I read everything and never really thought of how, how dark and how much smut is such a determining factor. To each their own. I love erotica but they’re not wanting that. I don’t know. I had such a good time but found that really interesting. For most of the people there the book wasn’t their level of dark and nowhere near their smut level.
I'm asexual and can tolerate some amount of s3x scenes, and since I read mostly historical and/or fantasy, the said scenes aren't the focus and is usually used more to drive the story or explain character dynamics. So yeah, I can tolerate that. I think some people have smut "brainrot" and let it leak to real life or rope up people who aren't in on their "jokes". I have so much fandom brainrot, but I'll try not to be weird with people who don't get it, much less harass teens or celebrities over it. Even when my teen cousin talked about liking hentai (in hindsight idk if he was pulling my leg), i shut my mouth coz I'm not gonna rat him out to his parents or police him, but I later observed he has a very healthy view of relationships and even talks to his AUNTS about how much he likes his girlfriend and what their boundaries are. Maybe if he developed unhealthy views of women from reading that kinda media (which are usually misogynistic), I'd talk to him, but atp he doesn't need my intervention. Like, read what you want, just don't harass people over it.
I think the calibre of writing and fixation on one theme or topic is what gets critisized most. It's like in gaming. COD or Fortnite players are typically children or have large young audiences because the barrier to entry doesn't entail literacy or familiarily with more complex themes. It's similar to FIFA game players. They're sports fans, not gamers. Gamers don't touch FIFA for the most part. The smut readers might just be perverts, which is fine. If the smut were very well executed, a lot of critisizm would fade. I like the rare smutty game on occassion, but I'm not buying a title unless it's a good game first. I think it just shows that writing well is tough and needs a certain mindset and talent to harnass. People are better off reading something rather than nothing though. I love reading classics and sci fi as well! So awesome to come across someone else who's dealt with the same. I actually think romance is tricky to write well. It takes real work and a knack to make a convincing romance. It makes sense that it's harder to find good books with these themes.
I mean I am not a huge non-fiction fan because I like the escapisim of a good peice of fiction. 😂😂 That being said, I will at least try a good recommendation and have read books that would be classified as non-fiction. I just wouldn’t browse that section on my own. I am also a squicked by most horror to the point of abandoning the book and do not read a ton of it. I think is possible to know yourself and have reading preferences but if ALL you read is Smut and refuse to crack a book spine for anything but smut, its pretty much a p@rn addiction in a different format than video…sorry. One of the biggest issues with p@rn, especially for people who are young and impressionable is the false sense it can give you about relationship dynamics. And the best thing to counteract that is to get OUTSIDE your smut bubble and read outside the box. You may not read EVERY genra and I think that is perfectly fine, but at least challenge oneself to go outside your bubble a few times a year I say.
I think smut is fun and hate the pearl clutching attitude some reviewers have towards it, but I definitely think part of the reason it's so common now is a result of fandom culture and fanfic. Like people who read YA fantasy as teenagers would seek out fanfic with explicit content, eventually got older, and are now seeking that in actual published books. It'd be one thing if it was done well, but most of the time it's not. With modern romantasy in particular it feels like any plot is constructed around the 2 characters (who are usually heavily inspired by already existing characters) eventually boning lol. I find that I don't get as annoyed with it in actual romance novels.
As someone that reads a lot of romance I think one smut scene is more than enough and after that it’s just to much and like you I just find myself skimming over it
Omg why haven’t I had a video recommended from you in months?! Going catch up on the backlist. I don’t read a ton of smut unless it’s in fanfiction because I feel like even one shots build up a ton of character development and heart with chemistry while most romance is just bland. I agree with you about monster romances! They are more diverse and just more entertaining. Like I genuinely don’t want to read a 450 page book where nothing happens except forced smut scenes. It’s so boring.
i felt like something was weird with me because I didn't like ACOSF the way i liked other books because it was so much. i love a spice scene every now and then but if the spice is what makes the book good then that's telling me more about the lack of plot than anything else
I never read smut cause I started with dystopian fantasy so I like books with a lot of plot but I’m trying to dip a toe into smut just to see what the appeal is and so far- I’ve only read 4 books. 3 were quirky and fun monster romance and the last one was dark romance and I kinda hated it.😂 I dunno! It was too much for me and it got so boring. I almost DNF because I LOVE A GOOD PLOT, and there was literally no plot at all. 😭😭😭
Honestly people will hate to bring this up but its because the 'normies' (idk what other term to use i don't mean it condescendingly) were exposed to reading and now get their rocks off on it. I love that reading has gotten more popular (due to tiktok) but man has it had some terrible side effects. The publishing industry feels like fast fashion now! So many romance/fantasy novels I pick up now are just terrible writing! The book community just isn't what it used to be pre pandemic.
I'm aroace and not into romance books at all and having the main face of book-tiktok be nsfw books just makes me feel like I can't engage in the book community there
Wow ok this is probably one of my favorite videos on this topic now. So many good takes, even the ones i wasnt 100% agreeing with still had me nodding along and understanding them. I think what you said about romance and people finally finding a community for it, is something i definitely agree with. I honestly dont get why everyone has always been so obsessed with hating on the types of people that read the literally *most* popular genre in literature currently out there. My personal problem with booktok with this is probably that…i just dont think it gives that community a proper platform and space to actually start a discussion. Tiktok is just not designed in a way that would encourage in depth conversation, which especially when talking about something like the romance genre, one based on one of the most complicated themes known to man, relationships and interpersonal connections, makes it so the people dont have a proper way to connect to eachother. Basically i feel like this community deserves a space and platform that would actually benefit and support them. Tiktok though actively works against such a thing with its algorithm and short video format that banks on you turning your brain off and not turn it on to talk and interact with other people. Its just incredibly hard to create and take part in a discussion when youre limited to 30 seconds or so. When it comes to the smut stuff, i also think its fine to read and enjoy it, but the ‚does it have spice???‘ crowd really need to tone it down. I feel like they’ve created a bubble on there where they’ve fallen so deep in delusion that they think it’s totally fine to just… jumpscare the next person on the street with a smut book recommendation. Ngl this needs to be practiced behind closed doors. Ofc there was that 16 year old biker incident but im honestly at the point where imma say it doesn’t matter what age the person has, its never ok to sexualize someone and recommend smut books to them when they never asked for it. Boundaries people. Respect them. Its human decency and common sense that you dont show a stranger in the park your favorite torture corn. Now, the last point i wanted to touch upon: the quality ‚drop’ in currently published literature. Cause i totally agree with what you said at the end there. Its something ive also noticed, and in such a weird way too. Authors feel like for their books to be successful they need to push in unnecessary and bad written smut and what annoys me beyond end is this… unnecessary urge to turn everything into a too long series. Im throwing full shade towards sarah j. Maas on this one. There are so many books ive read that were trilogies or normal series that all feel like netflix live action shows in the way they get like 4 too many seasons. Everything needs to be stretched out, plot points are not allowed to be solved in the same book they came up in, books need to be series when a single one would have sufficed. So. Much. FILLER. I feel like authors are afraid of letting go to of that one success they had so they wanna bank on it as much as possible, not realizing that they‘re compromising their books quality in the process. Or just not caring that they are doing so. I mean- in a way.. this isnt really a drop in quality. Its a trend, the same way people are obsessed with defining a book by the tropes found in it rn, one that originates from current popular books. Authors think that they can only define themselves by what’s popular. and the same way we had twilight clones and then hunger games clones, the current cycle is going to be broken at some point as well. Of course this is all just my opinion, giving my own two cents. Anyone can enjoy what they like, i dont like romance and i dont like smut and i certainly dont like tiktok (as a platform and company), so im probably a bit biased against booktok and might be a bit harsh when you actually get me going. However, i am glad to see a more positive outlook that i might not 100% agree with, just to not get stuck in the fiery pits of hating something for the sake of hating.
I think that another part of the reason why booktok/romance readers/smut is so hated is because of commentary channels. I noticed that a lot of them are using booktok as another example of tiktol being crazy and contaminating the "pure" thing that is reading. I don't watch them anymore but many only focus on the bad aspects of booktok (which deserve to be talked about) and not the good parts (like that ppl are reading again) And, as a result, the average person watching the video/s who is otherwise clueless about the community/s is made to think that ever/most of contemporary romance is just pure smut and creepy shit and the people who read it are insane and don't know boundaries. Again, the problems like with harassing of real people do deserve to be talked about. I've been on the internet long enough to know that there is always a loud minority of people who take things too far and it involves hurting real people but most people aren't like that I don't read romance often but i do like it when i read it. I sometimes get tired of reading about war, murder and idk so it's nice to just have two characters fall in love and stuff
I think that one of the reasons why thriller doesn't get as much hate as romance does is because it's seen as more serious Romance is pretty traditionally feminine while thriller, despite being dominated by women, is kind of more of a masculine thing?? Idk it usually includes some serious topics (which romance does include too but i guess thriller is more guaranteed?? Idk what i'm trying to say, sorry
I think it's obvious when guys are reading romance for the sake of getting bitches vs for fun (though the two can intersect) Guys who read romance usually try to act like a "book boyfriend" and do a bunch of cringy shit while guys who read romance for fun are more normal i guess
As someone who mainly reads fanfic, people who read books for smut kinda weird me out. Like it's fine if that's what you wanna read, I get that sometimes you're in a mood for smut but ONLY caring about that in whole like 600pg book is... Bizarre? I like a good plot and good chemistry/dynamics between characters. If your characters have no chemistry in your romance book then I just can't get behind it. I drop a fic if the characters get together too fast, I could NOT read one of these dark romance booktok books. I don't care if something has smut in it. For me, it doesn't give or take anything away from a fic, if it's well done it can actually give. I don't skim smut scenes because i find that in the fanfics i read, the scenes are typically unimportant to the plot but they tend to add more to the pairing and i find it cute. Not to say there aren't fics that aren't just pure smut, though. This comment is so crappily done lol, sorry if some things don't make sense😭
no fr if you want smut log onto ao3...i don't really need smut ESPECIALLY multiple long smut scenes in a published book. i've always read mostly books and traditionally published literature, but i've also been reading fanfiction for years and it's weird to me how much fanfiction-style writing + tropes had bled into traditional publishing.
@@spaceygemini definitely, it all feels like the wattpad fanfics I would read when I just found out abt it. If ur making a romance book it's so bizarre ur more focused on the smut instead of actual development between the characters.
Doesn’t spice mean smit tho? So if ppl r asking abt spice, they aren’t asking if it has romance, just if it has smut. I think reading these things as an adult is ok in moderation but asking if everything has spice or smut and needing it to enjoy smth and being so shameless about standing in public and shouting abt how much you love smut is just kinda like not ok. Idk if it’s morally wrong but it’s annoying, gross, weird. And I don’t think u deserve to be severely bullied but I’m sorry, ppl r gonna make fun of you when ur loudly admitting your corn obsessions.
I feel like nowadays lots of books that should be categorized in the erotica genre (due to most of the content revolving around sexually explicit plot points) are misfitted in the romance genre and described as spicy or +18 romance. And the books themselves also look really inocuous (as in both the cover, title and description in the back don't really portray them as erotica either). Also, because I've seen some people in the comments saying how just because a book has 2 sex scenes doesn't make it porn, I wanted to point out the following. Sure, there are some books that have few sex scenes, but they still heavily revolve more on the sexual aspect of the story than on the romantic one. As was said about the chemistry with the characters replaced instead by attraxtion/sexual tension, or how most tropes usually employed in the romance genre are substituded by erotica tropes. At the end of the day, regardless of the number of smut scenes, if a book revolves more about erotic themes and plot points (as said previously) than romantic ones, it is an erotica. Cause it leans on the eros, not the psique. At the end of the day I'm an adult, so if I were to mistake an erotica book for a romance one really wouldn't be a problem. The real problem, however, comes when some of this books due to them being miscategorized end up being promoted towards audiences that are far too young to read the contents of said books.
The recent hate for women reading smut feels misogynistic , yes booktok can be problematic but some women simply are just enjoying there books but yk women cant do anything enjoyable 😭😭😭
Part of the reason why I wish there were trigger warnings in the beginning of the book… i can read smut in fanfics, but thats because i know i the characters and im invested in them. I’m not much of a fan of it when it happens in books
I heard somewhere a reason there aren't trigger warnings in the beginning is because of Amazon's banned keyword list. If they put banned word in their book it gets taken down on Amazon. Though I don't know how true that is.
I would be afraid if a man read romance for real for real. Because the way men are written in romance for the most part are extremely problematic and borderline dangerous. Like in fantasy reading men say and do certain things are fine. In reality you would be arrested.
@@myocoree I mean the BookTok romance. These characters are out here stalking women, there’s weird consent issues, and just all-around creepy behavior. I’m not a big fan of romance personally. I can read it. I just don’t go out of my way. But I do love urban romances on kindle unlimited when I’m in between reading high fantasy.
I was never a big romance reader, but I decided to broaden my horizons and try to read 1 book from the romance genre a month for a year. I’ve found that actually, I do like romance, but I’m not a fan of smut. Like, I won’t poopoo a book just cause it has smut, but I’ve felt like a lot of times, authors use smut to make the characters connect rather than actually just writing chemistry between the love interests. Anyways, if anyone reading this has any romance recs with actual romance in it rather than just smut in lieu of romance, feel free to drop them in the replies 🫶🏻
People are honestly just stupid on the internet... ESPECIALLY on Twitter. Appreciate your take on these topics. Smut is okay every now and then but people gotta take it easy when it comes to being judgemental. But yes, thank you 🫂
My tastes have definitely changed too when it comes to spice in books. I used to read so much of it and idk if it’s because of that I’m not as into it anymore or if it’s because they just aren’t hitting like they used to. Sometimes I will be in the mood to read it and pick up an er0t!ca and be sooo critical of it which I think is so crazy of me
![เปิดบ้าน นาราเครปกระเทย 1 ไร่ ขายขาดทุนหลัก10ล้าน เอามาใช้หนี้!!! l [Nickynachat]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/0jz84VFWVP4/mqdefault.jpg)
I really hate when people on TikTok are like "I wanted to read this but I found out there was no smut 😢😢" it's so creepy to me, why do you need sex in a book it for it to be readable? Gross lol😊
Yup. I said this before but I firmly believe that smut is to women what p0rn is to men.
Ikr, I hate smut so it messes up some books for me, I cant understand why people NEED it
The smut low-key ruins it when people feel like adding smut is a requirement rather than a natural progression to the story or it making sense for the characters.
Needlessly sticking it on ruins stories.☹️
I agree with you partially, I just don't agree with the kink/slut shaming. I personally don't care what other readers are reading in their literal own time, that's their business, it doesn't concern me and shouldn't concern you. 😊
Nahhh frr
A friend and I talked about this a couple months ago and we came to the conclusion that booktok has a 🌽 addiction but since it’s in book form, it’s not nearly as condemned as people addicted to adult videos.
i was thinking the exact same thing lol
IKR, people usually get ashamed while saying "I was watching 🌽" but no, for booktok, it's something to be take pride in, like, I have heard people be like, "look at all you losers watching disney while I just read three books full of smut last night". It's giving "tween-who-just-found-out-what-🌽-is"
💯. Its like back in the day when ppl looked at magazines. It's the same thing but without the photos.
I agree 100% with your take on smut. I find myself skimming over it too, especially if there’s so much of it, and instead searching more for the fluff and genuine connection between the characters. I feel like authors try to throw so much smut in the book because they think that’s what people want to read, but it doesn’t hit the same if the author hasn’t even built up their relationship or anything.
mlm... . g .benemlk4nmknm k
I don’t even read smut that often, but from my experience, fanfic smut is almost always superior to smut in books.
esp if there's an announcement saying that english isn't their first language (why is it so good then 🤨)
We need to start treating men who only read ww2 books how they treat women who only read romance
@@leviscozyworld GAG IT
This is one of the funniest comments I’ve read in a while.
Wait those exist?
well, they are different. Not saying romance is bad, but those men are learning a lot. My grandpa was one.
Atleast men are actually learning useful relevant shit. WW2 was more complex than just "Hitler bad"
I honestly dislike smut so much, like it irks me anytime I see it in my books. I’m also 15, so it probably has something to do with that. Like I love reading romance to see two people grow and change for the better with each other, like that’s why I’m here girl, and then a smut scene will pop up and it just makes me dislike the book. For me it takes away from the plot and the reason why I’m reading, like I want to read about the emotional part of a relationship, not just the physical yk?
i agree!! it usually takes away from the plot for me
Fr! It's like they use it in place of creating an actual relationship and creating a connection between characters. It's just lazy writing.
I don’t read a lot of romance (I tend to gravitate towards nonfiction; I cry easily during emotional books now), but when I do, I want something with great character development and chemistry. So I usually read classics with romance in it if I want my romance fix : Jane Austen, Louisa May Alcott, even Tolkien (Beren and Luthien are amazing) or Agatha Christie (I reread “The Moving Finger” more for the romance than for the mystery at this point). There is so much richness in watching the characters grow as people and towards each other. I have read every Agatha Christie book multiple times; I know that sex/sexual desire is a common motive for murder - but I don’t want to have to have it described to me in intricate detail (not something I enjoy or am comfortable reading)… especially not at the expense of the story and the characters.
I do wonder the use for smut scenes in portraying intimacy between characters, but personally sex-related stuff repulses me as an ace so I just skip over it. I regret having read this one book that just had a bunch of sex scenes whenever the two mains hung out together (and ended with a sudden, violent bury your gays trope).
nah bc tell me why i caught my 12 year old brother reading a copy of icebreaker his friend lent him.... like a year ago he was obsessing over middle grade dragon books
😧😧😧😧
😦
the way I as a 20 yr old know a like 14 yr old reading haunting adeline... like idk if i should parent them or not LOL sigh . i hate it here
YES!!! My middle schoolers that I teach, boys and girls, were passing around a copy of the book that one got from her older sister. The fascination and craziness of that scares me lol.
Personally, as someone who does read fantasy, horror, and thriller (not just books but also manga, comics, and fanfiction), I do like romance just as any girlie but booktok is just not it for me.
I think manga readers can agree that in terms of romance, manga does it better and more diverse. Not just in terms of hetero cis relationships but also queer relationships. My issue with booktok is that they don't really have much chemistry or it isn't earned to actually convince me.
agreed! i read the exact same as you and i cannot sit through booktok romances
True the current Horror/ bl manga I'm reading rn is the summer hikaru died and I kid you not IT'S SOO SO good
Tbh it’s only booktok, I’ve read many reaaaally good romance books, booktok lowkey ruined it 😭
10:46 it’s equivalent to corn 🌽. And it’s also overkill when every book they rec is smut. Or pushing smut on underage bikers. Trying to push YA authors to put smut in their books. Thirsting over the wade guy or whatever. Like side eyeeeeeeeeeeeee
I saw someone complaining about how a YA book didn't have smut!! This is just not you girlie, go read your cheap 🌽
need recommendations for books with normal “smut” that’s actually earned and not just thrown in my face within the first 50 pages….. I have no issues with ppl who read it cause like you, I use romance as a palate cleanser. I like a bit of yearning and it’s crazy that because the “spice”, “smut” dark romance niche has boomed so much, the chemistry that would normally lead up to a sex scene is just pretty much non-existent in the popular books that get recommended over and over. It’s one of the primary reasons I jump into YA more often now because at least I know imma get a bit of yearning with some valid immature hijinks!
i do recommend the book i mentioned in the video, lipsticks and camera clicks. i also recommend only for the week and one week in paradise. only for the week does have smut in the beginning but it makes sense with the plotline.
I was reading wildfire by hannah grace and tell me why they were boning within the first few chapters. I returned the book back and I didn't even finish it because I could just tell the book was not going to get any better from there.
I wanna say svsss so bad but i dont think thats what youre looking for 😂
I LOVE picture of dorian grey, and i definitely agree that september is the best time for classics. It feels so cozy! I loved this video
it’s been *years* since I’ve read that! I’m currently reading Les Miserables (and since I’m reading the unabridged version, it’s over 1400 pages, so think that it might be a while until I get around to rereading The Picture of Dorian Grey… especially since I really want to read Crime And Punishment sooner rather than later; it sounds amazing and almost like it has some shades of Edgar Allan Poe to it.
@@tahlia__nerds_out my friends all love the les mis movie and I've been wanting to read it I'm just curious if it will keep my attention with it being as big as it is
@tahlia__nerds_out please read crime and punishment when you can! I finished reading it over a month ago but still think about it everyday.
one thing that IRKS me in books is when there is way too much smut. i don't mind if its only a LITTLE, I can just skim past it but when there's smut in like every chapter, it gets a bit...yk WEIRD. And I feel like smut in books ruins the chemistry between the characters as it shows mainly the physical parts and not those cute lil fluff parts ygm (its so had to explain omds)
100% agree that a lot of authors have replaced chemistry with smut. It seems like the couples kiss and sleep together earlier and earlier in the book with each new release!! It makes the romance way less believable for me tbh. I've really gotten into slowburns lately
The way I was just about to write my own essay on this. I think another thing that isn’t talked about when it comes to this is how it not only normalises 🌽 as regular literature(which it’s not), but it also can lead to miseducation on how essex(trying to avoid violation rules here) should be had in terms of health. A lot of books that have essex in them tend to show it as almost like a step in a coming of age sequence, when it’s not. I could go on about this for ages, but I’ll save that for the essay.
Smutification of YA books is a big problem right now, and it's the newst trend. It started with booktok pushing adult smut to youth, and now it made its way to YA books.
In my library i see girls and young as 13 reading adult smut with dark themes, and they think it's romantic. It's totally messing with their impressionable not fully developed minds.
I feel like if smut book were well written then maybe I'd read one but generally their not..also i really just don't like to read alot of sex or related things in books because its cringe...also it's way too detailed sometimes and that's just nasty
yes it’s sooooo cringe and now that i’m an adult i just wonder… why do we have to see these two characters getting freaky?
I skip smut scenes personally cuz I find them cringe but insinuating everything is a smut addiction is so weirddddd. Like does a book *have* smut, in the same way a movie or tv show has a sexy scene, or is it a smutty aka erotic book? There's a difference and no one wants to consider that because they'd rather call women on tiktok porn brained lmao
No way people think Emily Henry is smut 😭
As a smut-free writer I am so, SO sick of the porn fixation in the publishing industry.
Ok but the idea of asking "what's the spice level?" for a Dostoevsky is genuinely hilarious
thank you for another video essay!!
first: i feel like reading romance is definitely not hitting and i think the same people romanticize or fetishize are the audience and authors are not giving because it doesn’t take much to appease this audience
second: kids and reading smut as a encouraged thing will never sit right with me. everyone’s psych is not there and it doesn’t matter what gender you can quickly become addicted to
third: i think tiktok is just like deranged sometimes. like those comments are on like all topics it’s CRAZY.
You are such an icon! I adore your hair, and how honest and fun you are❤ I’m sending you love (;
thank you so much
@@myocoree Aw of course love, anytime🫶 it’s true! (:
nah cuz why did this go from a fun place for book recs, reviews, and authors to interact to a place where thirsty millennials goon?
I hate when I'm really enjoying the chemistry between two characters, and I'm falling in love with the characters but then enters the explicit sex scenes and the dirty talk literally makes me cringe and I can't look at the characters the same way 😅 If a male character utters the words "milking" during a sex scene I cannot cope and it's ruined for me 😂
I agree with all of this, tho im coming from a different perspective. I started reading smut in the form of gay manga (BL/Yaoi) as a 13/14 year old teenager. It was definitely too young for me and gave me some weird ideas about sex and queer relationships. I'm bi, came out years after this phase, and while I still read some "spicy" comics, I've really expqnded my horizon. I always read different types of manga, but I've started reading books and listening to audiobooks. What I've learned to appreciate in queer books now are the stories and representation of realistic or deeply romantic relationships, rather than just the smut. A comic I've come to really enjoy is Revelations in Eros, which is a real-life comic about a young Mexican man whose going to college in Arizona and learning to love himself and not feel like a sinner for loving other men. It's free on Webtoons and Tapas, I'd recommend it for anyone who can handle a tragedy
This is such an eloquent take that really goes into depth. I always felt rubbed the wrong way by how *some* booktok books had gotten so popular, specifically haunting adeline. I know im younger (16) but just the idea that so many people found that book enticing was so weird and i couldnt understand the draw to it. Earlier this year i read icebreaker cause im a big hockey fan but after i finished, it felt low quality. something more fanfic-y than published book and something tells me that fast paced, low brainpower sort of book really gets people who dont like reading to start reading
As someone that doesn't use TikTok, I've had the interesting experience of watching every booktuber suddenly upload video after video of terrible books they found on there and I'm really starting to wonder what the hell is going on on that app...
Anyways, I enjoy smut when there's like, actual romance, you know? I've read two gay love stories recentlythat were pretty explicit but like, they took their time with building up their characters before their pants fell down. From my POV it looks like there's a lot of hate bc the most common complaint I've seen (on this platform) about Booktok books is that the smut is whatever and there's 400+ pages of like, no actual plot?
As an outsider looking in I'm curious about people's thoughts on this.
Exactly, like sometimes I want a smut book, but I’m so tired of a lot of these books having chapter upon chapters of it and virtually no actual plot
Non-readers are treating it as any smut in books=erotica bc they don't know how genres work. Bc they know good and damnnn well 2 smut scenes in a 600 page fantasy isnt no dang erotica🤦🏾♀️
Also even though smut addiction is not a real addiction, I do think its interesting that the people who believe in it, and place that title on women in booktok, then go on to mock. Even though addiction should be taken seriously. It gives fake concern and "I lowkey just wanted to bully women for something they like."
Lastly, I hope you keep making the video essays bc they're eating so muchhh😩. I saw the tiktok you had made when everyone was asking you abt smut. Idk why ppl got frusterated bc I don't think its wrong for creators to want meaningful engagement on a video. Bc you worked on a rec video and all ppl can do is ask the same question and disregard what you were trying to initially say abt the story.
it’s not just non readers tho! when i saw a thread of people making fun of people who read romance thinking it was the same as smut it was FULL of readers. i was scrolling so long! i do agree though ik smut addiction isn’t a real addiction and honestly neither is porn, i really just said it for the clicks 😭
I promise I'm gonna actually watch the video and partake in the discussion, but I absolutely must comment on how gorgeous your hair is first
thank you 🫶🏾🫶🏾🫶🏾
I could measure when smut became more common in romantasy books with Cassandra Clare.
In Mortal Instruments, it took SIX books for clary and jace to have sex
In Infernal Devices, it took 3 books for will and Tessa to have sex.
In the Dark Artifices, Emma and Julian have sex in the first book
that's especially funny since Infernal Devices is set in like, the Victorian era right? so they should've taken *longer* to hop into bed
@@whiteraven562 they were said that their third died :(
To add to your point I think the first series with clary and jace was only originally supposed to be the first three books. So a s*x scene wasn't even in the original plan. But I'm glad she still held it off until book 6 because I remember it feeling earned and sweet
@@hanna__7391 I just remember that it was super funny that Jace brought condoms to what was basically Hell 😭
@@nuzhatnayeem1119 wait that actually so funny I can't believe I didn't remember that😭he was probably carrying it around with him since he found out they weren't actually brother and sister
I think most straight men may not read romance books, but some gay men like me LOVE romance books. I don't care if it's straight or queer romances, I just love romance!
Your makeup looks so cool!! Nature fairy vibes
i get this very often 😭😭 tysm
I was exactly the same when I was first reading romance and now, I find myself skimming over so many sex scenes in romance books because they are almost all carbon copies of each other. Every position is the same, the dialogue is the same, and even the length of the scene itself is the same. I totally agree with you that authors are exchanging smut for chemistry, and I think it's because they know that's what's going to sell.
LIVING for this video essay eraaa!! love hearing your thoughts 🙂↕️🙂↔️
thank you!
I’ve read one Christina Lauren book and it was the Soulmate Equation. I loved it! I want my own River so badly 😂
my problem with booktokers like that isnt that they read books with smut - it's that they will literally dismiss everything else doesn't have it :/
I just started reading romance and I’ll admit I’ll like it. I used to just read urban fiction or horror.
I’ve realized that I like romance in a book, but I don’t actually like it to become smutty. I’d rather it fade to black because honestly smutty scenes tend to just be cringe for me and I’m more interested in seeing what dynamics the author shows between the character and shows how their relationship works and grows. Also, tbh i can’t really speak on this too much since I only speak English, but I feel like smutty is extremely cringe in English because of the types of words that have to be used. It’s basically either medical terms or slang that I find impossible to take seriously. It’s just not it for me.
Agree w ur take on Smut! I now skimr through smut scenes. I don’t know if anyone has read the twisted series, but I truly love twisted lies! People were complaining about how there wasn’t a sex scene until 300 and something pages in and I was OK with that. I was just enjoying the characters vibe.
I'm really hoping i like Twisted Lies. I skipped the first book, liked the second, and hated the third
@@adrie2408 I hope you like it as well, but I understand it’s def not for everyone! I agree w u skipping the first book cause it was a hot mess (entertaining but a mess). I wasn’t too fond of the second book, but it is highly loved and praised.
I acc loved twisted hate, until the painting story line and the break up scene. But Josh and Jules to me had great banter, do you mind me asking why u didn’t you like it?!
Twisted lies is more of a slow burn and I liked seeing Stella be in an awkward stage of adulting where she’s seeing her friends get married and get into their careers and she’s still an intern.
@@bored151 what Josh did in retaliation towards Jules was dirty and messed up fr. Mind was blown and couldn't believe he did that. But that's not why i didn't like it though.
For me, i think there was just too much spice for me to care about the characters and the plot that i lost interest part way. Like the pact they had was literally made to be each other's fbuddy and the whole i hate you situation was superficial to me.
However, i did enjoy for the most part their sexual tension and banter but it was lacking on a emotional level/ connection to me. Sorry for the rant haha
I went to a local book club meeting for the first time last week. We read King of Battle and Blood (‘‘twas fine) but I was kind of baffled at how many times I heard the word smut. I read everything and never really thought of how, how dark and how much smut is such a determining factor. To each their own. I love erotica but they’re not wanting that. I don’t know. I had such a good time but found that really interesting. For most of the people there the book wasn’t their level of dark and nowhere near their smut level.
I'm asexual and can tolerate some amount of s3x scenes, and since I read mostly historical and/or fantasy, the said scenes aren't the focus and is usually used more to drive the story or explain character dynamics. So yeah, I can tolerate that.
I think some people have smut "brainrot" and let it leak to real life or rope up people who aren't in on their "jokes". I have so much fandom brainrot, but I'll try not to be weird with people who don't get it, much less harass teens or celebrities over it.
Even when my teen cousin talked about liking hentai (in hindsight idk if he was pulling my leg), i shut my mouth coz I'm not gonna rat him out to his parents or police him, but I later observed he has a very healthy view of relationships and even talks to his AUNTS about how much he likes his girlfriend and what their boundaries are. Maybe if he developed unhealthy views of women from reading that kinda media (which are usually misogynistic), I'd talk to him, but atp he doesn't need my intervention.
Like, read what you want, just don't harass people over it.
I've seen other people give a book a low rating simply because it didn't have smut. It's so ridiculous.
I think the calibre of writing and fixation on one theme or topic is what gets critisized most.
It's like in gaming. COD or Fortnite players are typically children or have large young audiences because the barrier to entry doesn't entail literacy or familiarily with more complex themes. It's similar to FIFA game players. They're sports fans, not gamers. Gamers don't touch FIFA for the most part. The smut readers might just be perverts, which is fine. If the smut were very well executed, a lot of critisizm would fade.
I like the rare smutty game on occassion, but I'm not buying a title unless it's a good game first.
I think it just shows that writing well is tough and needs a certain mindset and talent to harnass. People are better off reading something rather than nothing though.
I love reading classics and sci fi as well! So awesome to come across someone else who's dealt with the same.
I actually think romance is tricky to write well. It takes real work and a knack to make a convincing romance. It makes sense that it's harder to find good books with these themes.
I mean I am not a huge non-fiction fan because I like the escapisim of a good peice of fiction. 😂😂 That being said, I will at least try a good recommendation and have read books that would be classified as non-fiction. I just wouldn’t browse that section on my own. I am also a squicked by most horror to the point of abandoning the book and do not read a ton of it. I think is possible to know yourself and have reading preferences but if ALL you read is Smut and refuse to crack a book spine for anything but smut, its pretty much a p@rn addiction in a different format than video…sorry. One of the biggest issues with p@rn, especially for people who are young and impressionable is the false sense it can give you about relationship dynamics. And the best thing to counteract that is to get OUTSIDE your smut bubble and read outside the box. You may not read EVERY genra and I think that is perfectly fine, but at least challenge oneself to go outside your bubble a few times a year I say.
I think smut is fun and hate the pearl clutching attitude some reviewers have towards it, but I definitely think part of the reason it's so common now is a result of fandom culture and fanfic. Like people who read YA fantasy as teenagers would seek out fanfic with explicit content, eventually got older, and are now seeking that in actual published books. It'd be one thing if it was done well, but most of the time it's not. With modern romantasy in particular it feels like any plot is constructed around the 2 characters (who are usually heavily inspired by already existing characters) eventually boning lol. I find that I don't get as annoyed with it in actual romance novels.
As someone that reads a lot of romance I think one smut scene is more than enough and after that it’s just to much and like you I just find myself skimming over it
Omg why haven’t I had a video recommended from you in months?! Going catch up on the backlist.
I don’t read a ton of smut unless it’s in fanfiction because I feel like even one shots build up a ton of character development and heart with chemistry while most romance is just bland. I agree with you about monster romances! They are more diverse and just more entertaining. Like I genuinely don’t want to read a 450 page book where nothing happens except forced smut scenes. It’s so boring.
If you want to read a wild ride with non fiction, read kill me now the oral history of punk it's so good
i felt like something was weird with me because I didn't like ACOSF the way i liked other books because it was so much. i love a spice scene every now and then but if the spice is what makes the book good then that's telling me more about the lack of plot than anything else
I never read smut cause I started with dystopian fantasy so I like books with a lot of plot but I’m trying to dip a toe into smut just to see what the appeal is and so far- I’ve only read 4 books. 3 were quirky and fun monster romance and the last one was dark romance and I kinda hated it.😂 I dunno! It was too much for me and it got so boring. I almost DNF because I LOVE A GOOD PLOT, and there was literally no plot at all. 😭😭😭
Honestly people will hate to bring this up but its because the 'normies' (idk what other term to use i don't mean it condescendingly) were exposed to reading and now get their rocks off on it. I love that reading has gotten more popular (due to tiktok) but man has it had some terrible side effects. The publishing industry feels like fast fashion now! So many romance/fantasy novels I pick up now are just terrible writing! The book community just isn't what it used to be pre pandemic.
agreed! someday i want to do a video on publishing rn but i dont want to do one about fast fashion bc i feel like i have nothing new to add
I'm aroace and not into romance books at all and having the main face of book-tiktok be nsfw books just makes me feel like I can't engage in the book community there
Wow ok this is probably one of my favorite videos on this topic now. So many good takes, even the ones i wasnt 100% agreeing with still had me nodding along and understanding them.
I think what you said about romance and people finally finding a community for it, is something i definitely agree with. I honestly dont get why everyone has always been so obsessed with hating on the types of people that read the literally *most* popular genre in literature currently out there. My personal problem with booktok with this is probably that…i just dont think it gives that community a proper platform and space to actually start a discussion. Tiktok is just not designed in a way that would encourage in depth conversation, which especially when talking about something like the romance genre, one based on one of the most complicated themes known to man, relationships and interpersonal connections, makes it so the people dont have a proper way to connect to eachother. Basically i feel like this community deserves a space and platform that would actually benefit and support them. Tiktok though actively works against such a thing with its algorithm and short video format that banks on you turning your brain off and not turn it on to talk and interact with other people. Its just incredibly hard to create and take part in a discussion when youre limited to 30 seconds or so.
When it comes to the smut stuff, i also think its fine to read and enjoy it, but the ‚does it have spice???‘ crowd really need to tone it down. I feel like they’ve created a bubble on there where they’ve fallen so deep in delusion that they think it’s totally fine to just… jumpscare the next person on the street with a smut book recommendation. Ngl this needs to be practiced behind closed doors. Ofc there was that 16 year old biker incident but im honestly at the point where imma say it doesn’t matter what age the person has, its never ok to sexualize someone and recommend smut books to them when they never asked for it. Boundaries people. Respect them. Its human decency and common sense that you dont show a stranger in the park your favorite torture corn.
Now, the last point i wanted to touch upon: the quality ‚drop’ in currently published literature. Cause i totally agree with what you said at the end there. Its something ive also noticed, and in such a weird way too. Authors feel like for their books to be successful they need to push in unnecessary and bad written smut and what annoys me beyond end is this… unnecessary urge to turn everything into a too long series. Im throwing full shade towards sarah j. Maas on this one. There are so many books ive read that were trilogies or normal series that all feel like netflix live action shows in the way they get like 4 too many seasons. Everything needs to be stretched out, plot points are not allowed to be solved in the same book they came up in, books need to be series when a single one would have sufficed. So. Much. FILLER. I feel like authors are afraid of letting go to of that one success they had so they wanna bank on it as much as possible, not realizing that they‘re compromising their books quality in the process. Or just not caring that they are doing so.
I mean- in a way.. this isnt really a drop in quality. Its a trend, the same way people are obsessed with defining a book by the tropes found in it rn, one that originates from current popular books. Authors think that they can only define themselves by what’s popular. and the same way we had twilight clones and then hunger games clones, the current cycle is going to be broken at some point as well. Of course this is all just my opinion, giving my own two cents. Anyone can enjoy what they like, i dont like romance and i dont like smut and i certainly dont like tiktok (as a platform and company), so im probably a bit biased against booktok and might be a bit harsh when you actually get me going. However, i am glad to see a more positive outlook that i might not 100% agree with, just to not get stuck in the fiery pits of hating something for the sake of hating.
I think that another part of the reason why booktok/romance readers/smut is so hated is because of commentary channels. I noticed that a lot of them are using booktok as another example of tiktol being crazy and contaminating the "pure" thing that is reading. I don't watch them anymore but many only focus on the bad aspects of booktok (which deserve to be talked about) and not the good parts (like that ppl are reading again)
And, as a result, the average person watching the video/s who is otherwise clueless about the community/s is made to think that ever/most of contemporary romance is just pure smut and creepy shit and the people who read it are insane and don't know boundaries.
Again, the problems like with harassing of real people do deserve to be talked about. I've been on the internet long enough to know that there is always a loud minority of people who take things too far and it involves hurting real people but most people aren't like that
I don't read romance often but i do like it when i read it. I sometimes get tired of reading about war, murder and idk so it's nice to just have two characters fall in love and stuff
This comment is pretty messy do forgive me
I think that one of the reasons why thriller doesn't get as much hate as romance does is because it's seen as more serious
Romance is pretty traditionally feminine while thriller, despite being dominated by women, is kind of more of a masculine thing?? Idk it usually includes some serious topics (which romance does include too but i guess thriller is more guaranteed?? Idk what i'm trying to say, sorry
I think it's obvious when guys are reading romance for the sake of getting bitches vs for fun
(though the two can intersect)
Guys who read romance usually try to act like a "book boyfriend" and do a bunch of cringy shit while guys who read romance for fun are more normal i guess
i love all the comments i promise 🫶🏾🫶🏾🫶🏾
love ur vibe and love what ur talking about💞
@@Plumtreee444 tysm 🥰🥰🥰
girllll i need that wig (or hair stylist)
@@strypezz4ever it’s a synthetic wig from amazon but i forgot the name 😭
There’s nothing wrong with enjoying romance 🤷🏾♀️ everyone has what they enjoy !
As someone who mainly reads fanfic, people who read books for smut kinda weird me out. Like it's fine if that's what you wanna read, I get that sometimes you're in a mood for smut but ONLY caring about that in whole like 600pg book is... Bizarre? I like a good plot and good chemistry/dynamics between characters. If your characters have no chemistry in your romance book then I just can't get behind it. I drop a fic if the characters get together too fast, I could NOT read one of these dark romance booktok books.
I don't care if something has smut in it. For me, it doesn't give or take anything away from a fic, if it's well done it can actually give. I don't skim smut scenes because i find that in the fanfics i read, the scenes are typically unimportant to the plot but they tend to add more to the pairing and i find it cute. Not to say there aren't fics that aren't just pure smut, though.
This comment is so crappily done lol, sorry if some things don't make sense😭
no fr if you want smut log onto ao3...i don't really need smut ESPECIALLY multiple long smut scenes in a published book. i've always read mostly books and traditionally published literature, but i've also been reading fanfiction for years and it's weird to me how much fanfiction-style writing + tropes had bled into traditional publishing.
@@spaceygemini definitely, it all feels like the wattpad fanfics I would read when I just found out abt it. If ur making a romance book it's so bizarre ur more focused on the smut instead of actual development between the characters.
Doesn’t spice mean smit tho? So if ppl r asking abt spice, they aren’t asking if it has romance, just if it has smut. I think reading these things as an adult is ok in moderation but asking if everything has spice or smut and needing it to enjoy smth and being so shameless about standing in public and shouting abt how much you love smut is just kinda like not ok. Idk if it’s morally wrong but it’s annoying, gross, weird. And I don’t think u deserve to be severely bullied but I’m sorry, ppl r gonna make fun of you when ur loudly admitting your corn obsessions.
Exactly! The person in the screenshot was asking about "spice". That's definitely not code for "romance".
I feel like nowadays lots of books that should be categorized in the erotica genre (due to most of the content revolving around sexually explicit plot points) are misfitted in the romance genre and described as spicy or +18 romance. And the books themselves also look really inocuous (as in both the cover, title and description in the back don't really portray them as erotica either).
Also, because I've seen some people in the comments saying how just because a book has 2 sex scenes doesn't make it porn, I wanted to point out the following. Sure, there are some books that have few sex scenes, but they still heavily revolve more on the sexual aspect of the story than on the romantic one. As was said about the chemistry with the characters replaced instead by attraxtion/sexual tension, or how most tropes usually employed in the romance genre are substituded by erotica tropes. At the end of the day, regardless of the number of smut scenes, if a book revolves more about erotic themes and plot points (as said previously) than romantic ones, it is an erotica. Cause it leans on the eros, not the psique.
At the end of the day I'm an adult, so if I were to mistake an erotica book for a romance one really wouldn't be a problem. The real problem, however, comes when some of this books due to them being miscategorized end up being promoted towards audiences that are far too young to read the contents of said books.
*Yea.*
The recent hate for women reading smut feels misogynistic , yes booktok can be problematic but some women simply are just enjoying there books but yk women cant do anything enjoyable 😭😭😭
it 100% is misogynistic
Part of the reason why I wish there were trigger warnings in the beginning of the book… i can read smut in fanfics, but thats because i know i the characters and im invested in them. I’m not much of a fan of it when it happens in books
I heard somewhere a reason there aren't trigger warnings in the beginning is because of Amazon's banned keyword list. If they put banned word in their book it gets taken down on Amazon. Though I don't know how true that is.
I would be afraid if a man read romance for real for real. Because the way men are written in romance for the most part are extremely problematic and borderline dangerous. Like in fantasy reading men say and do certain things are fine. In reality you would be arrested.
what type of romance are you reading 😭😭😭
@@myocoree I mean the BookTok romance. These characters are out here stalking women, there’s weird consent issues, and just all-around creepy behavior. I’m not a big fan of romance personally. I can read it. I just don’t go out of my way. But I do love urban romances on kindle unlimited when I’m in between reading high fantasy.
I was never a big romance reader, but I decided to broaden my horizons and try to read 1 book from the romance genre a month for a year. I’ve found that actually, I do like romance, but I’m not a fan of smut. Like, I won’t poopoo a book just cause it has smut, but I’ve felt like a lot of times, authors use smut to make the characters connect rather than actually just writing chemistry between the love interests.
Anyways, if anyone reading this has any romance recs with actual romance in it rather than just smut in lieu of romance, feel free to drop them in the replies 🫶🏻
People are honestly just stupid on the internet... ESPECIALLY on Twitter. Appreciate your take on these topics. Smut is okay every now and then but people gotta take it easy when it comes to being judgemental. But yes, thank you 🫂
My tastes have definitely changed too when it comes to spice in books. I used to read so much of it and idk if it’s because of that I’m not as into it anymore or if it’s because they just aren’t hitting like they used to. Sometimes I will be in the mood to read it and pick up an er0t!ca and be sooo critical of it which I think is so crazy of me
i think it’s probably both, i’m the same with erotica which is why i only read monster romances bc they’re meant to be goofy but also they’re good!
I skip over smut scenes unless it’s not very detailed and not directly implied. I’m into every genre it breaks up the monotony 🤎
I’m so glad I found your channel, you’re hilarious and gracious at the same time. 🖤🧋
this is so kind 🥰