2 Years of Smunth
Two Years of Smunth.
Has anything changed?
Yes.
No.
Over the past two years I have read more books than I can count, written millions of words, met new people and continued to engage in conversations around smut. I have learned so much and yet one thing stays the same.
Smut has endless things to teach me.
See, smut has taught me how to have an open dialogue around sex. It has taught me how to analyze descriptions of desire. It has also taught me countless truths about the human experience and its many expressions.
I don't think everyone needs to dedicate their life to smut the way that I do. But I do think there is something truly transformative in the process of Smunth - the act of engaging with sexual literature for a month for your own joy. Smut is that one thing no one tells you, you must read, but ME.
Yeah, I am going to tell you to do it.
For April, I think you should put your reading list on pause and pull out all your smuttiest books, or read smut for the first time! See what happens if you allow yourself to wholeheartedly read stories that focus on physical intimacy for a month. You may be surprised by what you learn.
If you want more info on what smut is and its history, then read my blog on Smutory. If you want to read more about my journey then read these. different. blogs.
If you are someone who reads smut often, then consider what you can do to push yourself. Do you always read the same genre or do you stick to the same dynamics? What if for the next month you pushed yourself to step out of your current box and saw if you couldn’t find unexpected corners of yourself.
If you are ready to go, then join me this April and let's do SMUNTH!
for your consideration
Rating system: (this is based on price, just try and come between me and my kindle)
⭐️Library, ⭐️⭐️kindle, ⭐️⭐️⭐️paperback, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️hard cover,
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ special edition
Spice level:
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ Oh my God, I didn’t know you could do that!
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ Not suitable to read at work
🌶️🌶️🌶️Good Lord!
🌶️🌶️HOT
🌶️ hot
FMC= Female main Character and MMC= Male Main Character
The Happy Ever After Playlist by Abby Jimenez 🌶️🌶️
This is one of those books that is hard to talk about without spoiling the previous book. So please, for the love of SMUNTH, read Book 1, The Friend Zone, first. What I can say about this book is that it is heart-breakingly beautiful. How do you move on when the life you thought you were going to live is pulled out from under you? And how do you love someone when forces much stronger than you are pulling you toward that person? What I find so amazing about Jimenez’s work is that she somehow finds a way to weave fantasies and grandeur into the mundane and depicts serious topics with such grace. Somehow she can turn a rock star romance into something soberingly human and tender. You want to flip to the next page even if you think it might steal your breath. I can't recommend these two books enough! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Wild Card by Elsie Silver 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
The last installment of the Rose Hill series tells the story of the grounded, patient, yoga instructor Gwen and the quiet, cynical aerial firefighter, Sebastian “Bash” Rousseau. The two meet while stranded at an airport. They quickly form a bond they want to explore further but one little hiccup takes the two down different paths. They long for each other for months but they try their best to move on. However, when Bash shows up to his estranged adult son's birthday party and meets his son's new girlfriend, nothing can prepare him for seeing Gwen. The story has crazy twists and turns and all the characters you love from the Rose Hill series show up; the best being Crazy Clyde, the surly old man who widdles his way into everyone's heart. The book is both funny and endearing. There are a lot of conversations about the life you dream of versus the reality you face, family dynamics, and grief. All is perfectly rounded out by Silver’s classic, steamy smut. Was it my favorite Rose Hill book? No. But did I love reading it? Absolutely! ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Soul Searching by Lyla Sage 🌶️🌶️🌶️
There is something so undeniably cozy and effortless about a Lyla Sage book. This is the first book in Sage’s new Meadow Lark series which is set in a small mountain town in Wyoming. We are introduced to Collins Cartwright, the Cartwright twin who left home to become a photographer and who became famous. After a few bumps in the road, however, she lost herself. When she comes home, she stays in the brooding upholsterer Brady Cooper’s spare room, and works as his assistant. The story is all about grief and finding yourself. Not just the grief that follows a death but about the life you expected and the paths you could have taken. Sage underlines this with friendly spirits who follow Collins around. This was an absolutely beautiful read and will hit home for anyone who has ever felt lost or confused on their path through life. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Mate by Ali Hazelwood 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
Gosh, it feels like Ali can write anything. I mean, we knew after the massive success of Bride that she killed the paranormal omega-verse books. But she knocked it out of the park with the sequel! What I love so much about her books is how masterfully she makes each book feel unique and yet still gives it that Hazelwood charm! Mate is the perfect example of her humor. She gives us a brooding, grunting, overly serious hero with a spitfire heroine who gets under all his carefully constructed walls. As far as the story, I loved the fun plot with the mystery cult and dramatic past! Paired with the pining and yearning of the two leads the sexual tension in the book felt explosive. When the sexual tension finally did erupt, oh my word, was it sexy! And to top it all off, the interesting conversation Hazelwood wove in about women's health care made this book a five-star read for me! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Priest by Sierra Simone 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
This was one of Booktok's first chockhold books. It was everywhere! Now that I have read it, I understand some of the criticism, but I also mainly understand the hype. Here is why I loved it: I understand that for some the whole naughty priest thing may be too much but for me it's more a story of a priest grappling with his humanity. I think I should also clarify that I am not Catholic. However, I am deeply spiritual and love learning about religion and theology. What I love about Tyler Bell's character is that he is someone who really loves and respects religion and people’s connection to the Divine. He is a deeply spiritual man who feels drawn to the work of the clergy. But where I think this story excels is the fact that he had to learn how to do that type of work in a way that was sustainable for him so that he could have a relationship with a woman. Yes, the book is extremely sexy and I don't want to negate the inherent erotic nature of this story but I loved that Simone brought sex into conversation with devout life. She asked the deeply controversial question: “Is sex holy?” and the character development of Tyler and Poppy was mesmerizing. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
And Now, Back to You by B.K. Borison 🌶️🌶️🌶️
This was the highly anticipated sequel to First Time Caller in Borison's new Heartstrings Series, a series of contemporary romances inspired by Nora Ephron movies. These books capture the essence of a good rom-com. Fun plotlines with fun tropes and the most swoon-worthy love. Borison’s second book in the series is inspired by “When Harry Met Sally” and it focuses on Jackson, a radio weather reporter and Delilah, the weather girl at the local TV station. They could not be more different and have always struggled to get along but when a massive storm heads for Baltimore, the two are tasked with teaming up to report on the incoming storm. For this, the two have to spend a lot of time in a cozy inn during the blizzard. I love how their mutual understanding of each other unfurls. To watch them love the things in the other, that that person did not like about themselves was beautiful. Truly, their love story is about finding a partner who balances you. The chemistry between these two was delicious. I would not call Borison’s books the smuttiest reads but they are very sexy. She finds a way to add yearning to each page, leaving you feeling a bit sweaty and a lot weak in the knees.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Crash Test by Amy James 🌶️🌶️🌶️
I was a victim to emotional damage at the hands of Ms. James! AND I AM SO GRATEFUL! This book was incredible. This was a beautiful, refreshing love story. Crash Test follows the relationship of Travis and Jacob as they try to find a way to the kind of love they yearn for. The two are thrown out of the status quo of their secret relationship when Jacob is almost killed in an accident. Jacob is a driver in Formula 2, the racing league just below Formula 1. He is young, and making a name for himself in the sport. His boyfriend Travis is an extremely successful F1 driver. The two live out their relationship from hotel room to hotel room behind closed doors. But when Travis thinks he is going to lose Jacob, everything changes. One of my favorite things about this story was the timeline. This story is not told in chronological order. In fact, we start with the accident, which instantly drops us into the emotional turmoil of the characters and even when you think you may have a handle on your heart, James will pull the story in a new direction that leaves you even more gutted! The two men have a type of chemistry that leaves the pages steaming, which is made all the more impactful when your heart is also shattering for them. If you are looking for an incredible book that will consume your life and leaves its mark, then read this one. And if you are going for maximum impact, then download the audiobook. The VA’s of this story delivered a performance that left me on the edge of my seat! Truly incredible!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Seven Days in June by Tia Williams 🌶️🌶️🌶️
Tia Williams’ novel Seven Days in June is a beautiful story about how a love story of our youth can still haunt us. The story of Eva and Shane will melt the heart of any reader. They are both writers who have spent most of the last two decades writing about each other. Eva is a romance author who has been writing an erotic series about a witch and a vampire who are destined to search the earth for each other forever. In his award- winning novels, Shane writes about a girl who is like the flower that keeps trying to grow out of the cracks in the concrete. The two spent a week together in senior year of high school, forming a bond that was quite literally carved into their skin. But when things abruptly end it is clear that neither of them can move on. Now they are in their 30s, still holding on from afar. A book panel brings them back together. This story expertly examines addiction, trauma, abuse, chronic illness and healing. Shane and Eva are complex and radiant. Neither is perfect. They are flawed in the ways that make them honest. I ate up every page of this story!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
In Her Own League by Liz Tomeforde🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
Ohhhhh, how I have waited for this story!!!!! It is no secret that I am a huge fan of the Windy City series and when the series ended last year, I was very sad. However, Tomforde quickly followed this up with an announcement about a forthcoming book for Monty, because of the sheer volume of requests. This eased my grief. Everyone's favorite “hot dad”, Emmet “Monty” Montgomery, from Caught Up, was finally going to get his own story in a standalone novel. Andm ooooh, was it a juice one! Monty is the field manager for the The Windy City Warriors, Chicago's MLB team. He loves his job and his team but the new boss is not his favorite…yet. Reese Remington, was raised to take over her grandfather's MLB team and she loves baseball. However, as the first female team owner in the league she is facing an uphill battle. The sparks between these two fly from their first interaction in Play Along. They have the kind of explosive love-hate relationship that has you turning the page at breakneck speed. Once things heat up - wink wink - you are instantly sucked into the sexy writing of Tomforde. I swear, that woman puts cat nip in her smut because it lives rent free for years! The tension in her books is iconic and when it finally snaps, all bets are off. From hot scenarios to memorable one-liners, these scenes get five starts on the smut meter from me. But what is special about Monty and Resse to me, is their age and how this was reflected in their conversations. I will yell this until the end of time but I think the romance genre has room for more age diversity. Let me read stories about people's second great love and what happens after the kids or the divorce. Give me the story of the lovers who have the benefit of life experience on their side. Reece and Monty's conversations around family and careers, who they have grown into as individuals, and what they pride themselves on, was so lovely. To me, as a 24-year old, they act as inspirations of what I could become and reminders of the things that never change, no matter where life takes me. I loved this book!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
