Dirty romance novels are shedding their stigma thanks to TikTok

By now everyone is familiar with #BookTok—but have you stumbled across its spicier cousin #SmutTok? “Smut” refers to books that include one or more sexually explicit scenes and surprisingly (or perhaps unsurprisingly) the erotic category has found a growing fan base on TikTok. The #SmutTok hashtag has over two billion views on the app, while offline, stores like Barnes and Noble have entire dedicated SmutTok sections featuring viral titles.  @kristareadsandwrites Barnes & Noble for the win, stocking the smut! Was so excited to see these books on the shelves! #bookhaul #barnesandnoble #barnesandnoblehaul #smuttok #spicybooktok #momsthatread #romancebooks #spicyromancebook #spicyromancereadersofbooktok #momsthatreadspicy #spicyreads???????? #momsthatreadsmutt #allmyfirsts ♬ Marvel Studios Fanfare – Geek Music Of course, the popularity of romance novels is nothing new. Romance is a billion-dollar industry, accounting for 18% of all U.S. fiction sales. Couple that with BookTok’s own growing sway on publishing—increasing Barnes & Noble’s book sales by 14% alone—and people are no longer afraid of someone reading smut over their shoulder. Instead they’re carrying the titles under their arm with pride.  On SmutTok, readers share unfiltered reviews and reveal recommendations for those after a certain level of smut. SmutTokers are not shy about sharing what turns them on, posting photos of their favourite pages, making memes about reading smut in public areas or around their parents, and offering cheat sheets, so others can jump to the smuttiest chapters. “Someone’s got to say it and it’s gonna be me,” says one TikTok user, “my life began to significantly improve after I stopped reading self-help books and started reading smut.” @readbypaulina Cause we all read for the plot BookTBookTokybookrecs #steamyreads #smutbooks #spicychapters #spicybooktok #smuttok #romancebooks #denofvipers #hauntingadeline #twistedseries #icebreaker #wildfire #hooked #fourthwing #ironflame #punk57 #credence #killswitch #hideaway #corrupt #nightfall #theritual #thesinner #thedeal #booktokfyp #fyp ♬ som original – Lvibes Some of the most viral titles with loyal fan bases include Twisted Love by Anua Hang, which has sold over one million copies in the U.S. since being published 18 months ago, and Icebreaker by Hannah Grace, detailing the romance between a competitive figure skater and hockey team captain, which has also sold over a million copies.  Even monsters and mythical creatures are getting in on the action. Sarah J Maas’s A Court of Thorns and Roses, an enemies-to-lovers-esque romance between a mortal huntress and her fairy enemy, is so popular it’s even getting its own TV adaptation. Then there’s Ruby Dixon’s Ice Planet Barbarians series, in which a group of human women are trapped on an ice planet, with only blue aliens for company (no prize for guessing what happens there), or C.M. Nascosta’s Morning Glory Milking Farm. You’ll have to search the plot of this one for yourself.  Brands have even taken the opportunity to cash in on the action with monster-inspired sex toys. After noticing an uptick in searches for “dragon dildos,” Lovehoney launched three monster-inspired sex toys—one that’s blue and green with tentacles, a pink unicorn horn, and a curved orange option with textured scales. We’ve come a long way from Fifty Shades of Grey.