Personally, I like sex in romance novels. Sex is real, it happens, whether it's depicted or not. For me it's an opportunity to see the characters at their most basic levels and gain a better understanding of them and their relationship, on a deeper level. Plus, done right it's HOT HOT HOT and who doesn't love that? It's fun to read.
Now, that's not to say I hate novels that don't include sex, or fade to black during those scenes. I respect each authors decision to either include it, or don't. But I will admit to finding myself disappointed when it's not included.
I've read comments on other blogs where people have said, "I'm okay with sex, as long as it moves the plot along." I have to take it a step further and say that sometimes sex, even sex just for the sake of sex is okay. Case and point:
Everyone knows there is A LOT of sex in 50 Shades (Unless you've been living under a rock. And before you ask yes I have read other books but FSoG is widely known so I find it's helpful for examples). Sometimes the sex moves the plot along or helps us understand the characters better, but sometimes, it's just sex (ex. I fail to see the plot in Christian getting Ana off in an elevator full of people... but damn it was hot). But, at least in my opinion, it isn't the copious amounts of sex that has made 50 Shades a huge success. It's a love story.
At the end of the day, that's why I read romance. It isn't about gratuitous sex for the sake of gratuitous sex with absolutely no love or relationship, that's porn. It's about the emotional connection between the characters and the love story,
What are your thoughts? Do you skip past the steamy scenes or do you crave the sexy times between characters?
♥ Chloe
I've never read 50 Shades, so I can't speak from it (I know, I know), but I mean ... why not? Sex is a part of life and relationships. It happens. It can affect a lot of things in a story. Who is, or isn't, having sex can change the course of events. It can add tension, relief. Make or break relationships. Pretending it doesn't happen or exist helps no one..
ReplyDeleteYOU HAVEN'T READ 50 SHADES!!!! LOL I'm just kidding. It's not for everyone... there's a lot of people who say it's poorly written crap so it is very possible you aren't missing much.
DeleteI know there are people out there who are maybe more... I don't want to say prudish but it's the only word coming to mind right now. Which is fine. To each their own and all that jazz. But I see reviews on Amazon sometimes where people are just slamming these books because of the sex aspect.
As a community I think readers and writers alike need to respect each others right to have a differing opinion. Just because a book has more sex than you prefer doesn't mean it's a bad book.
If you don't like it, don't read it. Skip past that part or don't read that particular book.
Wow... I have no idea where THAT tangent came from!
Anyways, thanks again for stopping by and commenting. Your thoughts are always appreciated.
Oh yeah, I have to laugh at the reviews that are like "Ugh, this is just porn!" "Who reads this stuff?" and my favorite "Some things should be left between a husband and wife!". Okay, so you don't like reading about sex? Fine. Doesn't mean the whole book was bad. (I actually just went on my own tangent about online book reviews). The covers or descriptions of books that have a lot of sexual content tend to usually give away that aspect, so it kills me these people who are surprised by it. A book with a half-naked woman on the cover has a sex scene? The horror! ;)
DeleteThank you! Uh... you see those two mostly naked people on the cover... they aren't just gonna go for a swim. I read a review the other day where the author warned there would be some m/m and people actually left one star reviews because of it. HELLO! If you didn't read the synopsis that is nobody's fault but your own.
DeleteI love sex in romance novels!! I want to see that physical connection between the characters to make the story realistic!! And I think that the romance novel industry has evolved to include the sex scenes because I know back in the 70's when I read my first Harlequin...the physical aspect was very limited...thank goodness for the evolution!!
ReplyDeleteAs a single guy, I will admit to reading all three of the 50 Shades books. I wanted to know what women were reading and it made it easier to chat when I knew what the books were about. In my book Shrink, I wrote three versions of the sex scene. One was too PG and one was too X. I went with the R-rated version and most women who have read it says it was just the right amount of steam without going over the line. That is what I like when I read a story with a sex scene. Leaves little to the imagination, but does leave a little. It allows the mind to play with the story and take in directions that the writer may or may not have intended. It's all part of the dance between writer and reader.
ReplyDeleteI like it when it goes with the plot and also when the characters are made strong. You had written, "sometimes sex, even sex just for the sake of sex is okay". But I like it more when the scene goes well with the plot and not that two strangers meet and then they have sex all over the place like lifts, at office, washrooms etc. In fact I like it more when it is complicated like the writer does not explicitly convey if it is out of love or one of the character is just using the other one. Later on the plot and story unfolds itself. Being a thriller romantic writer, I like it that way. But it is just me and I have not read 50 shades so I cannot comment much on it. I had heard a lot about it but at that time I was writing a sci fi romantic thriller and did not wanted it to influence my writing. Again it is just me most of the people read more to write better but I feel my writing gets influenced by it especially if I read something of the same genre. In short if writer really creates the characters well and it adds up to their characterization and also if the scene is made more creative I would love to read it.
ReplyDeleteVinay K
Book : The mysterious Greenfield woods
An interesting topic Chloe and one I've given much thought to. In my books thus far, I've written my sex scenes quite explicitly, but then either toned them down significantly or removed them completely on editing. I'm just not sure what is "too much information" so I tend to err on the side of safety, not that I necessarily want to. Like you I enjoy a good sex scene, well written and maybe I'm just not sure if I can write them well enough to include them.
ReplyDeleteAs to FSOG, I can;t comment on the first two books, but I did read Fifty Shades Freed and I have to say I did enjoy it. The sex was well written and quite exciting also. You can check my review of it here, if you want http://grantleishman.weebly.com/book-reviews/fifty-shades-freed-e-l-james
Nice blog Chloe and a good discussion. Well done!