Erotica Schmotica: We Want Romance In Our Sex

Carolyn:

I was scrolling through Amazon, killing some time, when I came across a book called "Here, Kitty, Kitty" by Shelly Laurenston. Loved the title and took a look at her other books.

It seems they all have one thing in common, to wit: sex is the main ingredient. More than one review lamented that an interesting plot line was secondary to the (very) numerous graphic sex scenes and that the characters are not as well defined as they could have been. Although the books appear to have humor, essentially they seem to be one big fuckfest.

That got me to thinking (always a dangerous thing!). Most of these books have 4 stars, so obviously there are people out there who like sex. I like it myself, as a matter of fact.

But I have a strange kick in my giddyup - I like my sex to be secondary to plot and character. In other words, not gratuitous.

Don't get me wrong - I went through a porn phase, or erotica or whatever - even tried to write it. That was a massive failure, I might add; it's harder to write good erotica than some might think. Not my forte, lol.

But as a reader, I demand a damn plot! And I want to see a character grow and change, become someone I care about. I want to root for a HEA, I want the characters to work at it and I want the sex to be a natural outcome of it all.

These books may have all that; I don't know, I've never read one. From the descriptions, I doubt that I will. I love shifters, so it's a shame.

How much sex is too much for you? Do you buy your books for the erotica, or do you demand a cohesive story and believable characterizations?


Lori:

I love some good, hot sexxoring just as much as the next gal but it's gotten kind of ridiculous nowadays. One glance between the smouldering hero and kick-ass heroine and suddenly they're burning up the bedsheets.

In real life the guy you sleep with on a first date generally isn't the guy you're spending the rest of your life with. so why does fiction hold thisdifferently?

And I'd like an explanation for how the physical act of sex is so different with the right man, ie the hero, that it's a promised HEA?

Okay, I'm running off track here. Back to the question...

The hottest sex ever is between people you've invested in. And I don't invest in characters in the first chapter usually. So I want the physical act of their relationship to take place after I buy into them emotionally.

The best sex I ever read wasn't erotic but rather part of the growth of what was happening between people who truly loved each other.

Anyone else?