Ridley’s Reviews > Scoring Lacey > Status Update

I've found that the label "erotic romance" is applied to a wide range of books. Some are just as you said: a regular romance with extra sex, but some only seem to have a "plot" as excuse for the sex scenes. I like the former, but can't read too much of the latter before I start feeling a little slimed.

Which is why I the popularity of erotic romance annoys me. Harlequin is getting more and more of my money because I just want a contemporary romance--no underground BSDM clubs, or lame-o plots written around the sex scenes, etc etc. I know there are loads of talented contemporary romance writers out there but when I browse Samhain or whomever, and all of the contemporary romance blurbs focus on the sex, I don't even bother.

I agree, Evangeline, but doesn't Samhain sort of specialize in that sort of "romance?" I don't personally mind sex scenes if they're important to the growth of the relationship, but if that's the main point of the story, it's just too thin for me. Authors like Toni Blake write hot, but are still considered mainstream because that's only one part of the story.

Suzie wrote: "I agree, Evangeline, but doesn't Samhain sort of specialize in that sort of "romance?"

I've heard them say lots and lots of time over the past year that they aren't just an erotic romance e-publisher, so I keep getting my hopes up whenever I pop over to the website!

Maybe that's true, but I'm sure erotic romance is still their bread & butter. Maybe you have to hunt for the stuff that's not erotic?