Can erotic fiction take you there? Five CLEO readers get absorbed in an X-rated adventure to find out.
Can erotic fiction take you there? Five CLEO readers get absorbed in an X-rated adventure to find out.
Jane Eyre Laid Bare
by Charlotte Brontë and Eve Sinclair
“If you were already drawn to the very obvious sexual tension between Jane Eyre and Mr Rochester and were yearning for more 1800s Victorian bedroom action, this fan-fiction treatment of a classic doesn’t disappoint. Which girl didn’t dream of Mr Rochester?
The interesting thing about the book is how the slow buildup of tension and the long, drawn-out moments of hesitation between Jane and Mr Rochester added to the erotic moments. There’s a lot of staring and heavy breathing before any real action starts. “He stared down at me, drawing me further towards his warm embrace. Closer, closer he came, daring me to buckle and move away, but I was hopelessly, blissfully trapped…” It makes you want to shout ‘Kiss already!’ and when they finally do, it does actually get quite hot, and you kind of want your very own Mr Rochester by your side.” Nancy, 28
Delta of Venus
by Anaïs Nin
“This is a Penguin Classic book – the Pride and Prejudice of erotic fiction – written by the pioneer of the genre, Anaïs Nin. The subject matter would give Jane Austen a cardiac arrest: prostitution, infidelity, sexual restraint… This girl’s mind is as dirty as they come.
Written in the 1940s for a private collector (the book was first published in 1978), the intense content is describe in retro terms (for example, breasts are ‘milk holders’!). The stories dive straight into the action. There were sex scenes with descriptions of all body parts. The raunchiest bit for me was when a man walks in on a woman pleasuring herself in front of a mirror, which swiftly leads to them getting it on. There’s plenty of frilly bloomers and petticoats, but no faffing around in the rose garden holding hands.” Katherine, 25
The Great Gatsby Unbound
by F. Scott Fitzgerald and Karena Rose
“If you liked The Great Gatsby and would have loved to have seen more action between the characters, this story is for you. However, while the sex scenes do get pretty hot and heavy, they don’t last long and are awkwardly slotted into the story, which stays true to Fitzgerald’s original. Protagonist Nick Carraway gets embroiled in a relationship with worldly-wise golfer Jordan Baker, who takes great pleasure in divesting Nick of his innocence.
But if all you want is the naughty bits, I recommend just bookmarking the sex scenes in this book because they are few and far between, and your patience might wear thin trying to get to one steamy scene to the other.“ Clarabelle, 25
Bared to You
by Sylvia Day
“There are a few plot elements that make this book sound pretty darn stereotypical: the male protagonist is an incredibly highpowered, high-profi le entrepreneur; everyone has trust issues; everyone is insanely good-looking. But despite the lack of a wholly original plot, the chemistry that builds up between Gideon and Eva – the two main characters of this story – is pretty hot.
It isn’t prize-winning literature, but the sex scenes are sizzling and explicit, with the bonus of being balanced with just the right amount of emotion, so the experience isn’t just mindless erotica. In fact, I actually found myself a little bit invested in the development of Eva and Gideon’s relationship. However, despite the lack of diamond-skinned vampires and other supernaturals in this book, everything that happens is basically utterly unbelievable. So while the action might be great for getting in the mood, it doesn’t go far in terms of actual bedroom inspiration – every time Eva and Gideon get together, it just seems to organically result in the most mind-blowing sex ever, which can be a high standard to live up to.
But on the upside, a female lead who is completely clueless can also be a total mood-killer, so the fact that Eva isn’t just some utterly useless, eyelash-batting damsel with enough cute quirks to power 10 manic pixie dream girls is another plus point.” Angela, 26.
Best of Southeast Asian Erotica
edited by Richard Lord
“When I used to hear the word ‘erotica’, images of insanely large, fake-tanned boobs bouncing around to ’90s disco-tech music came to mind. But this book has made me revise this assumption. The collection of erotic literature is not only sophisticated and well-written, but also a terrific sex-starter – one story actually made me consider bringing fruit into the bedroom (banana, anyone?).
This book is great for sexual conservatives looking to amping things up in bed, minus the cringeworthy words like “throbbing” and “tantalising”. Jade, 24.
