Sugar and Spice: 10 Spicy TikTok books
TikTok is propelling all sorts of books to the bestseller lists. But have you fallen down the rabbithole of #spicybooktok? It feels like everyone has. Even my local bookstore has a table dedicated to spicy TikTok books that readers are clamoring for. Given how people code language on TikTok to dodge censorship, e.g. using “seggs” for “sex,” it’s not too surprising that “spicy” has become the code word for sexually explicit. Does that coding cause confusion? It sure did for me. I spent some time looking for spicy TikTok books, and what I found was wild.
First of all, I was reminded that curating collections of books, categorizing them, and recommending them are all skillsets. Librarians and booksellers make these skills their stock and trade. But randos on TikTok? Hoo boy. I saw young adult books with no sexual content labeled as spicy, romances I thought were one tick beyond completely chaste labeled as spicy, and plenty more wacky recommendations. Obviously, everyone has their own metrics when it comes to explicit content. Still, I’m going to assume people who want spicy TikTok books want books in which the sex scenes are a substantial part of the book. More than the hazy definition of spice, the piles of books I saw in video after video were repetitive, not to mention overwhelmingly straight and white. It takes some persistence to wade through that shallow pool, but once you’re at the deep end, there are books I suspect most people will agree are indeed spicy. Among these picks, there’s a fair amount of kink, taboo, menage, and polyamory. So, with all apologies to the Dune fans out there, the spice must flow.
Sugar Daddies by Jade West
Talk about a suggestive cover! Carl and Rick are just a couple of hot guys in a relationship, and they place an ad on a sugar daddy website. Katie answers their ad, assuming that she’s the Little Miss Right they’re seeking. She can handle corporate schedules, being spoiled, and her daddies’, ahem, proclivities, but can she handle all the emotions this relationship is giving her?
Neighborly by Katrina Jackson
While Neighborly is the second Erotic Accommodations book, it stands alone. Heaven and Calvin move to a duplex in a new town, where Tasha and Steven are their new neighbors. Soon, Tasha and Heaven discover the undeniable spark between them. And their loving partners support their explorations. What’s great about this novella is that some of the characters have stress in their lives about things like finances, but all the relationships are solid, loving, and not the source of angst.
A Lady of Rooksgrave Manor by Kathryn Moon
I’m not going to lie; this book doesn’t have a ton of plot. What it does have is Esther, a Victorian lady moving into a house of ill repute. Said house is full of monsters of all kinds — an invisible man, a vampire, and a sphinx among them. Esther isn’t afraid of monsters. Quite the contrary. Alexa, play “Monster Mash.”
Push by Nyla K.
As a general rule, I urge readers to seek out content warnings for these books. This one, for example, is not for people who are sensitive to infidelity. Because in this book, a dad gets with his daughter’s boyfriend. But it turns out well! The wife gets in on the action, too. Yes, it’s taboo and forbidden romance, but it is also truly a journey of self-discovery for the characters.
Haven by Rebekah Weatherspoon
Haven kicks off the Beads and Bondage series, so you know what you’re in for. It pairs city girl Claudia with mountain man Shep. At the action-packed onset, Claudia is on the run from killers and shows up at Shep’s door. They agree to a week of sex to explore the chemistry they have as well as work through the trauma of recent events. If you’re interested in sex as a healing act, this is the series for you.
Priest by Sierra Simone
Here’s the taboo hot priest romance for the Fleabag fans. I appreciate this book series for its honest wrestling with the conflict within the boundaries of Catholicism between wanting to lead a life of faith and being a sexual being. At the same time, this book is really there to depict some acts that will downright shock most people with any connection to church. Because when Poppy shows up at Father Bell’s confession with some things to get off her chest, the two cannot unring that bell.
Ensnared by Tiffany Roberts
Things to know: this one is a slow burn. There’s a lot of worldbuilding and political intrigue among aliens who are, like, spider-centaur people? But if you’ve been intrigued by how the Ice Planet Barbarian series has made a splash on TikTok, this is the next series to pick up. Ivy, a space colonist, crash lands on Ketahn’s planet. As he wakes her from cryosleep, she fears she’s about to be eaten by this giant spider centaur person. But spiders make their own ropes, so you may be able to guess what direction this one’s going in.
Twisted Love by Ana Huang
This spicy book that kicks off the Twisted series is for readers who enjoy that possessive alpha personality in their fictional men. It gets a lot of play on TikTok because of that grumpy/sunshine, “I hate everyone but you” dynamic many people really dig. This romance follows Alex, forced to look after his best friend’s sister Ava. They both have dark pasts but find their way to each other, with some suspenseful moments along the way.
Your Dad Will Do by Katee Robert
Katee Robert is well represented among spicy TikTok books, because she really does know how to lean into taboos people want to read about. If daddy kink is up your alley, this is the book for you. Lily finds out her fiancé is cheating on her. So she decides it’s time to act on the fantasy she’s been harboring for years: seducing his dad. I could say more, but it would mostly be flame emojis.
Laundry Daze by Tanzania Glover
Here’s a good, old-fashioned friends-to-lovers romance with plenty of spice. Daren and Sid struck up a friendship while using the basement laundry room in their building at the same time. It’s the classic meet cute! (When I lived in a NYC apartment building with a basement laundry room, all I met were giant cockroaches, alas.) But when you read what their friendship turns into, laundry day will never be the same again.
I hope you enjoy these bona fide spicy TikTok books! If finding books on TikTok is intimidating, we’ve got you covered. We provide a survey of TikTok romances and give recommendations beyond popular TikTok books. If you’re looking for more spice, we’ve got a great list of steamy romances. If variety is the spice of life, then a variety of spice will surely liven things up.
