Overview
There are different levels of Romance novels when it comes to the actual “doing the deed” part of the story. You have Fade to Black, Light Description, Heavy Petting, Explicit Content. I go through each level, to what I understand and what I read. Some may have different opinions on the levels or have different names for the levels, but here are mine.
Fade to Black: PG
This is most like the movies and TV shows. You get the heavy kissing, maybe some removal of the top level of clothes and some petting. That is where it stops and you get the “fade to black” moment. You know what is going to happen but the scene ends and it moves on.
Light Description: PG-13
With this category, you get some more description. You understand more of what is going on in the act, you get some more foreplay and it is hinted that they are doing the dirty, but it isn’t very descriptive. It doesn’t go into the full detail as the next category would.
Heavy Petting: R
I read this category the most. You get all the details in this one. You know exactly who is kissing what, what is being licked and how hard the thrusts are. There are grey areas between Light Description and Heavy Petting, though. Some stories have a mix of both, which I find very enjoyable because I don’t want to read all sex scenes all the time. To keep the flow of the story going, you don’t always need to know the full details of what the characters are doing. Sometimes there are stories that have light BDSM in this rating but it isn’t full-blown erotica.
Explicit Content: Erotica
You get everything in this one. I mean EVERYTHING. All the details, all the time, craziness. There is no limit to this category. I have read some of these and have realized that it isn’t my thing. Don’t get me wrong, some authors can write this material fantastic and I enjoyed the book, but it was too much. I don’t want to read it all the time. If this is your thing, more power to you!
Conclusion
No matter what category you fall into, romance is a hot commodity right now. So many authors are writing these stories and are making names for themselves in the genre. A good romance will always be read by me. I have my favorite authors who I am lined up to get their releases ASAP but I enjoy getting recommendations or finding those “diamonds in the rough.” Romance is where it is at and if you love it then I think you are awesome. I would love to know what you’re reading!
Until the next book.
Happy reading!
