When Is It Too Much Smut?

Okay, controversial opinion maybe, but sometimes in Romantasy books… there’s just too much smut!

Please don’t come for me in the comments. I know people love it, and I promise I’m not a prude!

I just get a little tired of it sometimes.

I am a plot reader first. A fantasy genre lover. And the books coming out recently in the Romantasy genre often have top-tier fantasy storylines—great, inventive magic systems and intricate worlds and characters. I love them!

And yes, there’s almost always various levels of spice.

The tropes are endless:

Enemies to lovers.
Forced proximity.
Fated mates.

The whole storyline almost always revolves around a female character in some kind of bind or on a quest, and a male love interest she meets along the way. The development of their relationship winds up being central to the story, and their love or connection in the end saves the day.

I know, I know.

“If you don’t like it, read something else.” Shrug.

But I really do like it. I have obsessively read Fourth Wing, ACOTAR, etc., and really loved them.

But I tend to skim the spicy parts.

They just don’t add anything to the story for me. If anything, they take away from it.

These books can absolutely stand on their own without it.

I want to get back to the plot! I need to know what happens in the story, not how great his bedroom skills are or how many lightning strikes Violet will call down while they’re doing it.

I’d like to pause here and say clearly that I absolutely support books written for women that have smut in them—and the women who enjoy them. You go, girl! If that’s what does it for you, then grab your vibrator and enjoy every second. No shade. Promise.

It just isn’t always for me.

Now, I have in the past picked up a book specifically because it had smut in it. And I have read some truly unhinged books.

Den of Vipers or Haunting Adeline, anyone? Swoon.

And they were fantastic and just what the doctor ordered!

So maybe I just don’t enjoy smut with my fantasy?

I cut my teeth in fantasy with Terry Goodkind, Robert Jordan, and Brandon Sanderson.

(Granted, there’s a lot of sexual violence against women in Goodkind’s books, so he’s no longer a favorite.)

And I don’t think it’s a male-author-versus-female-author thing either. I don’t think these guys are necessarily better authors. They just wrote books that are among my favorites, and they’re relevant here because they also aren’t very smutty.

I don’t know. Maybe this is just a rant.

Maybe it’s coming up as a pet peeve at the moment because I just DNF’d a book specifically because the smut ruined it for me. (You can find my journal page for it here)

In that case, it very much took away from the plot, and the heavy-handed emphasis on weird sex rituals meant the actual story suffered.

So what do you think?

Is there sometimes just too much smut in Romantasy books?

Do you ever find yourself flipping pages just to get back to the story?

I know I can’t be the only one.

Lightning doesn’t always need to strike for me, I guess. Shrug.

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Romantasy has definitely sparked a lot of debate lately — especially when it comes to how much spice belongs in a fantasy story.

Do you think there’s too much smut in romantasy right now, or is it exactly what readers have been wanting? I’d love to hear your thoughts, so feel free to share them in the comments.

And if you enjoy bookish discussions like this, take a look at some of my other posts while you’re here. 📚✨

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