10 erotic novels to read right now

Books can be sexy too! Treat your imagination with these 10 deliciously sexy erotic books.

Despite its popularity, Fifty Shades is not the first erotic book in history. Erotic literature and sex stories have been part of culture since ancient times - in fact, since language was born! We have always tried to express our feelings through literature and art - especially our most romantic and intimate ones.

The book One Thousand and One Nights is a perfect example of an erotic novel. Although there is still much to discover about its origins, the book is said to date back to at least the 10th century.

Fifty Shades has helped bring erotic books and sex stories, which have been censored for many centuries, into mainstream culture.

Erotic novels are known to be very popular with female audiences and are often written by female authors. The best erotic books tell sex stories, but also stories about passion, emotion, and desire.

woman legs lying on bed with books

The discovery of one's sexuality and of a life free from taboo are issues the Panty.com community has always supported. Reading erotic novels is a great way to discover our most intimate selves and liberate ourselves from judgement and shame.. Through reading erotic and sex stories, we stimulate our imagination and fantasies and can discover desires we might not previously have had the courage to say out loud

Here is the essential list of recent, as well as classic, must-read erotic novels.

10 erotic novels that will ignite your desire and passion

1. Fifty Shades of Grey

year 2011 - E.L. James

book cover fifty shades of grey

Let's start the list with the first book in the most famous erotic literature trilogy today: Fifty Shades. This erotic novel is loved by readers not so much for its writing, which has been criticised by writers, but for what it represents: an erotic literature revival.

The book's release not only marked a big change in the literary world but also in erotic and fetish communities worldwide. From that moment on, people started talking about fetishes more openly. Taboos around fetish sex started to fall away and BDSM, which was previously considered extreme, rough and dark, is now looked on positively by many more people.

This doesn't mean that before this particular erotic novel nobody liked to fantasize about being tied up or playing a dominant role during sex - they did! But after the release of this erotic book, people felt more confident expressing their fantasies, even fetish ones!

The plot: The protagonist of this sex story is Anastasia Steele, a young English Literature student at Washington State University. A normal girl, she is shy but determined when it comes to what she wants. She works part-time in a hardware store to pay for her studies and dreams of working in a publishing house in Seattle after graduation.

Her first awkward encounter with Christian Grey, CEO of Grey Enterprises Holdings Inc., changes her life. But before it can go any further she has to face herself, her passion and Christian’s dark secrets.

2. After

year 2014 - Anna Todd

book cover after

After is an erotic novel series written by US author Anna Todd. Todd’s life suddenly changed after a simple blog post caught the attention of publishers and was turned into a 4 book literary series as well as a prequel. It has been translated all over the world and has gathered an impressive fanbase. After winning over both web and reader audiences, it landed in cinemas in 2019 with the 01 distribution film, After.

After has been praised for dealing with a range of human experiences, from the birth of a love that immediately becomes hot and passionate, to family, childhood trauma, and choosing what kind of people we want to be.

The plot: Tessa is a model student, engaged for years to a good guy who is very much in love with her. However, when she meets the mysterious Hardin Scott, the young woman enters into a relationship with him, and her life changes radically.

3. Objects of Attraction: series

year 2019 - Penelope Bloom
book cover his banana

Over the course of six books (we are still waiting for the last ones), Bloom tells several erotic, love and sex stories. The title of each book is an “object of attraction”:

After His Banana is the first in this erotic literature series and tells a classic “opposites attract” love story between Natasha and Bruce. She's a clumsy and chaotic but sunny girl with one big dream: to become a journalist. He's a gloomy, reserved and obsessive maniac with a promising career. It is a light novel, but with a captivating and sexy plot!

The plot: Natasha is closer than ever to her goal: being an investigative journalist. She’s fed up with boring daily talk about the weather or the importance of washing your hands; this is her chance to prove she’s no longer the clumsy, messed-up girl she’s always been. She has just got her first real assignment for an article on corruption in big business. To do it, she has to infiltrate Galleon Enterprises - like a modern-day James Bond.

To get the internship, she needs to get past the interview with Bruce Chamberson, and then investigate an alleged corruption ring. She feels focused. She can't afford to make any mistakes. But why are her legs shaking as the most handsome man she’s ever seen walks into the waiting room and gazes at her over breakfast? Every boss has his rules and apparently, Bruce can't stand someone touching his fruit. Especially the banana that is left outside his office every morning, the one he can't do without, the one she had mistaken for a kind of treasure...

Her Cherry, is the second book in the series and tells the story of Bruce's twin brother, William, and Hailey, a girl who is good at her job but bad at relationships. This novel is filled with sweet, passionate and steamy scenes! The narrative continues in the following books "His Treat", "His Package", "Her Secret", and "Her Bush".

4. Sex, Not Love

year 2019 - Vi Keeland
book cover sex not love

From the now-famous author Vi Keeland, consistently top of American bestseller lists and author of over two million copies worldwide, Sex, Not Love is one of those new sex stories which is both passionate, intense and romantic.

The plot: Hunter and Natalia meet at the wedding of mutual friends. Between a bouquet throw, a toast and a dance, their attraction to each other is immediate. After a fun evening and a few breathtaking kisses, the two say goodbye. Natalia returns to New York, while Hunter stays in California. He thinks he can contact her, but he has the wrong number! Almost a year later, the two meet again when their friends' first daughter is born and the chemistry between them is as electrifying as ever.

This time, Natalia, still determined to keep her distance from Hunter, sends him home with her mother's phone number... not imagining he would fly to New York and show up at her parents' house for Sunday family dinner. So, when Hunter's work takes him to the Big Apple for a few weeks, why not give in to the passion? After all, it's just sex, not love. At least for now…

5. The Mister

year 2019 - E.L. James
book cover the mister

Yeah, her again! The author of 50 shades returns with a new story, this time set in London. There was much anticipation for the erotic book, which was released in 2019, given her previous success.

The plot: London, 2019. Life has always been easy for Maxim Trevelyan - he is handsome, rich, aristocratic and beloved by women. But all this changes when a tragedy strikes him and he inherits the noble title of his family, immense wealth and all the responsibility that comes with it. His greatest challenge will be to resist the desire for an enigmatic young woman who has a difficult and dangerous past.

But who is Alessia Demachi? Can Maxim protect her from what threatens her? And how will she react when she finds out he's keeping secrets from her too? This is a sex story for those who enjoy a bit of drama.

6. Night Owl

year 2013 - M. Pierce
book cover night Owl

Night Owl is the erotic novel in M. Pierce’s erotic literature series, The Night Owl Trilogy.

The plot: Matt and Hannah met online - but their passion is undeniably real.

Matt Sky is 28 years old and has a perfect life. He has just received a fabulous inheritance, he's dating a beautiful girl and his four books have become bestsellers. He’s used a pseudonym for his books: M. Pierce. Things are very different for Hannah Catalano. Her boyfriend's a mess, her work is stressful, and she has lost all passion for her job. But everything changes when Matt and Hannah meet online. They're both looking for someone to work on a writing project with, with a few simple rules: no names and no photos.

And what's wrong with that? Their relationship is safe, protected by anonymity and totally innocent... Things could go on like this forever, but when Matt accidentally sees a picture of Hannah, something ignites inside him. And the more time goes by, the less he can get her out of his head. Every night, the thought of her washes over him. When destiny decides to finally bring them together, will passion overcome fear?

Can you desire someone you've never met?

"Carefully written, complex and vibrant, with a dark sensuality that will make you blush and be unable to stop reading at the same time."

7. Sin Trilogy: Richer Than Sin, Guilty as Sin, Reveling in Sin

year 2019 - Meghan March
book cover Sin Trilogy

Another erotic novel trilogy that promises twists, turns and extremely sexy content!!

The protagonists of this story are Lincoln Riscoff and Gable Whitney. They belong to two families between which a rivalry has been going on for centuries. The pair try to hate each other, but their passion and desire overpowers them.

The plot: "A Riscoff and a Gable will never live happily ever after. The rivalry between our two families is legendary. Ten years ago Whitney Gable caught me off guard with her long legs and magnetic, sensual blue eyes. I didn't know her name, or care. "

8. One Thousand and One Nights

A collaboration of stories and authors
book cover One Thousand and One Nights

We have mentioned this one already: this erotic novel is a collection of stories, many of which are filled with sex and passion. It is one of the oldest books in the world and certainly one of the most famous pieces of Arabic literature.

The plot: The story centers on the Persian king Shahriyār who, having been betrayed by one of his wives, systematically kills his brides at the end of each wedding night. One day Shahrazād, the eldest daughter of the grand vizier, decides to offer herself voluntarily as a bride to the king, having devised a plan to appease his anger against the female sex. The beautiful and intelligent girl, in order to stop the killings and avoid being killed herself, carries out her plan with the help of her sister. Every evening she tells the king a story, postponing the ending to the next day. It goes on like this for "One Thousand and One Nights" and in the end the king, in love, saves her life

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9. 100 Strokes of the Brush Before Bed

year 2004 - Melissa P.
book cover 100 Strokes of the Brush Before Bed

This erotic novel is one of the most famous Italian erotic books in the world, and it was translated into English in 2004.

The plot: The story opens in Catania, where the protagonist, Melissa, is about to turn sixteen. She is wrought with inner discomfort, which she confides in her diary. One evening, Melissa meets Daniele, an 18-year-old boy, with whom she has her first sexual experience. The magic of this first encounter is destroyed by his rude behaviour, which happens when he suspects she is not the virgin she claimed to be.

The two of them meet often, but their encounters are cold and impersonal, and she learns to give her body over to anyone who asks for it. This behaviour becomes violent, and, at one point she even asks a lover to rape her. Before long, she meets someone who sees how desperate she is for love.

10. The Ages of Lulu

year 1989 - Almudena Grandes
book cover The Ages of Lulu

Between love, drama and sensuality, this erotic novel guarantees a whole lot of excitement! This erotic book tells the story of Lulu's life, from adolescence, when she has her first sexual experiences, to her adult life, where sex always played a major role. She has many exciting sexual experiences, from sex with a stranger while blindfolded (where she shockingly discovers the stranger is her husband's brother) to sex with another woman.

The plot: For protagonist Lulu, eroticism is an obsession, a sentence she must serve, a call that pushes her to desire extreme experience and transgression. This desire is a paradoxical consequence of a violent and tender experience she had when she was fifteen years old with Pablo, a family friend twelve years older than her. They got married after cultivating a romance defined by distance and desire. But the relationship was founded on libertinism and pleasure. Lulu's next step is to run away from Pablo and try to build a life on her own.

All the erotic books in this list can also be read digitally, directly from your phone! Of course, we recommend reading these sex stories from the privacy of your bed, as they will certainly give you an appetite...

Happy reading!