Why Erotic Romance Is Booming

Romance fiction is having a moment and not just the closed-door, PG-rated kind. I’m talking about spicy, blush-worthy, banter-filled, toe-curling emotional stories exploring kinks, power-play, and taboo fantasies. High heat romance has exploded in popularity, and women are leading the charge —particularly women living with chronic illness or disability.

So, why the surge in demand for books that burn the pages and push boundaries? Because for many of us, spicy romance isn’t just entertainment. It’s empowerment, escapism and most of all, it’s a form of healing.

And sometimes, it’s the only kind of intimacy we can safely access.

Erotic Romance by the numbers

Steamy romance fiction is dominating bestseller lists. Last year, Australians spent 3 million dollars on romance novels, and globally the figure is rising. BookTok is overflowing with clips of women fanning themselves over morally grey anti-heroes, bossy doms, and heroines who own their pleasure without apology.

This genre has become a playground where women are front and centre, not just in plot, but in desire. These books offer something most mainstream adult media doesn’t: a female gaze. They linger in the longing. They build tension, slow things down enough for foreplay to matter.

Foreplay is like a gourmet banquet with sex being the espresso shot to finish it off. And spicy romance are foreplay for the brain.

And that’s what erotic fiction offers in spades: a space where desire is built up slowly, teasingly, and deliciously. Where consent is hot, power dynamics are explored with care, and being wanted isn’t just implied, it’s the whole damn point.

Read more: Sex toys, foreplay and quality time together, by Kate Manning.

Stoking desire – and flights of fantasy

Whether it’s enemies-to-lovers tension, forbidden attraction, or a CEO with a filthy mouth and a heart of gold, romance fiction doesn’t just make us feel turned on, it makes us feel powerful. It helps women imagine themselves as the main character in their own fantasy. And that’s no small thing.

I was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease at thirteen. While most teenagers were discovering first kisses and figuring out their bodies, I was learning to walk again after bowel surgery. I missed out on milestones most people take for granted—dating, parties, first times. Instead, I became deeply acquainted with hospital rooms and surgical scars, and I lived in a body that didn’t always feel like it belonged to me.

Chronic illness messes with more than your health. It messes with your self-worth and steals your spontaneity. It makes your body feel like a battleground, not a place for pleasure.

And that’s where spicy romance fiction became my lifeline.

Romance novels for emotional intimacy

When physical intimacy felt impossible, I found emotional connection through spicy books. When I couldn’t be touched, I could still feel. I devoured romances with strong heroines and deliciously taboo kinks. Books about bondage, domination, praise, degradation, breeding kink—you name it, I read it.

These stories helped me reclaim my femininity. They taught me what I liked, what I didn’t, and most importantly—that I was still allowed to want. That desire didn’t disappear just because my body was scarred or sick.

One of the most beautiful things about reading romance, especially kink-positive romance, is that it offers a safe space to explore without judgment. You get to experiment with BDSM, praise kink, or even toys—all from the safety of fiction, before deciding if you want to bring it into real life.

Read more: Bondage 101 – restraints, cuffs, and safety, by David Hollingworth.

And for those of us living with chronic pain, disability, or fluctuating energy levels, this is invaluable. There are days when physical intimacy is off the table, but mental and self-intimacy? That’s still accessible. Fantasy becomes a form of connection. And erotic fiction gives you the language and confidence to ask for what you want when the moment does come.

You deserve to be desired

Romance novels aren’t just “p*rn for the mind.” They’re permission slips. Romance novels tell us: You deserve to be wanted. You deserve to be the heroine. You deserve to be ruined—and respected.

Society still paints people with chronic illness as sexless. As though disability and desire are mutually exclusive. As though surgical scars mean we’re not allowed to feel sexy.

It’s bullshit.

We need physical connection and pleasure like everyone else. And that includes kink, power play, and passion. In fact, many of us crave it more because we’ve gone without it. Erotic fiction doesn’t just normalise those desires, it celebrates them. It challenges the notion that pleasure has to look a certain way. It reminds us that submission can be powerful. That domination can be tender. That kink can be healing.

And feminism? It’s not about what you like. It’s about choosing what you like, freely, joyfully, and without shame.

Erotic romance as therapy

It might sound cheeky to say that erotic fiction is a form of therapy but in many ways, it is. For women dealing with invisible illness, erotic romance books can:

• Reignite desire when medication or fatigue kills libido
• Improve body image by showing diverse, empowered heroines
• Provide sexual education around kink, boundaries, and communication
• Offer escapism on days when pain makes real-world intimacy impossible
• Inspire confidence to express needs and explore fantasies

It gives us the tools to feel like sexual beings again, without needing to perform, please, or push through the pain.

People love to dismiss romance as fluff or smut. But as someone who’s lived through multiple surgeries, long hospital stays, and years of chronic illness, let me tell you: there’s nothing fluffy about reclaiming your sexuality. There’s nothing silly about learning to love your body again. And there’s nothing more radical than saying: I still get to want.

That’s the power of romance. It’s not about perfection but possibility.

So the next time someone rolls their eyes at your spicy reading list, remind them: this isn’t just about getting off. It’s about getting free.

Want to explore your own fantasies in a safe space? Crack open a spicy book. Or two. Or ten. Let yourself be the main character. Let yourself be wanted. And let yourself feel everything.

Find out more about Jade May and her books here.