Adult Only, 18+

Romantic Novels With Some Extra Spice

While I think most people use smut and spice interchangeably with reading adult stories, I do consider them to have differences. For the purposes of these reviews, to make it easier to understand the subject material better, these are the differences between the two (for me). Obviously, everyone has their own thoughts on this, these are just mine for the purposes of review.

Both smut and spice in the context of reading means it is sexual material. Spice has more romantic elements to it, sometimes without the action of sex (though all of these here will include it) but varies in its level of explicitness. I have read some where the sex was just implied. Smut on the other hand is less romantic and more focused on the sex. It can still be spicy, but it’s less about the romantic elements. Almost all smut will have spice, though there are many that don’t, but not all spicy manga/manhwa will have smut. Some will be both!

I do want to make it clear that I’m not intending to read just pure pornographic material. While some series might end up being so, that is not what I want to do. Hopefully, that makes sense.

How do I find what I read? I just stumble across it. If it looks interesting, and I can find it online, I’ll read it. Sometimes it’ll look like I’m reading the same thing, that’s because I’m most likely moving down the recommendations of what I just read. If you would like to recommend something or would like me to check something out for you, feel free to let me know through my Instagram or TikTok.

Because I have very little standards and will read just about anything, I know this genre has many elements that could be triggering. In the drop downs, I want to provide as much information as I can so you can go into these stories informed if you so choose.

Standards for reviews:

• Smut Level: How much sex is actually happening in the story? Does every chapter have sex, or is it happening just a few times?

  • Low: A few sex scenes with little to no graphic or explicit scenes. Chapters exist where no sex happens.

  • Medium: Regular sex scenes that are usually more moderately explicit.

  • High: Frequent and much more explicit sex scenes. Every chapter contains sexual content, but a plot is still present.

  • Extreme: No plot, just a lot of explicit sex.

• Explicit Level: I’d like to be able to say if it’s censored or not, but since some sites are while others are not, I cannot accurately give that information. Instead, listed below are how explicit it is whether it’s censored or not.

  • Low: Very minimal nudity. Men are rarely if ever nude, while women’s breasts are the main things exposed, with little to no female genitalia. Penetration is not shown.

  • Medium: Men may be nude, but there is little to no male genitalia shown. Women are nude as well, with genitalia shown a little more frequently. Penetration may be shown from various angles, but not directly.

  • High: Men's and women’s nude forms are shown in full, with more direct scenes of genitalia. Sex scenes are much more graphic, with penetration visually shown.

  • Extreme: Much more direct and close scenes of individual genitalia, while penetration is shown much more graphically and up close, usually in large panels. May contain panel scenes of inner sexual organs.

• Consent: When it comes to these types of stories, this will always be a big question; is the main character being forced against their will, or is there actual consent? Because every person is different, I put levels of consent, and whether it's present or not, so you can be more informed of what the story contains. Look for the border color around the image. If I can't decide between the two, I will choose the more intense of the two to be safe. For example, If I'm between yellow and orange, I will pick orange. I am just one person, I will label it as best I can, but if you disagree with me, feel free to reach out to me on my Instagram or TikTok. 

  • Green: Consent is present, both parties agree to the activity. If someone expresses they want to stop, the other character stops immediately without issue.

  • Yellow: While consent may not be expressly stated, it is implied. The main character may not agree to it, but they are not against it. They may have been convinced or talked into it, maybe unsure of what they actually want, but are ok with the activity.

  • Orange: Consent is not given, expressed, implied, or otherwise shown, but the act is clearly against what the main character wants, or they are unsure of how they feel about the activity, but may not be fully against it.

  • Red: The main character actively rejects and expressly states they are not willing nor want the sexual activity, or they are unable to give consent due to intoxication or incapacitation.

  • Black: Use of force or threats present. Main character is not given a choice, may be immobilized or restrained, and experiencing a violent act.

• Story: How’s the story? Does it exist?

  • Level 1: What story? There's no story here.

  • Level 2: It's present, but it wouldn't change anything if it wasn't. Turn off your brain, you're not reading this one for the story.

  • Level 3: Decent story, it's not bad but it isn't great. Kind of a generic story, and would most likely not stand on its own without the sexual content.

  • Level 4: Story is pretty good, but certainly could be better. It's possible it could be able to stand on its own, but the sexual content enhances the story and is still kind of needed.

  • Level 5: This story could stand on its own without the sexual content. The sexual content only enhances the story.

• Does it contain assault? Sometimes, for added drama, the main character experiences attempted assault from another character so they can be rescued. This section is only from other characters. If the love interest assaults the main character, that would be under Consent. This is only for side characters outside of the love interest.

• Content Warnings: Is there material that could be upsetting for readers (outside of assault/consent)? Examples: Abuse, Slavery, Racism, Homophobia, Disturbing Content, etc. Or are there any fetishes that some may not be interested in like BDSM, a Dom/Sub dynamic?

Links are available at the bottom if there is an option to purchase the manga, but if I read it online, I will mention that. I cannot list any links as that risks the website.