Passionate pages, breathless reviews, and videos ranking millions of views, steamy books are having their moment. Gaining popularity due to the dedicated and enthusiastic BookTok reading community, the so-called “smut books” are no longer a guilty pleasure and have become a cultural phenomenon. 

With spicy novels flooding best sellers list, having dedicated sections in our well known bookstores and sparking conversations through #booktok on social media. It is driven by a generation of readers who refuse to not shout about what they love, changing the conversation of how we view literature. 

Pomegranate writer Niamh, sits down with Janisha Boswell an author at the heart of the movement, to find why the boom is happening now and what it’s really like to write a book that gets everyone talking. 

“It’s so refreshing to see so many people openly talk about how much they enjoy steamy romances and aren’t ashamed to say they do.” Says Janisha.

Author of the hot (hit) college romantic comedy series, Drayton Hills University and North University. In each book we follow a different love story between two characters. The books explore themes of love, career aspirations and personal growth, but eventually becoming a very sexy read, the passion in the pages making you blush! 

But for many authors like Janisha, it all started with a love for literature and reading a romance book she fell in love with. 

“I was a huge reader growing up and I loved making up stories for my siblings. I enjoyed the creative and imaginative side of it, and being able to create anything from thoughts I had roaming around was so cool. 

“Instead of reading romance books and wishing something happened, I thought it would be fun to write my own and include everything I would love to read. My friend’s definitely encouraged me a lot with this and now romance is all I can see myself writing about in the future!” She says.

It was Emily Henry’s “Beach Read” and “People we Meet on Vacation” that gave her the push and inspiration to see she could write emotionally driven romance books. Leading her to finish writing her first novel at just 17. 

Now, 21, Janisha has had four bestselling hits! With over 30k followers on Instagram, 12k on TikTok and a dedicated community sharing their positive thoughts and reviews online. But amongst the lust, desire and passion on the pages, Janisha, shares that writing steamy scenes are less about being explicit and more so about the emotional elements surrounding it. 

For her, the intimacy in her books always has to serve the story first rather than it being forced. 

“I always try to focus on the emotional connection between the characters first and foremost, describing feelings with long sentences and adjectives that feel realistic to their experience. I try to keep things light and simple with the descriptions so we’re able to focus on the feelings for each character, really getting into their heads as much as I can,” she says. “Even though a lot of readers stay for the action, it’s also the dialogue and the pacing mixed in with that that really gives readers a more enjoyable experience.”

In every book she writes each one is different when it comes down to the sex, the balance is different and it depends entirely on the character arc she is focusing on. In her book Falling, where the leads go from strangers, to friends, to lovers in a fake dating premise. Hot! I know right! Janisha was careful to allow the lust and steamy scenes develop naturally. 

“Every book it’s different. I usually know going into it what the character desires and how that is going to play out with their partner. The level and frequency of the spice depends on the character arcs, the pacing of the story, and who the characters are themselves. 

“With how much each character deals with outside of their relationship, in Falling, I made sure to balance the more important aspects of their relationship, building trust and strong communication, while also giving the readers the sweet and spicy moments in between.” Says Janisha.  

Romance and steamy novel purchases have more than doubled in the UK since 2019 and as of 2025 #BookTok has surpassed 370 billion total views with more than 55 million videos created under the hashtag. 

So why now? Steamy novels have always existed throughout history. From the scandalous Lady Chatterley’s Lover by D.H. Lawrence in the 1920s, to when we entered the kink world with Fifty Shades of Grey in 2011, which turned into a publishing sensation and opened a new age conversation surrounding desire and our hidden fantasies. 

Janisha sees how something has shifted and we are no longer reading “wattpad smut under the covers.” She makes a sense of how Gen Z have become more comfortable with their own sexuality, igniting a conversation on social media about the relatability of loving sex, pleasure and that it’s something we shouldn’t feel ashamed about. 

 “I remember getting a comment once saying there wasn’t ‘enough smut,’ and it honestly just made me laugh. I think it’s become popular because talking and reading about sex has become less taboo and people are embracing the fact that they enjoy it. 

“Social media has paved a way for so many authors to find a community within their readership. They not only accept the hard work they’re doing, but are constantly uplifting it and sharing it with other people, making us feel seen and safe enough to keep sharing such intimate stories.” She says.

Janisha’s next book, Unravelling is set to release on July 2nd of this year, a slow burn enemies to lover romance that she describes as having all the spice! She has no plans of slowing down and believes neither does the world of smut. 

“I just think it’s going to get bigger and bigger from here. People are becoming more empowered every day, I hope it continues to be celebrated by everyone”, she says, “and I think the acceptance of it all will really push romance to continue to be one of the best-selling genres.”