MOST EROTIC FICTION

BY: Jesse Aylen

There’s something for every stripe of reader in this collection of sexually charged erotic novels and stories. Crack open these covers, slide between your sheets, and get ready to steam up a wintry night with these fire-hot reads. 

Garden of Eden by Ernest Hemingway

Perhaps the most surprising inclusion, Garden of Eden was published after Hemingway’s death, but stands out as one of his most erotic and heady novels. Following young honeymooners David and Catherine, and their shared propulsive attraction to Marita, a young woman they meet, Garden of Eden is an erotic look into the meanings of real intimacy and what it means to give yourself over.

Lie With Me by Philippe Besson

Set in 1980s France, Lie With Me entangles us in the longings of puppy love between two high school seniors. By moments repelling and attracting each other, Besson’s novel is a revealing look at lust, love, memory, and regret. 

My Education by Susan Choi

Delving into the sexuality of a young graduate student pulled into the thrall of a gossiped-about dashing university professor, My Education takes an erotic, unflinching look at one woman’s mistakes and lessons in and out of the bedroom. 

The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters 

Set in 1922 London, Waters’ novel brings a young married straight couple to the doorstep of a widow and her isolated spinster daughter. Mixing forbidden facets of what’s accepted by society and what’s not with enticing, subtly charged moments, The Paying Guests is a slow burn sure to grab you. 

The Idea of You by Robinne Lee

Inspired in part by former One Directioner Harry Styles, this passionate novel shockingly unites Solene, a divorced art gallerist nearing middle age, with Hayes Campbell, the lean, sensual frontman of the band August Moon. 

Less, Andrew Sean Greer

By turns wry, sexy, and embittered, Less is a globetrotting Pultizer Prize-winning novel of a man trying to escape a looming wedding, along with his past relationships, to hilarious, erotic, witty, and unusual heights. 

The Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith

Adapted into the steamy film Carol, Patricia Highsmith unravels the taut story of young shopgirl Therese, the alluring housewife Carol, and the erotic gravitational pull that brings them together into an unexpected, all-consuming encounter. 

Call Me By Your Name by Andre Aciman

Adapted into the blockbuster movie of the same name directed by Luca Guadagnino and starring Timothee Chalamet and Armie Hammer, this thrillingly sexual story set in the Italian Riviera peers into the simmering encounter between a teen and a strapping visiting young man.

Lot: Stories by Bryan Washington

Taking a tender, vibrant view of coming-of-age sexuality, Washington’s brilliant story collection introduces many characters, chiefly among them a young Black and Latino man who’s finding his identity as a queer person and colliding energetically with others in Houston. 

Frankissstein by Jeanette Winterson

Frankissstein weaves together tales of a young Mary Shelley, a transgender doctor named Ry, and an ambitious maker of sex dolls. Sexy, funny, and deeply weird, it’s one book you won’t soon forget.