These 20 Unbelievably Sexy Books Are Too Hot and Steamy to Miss

There's no shortage of steamy mythology retellings on today's shelves, but Katee Robert's "Neon Gods" remains a favorite for good reason. The first in the Dark Olympus series, it's a modern retelling of Hades and Persephone, where conflicted heiress Persephone makes a bargain with Hades to avoid an unwanted marriage to the powerful Zeus. Hades helps her — for a price — and their nights together soon send them both hurtling headlong into a battle they never expected.

The writing duo of Christina Lauren have written plenty of sexy, memorable romances, and "Beautiful Stranger" is definitely one of their standouts. Sara, a finance professional getting over a cheating ex, and Max, a British playboy, hook up at a nightclub and agree to a friends-with-benefits arrangement. As their hookups get riskier, they also start to wonder if there's more to their connection than just really good sex.

You knew "Outlander" was going to be on this list, didn't you? Diana Gabaldon's bestselling novel kicked off the lengthy saga of Claire Randall, a WWII-era nurse who is transported through ancient stones to 1740s Scotland. Determined but alone, she's reluctantly taken in by a Scottish clan, including Jamie Fraser, a handsome warrior. She and Jamie form an impossible-to-ignore connection, but she's still torn between the life she could have with him and the life she had in her own time.

What's sexier than forbidden romance? That's exactly the trope Alisha Rai builds on in "Hate to Want You," a romance between childhood friends whose families now hate each other. To get each other "out of their systems," they agree to a very steamy deal: one secret night together every year, until the circumstances of their lives send them onto a totally different path.

Erica Jong's "Fear of Flying" was first published in the 1970s, and the era's "sexual revolution" is on full display as the background to the story and its themes. Married grad student Isadora is burnt out on life: her studies, her husband, her unfulfilled dreams and desires. Instead, she embarks on an adventure of self-discovery, including no-strings-attached sex and explorations of what she, not anyone else, really wants.

Josh, the male lead of Rosie Danan's "The Roommate," is literally an adult-film star, so you know the steam is going to be good. He's the "roommate" (from the title) to Clara, a socialite who thinks her crush is inviting her to move in with him but who actually is renting his room to a stranger: Josh. Their barely civil arrangement slowly becomes more friendly, but when Clara realizes the truth about Josh's career, she freaks out — then begins to wonder what she could learn from him.

"The Kiss Quotient" by Helen Hoang has one very steamy premise! Stella, a neurodivergent math whiz, has very little dating experience and wants to change that. She concludes that she needs advice and practice with a professional, so she hires Michael, an escort, to help her with her "to-do list." As they work their way through everything Stella wants to do, what starts out as a very clear arrangement gets complicated when real feelings start to surface.

"The Pisces" by Melissa Broder is for anyone who tilted their heads a little bit at "The Shape of Water"! Fresh off a breakup, PhD student Lucy agrees to dog-sit for her sister for the summer in Venice Beach. While she's there, she meets a very attractive swimmer, who turns out to be not exactly human. Their torrid affair takes both of them on a wild journey, with readers along for the ride.

"Slow Dancing" by Elizabeth Benedict includes some woman-centric, sex-positive storytelling readers love from onscreen series like "Sex and the City." It's the story of two best friends since college, Lexi and Nell, and the ups and downs of their friendship as they embark on a series of less-than-successful relationships. When both of them find themselves in new love affairs, their longtime bond has to evolve — or break.

Sexy enough to be the center of an obscenity trial in 1960, D.H. Lawrence's "Lady Chatterley's Lover" has been steaming up the page since 1928. It tells the story of a wealthy, married woman who feels isolated and neglected by her husband, who is partially paralyzed from a war injury and has grown distant from her. She winds up having a passionate affair with the estate's groundskeeper, but the class difference between them threatens the bond they've formed.

All of Sarah J. Maas's A Court of Thorns and Roses books are notable for their steamy romances, but "A Court of Mist and Fury" is the one that's so sexy that readers have a shorthand to refer to it (Chapter 55. You're welcome). Feyre, now possessing the power of the High Fae, is torn between two worlds: her engagement with Tamlin in the Spring Court, and her bargain with Rhysand in the Night Court. Her decisions lead her into a tangled web of power politics, not to mention some very steamy circumstances.

If you're on BookTok or Bookstagram, you might have seen "Mistakes Were Made" by Meryl Wilsner getting nicknamed "the MILF book," and that about sums it up! College senior Cassie impulsively hooks up with a gorgeous older woman at an off-campus bar, only to discover that Erin, her one-night stand, also happens to be her friend Parker's mother. There's plenty of steam and plenty of heart as the unlikely pair fight the attraction between them and try to balance their connection with the relationships they have with Parker.

"Dark Lover" is the first book in J.R. Ward's bestselling Black Dagger Brotherhood series, a very sexy vampire romance series. The first book centers on Wrath, the world's only "purebred" vampire and the Brotherhood's leader, who has a score to settle with the slayers who killed his parents. When one of his allies is killed, leaving behind a half-vampire adult daughter with no idea about her heritage, he must guide her into this new and confusing world. But the more time they spend together, the more the spark between them ignites into something dangerous and powerful.

"A Seditious Affair" by K.J. Charles is a steamy historical romance with a forbidden affair at its center. Silas, a radical and idealistic bookseller, has an arrangement with an anonymous stranger, meeting weekly to satisfy their mutual need for intellectual banter and forbidden intimacy. What Silas doesn't realize is that his affair partner is Dominic, a loyal government official whose professional duty soon clashes with his personal passions.

Whether you first were introduced to "Call Me by Your Name" through André Aciman's original novel or through the film adaptation, there's no doubt that it's a story that's sexy and bittersweet in equal measure. The teenage son of a professor forms an intense, passionate connection with his father's grad student over the course of one summer. Their affair is sultry and deeply emotional, but always with the unspoken knowledge that it can't last.

Talia Hibbert's Brown Sisters novels are all fabulously romantic and fabulously sexy, but "Get a Life, Chloe Brown" just might take the cake. After a near-death experience, Chloe makes her "Get a Life" list, full of adventures she'd like to experience, including "doing something bad." That's when she enlists the help of Red, a sexy handyman (yes, really!) to help her with her rebellion . . . and that's when things take a turn for the steamy.

"Heartbreaker," the second Hell's Belles novel by Sarah MacLean, definitely brings the steam along with a heartstopping romance. Adelaide, a skillful thief who helps unwilling brides avoid marriages, hides in plain sight as high society's most overlooked wallflower. She gets entangled with Henry, a duke with secrets, and when they're stuck teaming up to stop a wedding, things get steamier than either expected.

Farrah Rochon's "The Hookup Plan" has its steamy premise right there in the title. London, a successful pediatric surgeon, begrudgingly agrees to her friends' advice to unwind with a meaningless one-night stand. After hooking up with her "archenemy" Drew at a high school reunion, she discovers his real reason for being in town: deciding whether her hospital can stay open. In between hookups, the pair must navigate their professional and personal lives, with the impact far beyond just the two of them.

Sarina Bowen and Elle Kennedy's "Him" is hot enough to melt the ice of this romance's hockey setting. Four years ago, the friendship between Jamie and Ryan ended abruptly after a drunken night at hockey camp. Now, the two men must face each other again when their teams face off at the national championship. They fall back into bed together, but can they work through the issues that split them apart the first time around?

If you love a little "Real Housewives" drama, you'll love the steamy, soapy "Intercepted" by Alexa Martin. Marlee has been dating her NFL star boyfriend for a decade, and life is pretty good — until she finds out he's been cheating on her. She swears off dating athletes, but that's when Gavin, the new team member (and Marlee's very hot ex), comes back into the picture, putting Marlee at the center of team gossip.