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Why are women so enchanted by these novels?
A subgenre of literature — a crossroads of “romance” and “fantasy” dubbed “romantasy” — has soared in popularity on social media, where members of the #BookTok community tout un-put-downable, racy fiction that has been nicknamed “fairy porn.”
The books in question — namely, “A Court of Thorns and Roses” by Sarah J. Maas and “Fourth Wing” by Rebecca Yarro — earned their nickname from the steamy, X-rated scenes between the pages, making Gen Z and millennial bookworms both blush and rave about the works.
“For me, this is the literary equivalent of a dirty takeaway – lots of pleasure, a little bit of shame, and something you look forward to getting home to all day,” an anonymous, 30-something source tells The Telegraph.
“It also manages to pull off the rare feat of achieving male characters who are both extremely stereotypically masculine – lots of muscle and dominant tropes, and obviously filthy sex – but also feminine, with lots of fragility and emotional depth. Don’t ask me why but it’s something about the wings …”
“Fourth Wing” has been described as “‘The Hunger Games’ meets ’50 Shades of Gray,’” according to the Daily Mail. Meanwhile, “A Court of Thorns and Roses,” abbreviated as “ACOTR,” has been called “smut.”
“These books are so smutty I love it. I have so many more to read as I was late to the party, so I can binge read … this is great,” one content creator wrote on TikTok.
One line in “A Court of Mist a Fury,” the sequel to “ACOTR,” read, “With one long claw, he shredded through silk and lace, and my undergarment fell away in pieces.”
And, yes, women are reading this X-rated content in public.
“Reading ‘ACOTR’ in public is a test of controlling your face,” quipped someone else on TikTok.
The allure of the books, according to The Guardian, is obvious: “It’s cheaper than travel and more fun than therapy.”
“People talk about escapism but this is the real thing: exciting and completely otherworldly from anything in my own life,” another anonymous source told The Telegraph, saying they are “slightly obsessed” with “ACOTR.”
While avid readers on TikTok say they don’t “know what to do” with themselves after completing the book series, Chloe Burrows, a reality TV star from the dating show “Love Island,” even went so far as to say she’s fallen “in love” with the hero of the novel, Rhys, and was “depressed” she was at the end of the series.
“I honestly can’t imagine life where I’m not thinking about ‘ACOTAR.’ I am obsessed,” she gushed in a recent TikTok clip. “Sometimes I catch myself in the middle of a conversation thinking about it, I think about it all day long. I think it’s because I’m in love, I’m in love with Rhys.”
In fact, the “romantasy” novels have become so popular that “ACOTR” will be adapted for the screen in a Hulu television series, while “Fourth Wing” will be produced by Amazon MGM Studios.
Casting hasn’t been announced for either project.
