Steamy and Affordable Scenes: Station thriller novels are increasingly popular among young people too | Nina

Erotic fiction has gained popularity in recent years. More than seven out of ten Belgians like to read thrilling stories, according to a survey of more than 11,000 Belgians by social discovery platform Twoo in 2018. Not only do women like to read spicy stories, but men do as well. In fact, men (72.2 percent) take more chances than women (64.8 percent) with an exciting novel.

Since then, the love for erotic fantasy seems to be on the rise. On social media platform TikTok and BookTokkers (Literature lovers on TikTok, ed.) their favorite erotic novels under the hashtags #smut and #smuttok, which now have 3.7 billion and 3.3 billion views.

In fact, there are hundreds of accounts dedicated to #smuttok, including Hilary Henderson’s, @bookishhill on TikTok. She has nearly 190 thousand followers and around 2 million likes on her videos. She shares her favorite erotic novels and ranks them on the basis of spices. For example, in the video below she explains how she rated her books from good to hot. Or as she describes it herself, from “Mom Safe” to “Only show it to your friends.”

_{(Read more below the video.)}

Hans Jansen, editor at publisher HarperCollins Holland, also noted an increase in the sale of thriller novels. “The launch of the popular ‘Fifty Shades of Gray’ series revolutionized people’s buying habits,” he says. “Before the release of this series, most people were embarrassed to read thrillers. They didn’t want to see them on the bus or the subway. But the first book in the series took the number one bestseller list for weeks. It ensured a real breakthrough for the genre.”

“Furthermore, the advent of e-books has severely impacted our sales numbers,” Hans continues. “People can read the books they want completely anonymously, without fear of getting weird. The aura period is also partly in between. People had nothing to do, so they bought comfortable novels en masse.”

“We note in our publishing house that Sylvia Day is a very good selling author in the genre. But we are mainly known for the popular Bouquetromans, a series of romantic and seductive stories. There are some hot scenes, but the stories are not pornographic.”

“Our readers average between their 30s and mid 50s, but we are noticing that more and more young people are also interested in this genre. I think this is because our serial releases are reasonably priced and these station novels read quickly. You can easily read Bouquet’s story in an hour and a half and then you’ve spent Relaxing time. Of course, social media also plays a role in this story. If erotic novels are promoted more on Instagram or TikTok, more young people may be curious. Reading makes reading.”

Want to read about murder, female friendship or irresistible love? 16 great books for summer

Booksellers are feeling the positive impact of social media. “Young people are asking for books they know on TikTok”