Wednesday, October 25, 2017

Who Did It Better . . . In the Library?

We've got a new post today, and hopefully it'll be an on-going series with more topics to come! Jen's talking about 5 romances that had a library sex scene in them, and rating them from honorable mention to platinum medal. Are you ready to get busy in the library? 😉






All right! This is the first in what I hope will be a continuing series where I compare similar scenes or tropes across romance novels. This particular entry was inspired by a tweet from Sasha Devlin. 








I’ve always joked that I wanted to keep a Goodreads list of romances where the couples have sex in a library, but obviously first I had to write a post about it. I hereby open the Library Sex Olympics Games, as judged by me. (To be clear, the awards below are strictly for the library sex scenes, not a score for the whole book.) And, of course, thanks to the folks in Sasha’s thread that suggested books that would qualify in this category. I salute you, good citizens of Romancelandia! 






Kindle | NOOK | Kobo
Goodreads
The Seal’s Rebel Librarian by Anne Calhoun

We all know that Anne Calhoun writes great sex scenes. Erin and Jack do have plenty of hot sex in this book, but the library scene itself is a bit disappointing. When they finally get it on in the library---which, given the title, was practically mandatory--it’s in a locked study room on the 4th floor with the lights turned off and a chair wedged under the door. It’s sexy and intense and up against a wall--but this library sex Olympics judge thinks it barely qualifies since they’re so hidden away. I am tempted to bump up it’s score because I think this book has an absolutely hilarious title, but alas, that is a different competition.


Ranking: Honorable Mention Library Sex







Kindle | NOOK | Kobo
Goodreads
I love this series {TBQ}
The Hook Up by Kristen Callihan

The Hook Up is a new adult romance. Anna Jones catches the eye of football star Drew Baylor. Even though she wants nothing to do with him, the sexual chemistry between them cannot be denied. The second time they have sex, it’s after class. They’ve been eye-fucking each other throughout class because neither of them can forget their hook up at a party the previous weekend. They rush off to the library and have sex in the open stacks on the deserted top floor of the library, but there’s no hint that they’ll be caught. The scene happens in the first 50 pages of the book, and it’s plenty hot. But I wasn’t quite as invested in these characters, and honestly am not all that clear on why Anna has decided Drew isn’t good enough for her. It’s just chemistry, but there’s not a lot of intimacy in this scene.


Ranking: Bronze Medal Library Sex








Kindle | NOOK | Kobo
Goodreads
I loved this book {TBQ}
Driven to Distraction by Olivia Dade

Olivia Dade is not playing around and has written a whole series called Lovestruck Librarians. I have it on good authority (that would be the author herself) that sex happens on library property in books 1, 2 and 5 of the series. But I decided for the purposes of research to focus on book 5, Driven to Distraction, which features librarian Constance and IT specialist Sam...and they have sex in a bookmobile. The scene is funny and charming, with Sam wiping down the circulation desk in the back of the bookmobile with an antibacterial wipe before they do the deed. But, there is an important moment in the scene that develops more intimacy between them as a couple. The first time they had sex, Con held back from him. In the bookmobile, Sam says, “I’m making you come this time. My cock. My hands.” Later on in the book, they are fooling around again in the bookmobile and are interrupted by their boss. Awkward. I’m having a hard time awarding stars to this book: the first scene is fairly brief and they’re isolated inside the bookmobile, but the second time they are almost caught. This judge is definitely awarding higher point value for artistry and degree of difficulty! 


Ranking: Silver Medal Library Sex





Kindle | NOOK | Kobo
Goodreads
Beautiful Stranger by Christina Lauren 

Sara is new to New York. She meets Max one night at a bar and she fucks him in an alcove over the dance floor. They start an exhibitionist booty call relationship, agreeing to meet once a week to fuck their brains out. In this scene, Max tells her to meet him at the New York public library. Sara doesn’t realize his plan is to actually have sex there until he takes her to one of the reading rooms. Max asks Sara to face the stacks and read Anais Nin while he fucks her from behind. He takes pictures and it’s hot as hell. It’s a great scene, but lacked the danger and fear of being caught that was so prevalent in earlier scenes in the book. However, it does seem to be an important moment in their relationship, one where Sara starts to wonder if her boundaries are too limiting.


Ranking: Gold Medal Library Sex






Kindle | NOOK | Kobo
Goodreads
Never Sweeter by Charlotte Stein

Never Sweeter is one of those books I avoided for a while because the premise sounded too hard for me: college-aged woman falls in love with her high school bully. It seemed impossible to do well. I was so wrong. Letty and Tate are partners on a group project, so of course there are several scenes in the library. In fact, if I was being all literary, I’d argue that the library itself is a motif which can be used to gauge the progression of their love affair. At first, Tate won’t even step into the library, ceding the space to Letty since she told him to leave her alone. Then, Tate and Letty are together in the library three times, and each visit delineates a new chapter of their relationship: first with Letty and Tate being wary but present, evolving to friendship, and finally to being lovers. Before the library sex scene, Tate and Letty had fooled around a little, but the library sex symbolizes an irrevocable change in their relationship. They don’t actually have intercourse in the library, but there is finger fucking and oral sex and it probably one of the sexiest things I’ve ever read. Tate asks, “Is it where we are? Or is it me?” Letty “answered with the truth” saying to him, “It’s you. It’s just you. It’s always you.”  It gave me all the feels.


Ranking: Platinum medal library sex. 







Have you read any of these books? Do you agree with the ranking? Feel free to let us know! 


Also! Do you have some other recommendations for romances with a library sex scene? Because a girl can never have too many . . .  books. 😏  I've only read 2 of these but the others are definitely getting bumped up my list after this.



Do you want to see more posts like this? And if so, what trope / theme would you be interested in?





Enjoy!



Until Next Time,

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