Have you been naughty, or nice?
If the answer is nice, then it’s time to remedy that with something dirtier than a lump of coal in your stocking this Christmas: my essential erotic novel gift list. These books all have two things in common: they will make St. Nick blush redder than his suit, and they are as timeless as tinsel on your tree.
Mistral’s Daughter by Judith Krantz
An epic novel of art, fashion, super-hot sex, that begins with an erotic romp through sumptuous 1920s Paris and follows three generations of super-fab redheads.
Why it makes the list: The anti-hero, Julian Mistral, who seduces and betrays the heroine, Maggie, only to fall in love with her daughter twenty years later.
Damage by Josephine Hart
A taut, devastating tale of a member of British Parliament falling madly in love with his son’s fiancé.
Why it makes the list: An affair so wrong it deserves a punishing conclusion— and Josephine Hart gives us one.
The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty trilogy by Anne Rice (writing as A.N. Roquelaure)
A lush, wildly imaginative BDSM-retelling of the Sleeping Beauty fairy tale.
Why it makes the list: the all-male sadomasochistic orgy in book three, Beauty’s Release
Lace by Shirley Conran
The original “Bonkbuster,” Lace is a story about sex, glam careers, and three lifelong friends united by a secret that ties them to the international porn star, Lili.
Why it makes the list: the classic line, “Which one of you bitches is my mother?”
Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews
The four blonde, beautiful Dollanganger siblings spend years locked in their evil grandmother’s attic while their mother waits for her inheritance.
Why it makes the list: A novel that made 40 million readers root for a brother and sister love story.
Nine and A Half Weeks: A Memoir of a Love Affair by Elizabeth McNeill
Decades before Fifty Shades of Grey, author Elizabeth McNeill chronicles a brief, searing S&M love affair.
Why it makes the list: Inspiration for the cult classic film of the same name starring Kim Basinger at her most luminous and Mickey Rourke when he was actually a hot leading man.
Belladonna by Karen Moline
A novel of sexual slavery and revenge, Belladonna is completely over-the-top.
Why it makes the list: The only erotic I’ve ever read featuring twin eunuchs.
Fear of Flying by Erica Jong
Jong’s classic novel of marital ennui and sexual fantasy. Almost forty years old, this novel holds up—plenty of heart and wit along with the sex.
Why it makes the list: coined the phrase “zipless fuck”
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Help make this naughty novel list the gift that keeps on giving: What are some books that you’d be embarrassed to ask Santa to bring?
Jamie Brenner is the author of erotic novels published under the pen name Logan Belle, including her latest Bettie Page Presents: The Librarian ( Pocket Star/Simon & Schuster) and the erotic trilogy Blue Angel (Kensington.) Her historical romance The Gin Lovers, will be out in paperback in February (St. Martin’s Press). For more please visit www.jamiebrenner.com or follow her @jamieLbrenner.
