What did you think of the erotic scenes?

Use this forum to discuss the September Book of the Month "Apollo's Raven" by Linnea Tanner.
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AliceofX
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What did you think of the erotic scenes?

Post by AliceofX »

To me, that was the most cringe-inducing part of the book. I can't stand when writers try to be all literary and use phrases like, "openly displaying his manly attributes," and, "She was a tight bud opening to his heat." Just use adult words for goodness sake.

But maybe that's just me. Maybe that would have made the book too adult. What did you think?
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Post by gali »

I agree and found them redundant. Frankly, I skipped those scenes.
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Post by Fu Zaila »

I don't mind a little bit of adult content in books but if they are not written well, I skip those scenes. From what you mention, the lines are cringe-worthy to me :/
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Post by CommMayo »

I agree that they were totally awful and poorly written. It is possible for a love scene to be written tastefully, yet with enough detail to actually keep the reader engaged. I found myself drowning in tacky euphemisms.
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Post by Kibet Hillary »

It sounds that they were poorly written and may not appeal to a number of readers. For me, it still does not change my stand on erotic scenes. It, however, reflects negatively on the part of the author to write the book skillfully.
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Post by Kibet Hillary »

CommMayo wrote: 01 Sep 2018, 11:21 I agree that they were totally awful and poorly written. It is possible for a love scene to be written tastefully, yet with enough detail to actually keep the reader engaged. I found myself drowning in tacky euphemisms.
Very true. It is possible and so if the author had decided to include these scenes then there was no better option than to do it well.
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Post by CommMayo »

Kibetious wrote: 01 Sep 2018, 12:35 It sounds that they were poorly written and may not appeal to a number of readers. For me, it still does not change my stand on erotic scenes. It, however, reflects negatively on the part of the author to write the book skillfully.
What is your stance on these types of scenes? You say that it hasn't changed; I'm curious to hear your thoughts on them in general. I think, if done correctly, they can really add a lot of a book. The inverse is also true.
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Post by Bukari »

Oh! I am very sensitive to erotic scenes which usually distract my attention.
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Post by JuliaKay »

I think writing erotic scenes is more difficult than people realize. It seems like the author was trying to somehow be tasteful and keep the historical content instead of using simple adult language, and instead, it ended up being corny and redundant. I don't mind erotic scenes in books as long as there aren't too many.
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Post by revna01 »

I like romantic scenes but not erotic ones. They make me feel gross! I think the author was trying to be somewhat tasteful, but that's not easy to do when trying to be tasteful and semi-pornographic.
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Post by CommMayo »

SABRADLEY wrote: 01 Sep 2018, 16:39 I like romantic scenes but not erotic ones. They make me feel gross! I think the author was trying to be somewhat tasteful, but that's not easy to do when trying to be tasteful and semi-pornographic.
I wouldn't qualify the sex scenes in this book as erotic or slightly pornographic. Short of saying, "...and then they made love," the author just include some tacky euphemisms and included so little detail. I think I would have preferred she completely ignore the act itself to her poor treatment of it.
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Post by Nelsy Mtsweni »

I think the author wanted to be erotic, but not directly. I didn't mind his word choice, its better than calling spade a spade as it is in many erotica books.
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Post by CommMayo »

mtsnel006 wrote: 01 Sep 2018, 17:35 I think the author wanted to be erotic, but not directly. I didn't mind his word choice, its better than calling spade a spade as it is in many erotica books.
Just a heads up, the author is a woman.
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Post by Misael Carlos »

It is very amusing to read erotic scenes written in a historical genre. It kind of makes the narrative more intimate and less vulgar.
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Post by Don Pwai »

They would surely piss of religious and the most morally cultured persons.
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