“A lot of women have said that they’ve learned the most about what sex could be for them from erotica novels,” she said. The fantasy starts when he’s into it and ends when he’s done,” she said. “The popularity of ‘Fifty Shades’ speaks to the fact that the dominant model of mainstream pornography and ideas of sex are targeted at men. The most potent (and obvious) factor is that sex sells, and kinky romances like “Fifty Shades” are sating women’s lust for erotica-lite, said Jaclyn Friedman, author of “ What You Really Really Want: The Smart Girl’s Shame-Free Guide to Sex & Safety.” Plus, if the plot and characters sounds a bit like “Twilight” fan fiction, it’s because they’re modeled after them. What’s behind the trilogy’s runaway success? The books hit the romance novel scene at just the right moment, insiders say, riding a wave of smart marketing and benefiting from the erotica world’s e-book savvy.

Movie rights are spoken for, and in addition to becoming the subject of online parodies, a “ Saturday Night Live” sketch, a musical and hotel marketing gimmicks, the S&M-flavored love story of a recent college grad and a billionaire CEO is also credited with boosting sales of sex toys, driving women to hook-up sites and fueling a craze over sexual domination. James’ “Fifty Shades of Grey” trilogy is poised to become one of the fastest-selling series in recent years, with 20 million copies sold in the United States and 31 million worldwide since March. With a smoldering gaze, he melts her insides, turns her legs to jelly and paralyzes her subconscious, paving the way for hot sex scenes while she attempts to crack his steely veneer.įormulaic as it is, E.L. It’s a formula that’s been tried and tested in countless erotic novels in recent memory.Ī rich, handsome man charms a young innocent with lavish gifts and bold declarations of desire.

Books if you liked 50 shades of grey