Bookish Tag Post: NSFW Book Tag

 
 

I stumbled upon this book tag on YouTube and it seemed fun, plus I have been slowly losing my filter in regards to all things book-related, so I figured why not?

But in case you don’t know, NSFW stands for “Not Safe For Work.” And, as the title suggests, I will be talking about some inappropriate things! (What fun would it be if I didn’t?) So if the topic of sexy times and/or cannibalism in books (though not necessarily in the same scenes) and one moderately inappropriate book cover makes you uncomfortable, you’ve been warned πŸ˜‰

Here’s the original at ChapterStackss, and as usual, I tag everyone who wants to join in!


1. What is the LAST book you would want your parents to walk in on you reading?

Sex Criminals Vol. 1 by Matt Fraction & Chip Zdarsky | reading, books
 

Probably lots lol. But I’m going to go with Sex Criminals because not only can you tell it’s inappropriate from the title alone, it’s also a graphic novel which means it’s got illustrations of sex and nudity and toys and pretty much everything related to sex. And that would be a lot harder to hide from someone than text if they walked into the room.

2. It’s storming outside, and you’re home alone for the night. What book would only make matters worse?

Rushed by Brian Harmon | reading, books
 

You know, I always say that I don’t read horror books, and I always forget that I actually have read a few. And for this question, I’m going to go with Rushed because it’s one that I’ve rarely, if ever, talked about and is probably the most horror-ish of all the horror I’ve read. I got it as a Kindle First back in 2014 when I first started getting back into reading after a long break and was trying out all different genres to figure out what I liked. It was definitely suspenseful, and there were a couple parts in particular that freaked me out a bit.

3. Have you ever read a book simply because of the controversy surrounding it?

Dark Devotion by Gabrielle Evans | reading, books
 

I don’t think so? But I did once read this book for the sole reason that I was curious how a sex scene with eight people would work (and judging from the reviews, that was the same reason everyone else read the book too lol), so that’s close enough, right?

4. What is the most cringe-inducing romance or sex scene you have ever read?

I’m not going to share what book it was, but I once read a sex scene that used a different euphemism every time any body part was mentioned, including but not limited to succulent sandbags, femme-furnace, veiny one-eyed monster, and throbbing radioactive rod. There was a plethora of fruit and land mass metaphors. But at least that was just a random book, I could have a laugh at the absurdity and move on. But possibly even worse was the time one of my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE CHARACTERS used the words “ripe and creamy” in a sex scene. You can’t unread that, people. YOU CAN’T UNREAD THAT. MY FAVORITE CHARACTER DAMN IT.

5. What book has made you question the author’s sanity?

Honestly, pretty much every time I read a vampire book with blood-filled sex scenes, I question not only the author’s sanity but also my own because yeah, they write it, but I read it. I’ve actually thought about this before though, and I’m really glad there are authors out there are are willing to take the risk of being judged and write this kind of out-there kinky stuff because, well, I do like reading those books! And however weird of a scene an author writes, there will always be someone out there who will enjoy it. One of the great things about books is that they let us explore and experience things without ever having to actually do them ourselves in real life.

6. Have you ever put down a book and not finished it because the content was too much for you?

Fallocaust by Quil Carter | reading, books
 

Nope. Apparently I’m twisted enough that no book has ever disturbed me to that level πŸ˜‰ But the book that pushed me closest to my limits would probably be Fallocaust by Quil Carter. The world survived on cannibalism—like, they farmed lesser-humans—and there was this one scene when one character ended up in a factory and was being stuffed with food in order to fatten up his liver and make fois gras… and there were more details in the book, but that’s the extent of the description that I’m going to give because it was truly disturbing. And that wasn’t even the only disturbing thing in the book, just the only one I’m going to mention here.

7. What fictional character do you have the most NSFW thoughts about?

Steal the Light by Lexi Blake | reading, books
 

To be honest, I don’t have NSFW thoughts about characters. But I would kill for the chance to read a sex scene between two of the characters in this series (which the author has said she might publish one day, so fingers crossed!).

8. Show us your most NSFW book cover (or drawing/photo inside a book).

Blood Knot by Tracy Cooper-Posey | reading, books
 

Well, the most NSFW drawing from inside a book would be from Saga or Sex Criminals since they’re both graphic novels that have nudity and sex scenes, but that seems like cheating for this question, so I’m going with a cover instead. This is the worst one I have (an ebook since I don’t own many physical books), and honestly it’s really more tacky than anything (not a bad book though, despite that cover). I do, for some reason, have numerous books on my TBR with men’s butts showing, both illustrated and real lol, but I opted not to post those here πŸ˜›

9. Have you ever read something from the erotica/romance genre, and what did you think?

Don't... by Jack L. Pyke
 

I read paranormal romance sometimes (though not too much recently), and I read plenty of books that have sex scenes even though that’s not the focus, but yes, I suppose I probably have read at least a few books that would be considered straight-up erotica/romance. The most likely book I can think of is Don’t… It’s classified as erotica on Amazon and is a m/m/m BDSM book. I’m actually not into BDSM books, but this one sounded not only dark and good but also like it would actually portray the BDSM correctly, and I wanted to read at least one book that portrayed it correctly (rather than just non-consent disguised as BDSM). Didn’t turn out to be my favorite book, but it wasn’t bad either.

10. You stumble across a portkey. What fictional world would you NOT want to be transported into?

Withered + Sere by TJ Klune
 

Basically any dystopian or post-apocalyptic world? Actually the Fallocaust world would probably be the worst, but I already used that book. I’m going with Withered + Sere because that world is also pretty terrible and also has cannibals. At least in a world like the one in Divergent, people got to live in relative safety for a while. The Hunger Games world would be awful if you or someone you loved got chosen, but at least you’d have a chance of not getting chosen or of being one of the rich people whereas in Withered + Sere, everything is crap and if you end up caught by the cannibals, your death is gonna be slow and painful. Well, wasn’t that a fun way to end this post!

 
 
 
 

Talk to me!

What are some of your most NSFW books or book covers?
What's the most cringe-worthy thing you've ever read in a sex scene?
What's the most gruesome or disturbing book you've ever read?
If you do this tag, be sure to leave a link so I can check out your answers!

 
 
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55 thoughts on “Bookish Tag Post: NSFW Book Tag

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  1. Greg

    Sexy times and cannibalism at the same time would definitely worry me lol. Fun tag. πŸ™‚ Yeah Sex criminals is probably not one to leave laying around. Ooh look mom what I got at the comic store. #4 cracks me up. Fruit ha ha. And Fallocaoust… WTAF? Farming lesser humans… this post is full of awesome. Foie gras…

    Ooh portkey. Yeah I’ll pass on the Fallocaoust world methinks, and Withered & sere sounds effed up too. I laughed so much w/ this post…

    Eight people lol. I love tags like this πŸ™‚

    1. Kristen Burns

      Lol I felt like I just needed to post something fun this week, so I’m glad you enjoyed it. As I was typing the sex and cannibalism thing I realized that that definitely sounded questionable and I should probably clarify, haha. And seriously, it was like fruit metaphors, land mass metaphors, and then some that were a combination of both? I’ll actually be reviewing Fallocaust at some point… so much disturbing shit lol.

      Yes, I would definitely recommend passing on the Fallocaust world. Basically any post-apoc world where cannibalism is rampant or accepted is not a world I want to live in!

      1. Greg

        Yeah maybe best to clarify ROFL. I’m sorry, I’m laughing so hard right now. I can’t help it… and you’re ctually going to REVIEW Fallocaust? That I have to see. I mean what was that author on?? “stuffed with food” I’m going to hurt myself if I don’t stop laughing… and fruit and land mass metaphors, oh my…

        Thank you, I needed a good laugh.

        1. Kristen Burns

          Trust me, if you read that stuffed with food scene, you wouldn’t be laughing. But now I kinda wanna know what a sex + cannibalism scene would be like, hahaha. And yep, I’m actually going to review Fallocaust, so brace yourself for that lol.

          I’m just glad you had as much fun reading the post as I did writing it, haha.

          1. Catherine

            “But now I kinda wanna know what a sex + cannibalism scene would be like, hahaha.”

            That is called “vore” (short for “vorarephilia,”) and I suggest you stay away from that part of the internet. XD

  2. Catherine

    I saw the “most cringe-worthy thing in a sex scene” and immediately thought of the last sex scene in the Sookie Stackhouse series. There was like “sliding against each other like seals” and… what. Just… what.

    I’m a few volumes behind on Sex Criminals (own all that are released but have only finished volume one… curse you, Comixology), and the same with Saga. As for most NSFW comics… sex-wise it’d have to be Chester 5000 XYV (about a woman and the sex robot her husband built for her) which is really sweet and romantic but hella graphic. And Letters for Lucardo (about a 400-yet-30 year old vampire man who falls in love with a 60-something year old human man), which again is beautifully drawn but full on naked and sexual intimacy.

    As for gruesome… I’m a big fan of Nailbiter, which is just about to reach the end of its run. It’s about a town that seems to breed serial killers, with the worst being the Nailbiter… and he’s just been acquitted and has come back to Buckaroo.

    1. Kristen Burns

      Like seals?! Ooh no lol.

      I’m also behind on Sex Criminals. Part of the problem was that I LOVED Vol. 1 but didn’t like Vol. 2 nearly as much. But I was also completely distracted while reading and don’t even remember what actually happened in that one. And Hoopla doesn’t have the Sex Criminals series :-/ It does have Saga though, so I’m all caught up with that.

      A comic about a woman and her sex robot that was sweet and romantic but also graphic? I’m intrigued. And a M/M vampire romance graphic novel?!?!?! I’ve been searching for vampire graphic novels and have had terrible luck finding any! Ok I just looked them both up. Holy crap you weren’t kidding about Chester 5000 XYV being graphic lol (I looked at the first few pages on the authors website), but I’m already starting to feel invested in the poor sad characters, so yes, this is going on my TBR. And I see Letters for Lucardo isn’t out yet? But totally going on my TBR too.

      Never heard of Nailbiter either, but that does sound like it’d be pretty violent and gruesome.

      1. Catherine

        No, Letters for Lucardo isn’t out yet (I was a kickstarter backer, and when I got my PDF copy I reviewed it). The art is very sweet, wonderful facial expressions (and a vampire of colour, too!)

        For vampire graphic novels/comics, check out: 30 Days of Night, Day Men, American Vampire, The Complete Dracula, Midnight Secretary (a sexy vampire romance manga), Vampirella (I know her costume is ridic, but was designed by a leading underground comics feminist). Oh, and if you can find it, The New Deadwardians.

        If you’re a fan of the Vampire Diaries show there’s a comic for that. And while focussed on zombies (and not quite like the TV show), iZombie does have a vampire presence.

        1. Kristen Burns

          I’ve read the iZombie series already, and I read Day Men Vol. 1 but didn’t care for it. I’ll check out the others you mentioned though, thanks πŸ™‚ I would love to give Letters for Lucardo a read once it comes out, but it’s gonna depend on how much it costs.

  3. Cee Arr

    Due to fanfiction, nothing in this post seems odd to me. Which is deeply concerning, really. But sometimes you don’t even have to read fanfiction to know it’s disturbing, just the description is enough (there is Trump/Shrek porn – I really don’t even wanna know.) And I’ve stumbled unwittingly through enough pumpkin sex (and yes, that is what it sounds like,) while trying to find a Halloween-themed fanfic, to know that even the descriptions won’t help you sometimes… lol.

    1. Kristen Burns

      Lol well it makes me feel better to know you don’t think I’m weird for all the things in this post πŸ˜‰ And oh my goodness. Trump/Shrek porn??? That… definitely sounds disturbing. Pumpkin sex, haha. I didn’t even know that was a thing.

  4. Wattle

    I love Matt Fraction’s Hawkeye but I’ve not been able to look sideways at Sex Criminals lol his writing is amazing though.

    #4. I have a list bookmarked somewhere of all the different names for a penis that could be used in fiction. They are mostly ridiculous, but crack me up. I think of it every time I read something silly haha

    I read a book once that I actually wanted to set fire to. The first book of the series was really good and interesting, and for some reason I cannot work out the second one took a turn into…um…very underage creepy things, and slaves and it was very women hating and I actually did consider putting it in our fireplace and lighting a match (I threw it in the recyling bin instead). I was so offended and mortified by it πŸ™ I got to about halfway and went ‘nope I am DONE’.

    1. Kristen Burns

      I’ve not read Hawkeye. I absolutely adored the first volume of Sex Criminals though.

      I’ve seen random lists on the internet, but just because there are lots of strange and hilarious euphemisms, that definitely does not mean authors should use them lol.

      Oh goodness, that does sound like a book that deserves to be set on fire. I’ve gotten angry at books before because of how women were treated and portrayed and what was excused as being ok and whatnot, so I can imagine why you’d be offended.

  5. Barb (boxermommyreads)

    Great answers and eight people? Hmmmm, I can see why people read that. I read Sex Criminal Vol. 1 and although the illustrations and material didn’t bother me at all, I just didn’t really like it.

    1. Kristen Burns

      Lol I swear almost every reviewer also said the main reason they read the book was for that reason. That’s fair. We all have different tastes. I adored the story in the first volume of Sex Criminals though!

  6. Let's Get Beyond Tolerance

    I’ve read some books that fall under the erotica genre but they don’t tend to be my most favorite. Saga is one series that is difficult to read in public, but I LOVE IT! I still need to read Sex Criminals.

    -Lauren

    1. Kristen Burns

      Agreed. I like the occasional sex scene in books but I still like the focus to be on the characters and story. I’ve read both Saga and Sex Criminals in public at the bookstore lol, but the bookstore isn’t as weird a place for that as other public places. Everyone there is just reading their own thing and doesn’t care what other people are reading lol.

  7. Michelle @ FaerieFits

    Haha, this is such a good tag for you! Falloucost sounds like it might be too much for me, and I have pretty thick skin.

    Also, I would SO not want to end up in the world in Withered + Sere either. Yikes! I would probably die / want to die in the first five minutes. Even if I had a SIRS. *sigh*

    1. Kristen Burns

      Lol I do read quite a lot of NSFW books. Fallocaust is definitely one that’s not for the faint of heart! It was almost too much for me even.

      Right?! W+S would be an awful world to live in. I don’t think anyone was well off, and then there were those cannibals… Even SIRS is not a good enough reason to risk living there lol.

  8. Shannon @ It Starts at Midnight

    Legit not sure what it says about me that I am now very interested in Fallocaust? I mean, nothing healthy. Like I don’t know if I can handle it but I am insanely, morbidly curious. I agree with you that any world in which I might be eaten is probably going to be one I shall avoid. (I still kind of want to go to Panem though, so again, not totally stable over here bwhahah.) I am also pretty excited that you are losing your filter. It’s fun πŸ˜‰

    I HATE those cringey sex phrases. SO MUCH. I mean, I try to block them out because… no. Just.. no. Who says stuff like that? Or THINKS stuff like that? Like “ripe and creamy” is not something I would ever, EVER think about, except from now until the end of time, because you are correct, I cannot unread it πŸ˜‰ This is so fun, thanks for sharing it!

    1. Kristen Burns

      Lol well, if it makes you feel any better, I’m pretty sure everyone who’s read that book read it because they were interested in the disturbingness. It was definitely disturbing though. Haha, I think I could’ve guessed that you’d want to go to Panem, despite the danger. I’m kinda glad I’m losing my filter too πŸ˜›

      Seriously, I feel like, would the authors who use those cringey sex words enjoy them if they read them in another author’s scene? Because, if not, why are they using them in their own?? And ugh, yes, “ripe and creamy” are two words that I can honestly say have never come into my mind during a sexual situation, haha. Glad you enjoyed the post!

  9. verushka

    Oh my god, I burst out laughing so hard. Seriously, you are a genius at finding the weirdest funniest covers/books! *ripe and creamy*!?!? *dies laughing*

  10. Wren

    I lost it at “throbbing radioactive rod”. Just……no. πŸ˜› As for the NSFW books that I’ve read, I’ve read a lot, actually, but some of my favourites include Captive in the Dark and Tears of Tess. Books rarely disturb me, I know sometimes certain subject matters and themes upset people but to me, it’s just fiction, if I don’t like it, I can easily just forget about it and leave it to those who did enjoy it. On that note, Fallocaust sounds like something I might like….

    Interesting tag! I may make my own post on this in the future.

    1. Kristen Burns

      Lol it was like the author Googled a list of euphemisms and just used as many as possible in one scene. I read the blurbs for the books you mentioned, and those definitely sound dark. Books rarely disturb me too much either because yeah, I know it’s fiction, but also because I can imagine things less graphic-ly in my head than if I were watching it in a movie or something.

      Thanks, I’d love to see your answers, you should definitely do this tag!

  11. Bookworm Brandee

    This was fun to read and fun to think about, Kristen. Number 4 though…*shudders* yeah, I was cringing reading those. Just WTH? I just saw Sex Criminals on a blog in the last week…funny because I’d never heard of it before.

    1. Kristen Burns

      Lol yeah sometimes I just don’t understand the words authors use in sex scenes. Like, would *they* think it sounded sexy if they read another author’s sex scenes with those words? Weird how that happens, when you don’t hear about something and then suddenly it’s everywhere, right? I actually just reread Sex Criminals Vol. 1 and 2 this week!

  12. Ronnie

    That orgy part in Dark Devotion must have been a challenge to write… I mean to keep everyone busy *wink wink* :)) It’s great you sometimes try books that are nothing like you’ve ever read before. I like experimenting too, pushing my limits a little now and then. This was a fun tag to read.

    Ronnie @ Paradise Found

    1. Kristen Burns

      Lol well luckily there were plenty of people involved, so no one was ever lonely πŸ˜‰ Trying new kinda books that I’m not really sure about has worked out in my favor quite a few times πŸ™‚ Glad you enjoyed the post!

  13. Lola

    That first question is one of the reasons why i like e-readers, no one will ever know what kind of book you’re reading unless they read a part as you can’t see the cover as easily. But yeah a book with pictures would be harder to hide. I don’t read horror books either, although as a kid I did used to read some slightly creepy books. And I did read a thriller last year, but it wasn’t really scary. If a book disturbes me too much I just stop reading, so i can’t remember many that I actually read. I usually skip over disturbing scenes if possible.

    A sex scenes with eight people, yeah I can see why everyone is curious to read that book. I also can’t think of any other book that i know of that has that many people in a sex scene.

    It’s kinda nice to know that no matter what an author writes, there will always be an audience for that book.

    That book Fallocaust sounds very disturbing. I can remember a few books I DNF’d because it was too disturbing. Tears of Tess is the first one to come to mind, there was one particularity disturbing scene and I was just nope and DNF’d it. I still feel uncomfortable every time I think of that scene. And Artificial is also a book I DNF’s because it was too dark for me. The most cringe worthy sex scene I’ve ever read is probably one where the characters forgot to clean up and she kept walking around in the same pants for days. I also remember a book where the guy gave his dick a name and it just got me out of the scene every time.

    This was a fun post to read! Although I am pretty sure half of the books on the list wouldn’t be for me because of the disturbing worlds.

    1. Kristen Burns

      E-readers definitely come in handy for that! But yeah, it’s hard to actually read text unless you’re looking directly over someone’s shoulder or something whereas pictures are pretty easy to see. At least with an e-reader you could close out the book and no one would know though. I don’t mind disturbing, but I get scared pretty easily lol, so that’s why I avoid horror. Thrillers are about as scary as I go usually, for both books and movies.

      Lol I just loved that that was literally the reason almost every person gave in their review for reading the book because that was my reason too.

      Agreed!

      Fallocaust was definitely disturbing. I think someone else also mentioned Tears of Tess. I just read the blurb, and it does sound really dark. And I remember that you DNFed Artificial. I also remember you mentioning that sex scene in the comments on someone else’s blog lol. That does sound horrible. And if a character names a guy’s penis as a joke, that’s one thing, but it definitely shouldn’t be used during sex scenes!

      Thanks πŸ™‚

    1. Kristen Burns

      Lol there were seriously like 15 different euphemisms used for each body part. Femme-furnace was just one of the more unique ones πŸ˜› Teenagers visit my blog! I’m trying to at least keep it mildly appropriate, haha πŸ˜‰

  14. Grace @ Rebel Mommy Book Blog

    This is a fun tag!! Yeah Sex Criminals seems like one I wouldn’t want my parents to find me reading lol. You have me hysterical with #4 and all those names for stuff. I hate when books do that. Some are so ridiculous!!

    1. Kristen Burns

      Sex Criminals is definitely a book you don’t want parents to find you reading lol. I couldn’t even get through that sex scene in the book from #4 with a straight face, there were like 15 different euphemisms for every body part!

  15. Kaja

    This is an awesome tag, I might do it soon! Romance and paranormal covers can be so tacky! That’s why I most often buy ebooks and read them on my Kindle, which is so old it doesn’t even show covers.

    1. Kristen Burns

      It was so much fun, you should definitely do it! Ugh yes, idk what it is about paranormal and romance covers. Why can’t people just be sexy with clothes on? Lol. Kindles are so helpful for hiding those terrible covers!

  16. Dragonfly @ Our Familiarium

    What are some of your most NSFW books or book covers?
    that would be FSoG!! LOL and not so much because it’s erotica but because it’s SO BAD!!! πŸ˜›

    What’s the most cringe-worthy thing you’ve ever read in a sex scene?
    That would in the Siren [Original sinners] and that’s because [rolling my eyes BIG here] and I different person now that I have spans. You may be remember my post. It was about whether there were books I would not feel comfortable promoting. This book is AWESOME. BUT there is sex a scene involving a minor that is presented in a way as IF they are actually doing this minor a favor. So the mom in me was like NUH-UH No way jose! The review is still up though. That’s tells you how torn the reader and the mom in me are. Can’t believe more than a year later I’m still questioning this LOL!

    What’s the most gruesome or disturbing book you’ve ever read?
    See… I don’t think I found that book yet but I’m pretty sure Fallocaust would be THAT BOOK πŸ™‚ I’m almost vegetarian. can’t stand the sight of raw meat [though I cook it a lot becasue of my carnivore family. I know. I know. I’m a mom that means I’m a weirdo.] So I always stay away from movies and books about cannibalism. I can’t even watch or read Zombies LOL

    OMG THAT BOOK COVER K!!!! You should blurr it! LOL! I know.. I know… I’m such a prude now. I can’t stand myself. LOL

    Great Post!

    1. Kristen Burns

      Lol well I haven’t read FSoG (to be honest I actually had to Google what book that was), but I’ll take your word for it!

      Yikes, that sex scene does sound questionable. I’m not a mom, and I even I would be uncomfortable with that, so I don’t blame you!

      I’m not a vegetarian, and even I don’t want to read about humans being force-fed in factories lol. But really? I didn’t realize you didn’t read zombie books. It seems like that would be something you might like!

      There’s not even anything showing on the cover! There’s a conveniently placed arm and whiteness covering all the important bits, haha.

  17. Becky @ A Fool's Ingenuity

    I love this tag, I want to do it too! I just need to find a quiet hour to be able to sit at the computer without having a long list of books to review and comments to reply to. Maybe this weekend?

    Anyway, onto NSFW things. I have to say, the majority of romance covers are a bit awkward for the workplace, especially historical romance. Why do they feature so many half dressed people? It’s not exactly something you can explain. And Ilona Andrews Burn For Me! That cover is so cringeworthy and doesn’t even really represent what the book is like! I don’t know about disturbing books, I don’t really do disturbing, you know?

    1. Kristen Burns

      Lol well you definitely need to make some time because I want to see your answers!

      Yeah, I can imagine reading romance in the workplace could be awkward, what with all their half naked guy covers. Not sure why characters can’t just be sexy with clothes on?

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