New Adult: Let's Talk About Sex, Baby!

So, now that April's joined the blog, we can have candid discussions about all things book-related and then post the results here for you guys to comment on.  This week, it seems that April has a special dislike for New Adult novels, so that's what we're going to kick things off with.

*Disclaimer:  This topic is not suitable for some of our younger audience.  While we try to remain family-friendly, there are times when we may need to be graphic to get the point across. We don't mean to offend anyone, but we really wanted to have an honest conversation about New Adult.

April:  I haven't read all the new adult books out there, but I've read quite a few and the things we discuss below I've noticed in a lot of them.

Jen:  I honestly haven't read all that many new adult novels because I'm so wary of them and these tropes...

A:  #1 - The guy is often a musician/rock star or just a bad boy with tattoos.

J:  This. One notable exception is the Losing It series by Cora Carmack. In the second book, the roles are reversed and it's actually the female love interest that's a musician and covered in tattoos.

A:  #2 - The love interest is almost always a jerk.

J:  Yes, why are women drawn to men who treat them badly? I mean, I know plenty of women who are this way, so it's a legitimate issue, but maybe if we didn't portray it in fiction as if it were alright, women would feel they deserve the love of someone better than that.

A:  #3 - They both have emotional baggage. A lot of it!

J:  I don't think anyone's without some amount of baggage, but you're right. The protagonists in these new adult stories have more than their fair share. And it always seems like it's being used as a plot device to keep them from the love interest.

A:  #4 - The female is often weak and needs protection from the guy. Even if she's a cheating scum ball. (Example:  Torn by K.A. Robinson)

J:  Apparently, all men love a damsel in distress. I prefer female leads to have a sense of independence and the ability --or at the very least, the desire -- to take care of herself.

A:  #5 - Sex is the main focus of the relationship. Which I kinda get because I was a little promiscuous back
in the early days, but even in my prime, I did not have sex THAT MUCH.

J:  I think you may have just hit upon the thing that bothers me most about new adult novels. I am not a prude. I do not mind reading a sex scene or two in the middle of a good book. But I hate when sex scenes are just thrown in gratuitously. They need to belong at that point in the book, and they need to be realistic. I found this post on what not to write in a sex scene from Smart Bitches Trashy Books to be highly entertaining.

A:  #6 - Love confused with lust. This happens in adult and I suppose some young adult novels, too, but it's over abundant in new adult. When all they are doing is having sex, it's hard to believe they have any kind of true emotional connection.

J:  Like I said, I haven't read nearly as many new adult novels as April, so I can't comment on this one, except to say that I think that most love starts out with at least a tiny bit of lust. I think that it's when the lust doesn't grow into love that it becomes an issue.

A:  #7 - College students, but there's no talk of college. I read a few that took place at the college, while the student was going to college, but there was barely any talk of college itself. How can you have a character going to school for a whole year and have no idea what they are even there for? Like they went to class. But what class? Doesn't matter, there was a hottie a few rows back.

J:  This is another pet peeve of mine, but I don't think it's strictly limited to new adult. It's a problem in young adult, too. And I get why there's not a lot of talk about class because it's pretty boring, unless something actually happens besides the learning. But I don't think it's asking too much for characters to interact within the classroom setting.

A:  #8 - The females are virgins! Not always, but a majority of the ones I've read are, for example:  Like Falling by Jaden Wilkes and True by Erin McCarthy. And the first time is always mind blowing O's! Get real!

J:  Haha...that virginity thing is just ridiculous. How many college-aged women do you know or have you known that were still virgins when they got to campus? I'm sure there are some -- and I'm sure that my parents would prefer to think that I was still a virgin when I moved out of the house, or even better, that I was still a virgin until the day I married my husband, ha! But that's not the way of the world. I think it's terribly unrealistic to portray probably 90% of new adult protagonists as virgins when so many young adults are using those formative teen years for practice. Because, yeah, that first time is not going to be so great, at least not for her.

A:  #9 - Going back to the obnoxious amount of sex being had, it's also pretty raunchy in these new adult books! Particularly the Abbi Gline ones. And you know, I'm not afraid of a little raunchiness. I'm completely okay with joking around about it, but when it comes to sex scenes in books, I prefer it to be meaningful and a little less dirty.

J:  I wholeheartedly agree...as I said before, no gratuitous sex scenes. Make 'em few and make 'em count. If I wanted raunchy, I'd pick up one of my mom's old Harlequin romance novels. And before you ask, yes, that is how I learned about sex. My mom sure as hell wasn't sitting me down to discuss it. I am so glad I had an older sister who could impart some of her wisdom on me in times like these.

A:  #10 - Miscommunication is usually the big conflict in the story. This one thinks this, that one thinks that, they don't talk, they fight, and then they make up and have sex. Because SEX FIXES EVERYTHING!

J:  *sigh* This is true of A LOT of stories. Granted, miscommunication happens...a lot. But in these books, it's as if the characters are KEPT from discussing anything that might put them on even ground. And I dislike that when a couple does fight in one of these stories, it's never about the thing that needs to be discussed. They walk on eggshells around each other, fight about things that don't matter. I haven't really seen all that much of the make-up sex in my limited experience with new adult, so I'll take your word for it.

A:  So there you have it, some of the many reasons I have it out for new adult novels.  In Torn, the girl goes to college with two of her best friends. Her best guy friend is in love with her. She meets a wanna be rock star. They boink, he cuts her off...treats her like total crap. So she dates her best guy friend, boinks him. Then cheats on him with Rocker again. When shit hits the fan, they still both love her and want to protect her from her crazy mom...because she needs protection. GAG

J:  Well, first, I don't like books about cheaters, so already I'm not impressed, but just based on your observations, I don't think that's a new adult I'd ever pick up.

A:  Oh, I've got another little mini-rant:  Those Abbi Glines books have become ridiculous. They are all sex. And to me, it's not sexy sex. In Twisted Perfection, the girl starts gagging on his dick. And he's all loving it.. and she's thinking how she loves to gag on it. That is not sexy. Maybe it's just me, but if I'm gagging, there may be puke following. Lol. It's a shame though because they started out great.. her Sea Breeze books were good, and then While It Lasts came out, and they all started going down hill from there.

What I don't understand is, what is the appeal? These unhealthy relationships based off of mostly sex...why are they so popular? Isn't this what the Erotica genre is for? The Glines books were originally self pubbed, but then Atria bought them. I thought to myself, did these people read them first? I guess that doesn't really matter since they already had a huge fan base.

J:  I was just thinking this...that most new adult novels were self-published first. There's got to be some correlation between the fan-base and the material presented, but I think that if I wanted to read sex, I would have opted for an adult novel rather than a new adult. Unless it's primarily that age group that's reading these and they don't want to read about old people getting it on. And I mean "old" relatively...I'm sure we're ancient to a college freshman and that they think they'll never be in our shoes. Pfft. It happens to everyone. :P

A:  I actually read a book that was originally an erotica but was then branded as new adult. Now that thing made Abbi's books look like the bible.  The title on Amazon says New Adult May December Romance. Not so much. This girl does her best friend's dad. Then the best friend asks how it was while masturbating with the friend. The friend even does it with the dad while the daughter is asleep in the bed next to them. It's clearly Erotica but the New Adult genre has become so widespread that books are being put out there with that label just to get attention.

They aren't all bad though. Colleen Hoover's stuff is great. I even enjoyed Nyrae Dawn's new adult series, Games. They have the characters with baggage but they are genuine and there is sexy times, but it doesn't over-pollute the plot. Oh, and the K.A. Tucker books. I like those. Ten Tiny Breaths wasn't my favorite, but I loved One Tiny Lie. Also, Easy by Tammara Webber was good.  I'm on a quest to find more decent New Adult. I know there are some out there. I bought Jamie McGuire's Beautiful Disaster because it's raved about. We shall see though.

J:  I haven't read many, but I've had pretty good luck with the ones I have picked up, like those from Colleen Hoover, Cora Carmack, and K.A. Tucker. Two of my favorites, though, are Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell and One & Only by Viv Daniels.  I'm not even sure that Fangirl is technically supposed to be new adult, but it fits the bill...except for all of the gratuitous sex.  There isn't any of that, and I think the book is better because of it.  I think new adult novels are supposed to focus on that transitional time in a young adult's life, not just the sex, and Fangirl succeeds in that aspect where many others have failed.  In One & Only, there's a bit of sex, but there's also a focus on the protagonist's schoolwork and future career.  It's also written by Diana Peterfreund under a pseudonym.  :)

A:  So that's all I really all I can think of to say about New Adult. It blows. Literally. Like in just about every chapter. Lol.

J:  Bahaha...well, that's one way to put it.  =)