Peaches' guide to smut genres, terms and tropes

Dipping your toes or diving headfirst into smut for the first time, darlings? Allow me to introduce you to some terms that you might see pop up as you have your first delicious encounters. Nothing you need to know by heart, but bookmark this if you don’t know your dark romances from your gothic romances, or power exchange from primal play.

Along with my personal spice scale, knowing these acronyms and terms will help you confidently explore the depths of your desire while keeping yourself safe from themes or tropes that might trigger.

Smut Genres

Dark romance

Morally grey men, high-stakes conflict and darker, more taboo themes. Not for everyone, but if you feel fired up at the thought of power imbalance, intense emotional and sexual dynamics and a little obsession, dark romance will consume you in the best possible way.

Gothic romance

If you crave intense, haunting and downright dramatic romance with a moody atmosphere in isolated locations, this is the genre for you. It’s spice served with secrets, danger and psychological tension that can also tread into horror territory, for my darker-hearted darlings.

New adult

Features characters navigating early adulthood (18-25), with common themes like first love, self-discovery, independence and identity. A good starting point for YA graduates, but equally enjoyable for all.

Romantasy

Irresistible escapism that transports you and your desires to fantasy realms. There’s usually magic, battles, politics and epic stakes, as well as supernatural creatures like fae and demons. If you’re feral for enemies-to-lovers, fated mates or chosen family tropes, you’ll want to devour this genre.

Small-town romance

Cosy settings and close-knit communities make for the kind of chemistry that swells when everyone knows the characters’ business (whether they like it or not). Expect warm love stories with big heart, found family and emotional healing with varying levels of heat, from glowing embers to searing, all-consuming spice. 

Sports romance

Love your romance with a little competition mixed in? Sports romance thrives on quick wit, heated rivalries and magnetic connections. There’s usually high tension and higher stakes, whether it’s ice hockey, baseball or Formula 1 that forms the main characters’ world. If your adrenaline surges for forbidden romances and enemies-to-lovers, this is for you.

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Common Smut Terms

• FM/MF: Female-male/male-female. Smut that centres on an opposite-sex relationship.
• MM/FF: Male-male/female-female. Smut that centres on a same-sex relationship.
• NBM/NBF/NBNB: Non-binary-male/non-binary-female/non-binary-non-binary. Smut that centres on a relationship with a non-binary person.
• MMC/FMC/NBMC: Male/female/non-binary main character. You might see a blurb or review refer to a book’s MMC, for example, instead of the character’s name.
• Closed-door: Physical intimacy and sex might be alluded to, but never explicitly described on the page. 
• Open-door: Physical intimacy and sex are described (often in delicious detail) on the page.

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Common Smut Tropes

• Age gap: Always between adults, but with an age difference between the main characters that might feel uncomfortable for some but sets others on fire.‍
• BDSM: Stands for bondage, discipline, sadism and masochism. A frequent feature in dark romances that can include (but is certainly not limited to…) domination and submission, rope-play, blindfolding, gagging and spanking. Always with informed consent.‍
• CNC: Consensual-non-consent - anything labelled CNC features roleplay where consent is negotiated in advance but the roleplay itself mimics forced acts.
• ‍Dub-con: Consent is unclear, pressured or compromised. ‍
• Grumpy/Sunshine: A cold, closed-off, even hostile character that ends up falling for a warm, happy and vulnerable character. ‍
• Fake dating: Whether it’s making ex jealous or boosting someone’s public profile, fake dating often comes with rules that get unexpectedly and eagerly broken.‍
• Forced proximity: When the two main characters are forced to spend a lot of time together, sometimes in very close quarters (like sharing the same bed…)‍
• Instalove and instalust: The opposite to slow burn, where the two main characters are hooked on each other the moment they meet.‍
• Morally grey: Brooding, obsessive, aggressive. In between the pages, morally grey characters invite us to explore the darker edges of our pleasure with words and behaviour that tear up taboos and test boundaries.‍
• Power exchange: Someone gives up control (submissive) and someone takes control (dominant), either in the bedroom or more broadly in the relationship. Often includes commands, restraint, discipline and praise or degradation.‍
• Primal play: A predator-prey dynamic, including fantasies of hunting or being caught. Physical and visceral thrills of pursuit and surrender.‍
• Second-chance: Previously together (or almost), now reunited or reconnected after time apart to resolve past mistakes or secret feelings.‍
• Slow burn: The opposite to instalove or instalust, attraction builds gradually over time, often leading to irresistible tension and longing before the final ignition.

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Seen a term I’ve not mentioned here, or have a burning question about all things smut? I’d be delighted to help, darlings. Submit your question to peaches@ladieswholit.co.uk and I’ll answer as many as I can in my Ask Peaches column.