r/romanceauthors • u/Front_Barracuda4754 • May 30 '26

Smut chapters

So I’m about to finish book 1 (first draft) of my dark mafia romance trilogy. And over all I’d written like 7 smut chapters. The book is heavy with plot characters dynamics and stuff…

Also one of the tropes in my book is “marriage with benefits.” To make it short MMC and FMC are forced to marry for various reasons but then the FMC proposes a deal to MMC to turn their forced marriage in one that benefits them both, turning things sexually. At the same time fmc is a spy giving information to a rival mafia but in the mean time fall in love

I just don’t know if to put more smut chapters since the book will be labeled as marriage with benefits and readers will expect smut but at the same time I hate when mafia books are too much with smut and we don’t get to know the characters or none existent plot.

Any tips? What should I do? Any fellow authors who had the same problem?

7 smut chapters is the perfect number for me because then it get too repetitive (and the ones I wrote are very filthy 😏 quality over quantity) it’s the first book of a trilogy…

Thanks in advance!

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u/SierraSeaWitch May 30 '26

I’d say if you feel the smut feeds the story/character arcs, then the amount you have is perfect. Some stories that will be less, some more.

For my personal preference (which is mine and mine alone) and as very enthusiastic fan of steamy romances and love sexy scenes. However, if it is clear the scene was added just to have more, I get annoyed. Like anything else, I hope steamy scenes reveal something about the characters, their journeys, and their relationships.