My husband has been begging me to read one of my books to him. He snuck a peak over my shoulder and was intrigued. I was nervous it had been awhile since I read aloud, and this was smut! I may be liberated from purity culture in many ways, but there is some lingering embarrassment over my books of choice. Teen me read clean, wholesome stories. And reading my smut aloud seemed to amplify the taboo (not in a titillating way, either).
It was after I downloaded the Intimately Us app on Android, that it suggested reading a book together to build intimacy. I wanted to work on romancing my husband.
He chose Beautiful Carnage by Heather Ashley because he liked the tattoo of the guy on the cover (proud of him for totally judging a book by its cover), but it's not exactly romantic smut.
The MMC is much older than the FMC and was actually in love with her at 16! He did not act on his feelings, though. My husband and I discussed these points as we slowly made our way through the first few chapters. I could tell the plot bothered him a little, though he swore he found the book stimulating to listen to.
However, 10% of the way through we just stopped reading together, After a few months I asked him if we should continue and he admitted he didn't even remember the plot so far. He then gave me his full blessing to finish the book on my own.
Updates to follow on my Goodreads account.
