Spotlight Sunday: Is New Adult Here to Stay?

Spotlight Sunday on Swoony Boys Podcast and Fiction Fare

By now you know that when the four of us are together, in person or via the magic of the internet, the conversations almost always come back to books. We love them. We love the people who write them, the people who publish them, and the people who read them. In fact, we have so many feelings about books that we wanted to find a way to share our conversations with you!

Welcome to a new week of Spotlight Sunday, hosted by Fiction Fare (Erin & Jaime) and Swoony Boys Podcast (Kassiah & Meg), where we dish about ALL things bookish. Each week we’ll post a topic, we’ll start the conversation by telling you some of our thoughts, and then it will be your turn to sound off in the comment section.

Have a topic you’d like to discuss on Spotlight Sunday? Fill out the form here.

What do you think of New Adult? Is it here to stay or just porn in disguise?

Jaime: I actually totally love new adult… there is a caveat to that statement. I love it when it’s written well. We’ve talked about the bad quite a bit, but when I find a New Adult that I love… I’m all over that author. Some that stand out for me – Lyla Payne, Cora Carmack, I really have enjoyed Sophie Jordan’s series, Tammara Webber & Robin York. I really hope it doesn’t ever go away, and I honestly don’t feel like it’s porn in disguise at all. I feel bad for the authors who write so wonderfully in this age group because the NA category seems to have gotten a bad rap because of some of the stuff that’s out there. I think that like in any storytelling there needs to be a balance and the group up above does an amazing job of achieving it.

Erin: I agree Jaime – I love New Adult…when it is done correctly. So many times the stories are all about the sex and there is no real plot. With that said, there are a number of authors who get that there needs to be an actual story to go along with everything else and I love it when I come across a New Adult book that just gets it right. Don’t get me wrong, I love my YA but I do like to mix things up and New Adult gives me an older age group and a bit more of the steamy stuff when I want it. In short, I wouldn’t consider all New Adult as “porn in disguise” and if you come across a great New Adult author…tell me please.

Meg: Oh, man. I have nothing really to add to this convo. I am still a NA and Adult v-i-r-g-i-n. I am not opposed to it in any way and have several that I keep meaning to read, but my to be read list is always so full that I just haven’t made the time to pick any of these titles up. It will someday and then I am sure I will form a strong opinion about this particular subject.

Kassiah: Ya’ll know I love New Adult–it seems like that’s practically all I read anymore. I wouldn’t say that I think it’s just “porn in disguise,” but I definitely think that most of it pushes the envelope and is racier than most contemporary romance books. I love that about it, though 🙂

There are so many New Adult stories that I love, and I absolutely agree with Jaime’s recommendations, and I definitely hope it’s here to stay.

Now that you’ve read some of our thoughts, let us know what you’re thinking in the comments below! We’ll be back next week with a brand new topic and lots more to talk about.