Sexy Scenes in YA—What Are Your Favorites?

HOT!

A handful of book blogger friends and I just had an epic conversation on twitter about “sexy scenes” in YA. It started after someone mentioned the upcoming release Mephisto Covenant by Trinity Faegen– a book that’s become slightly notorious for being toned down from its original pre-edit incarnation.

Most of us said we actually appreciate “sexier” scenes in YA, and wish there were more! To clarify “sexy” scenes don’t have to mean sex. While I personally feel there are many books where that seems to be the natural next step, but the author shies away from it, it’s by no means a requirement for me to read a book. However, if there is romance in a book, I do expect at least a certain amount of tension.

There are dozens of great books where the sexual tension is so intense, it nearly lights up the pages. Sometimes little gestures like accidental touches, or covert looks at the love interest say more than taking things further could. I’ve even read books where– because the author knows what they are doing– simple hand holding is sexy! As a natural part of life, sex and sexual tension are of course quite common subjets in books, especially books about teens (whether parents like it or not).

On that note: what are your favorite “sexy” YA books?

Here are a few of mine:

* The Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead
* The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin
* Firelight by Sophie Jordan
* Born at Midnight by C.C. Hunter
* Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
* Nightshade and Wolfsbane by Andrea Cremer
* Shade and Shift by Jeri Smith-Ready
* The Duff by Kody Keplinger
* The Blue Bloods series by Melissa de la Cruz
* The Diary of a Crush series by Sarra Manning
* Falling Under by Gwen Hayes
* Nevermore by Kelly Creagh

Note: With the exception of The Duff, most of the above books do not rank high on the actual sex scale. If you aren’t sure about what you’re about to read, or want to know more before your teenager reads one of the above books, I suggest paying a visit to Reading Teen, for their very detailed parental book reviews and ratings.