The Heart Principle by Helen Hoang, recommended by Soraya Bouazzaoui, senior commissioning editor at Headline Eternal

“Helen writes spicy romances about people who are on the autism spectrum, and the way that’s woven into her smut scenes is beautiful and validating. In particular, there is an emotional and sexual scene toward the end of Hoang’s third book, The Heart Principle, in which the female protagonist, Anna, masturbates in front of her love interest, Quan, before they finally have sex. She’s struggled with climaxing with a partner, and thus having a consistent interest in sex with someone is difficult for her. Until meeting Quan. By masturbating in front of him, she’s showing him how much she trusts him and wants him to understand exactly how she makes herself climax. So that he can learn, and it can be something mutually pleasurable for them. Hoang expertly makes this both emotional and erotic to read.”

Excerpt: “Watching me from beneath half-lowered lashes, she pushes her hands over her belly toward her pussy, but before she touches herself, she loses her courage and squeezes her eyes shut, swallowing so hard I can hear the sound. ‘There’s a certain way I need to be touched,’ she says. ‘It has to be this way, or I can’t relax and I can’t let go.’ After a period of time that feels like eternity, her fingertips settle on her clit, and I watch, transfixed, as she touches herself. Her breathing quickens and her hips rise, and I have never seen anything more sexy.”

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