Smut by Karina Halle Is a Fun College Romance

Sometimes the best romance setup is also the most chaotic one: two people who swear they cannot stand each other, forced to write together, accidentally realizing they are very good at it. In Smut by Karina Halle, that setup gets even messier because the project turns into self-published erotica, which means all that “professional” creative tension has nowhere to hide. It is cute, spicy, meta, and exactly the kind of bookish romcom premise I love.

Overall, this was a light and fun read.  It’s sweet but with the right amount of spice to keep things interesting. ~ Under the Covers

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What is Smut by Karina Halle about?

In Smut by Karina Halle, two creative writing rivals get paired for a college project and somehow end up being annoyingly great together. One A-grade assignment later, they are secretly coauthoring erotica under a pen name, which goes about as smoothly as you would expect when resentment, attraction, and dirty scenes are all added to the mix.

Smut by Karina Halle Book Review

My last Karina Halle book was not a success for me, so I was a bit scared going into this one because I didn’t think I could take two in a row that didn’t work for me.  I’m happy to report that SMUT was quite cute and adorable.

The premise is a lot of fun.  Two aspiring authors in college are assigned a final project to write together.  They do such a great job at it that they end up writing an erotic romance book together and self publishing it under a pen name.  They both struggle with the concept of writing the genre because it’s not what they originally wanted to write, and writing an erotic book while dealing with their underlying attraction to each other just amps up the sexual tension in this book.

I wouldn’t say either of these characters stand out to me for anything in particular, but I really enjoyed them together.  They have great chemistry while working together and getting to know each other.  All that sexual tension jumps from the pages to reality in creative and heated ways.  But they also help each other deal with some of the more serious issues in their lives, like their families.  All in all, they worked very well together!

While this was mostly fun, there was a spark missing from making me really get involved with either of them which is why the rating isn’t higher, even though it was an enjoyable read.  Also, I couldn’t help but feel a strong dislike for the characters due to their feelings on the erotic romance genre at first and what they were writing.  They really thought they were lowering themselves to writing smut instead of their “real writing” (like the fantasy novel the heroine was writing), and they were basically doing it because of the money.  I’ve seen authors express these types of views in the past and I don’t read them because of it.  So maybe that put a dent on my enjoyment of the characters as well.

Overall, this was a light and fun read.  It’s sweet but with the right amount of spice to keep things interesting.

Final Thoughts

It is light, spicy, and playful, even if the characters’ early attitude toward erotic romance might make some romance readers raise an eyebrow. Still, as a cute and meta standalone about writing smut until it becomes impossible to ignore, Smut by Karina Halle knows exactly how to deliver.

If you enjoy the banter in this book, you can dive deep into her backlist. The best place to start is our Karina Halle reading guide.

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