How Hot Is This Story?

The flame ratings are a great way to know how hot a story is at a glance.

Authors, please use this guide when deciding which heat level to describe your books, and readers, take note of which heat levels you enjoy so you can be sure to only download books you’ll love and enjoy.

1 Flame - This story is as clean and wholesome as they come. No cheating, no swearing, no sex on-screen. Not even any PDAs. Just two soulmates finding each other and living happily ever after.

2 Flames - Still a wholesome story with no cheating and no sex, but may contain some on-screen petting and light swearing, and as always, a happily ever after.

3 Flames - Now we’re starting to warm up. The bedroom door is open during sex, but the emphasis is on emotions, not as much on the physical aspect. Swearing is absolutely okay, but never the F-bomb. Certainly a happily ever after, or at least a happy for now.

4 Flames - Now we’re really cooking. The F-bomb and all other swear words are used liberally, but the relationships are still always consensual and monogamous. Sex toys are starting to show up.

5 Flames - Threesomes (or more!) find their home here. The emphasis is on the physical aspect of the relationship along with the emotional, and sex toys are in almost every sex scene (and some scenes besides!) The F-bomb is used every other sentence, and you should only touch your ereader if you have hot pads on your hands. NOTE: Our lawyers say that we ought to disclaim any injury caused by exploding ereaders from 5-flame books. You have been warned…

LGBTQAI+ - All books that fall into this category, regardless of their heat level, are sent together in the same newsletter (Same Hearts).