Heat levels, 1 to 5
Every book here prints a heat number. This is what each one means, so you can pick a book that is the temperature you actually want — and skip the ones that are not.
| Level | What you get | In practice |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kisses, longing, fade to black | Attraction, tension and a closed door. Nothing explicit happens on the page. |
| 2 | Closed door, one implied night | The couple sleeps together; you are not in the room for it. The emotional payoff is on the page, the sex is not. |
| 3 | Open door, two or three sensual scenes | You are in the room, but the language stays sensual rather than explicit. |
| 4 | Multiple explicit scenes, dirty talk, on-page climax | Explicit and frequent, with anatomical language. The sex moves the relationship — power, trust or betrayal — or it gets cut. |
| 5 | Frequent explicit scenes, kink-aware, obsession on the page | The highest the house prints. Morally grey plots, consensual heat, and characters who want too much and know it. |
What the catalogue actually is
| Heat | Titles | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | |
| 1–2 | 5 | |
| 4 | 8 | |
| 4–5 | 12 | |
| 5 | 6 |
Where is the heat level printed?
On the book's page here, and on the series page bound inside the printed book. Never on a cover. A cover should tell you the genre and the pairing; how explicit a book is belongs in words, where it can be precise.
Does a higher number mean less story?
No. The couple is the A-plot at every level. A scene that could be deleted without changing the relationship gets cut or restaged. Heat 5 means frequent and explicit; it does not mean the story stopped.
What is true at every heat level?
Every romantic or sexual character is 25 or older and their ages are stated early in the text. Coercion appears as plot and never as titillation. There are no family or step-family pairings anywhere in the catalogue.
What does closed door mean?
Heat 1 and 2. The couple may sleep together, but you are not in the room for it. The emotional payoff is on the page; the sex is not.
Is there anything at heat 3?
Not yet. Heat 3 is reserved for a sweet-crossover list the house has not started. Every title here is either 1–2 or 4–5, which is why the shelf looks bimodal.