Vampire Romance Spice Levels: Every Book Rated 1 to 5
Last updated October 2026 · 72 books rated
Not sure where you sit on this scale? Take the quiz →
Every vampire romance listing says a book is 'steamy'. None of them tell you what that means.
So we rated all of them. Every book reviewed at The Velvet Coven carries a spice level from 1 to 5 — chaste to scorching — assigned from reader reports, author content lists and published reviews, and applied to the same scale every time. If you want to know whether Twilight is safe to read on a train, or whether Dark Lover will make you put your phone face down, this is the page.
Find your book below, or search the table.
Quick Answers
The questions people actually ask. Full table below.
Is Vampire Academy spicy?
No. We rate Vampire Academy 2 out of 5 on the spice scale. This is a young adult series from 2007 and it reads like one. The heat never moves beyond tension and one significant scene in book three that is restrained by modern standards.
What is the Vampire Academy spice level?
2 out of 5. Vampire Academy sits at "restrained" on our scale. This is a young adult series, and the heat stays in the tension rather than the bedroom.
Is Empire of the Vampire spicy?
Yes, moderately. We rate Empire of the Vampire 3 out of 5. Jay Kristoff writes explicit scenes but they are infrequent, and the book is far more interested in violence than in romance. It is a long, dark epic, and the spice is a sideshow to the blood.
Is Interview with the Vampire spicy?
No. Interview with the Vampire is deeply sensual and heavy with subtext, but Anne Rice writes desire without writing sex scenes, and nothing is graphic. We have not assigned a formal spice level to this one yet.
Are Anne Rice's books spicy?
No. The Vampire Lestat and The Queen of the Damned both sit at 2 out of 5. Anne Rice writes desire and obsession with deep sensuality, but the scenes are never graphic.
What is the Dark Lover spice level?
4 out of 5. Dark Lover is explicit, frequent, and the reason the Black Dagger Brotherhood sells. If you are new to the series, this is the calibration point for everything else on this page.
What is the spice level of The Academy of Blood and Shadow?
Not yet rated on this site. The Academy of Blood and Shadow by Océanne Rhéaume is described by the author as a spicy open-door romantasy, which on our scale would likely sit at 4 or 5. Once we review it, this answer will update with the formal rating.
What is the A Dowry of Blood spice level?
4 out of 5. A Dowry of Blood is explicit but lyrical rather than graphic. S.T. Gibson writes intimacy the way she writes everything else: beautifully, briefly, and with more feeling than description.
What is the House of Night spice level?
2 out of 5. Marked, the first book in the House of Night series, sits at "restrained" on our scale. This is a young adult series, and the heat never moves beyond what is typical for YA.
What does each spice level actually mean?
Our scale runs 1 to 5: level 1 is chaste (kissing and closed doors), level 2 is restrained (tension does the work), level 3 is warm (explicit but the story stands without it), level 4 is explicit (on the page and woven into the arc), and level 5 is scorching (explicit, frequent, and unapologetic). The number tells you what to expect, not whether the book is good.
Looking for Twilight specifically? We answer that in full here.
The scale, explained
Every book in the coven is rated 1 to 5 for heat. Here is what each level means.
1 — Chaste
Kissing at most. Fade to black or nothing at all.
2 — Restrained
Tension over description. Brief, non-graphic scenes.
3 — Warm
On-page and explicit, but occasional and not the point.
4 — Explicit
Frequent, detailed, and central to the emotional arc.
5 — Scorching
Graphic, frequent, and the reason many readers came.
Spice Level 5 — Scorching
These are the books people are talking about when they say a series "gets spicy". Explicit, frequent, and unapologetic.
| Book | Series | Spice | The verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| A Court of Silver Flames Sarah J. Maas | A Court of Thorns and Roses #5 | 5/5 | The spiciest thing Sarah J. Maas has written. Explicit, frequent, and central to the healing arc. |
| A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire Jennifer L. Armentrout | Blood and Ash #2 | 5/5 | Where the series stops being YA-adjacent. Explicit and frequent. |
| Butcher and Blackbird Brynne Weaver | The Ruinous Love Trilogy #1 | 5/5 | |
| Den of Vipers K.A. Knight | Standalone | 5/5 | |
| Deviant King Rina Kent | Royal Elite #1 | 5/5 | |
| Haunting Adeline H.D. Carlton | Cat and Mouse Duet #1 | 5/5 | Explicit, graphic, and genuinely dark. Read the content warnings first — we mean that. |
| Hunting Adeline H.D. Carlton | Cat and Mouse Duet #2 | 5/5 | Explicit and considerably heavier than book one. Content warnings are not optional here. |
| Lover Awakened J.R. Ward | Black Dagger Brotherhood #3 | 5/5 | Explicit, and inseparable from the trauma the book is about. Not a light read. |
| Lover Eternal J.R. Ward | Black Dagger Brotherhood #2 | 5/5 | As explicit as book one, with more emotional weight behind it. |
| Lover Revealed J.R. Ward | Black Dagger Brotherhood #4 | 5/5 | Explicit throughout. |
| Lover Unbound J.R. Ward | Black Dagger Brotherhood #5 | 5/5 | Explicit and kink-forward. The darkest book in the early Brotherhood, in every sense. |
| The Crown of Gilded Bones Jennifer L. Armentrout | Blood and Ash #3 | 5/5 | Explicit throughout. |
Spice Level 4 — Explicit
On the page, in detail, and woven into the emotional arc rather than bolted on.
| Book | Series | Spice | The verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| A Court of Mist and Fury Sarah J. Maas | A Court of Thorns and Roses #2 | 4/5 | This is where the series earns its reputation. Explicit and frequent. |
| A Court of Wings and Ruin Sarah J. Maas | A Court of Thorns and Roses #3 | 4/5 | Explicit, integrated into the emotional arc. |
| A Dowry of Blood S.T. Gibson | Standalone | 4/5 | |
| A Game of Fate Scarlett St. Clair | Hades x Persephone Saga #2 | 4/5 | |
| A Game of Gods Scarlett St. Clair | Hades x Persephone Saga #6 | 4/5 | |
| A Game of Retribution Scarlett St. Clair | Hades x Persephone Saga #4 | 4/5 | |
| A Soul of Ash and Blood Jennifer L. Armentrout | Blood and Ash #5 | 4/5 | Explicit, and considerably heavier given what Casteel's chapters reveal. |
| A Touch of Chaos Scarlett St. Clair | Hades x Persephone Saga #7 | 4/5 | |
| A Touch of Darkness Scarlett St. Clair | Hades x Persephone Saga #1 | 4/5 | |
| A Touch of Malice Scarlett St. Clair | Hades x Persephone Saga #5 | 4/5 | |
| A Touch of Ruin Scarlett St. Clair | Hades x Persephone Saga #3 | 4/5 | |
| Blood and Thorns Taylor Aston White | Twisted Ever After #1 | 4/5 | |
| Bloody Heart Sophie Lark | Brutal Birthright #4 | 4/5 | |
| Broken Vow Sophie Lark | Brutal Birthright #5 | 4/5 | |
| Brutal Prince Sophie Lark | Brutal Birthright #1 | 4/5 | |
| Dark Lover J.R. Ward | Black Dagger Brotherhood #1 | 4/5 | Explicit, frequent, and the reason this series sells. If you are new to the Brotherhood, this is the calibration point. |
| From Blood and Ash Jennifer L. Armentrout | Blood and Ash #1 | 4/5 | Explicit, but it arrives late. The first third is a slow burn in the literal sense. |
| Heavy Crown Sophie Lark | Brutal Birthright #6 | 4/5 | |
| Savage Lover Sophie Lark | Brutal Birthright #3 | 4/5 | |
| Slaying the Vampire Conqueror Carissa Broadbent | Crowns of Nyaxia #2.5 | 4/5 | Explicit, with the slow-burn tension of a woman who is supposed to be planning his murder. |
| Stolen Heir Sophie Lark | Brutal Birthright #2 | 4/5 | |
| The Ashes and the Star-Cursed King Carissa Broadbent | Crowns of Nyaxia #2 | 4/5 | Explicit, and emotionally loaded after everything book one put them through. |
| The Darkest Temptation Danielle Lori | Made #3 | 4/5 | |
| The Fallen and the Kiss of Dusk Carissa Broadbent | Crowns of Nyaxia #4 | 4/5 | Explicit. |
| The Lion and the Deathless Dark Carissa Broadbent | Crowns of Nyaxia #5 | 4/5 | |
| The Maddest Obsession Danielle Lori | Made #2 | 4/5 | |
| The Serpent & the Wings of Night Carissa Broadbent | Crowns of Nyaxia #1 | 4/5 | |
| The Songbird and the Heart of Stone Carissa Broadbent | Crowns of Nyaxia #3 | 4/5 | Explicit, slow burn, and worth the wait. |
| The Sweetest Oblivion Danielle Lori | Made #1 | 4/5 | |
| The War of Two Queens Jennifer L. Armentrout | Blood and Ash #4 | 4/5 | Explicit, though the couple spends much of the book apart. |
| Zodiac Academy: The Awakening Caroline Peckham & Susanne Valenti | Zodiac Academy #1 | 4/5 |
Spice Level 3 — Warm
Explicit scenes exist, but the story would still stand without them.
| Book | Series | Spice | The verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| A Court of Frost and Starlight Sarah J. Maas | A Court of Thorns and Roses #4 | 3/5 | Present and tender. A quieter book in every way. |
| A Court of Thorns and Roses Sarah J. Maas | A Court of Thorns and Roses #1 | 3/5 | Two scenes, on the page, but tame compared to what the series becomes. |
| Bride Ali Hazelwood | Standalone | 3/5 | Explicit, and funnier about it than most. |
| Charm Tracy Wolff | Crave #5 | 3/5 | Warm. Two people alone for years does what you would expect. |
| Cherish Tracy Wolff | Crave #6 | 3/5 | Warm. |
| Court Tracy Wolff | Crave #4 | 3/5 | Slightly warmer than the earlier books, still YA. |
| Empire of the Vampire Jay Kristoff | Empire of the Vampire #1 | 3/5 | |
| Six Scorched Roses Carissa Broadbent | Crowns of Nyaxia #1.5 | 3/5 | Present and tender rather than graphic. A novella with more feeling than heat. |
Spice Level 2 — Restrained
Tension does the work. Anything explicit is brief or implied.
| Book | Series | Spice | The verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| A Bargain So Bloody Vasilisa Drake | Kingdom of Dark Magic #1 | 2/5 | |
| Blood Promise Richelle Mead | Vampire Academy #4 | 2/5 | Uncomfortable rather than explicit. The blood drinking carries more charge than anything else. |
| Breaking Dawn Stephenie Meyer | The Twilight Saga #4 | 2/5 | Fade to black, but physically consequential. The honeymoon is off-page and the bruises are not. |
| Covet Tracy Wolff | Crave #3 | 2/5 | Restrained, but the tension is the best in the series. |
| Crush Tracy Wolff | Crave #2 | 2/5 | Restrained. |
| Last Sacrifice Richelle Mead | Vampire Academy #6 | 2/5 | Restrained. |
| Marked P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast | House of Night #1 | 2/5 | |
| Shadow Kiss Richelle Mead | Vampire Academy #3 | 2/5 | One significant scene, still restrained by modern standards, and the most talked-about moment in the series. |
| Spirit Bound Richelle Mead | Vampire Academy #5 | 2/5 | Restrained. This series was never about the spice. |
| The Queen of the Damned Anne Rice | The Vampire Chronicles #3 | 2/5 | Ritualistic and strange rather than explicit. |
| The Vampire Lestat Anne Rice | The Vampire Chronicles #2 | 2/5 | Sensual and homoerotic, never graphic. |
| Vampire Academy Richelle Mead | Vampire Academy #1 | 2/5 | Chaste. YA from 2007, and it reads that way. |
Spice Level 1 — Chaste
Kissing, longing, and closed doors. Safe for any reader.
| Book | Series | Spice | The verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| A Tempest of Tea Hafsah Faizal | Blood and Tea #1 | 1/5 | |
| Crave Tracy Wolff | Crave #1 | 1/5 | Restrained. This is a YA academy series and it stays one. |
| Eclipse Stephenie Meyer | The Twilight Saga #3 | 1/5 | Chaste, but the tension in the tent scene does more with nothing than most books manage with everything. |
| Evermore Alyson Noël | The Immortals #1 | 1/5 | |
| Frostbite Richelle Mead | Vampire Academy #2 | 1/5 | Chaste. The heat is all jealousy. |
| Midnight Sun Stephenie Meyer | The Twilight Saga #5 | 1/5 | Chaste. Edward's restraint is the entire point. |
| New Moon Stephenie Meyer | The Twilight Saga #2 | 1/5 | Chaste. Less romance than book one, more heartbreak. |
| Ninth House Leigh Bardugo | Alex Stern #1 | 1/5 | |
| The Beautiful Renée Ahdieh | The Beautiful Quartet #1 | 1/5 |
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