About the ratings
Every chapter of a book is read by an AI model, which notes each romantic or sexual scene and its heat, and any content a reader might want warning of. A second pass over the whole book confirms tropes, dynamics and the ending. Scene notes are never published, and chapter titles are left out because they can give the plot away.
The models can be wrong, and two readings of the same book can disagree on borderline tags. Treat a rating as a guide, not a guarantee.
Heat
A scene's heat, from 1 to 4, depends on how it is written: the language and the physical detail, not how many acts happen or how long the scene runs. A book's heat is its hottest scene, except that a book whose chapters with explicit scenes make up at least 30% of its text is rated 5, erotica: sex is what the book is about, not one part of the story.
- No sex scenes
- No kissing or sexual scenes on the page.
- Kisses
- Kissing, possibly with light touching, and nothing more.
- Steamy, closed door
- Heavy making out or sexual touching that stops short of sex, or sex that is implied or happens off the page.
- Open door, restrained
- Sex on the page in euphemistic or emotional language with little anatomical detail.
- Explicit
- Sex on the page with explicit anatomical language and close physical description.
- Erotica
- Explicit sex is the main focus: chapters with explicit scenes make up at least 30% of the book.
Minors
Characters are taken to be adults unless the book indicates otherwise: a stated age under 18, being in high school, being described as a child. When a book shows sex involving a minor, we don't rate or describe it. The book is flagged, with the chapters it happens in, and nothing more. When a book doesn't make ages clear in a sex scene that may involve a minor, we flag that too. Kissing or touching short of sex involving a teenager is rated as usual and tagged, and abuse that is only mentioned, as in a character's past, is listed as a content warning.
Content warnings
Each warning is rated by how it is shown, not how important it is to the story:
- Mentioned
- Happens off the page or in the past and is talked about.
- On the page
- Happens in front of the reader, without graphic detail.
- Graphic
- Happens in front of the reader, with graphic detail.
Strong language is rated occasional, frequent or constant, and sexual references (innuendo, sexual talk, sex mentioned rather than shown) mild, frequent or crude. Word counts under Language are counted exactly from the text, not by the model.
- Abuse
- Physical, emotional, or domestic abuse of an adult depicted on the page.
- Animal harm
- Harm to an animal depicted on the page.
- Child abuse
- Abuse or neglect of a child depicted on the page.
- Death
- A character's death depicted on the page.
- Gore
- Graphic injury, blood, or bodily harm described in detail.
- Pregnancy loss
- Miscarriage, stillbirth, or abortion depicted on the page.
- Self-harm
- Self-harm depicted on the page.
- Sexual assault
- Non-consensual sexual contact, including attempts, depicted on the page.
- Sexual references
- Frequent innuendo, frank sexual talk, or sex discussed rather than shown.
- Strong language
- Frequent profanity.
- Substance use
- Drug use or heavy drinking depicted on the page.
- Suicide
- Suicide or a suicide attempt depicted on the page.
- Torture
- Deliberate infliction of severe pain on a captive or victim, on the page.
- Violence
- Physical violence depicted on the page.