Ravish Spice Level Guide

A spice level, or steam rating as it is sometimes also called, is a measure of the sexual activity in a romance book. The rating attempts to find a balance between the amount, type, and detail of sexually explicit content.

It’s not a perfect system, and how spicy/steamy a book is can vary from reader to reader. However, Ravish is a romance only platform, and the level of sexual content is often a big factor in choosing the right book.

We base our ratings on a variety of factors including reader reviews, our own editorial review, and ratings posted on popular forums and sites like Romance.io.

It’s also important to note that no spice level is inherently better or worse than any other and terms like “vanilla” are used to convey the types of activities present in the most sensitive way possible.

🔥 Light Touches and Kisses

The characters may share intense chemistry, light touches, and kissing, but there is no sex on or off the page.

🔥🔥 Behind Closed Doors

The characters engage in sexual intimacy, but it is mentioned or alluded to and not shown to the reader.

🔥🔥🔥 Open Door

The characters engage in sexual activity that is described to the reader in euphemistic or non-explicit ways.

🔥🔥🔥🔥 Explicit and Vanilla

The characters engage in sexual activity that is described to the reader explicitly but includes mostly vanilla acts.

🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 Explicit and Adventurous*

The characters engage in sexual activity that is described to the reader explicitly and includes more adventurous sexual acts, often also incorporating kinks and/or BDSM.

*While Erotica does not demand a happily ever after (or happy for now) ending the way Romance does, all Erotica listed on Ravish is categorized at this spice level.