A ROMANTIC READING OF SELF-CARE

The Self-Help Smut Club, founded by a therapist, isn't afraid to delve into deeper issues of mental health

- BY MADDIE CONNORS

Sunday morning might be early for sex talk. However, the Self-Help Smut Club, gathered at the Black Cat Fables bookstore in Monrovia, doesn't think so. Before noon, the group has already deliberated on all types of bedroom activities that might make one blush.

"A man with a mattress on the ground has a whole lot of nerve," says Cherisse Yanit-Nadal, one of the book club members, while discussing the characters of "Late Bloomer" by Mazey Eddings.

The book club regularly meets to discuss romance novels in all their sticky, sweaty, throbbing passions. The lively group discusses romantic — often very sexy — fiction to spark nuanced conversations about self-discovery. Caitlin Harrison, a marriage and family therapist, founded the club after noticing the rise of romantic fiction on BookTok — a large and boisterous corner of TikTok that shares opinions and recommendations of books — and considering its therapeutic value.

"As a therapist who has a focus in sex therapy, I think it's really unique and helpful that we can see character arcs really well through sex," says Harrison. "It allows for very rich, honest conversations about what comes up for us."

It's worth noting that smut and romance novels have soared in popularity in recent years, becoming the highest-grossing fiction genre in recent years. Stigmas around "chick-lit" have faded as TikTok has accumulated over 1 million posts under the hashtag SmutTok. The wildy popular romance and fantasy series "A Court of Thorns and Roses" is a No. 1 New York Times bestseller, selling millions of copies. On Goodreads, the romance novel "Onyx Storm" dominated reading lists in 2025.

At one point during the book meetup, children wandered through the bookstore, prompting the club to adopt playfully coded, child-friendly language about pubic-hair grooming.