[GUSH] GIRLS. I found one. Insta-Mine by Elena Dawne — sweet older obsessed man + absolutely FILTHY spice + some of the best dialogue I've read
I need someone else to read this because I stumbled onto Insta-Mine by Elena Dawne basically by accident and I AM NOT OKAY.
This is now genuinely one of my top 5 romance books and I've read hundreds over the last two years.
It IS filthy. Extremely. 😂
But the sex never feels like:
insert body part A into body part B, repeat for six pages, return to plot.
They're still THEM during it.
They're talking. They're laughing. He's saying absolutely unhinged filthy things to her. She's asking questions and saying things that are so uniquely Lana. He's paying attention to every tiny reaction. There are sweet moments right in the middle of very dirty ones. And somehow you learn more about their relationship while they're having sex.
THAT is my kryptonite.😭🥵
Bates is older and extremely experienced/confident, but instead of being the standard emotionally constipated older MMC, he is SO DAMN SWEET WITH HER.
He's dirty as hell. He's dominant/confident without being a cartoon alpha. He's attentive. He's affectionate. He communicates. And most importantly: this man is absolutely, hopelessly fascinated by this woman basically from the beginning.
I LOVE AN OBSESSED MAN WHO ISN'T AFRAID TO BE OBSESSED.
And Lana is one of my favorite FMCs I've read in forever. I personally read her as very neurodivergent-coded — literal, wonderfully quirky, direct, sometimes missing the expected social script — and Elena Dawne never makes that feel like the joke. Lana is funny because SHE is funny. Bates genuinely adores the way her mind works.
My personal catnip checklist:
🔥 Older/experienced MMC
🔥 Age gap
🔥 MMC falls HARD/is openly obsessed
🔥 Extremely explicit spice
🔥 Incredible dirty talk
🔥 Sex early
🔥 Sweet/tender MMC underneath all the filth
🔥 Tons of actual conversation during intimate scenes
🔥 Funny without becoming a rom-com caricature
🔥 FMC with a genuinely distinctive personality
🔥 Adults who SAY WHAT THEY MEAN
🔥 Very little “we could solve this entire plot with one conversation” nonsense
SPICY QUOTE TAX:
🌶️>! “Mmm.” The tip of her nose tickles my throat as she runs it along my skin. “You smell so good and dirty. Make me smell like you,” she pleads. “I feel too clean. Make us the same. Make me a fucking mess.” “I plan on it.” With no need for encouragement, I fuck into her faster and harder. I get her perfect tits bouncing against me while I cover her in sweat and grime. “You’re already filthy little miss on the inside, and soon the outside will match.”!<
🌶️ >!“It’s my fucking rule, Lana. Now give me what I want,” I demand, tugging at her nipple. I tilt her ass to make her take me at an angle that gives her clit more friction while opening up her back end. I keep the pressure on as I fuck her juicy pussy and fondle her asshole. “You need more, baby? You’re so wet you can have anything you want. Want me to make you feel even more full? You want my tongue in your sexy fucking mouth, my big finger stretching your ass, cum flooding your tiny cunt, and my baby in your belly?”!<
Holy hell. 🥵
If your romance sweet spot is Curio / Escorted-style intimacy where sex is actually part of the characters getting to know each other, but you also want humor, an obsessed older man and a considerably filthier mouth...GO. READ. THIS.
And then please come back here so I have someone to scream about Bates with. 😭