The Heat Guide
How Hot Is It? The Alex B. Porter Heat Guide
From slow-burn sapphic tension to explicit D/s — find your heat level before you start.
The five-level scale
- 1
Ember
Sweet sapphic romance. Closed-door intimacy. All the feelings, none of the explicit.
- 2
Warm
Tender and sensual. Intimate but understated. Hints at what happens after the lights go out.
- 3
Hot
Explicitly romantic. Heat is present and written with clarity — story-led, not erotica.
- 4
Scorching
Very explicit lesbian romance. Power dynamics emerge. Heat is central to character and story.
- 5
Inferno
Erotica-level explicit. Established D/s, boundary-aware power exchange. Not for every reader — essential for those it's for.
Books by heat level
Level 5 — Inferno
Branding Her — Books 3, 4, 5, 6
Explicit D/s, escalating power exchange across the back half of the series.
See the book →Steam — "Play"
BDSM short story. Explicit and boundary-aware.
See the book →
Level 4 — Scorching
Branding Her — Book 1
Series opener. Explicit lesbian romance, the power dynamic begins.
See the book →Branding Her — Book 2
Escalating heat, D/s developing.
See the book →A Pleasure
Short prequel novella. Explicit but emotionally grounded — an ideal entry point.
See the book →
Level 3 — Hot
Steam — collection
Four stories: The Gym, An Old Friend, Women Seeking Women, Still Life. Romantic and warm, with some explicit moments.
See the book →Falling for My Muse
Novella. Romantic heat, story-led.
See the book →Sapphic in the Shadows
1920s noir serial. Slow burn, tension-heavy. Intimacy present but not erotica.
See the book →
Questions, answered
Not sure where to start? Let us match you to your first read.
Take the 1-minute quiz →