Spring Sapiosexuals: The Coco de Mer Reading List
With lighter days starting to settle in and the year slowly opening up, it feels like the right moment for a new Coco de Mer Reading List.
A curated mix of novels to sink into. Books that draw you in, hold your attention, and make it very easy to lose track of time just one more chapter at a time.
Written by our own icon, Charli Howard, Flesh explores the objectification of the female body across history. Through a powerful collection of urgent, thought-provoking essays blending personal reflection with social critique, Howard examines the lasting effects of sexual objectification and misogyny, and what it means to fully reclaim ownership of your body.
Murder at the Hotel Orient - Alessandra Ranelli
A gripping, atmospheric murder mystery set within the confines of a luxurious love hotel where nothing is quite as it seems. As a high-profile setting descends into suspicion, guests find themselves entangled in a web of deception, hidden motives, and escalating tension. Stylishly suspenseful and rich in mood, this novel explores the dark undercurrents that can exist beneath glamour and opulence.
Girl Woman Other - Bernadine Ervisto
A vibrant, multi-voiced novel that follows twelve interconnected characters across generations, exploring identity, race, sexuality, and womanhood in contemporary Britain. Bold, inventive, and deeply human, it’s a powerful celebration of what it means to be seen and heard as a woman.
People Pleaser - Bryony Gordon
A sharp, honest read about breaking free from people-pleasing and the pressure to be liked. Blending memoir with insight, it explores anxiety, self-worth, and the habits that keep us seeking approval. People Pleaser is a relatable, empowering push towards self-acceptance and stronger boundaries.
A raw, coming-of-age novel that unpacks sex, desire, and the messy process of figuring out intimacy on your own terms. Set against the push and pull of cultural expectation, it follows a young woman navigating sexual awakening and emotional contradiction, capturing both the confusion and intensity of early relationships with unflinching honesty.
A sensual, feminist retelling of mythology that reclaims the goddess Hekate through themes of power, transformation, and feminine rage. Blending poetry and myth, it celebrates womanhood, desire, and rebirth.
Dream Count - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
An emotionally rich novel about love, identity, and the stories we tell about our lives. Moving between intimacy and self-examination, it explores desire, ambition, and the complexities of womanhood.
A Little Life - Hanya Yanagihara
A Little Life is a deeply affecting novel that traces friendship, intimacy, and the lasting imprint of trauma over time. Unflinching and immersive, it explores the body, pain, and the need for connection with raw emotional intensity, lingering long after the final page.
Set against a backdrop of tension and temptation, this is a steamy and emotionally charged romance about intense attraction and messy desire. The kind of connection that refuses to be ignored, the pull between control and surrender… This book is irresistibly addictive.
And one we can’t wait to read…
Pleasure - Emma-Louise Boynton
Part memoir, part cultural investigation, tracing Emma's journey from struggling with orgasm and a long-term eating disorder to rebuilding her relationship with sex, desire, and intimacy. Honest and reflective, it explores how pleasure is shaped, lost, and ultimately reclaimed through the body and self-understanding. Coming out on the 28th of May.
To make it more than just a reading list, we love layering in a few sensory extras - think warm candlelight, a touch of skin-soft oil, or something effortless to slip into while you read. It’s all about slowing down and making space for a more indulgent kind of escape.
And if you’re not quite ready to close the book just yet, there’s plenty more waiting in The Reading Room.