Audible's new service helps romance novel fans skip straight to 'the good part'

This stigma hasn't necessarily abated since the publishing of "Fifty Shades of Grey," the bestselling erotic romance novel from British author E.L. James that spurred two sequels and a blockbuster film franchise. That series was many readers' first forays into erotic fiction, which had long been a vital part of the genre, said Jen Lois, a sociology professor at Western Washington University.

"Soccer moms were discovering it and in a way bringing more respectability to the genre," Lois said. "But at the same time, it became a stereotype for the entire genre. So it mainstreamed romance, but it stigmatized it as well."