I mean if you like epic sprawling fantasies that are sex-positive and do right by a diverse cast (and don't mind that it gets all the AO3 warnings), it is really good at it! I wouldn't hesitate to rec it to anyone who likes sprawling medievalish fantasy epics, I would probaby rec it over any others in the genre I have read in the last ten years. It's not Kushiel's fault that everybody hears about it first as shocking and kinky! (And actually, my paperback copy doesn't market the "erotic" aspect much at all, the summary is all about the court intrigue and sprawling epic fantasy part.)

AND YET, because of all that, I can't help being wanting to evaluate it as erotica.

Also the "only masochist in the world" thing gets less and less believable the longer the book goes on and the more clearly very experienced and actualized sadists she meets.