Sweet, Clean and Wholesome Romance

If you’ve read romance at all, then you know navigating heat levels within the genre can be a challenge. There’s nothing like picking up a book that looks like a sweet romantic comedy and then having your retinas seared off by an unexpected sexy scene. So how do you know which books to pick to prevent sore eyeballs? What is the difference between sweet, clean, or wholesome romance?

Sweet and Wholesome

People sometimes use the titles 'sweet' and 'wholesome' synonymously.. And most of the time, that’s ok. Sweet and wholesome romances have little physical interaction between the main character (MC) and their love interest (LI). Think Hallmark movie level heat - maybe holding hands, maybe a brief hug or a cuddle, and usually a kiss or two and that’s about it. The story concentrates strongly on the mental and emotional bonding between the couple.

The fundamental difference between sweet and wholesome, in my experience, is religious vs. secular. This is an unofficial designation, observed when reading the different romances available. 

Wholesome tends to be the more religious type romances. It could be overt, like being categorized as a Christian romance. Or it could be more subtle, like the people in the story don’t live together before marriage. They might pray or drink alcohol only at dinner or on special occasions.

Sweet, on the other hand, is more secular. They won’t concentrate on religious themes or standards. The story focuses on the common relationships found in everyday life. They keep swearing and violent themes to a minimum. Usually none.

Also, sweet romances can include LGBTQ+ themes, where wholesome probably won’t.

Clean Romance

Clean romance can include any and all of the above. Fade-To-Black or Closed-Door romance are other ways to identify a clean romance. Clean romance means that there will be kissing, hugging, cuddling, feelings, touching, and fading to the next scene when the clothes start to come off. Or mostly off. One or two might have come off. But there are no focused descriptions of body parts or the reactions said body parts are having, or what those body parts might be doing.

There are also different spice levels within the clean romance genre as well. My daughter and I came up with the following designations:

• Peppy - Pretty much on the same level as sweet, but maybe there was a bit more touching or kissing than grandma might be comfortable reading.

• Tangy - Deep kissing, some touchy-touching without getting too descriptive, a bit more descriptive of feelings and the character’s reactions to physical interactions with their LI. Maybe light making out. 

• Zesty - All the above with some clothing removal, heavy necking or making out, but right before things get ‘interesting’, they close the door and the scene cuts to the aftermath.

Sweetwater and Ophelia are Zesty, while Rose (on Kindle Vella) is Peppy. My rule of thumb is that once things head south of the collarbone, I cut to the next scene. I also don’t do moaning, screaming, or rubbing.

Clean tends to be more LGBTQ+ friendly than the other two. Most queer friendly novels are probably going to be in the Spicy and up categories, if it’s a book for adults. However, plenty of YA novels have been published in the last decade or so that can give you both a clean and queer book to read.

Clean can also mean more serious subject matter than sweet or wholesome. Men aren’t always nice and respectful. Bad things besides bakeries shutting down can happen. Harder decisions besides “Do I go back to the big city or stay in the small town?” have to be made. Swear words or violence are not showcased, but can still be there. In Sweetwater, one theme of the book is war-related PTSD. Not generally something you’d see on Hallmark.

Cozy

I thought I’d give an honorable mention to the term cozy, in case you didn’t know what that meant. Usually used regarding mysteries, but I’ve also seen cozy horror as well. The characters in the novel usually reference the violence instead of describing it in detail. In horror, the best example I can give is Goosebumps but for adults.

Cozy also doesn’t have a lot of sex or swearing as well.

How Can I Tell?

Unfortunately, there is no surefire way of being able to tell if a romance falls within your particular comfort level. Here are a few ways I recommend vetting the book before you buy it:

• No chesticles on the cover - if there’s a shirtless guy (or girl) on the cover, then you’re likely to have picked up a spicy or smutty novel. They don’t call ‘em bodice-rippers for nothing.
• Read the reviews - some covers, especially in the romantic comedy genre, can be deceiving. The trend right now is to have bubblegum-bright covers with cute, illustrative people. But then when you read it, there are romps in the hay all over the place. Look at the reviews for the book on Goodreads or Bookbub. People should give you a pretty good idea at spice level.

Where Do I Find Good Books?

Again, there is no definitive way to screen your books, but here are some additional ideas for finding good books:

• Search Filters on Book Retailers - not the most reliable way to filter books, but it is a way. You might use keywords like ‘sweet romance’ ‘wholesome romance’ ‘clean romance’ ‘Christian romance’ or ‘sweet and wholesome.’ Particularly for the latter keyword, since no other genre uses that keyword, except maybe women’s fiction.

• Social Media - again, keywords are important, particularly if you’re going to be searching Instagram, YouTube or TikTok. There are huge book communities on these platforms. Using the above referenced keywords can help you find like-minded readers and authors in the genre you want to read.

• Facebook Groups - there are a ton of Facebook groups that cater specifically to these kinds of books. Just search for clean romance and you should find a bunch.

• Newsletters - some authors like to take part in book recommendation swaps on their newsletter, or they like to do book reviews. In my newsletter, I try to have at least three or more book recs from other authors writing the same kinds of books I do. Search for book recs in your favorite author's newsletter.

I get it. It’s hard to find good reads nowadays. It seems the spicy and smutty kinds of romance have the loudest presence in retail stores and online communities. I’m not passing judgment on people who like to read the smut and the spice. I’m someone who prefers to read things I wouldn’t be ashamed to let my teenage daughter read. So I understand how hard it is to find a balance between swoony and smutty when the publishing industry has no classification system to alert us. I hope this helps you find a book that you can read without having to cover grandma’s eyes or straining your eyebrows.

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What is the best place to find sweet, clean and wholesome books that you've found?

Tag me with @passableprose on your social media to let me know your answer.

Happy Reading!

Summer Sun and Writing

Summer is in full swing at my house. The weather has improved, school is out. We’re sleeping in, and getting out and about. And accomplishing some goals before the school year starts again. Things I didn’t have time for, or the weather didn’t permit. I'm aiming to write away from my house. Reading more is a priority. And I’m working on finishing up some books that have been on the back burner.

Read and Write Outside

My new house has a small patio area that I plan to use to the max this summer. My neighborhood is pretty quiet and I’ve always loved the sound of kids playing outside. I’ll get some patio furniture-a table for my laptop and a comfy chair for reading. I’ll get a healthy dose of Vitamin K and D and it will be nice to be present in my neighborhood.

I want to get out more in my community. I become quite the hermit during the winter. I'll write outside my house once a week. One good place I’ve found is my local library. I can drop my youngest off at the local pool and spend an hour or two amongst books. Our local library doesn’t allow food or drink. Our local tabletop game store, Game Haven, is a pleasant alternative when I need my Liquid Fortification and a snack. And the proprietor lets me stay as long as I want. As long as there’s not a tournament.

Utah is fantastic for its outdoor spaces. I haven’t enjoyed them much since some life-changing events in the last couple of years. We have a cute little canyon with dry riverbeds and picnic tables with fire pits. I’d have my laptop while birds chirp and the wind rustles the leaves in the trees. My kids get to go crazy running around the woods.

Read More Books

I’ve been slacking on the reading front as well. I rarely have a lot of time to sit down and read a physical book anymore. So I splurged with a Scribd* subscription this year. And I have been loving it. 

My only complaint is their search feature makes it very hard to find clean romance. It will bring up some suggestions. But sometimes Scribd has books misclassified as “sweet romance” where it’s anything but. Of course, the first hint the book probably isn’t ‘sweet’ is naked chesticles hanging out right on the cover.

I’ve also wanted to find more indie authors who write clean and sweet romance. It’s important to me and to those authors that I find and support them, read their books and leave reviews. It’s so important to an author, especially indie ones, for the reviews. I’m making connections with these kinds of authors through Story Origin. You’ll see suggestions for these authors if you sign up for my monthly newsletter.

Finish More Books

The period that my life was in upheaval was the most creatively prolific I’ve ever been. I have several books already in finished first draft form that I’d love to get to in the coming years. A couple are closer to release than others. I aim to get at least two done before the end of the year.

Ophelia - Book two in the Sweetwater Saga, I’m about halfway into the restructuring editing I’d been working on the last couple of months. I can finish it for fall release now that school is done. I’m so excited for everyone to see it. If you read it on Wattpad, where I first released it, it was very rough. VERY rough. Still readable, but I’m sure it left many people feeling like something was missing. I feel I’ve fixed most of it, and you’ll fall in love with Ophelia and Justin as I have.

Zoe - Yes! There is a book three in the Sweetwater Saga. I'm a quarter of the way through the first draft. This is the story of Anna and Phillip’s daughter, Zoe, now that she’s graduated from high school. Then she discovers that college is not nearly as challenging as dealing with your love life when you’re just becoming an adult.

Daughter of Witches - I mention this one only because it’s going to take up a lot of my time over the next year. It’s a romantic fantasy set in a might-have-been Ireland and Scotland. I have a few scenes already written for the four-book series. I’m sure you can appreciate that it’s going to be a while before it’s available. But it’s what I’m working on currently, both developmentally and writing-wise, that I’m sure I’ll talk about more in the future.

I have lots to do and a small amount of time to get them done. Subscribe to my newsletter for book updates. And in return, I’ll send you a Sweetwater short story about Anna and Phillip. Here’s to the sun, summer and all the writing!

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What kinds of activities do you plan to get done this summer?

Tag me in your social media with your response!

Happy Reading!

* I am not affiliated with Scribd for this recommendation.