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!
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