I've always loved the stories that have this incredible power to transform words into the most complex beautiful worlds, taking your imagination to uncharted levels rivaling those shown in a movie. You often feel your heart racing as your eyes skim through the pages, many times ending with tears streaming down your face at the impact of the scenes. That's the wonder of books.
We live in a world with so much diversity, from the most delicious foods and soul-touching music to the most exotic nature and exceptional literature, so everyone is bound to have their preferences. And everyone is entitled to their opinions about their choices. Just like there are people that prefer to wear shorts instead of pants or that would rather eat a Whopper than a Big Mac, there are people that do not like to read books that contain on-the-page extreme graphic violence, explicit sexual content, and/or strong profanity. And that's where the clean genre comes into play.
In general, there are a lot of different opinions about the use of the word clean to refer to these types of stories but it's such an extensive topic that I could write an entire thesis about it. Also, the definition itself of what is clean wholesome content is very different for everyone. What can be considered "clean content" by some authors may be in disagreement with some readers' points of view and/or their personal beliefs, which also makes it harder to locate books that fall in line with their preferences.
A quick google search of the question "what is clean and wholesome romance?" will show you millions of results and one could easily spend hours reading. After going through some of them myself, I personally enjoyed the Clean romance reading guide by Emma St.Clair, which includes a link to Myriad definitions of "sweet romance" and/or "clean romance" by Kristin Holt. I think that Emma did a wonderful job at explaining the aspects of what clean romance entails and the wide range of possibilities the genre has to offer. While Kristin expertly laid out some key points about the definitions and content included in these categories. So, I highly recommend you to read their articles if you are interested in in-depth research on the topic.
In summary, clean reads will NOT include any explicit sexual scenes (known in the literature world as "spicy"/"steamy"/"erotica") graphic violence, or profanity. But it can include limited kissing and sexual tension elements and in some cases few mildly graphic scenes (like a slap, a fist fight, or a sword fight in historical or medieval stories). Clean & Wholesome books tend to focus on the emotional connection between the characters and/or tender/angsty stories that touch our hearts.
Reading must be a pleasant experience and not a guilt-tripping momentum after it's already too late and we can't go back. When I'm reading I'm personally okay with encountering certain implied off-the-page situations (also referred to as "behind closed doors" scenes) but not with them being explicitly written on. But I understand that others might feel completely uncomfortable even with those things being implied. That's why I've made sure to split my reviews into different categories, clearly explaining each of them alongside a rating and notes system and any applicable warnings so that you can know better what to expect about the titles included there. This way you can personally choose what's best for you.
Please feel free to Contact Me if you have any reading recommendations, general comments, or suggestions. Thank you for the support!
Steph 📖
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