Clean romance, or “clean and wholesome romance,” is a genre of romance novels that focuses on family, relationships, and clean content. Elle Kennedy first coined the term in her book Clean Romance: A Writer’s Guide to Crafting Unforgettable Goodreads Reviews. While many romance authors write in various genres, many consider clean romance their primary focus.
Typically Clean Romance novels focus on family, relationships, and clean content. The clean romance novel does not contain any explicit or graphic scenes that could be considered offensive or triggering. The main characters are typically well-developed, with a good blend of humor and emotional depth. Because the books focus on family and relationships, characters who focus on other issues (such as addiction or mental illness) are often absent.
Clean romance novels are usually published as eBooks and sold on Amazon. Thought of as a marketing ploy by some publishers, the term clean romance has described a style of writing in romance novels for a long time. For example, the first edition of Love’s First Kiss by Lora Leigh was published as a clean romance novel.
According to Nielsen BookScan, the category of clean romance was the most prominent growing genre in the United States in 2010. In October 2010, HarperCollins announced they would publish a new line of “clean” romances under their imprint Avon Impulse. Simon & Schuster trademarked the term “clean romance” in March 2011, and the publisher applied for several trademarks to protect the phrase. In October 2013, Clean Romance Novels launched as a website dedicated to clean romance novels.
Critics have not always agreed with the classification of clean romance novels. A “Publishers Weekly” review of Leigh’s latest book described it as “a standard romantic comedy.” Several authors have written about the genre, including Amanda Quick and Tessa Dare. In 2011, “The Washington Post” posed the question, “Are Clean Romance Novels Just For Women?” and decided they were not. In October 2011, “Publishers Weekly” reported that the romance novel category was growing in popularity and attracting more female authors. In the same month, a “Publishers Weekly” survey of readers found that, on average, women read romance novels more than men.
Romance novels have been adapted into other media, including television, cinema, radio, and stage. Hollywood produced many movies in the 1970s and 1980s aimed at female audiences. Romance novels are often published under both female and male pseudonyms. Some women publish under a man’s name to maintain their privacy or to keep their writing career in the shadows. Anonymity harkens back to the early 1800s when female writers often picked pen names as the world did not welcome women into the writing arena. Today both men and women tend to pick up pen names for various reasons, often wanting to keep themselves and their actual identity out of the public eye.
The romance novel has been the subject of several academic studies. Writers such as Vivian de Sola Pinto and Renee Romano have studied the genre’s relationship between men and women. The romance novel’s origins are unknown, and scholars can only speculate whether it existed before the 15th century. However, early novels were short stories of a more generic nature than the current genre and did not have a clearly defined romance element until the late 18th century. Romance novels often occur in a fictional world setting, often in European settings. However, as the world has opened up through various forms of media, the world is at the stage of romance. No limitations on locations.
In a romance, the story focuses on an unconventional romance that brings together two people who would otherwise not be attracted to each other. Clean and wholesome romance novels do the same thing but are easy on the sensual side while maintaining an engaging plot line with intriguing characters.
Overall the foundations of Clean and Wholesome Romance as a genre are rooted in the romance genre, a plotline as old as time itself.
