What is Clean Romance?

Recently, I read a book by an author, who identifies herself as a clean romance writer. When I finished reading the book, I posted my review on Amazon and I took time to scroll through the other reviews left by readers. There was a mixture of reviews, but there was one that caught my attention.

The reader gave the book a one-star rating and her review consisted of one sentence basically stating that the book isn’t clean romance because the couple lived together and wasn’t married.

A couple of thoughts crossed my mind as I read that review.

1. It’s unfair to give a book a poor rating based on something as silly as that.

2. Did the reviewer read the whole book or did they stop at the section that mentions the couple living together?

3. What exactly is considered clean romance?

When I think of clean romance, I think of a love story that doesn’t consist of sex scenes. Instead, the only signs of affection is kissing and holding hands.

Based on the research I did on clean romance, I found that readers agree with me when it comes to the no sex scenes. However, as my research delved deeper, I discovered that some people have certain requirements when it comes to the genre. For instance, many readers like the Amazon reviewer prefer the couples in the books to be married.

While I may disagree with the Amazon one-star review, I have to realize that as readers, we have different standards when it comes to books. Just because I consider something one genre, doesn’t meant someone else will agree with me.

Everyone has different opinions when it comes to books and genres, while we may disagree with them, we have to respect their opinions.

My question to you readers is what do you consider clean romance?