What Is A Sweet Romance?

Social media can be a fantastic resource for bookworms and writers alike. Thanks to the rise of BookTok and Bookstagram, it's easier than ever to find your next read.

Reviews are important for so many reasons, chief among them being to help prospective readers determine if a book will be a good fit for them. Star rankings are the most common.

In recent years, however, another emoji has become a popular metric in book reviews: the chili pepper. 🌶️

Primarily used in reviews for romance, romantasy, and erotica, it's an indication of how "spicy" a book is. In other words, rating the heat. As an example, I'd say my own historical romance WIPs are about 2 peppers. There are sensual scenes, including occasional on-page sex, but it's not exceedingly graphic.

Spice ratings can help readers determine if a book is going to be right up their alley, too tame for their current desires, or be too far out of their comfort zone or even potentially triggering.

Scrolling through social media, it can sometimes feel like every popular book is some degree of spicy. And to be honest, I feel like several of the books I picked up last year had sex scenes shoehorned in to cater to those trends.

But what if you don't want to read anything spicy? What if you just want a, dare I say, plain ol' fashioned vanilla romance?

Enter, sweet romance.

Sweet romance is a newer term for something that's been around for a while. You might have heard similar terms like "clean romance," which I've seen being phased out in recent years. I feel like we've entered a cultural shift where reading romance isn't as taboo or looked down on, which in turn has led to a shift in the verbiage used to talk about romance novels.

Sex isn't dirty. Sex in a romance novel doesn't make it "dirty," nor does the absence of sex in a romance novel make it "clean." Sweet and Spicy as descriptors have helped reestablish the idea that the books readers choose are often based on their personal preferences, interests, and individual comfort zones.

Sweet and Spicy romances are a taste profile. Just as you'd take note of the little pepper icon next to the name of a dish on a restaurant's menu, the peppers an author or reviewer gives a particular book help you decide if you'd be able to handle the heat.

It's not always about comfort zones, though! There are actually a few reasons that an author or reader might choose to write sweet romances.

What Defines A Sweet Romance?

Generally speaking, a sweet romance is a romance that limits physical intimacy between protagonists. These stories might feature a few kiss scenes, if any, but rarely go beyond that. Though characters are often physically attracted to each other, the narration places a greater focus on emotional intimacy.

Why Do Readers Enjoy Sweet Romances?

Romance is such a beloved genre because it promises those warm and fuzzy feelings and happy endings--and sweet romances deliver on that promise in spades! They're known to be especially cozy and perfect for those times you want a more lighthearted story where love is patient, love is kind, and love is generally uncomplicated.

Sweet romances also come without the steamy, scandalous bits romance is often known for. You know, the spice. That can make sweet romances more accessible to more readers than their dark and spicy counterparts.

One anecdote I've shared a few times is worth repeating here. I was about thirteen when I first got into reading romance, and my mother had put a few conditions in place, among which was keeping things tame because I didn't necessarily need to be venturing into those areas of the genre that young. This meant steering away from covers featuring scantily clad lovers caught up in a passionate embrace. The first romance novel I ever read was Bet Me by Jennifer Cruise, and my copy had two high heels against a sky backdrop. Innocent enough, minus the fact that there was a scene featuring a lil bondage on the protagonist's living room sofa (which I wouldn't realize until Fifty Shades of Grey came out two years later and introduced me to the existence of BDSM). Long story short, don't judge a book by its cover.

Sweet romance is a suitable choice for younger romance readers because it doesn't involve that caliber of mature content. Had it been a more prevalent thing back then, it would have been easier to find age-appropriate romance novels.

Additionally, some readers are uncomfortable reading about sex, period. Others might be wary of darker and more difficult themes when they're looking to escape reality. Sweet romances, like any story, have their conflicts, but they're nowhere near the intensity of dark romances. Sometimes, you'd rather have a warm cup of tea than a glass of wine.

Why Might An Author Prefer Writing Sweet Romances?

Many authors enjoy writing sweet romances for the same reasons readers enjoy reading them, but it can also be a matter of personal boundaries.

I don't think I've ever encountered a spicy Christian romance. It's kind of like the sexy nun costumes you see popping up around Halloween, where something feels kind of off. It's incongruous. More so than, say, sexy Cinderella might. These stories are rooted in faith and those values and principles, so a spicy romance would clash or even be seen as promoting sinful behaviors.

Note that sweet romances aren't limited to Christian writers and readers, of course!

Some publishers or imprints won't even consider spicy books whatsoever. Hallmark, for example, will not accept submissions containing nudity, violence, or profanity, and the only permissible physical contact is hugs and kisses. If a writer is under contract with a publisher of sweet romances exclusively, they have to abide by those guidelines.

And just as a reader might not enjoy reading spice, a writer might also not enjoy writing spice, preferring to focus on their characters' emotional intimacy over the physical. It can be as simple as that!

Even though it can feel like every trending book is at least a little spicy, sweet romances are still alive and well.

Sweet romances have a special cozy charm to them that other romance corners don't, and that more relaxed nature makes them appealing to a wide audience of all ages. They're all about that stress-free, everyday kind of love many of us desire.

Have you read any good sweet romance books lately? Leave your faves in the comments!