Nowadays, when you look at adult or young adult romance books, there’s often sexual encounters, or even sex, somewhere in the pages. Whenever someone notices their true love interest, it’s usually by their looks. A friend the protagonist knows and truly cares about can begin to compete with that love interest, but only if they’re in some kind of twisted love triangle. Of course, all genres are guilty of this. After all, in a thriller novel, you tend to fall in love hard and fast. In a fast-paced romance, the author may be omitting certain details to keep the plot focused. A paranormal romance may have the protagonist choosing between her human companion and her mysterious, yet very appealing, supernatural lover. 

There are benefits to writing clean romances. From their relatable characters to the simplicity of knowing there’s (almost) no supernatural force keep you both apart, it’s a nice break from the cruelties of life. Below are just a couple of these benefits. 

Slow and Steady - One of the key ingredients to creating a lovable couple is by building up tension. Whether it be emotional, physical, or even psychological, this tension can help create drama between these two characters, at least until they meet again. This tension often leads to infatuation and so much more. They refuse to think about the other person, but their mind drifts to them anyway. What’s more, you can build all sorts of mischievous problems for the two, whether it be because of miscommunication, deception, or even just a simple crush. 

Not actually a jerk - A reason why I’ve started shying away from the romance genre altogether is because the protagonists keep falling in love with people who clearly aren’t good for them, don’t care for them, or can’t spit out their feelings. For example, why would I want to fall in love with a guy who keeps following me around? Or a guy who keeps insulting me, before sending me flowers? Or a girl who gets jealous every time I go out with someone? Yes, we all need flaws in our characters to keep them from being completely boring, but there’s a time when a character shouldn’t want any of their love interests. Even so, in a clean romance, these flaws are often minor, or nonexistent altogether. You just have two characters who can find comfort in one another without throwing any insults at each other. 

Concentrate on what matters - Sex is always important when it comes to a healthy relationship. Still, there’s more to reading than simply good sex (unless of course, you’re reading erotica). The qualities of a person are what draw us to them after all, and we learn how to appreciate that person, good and bad. We can understand why those two characters fall in love, and what exactly they see in each other. Authors give us a chance to fall in love with these characters. 

A lot of people have tended to gravitate towards the more physical side of things. Still, there are benefits to falling in love with a person first before having sex with them. And though clean romances can come across as a bit cheesy at times, it’s all the more heartwarming when we get our happily ever after.