Clean Romance Cafe discussion

Welcome to Clean Romance Cafe! There are a lot of interesting, nice people here. So, come join us and tell us about yourself.

I'll start!

Hi!
I'm Mora Ash Wildes, an author and (more importantly) a reader of clean/sweet romance. I started this group to bring more readers together with some of their favorite authors, and I thought it would be fun to start an online book club where we can all enjoy these books together.

When reading, I am not trope picky. Which means, I love small town, friends to lovers, romcoms, enemies to lovers, cowboys, firemen, and A LOT of other types of books.

Now, it's your turn!

Hello! I'm Blue Huxley of Blue Jade Books (writing duo with Jade Behr)!
Probably not surprising to hear, but I love to read romance. I'm not picky about tropes either, although I guess second chance isn't usually a favorite because I hate to see people suffer for years on end, haha. Even if they're fictional!
I probably read more historicals than contemporaries, and I especially love to read older books. I'm a big believer in comfort reading old faves. (Pride + Prejudice, anyone?)
Happy to be here and I look forward to meeting other readers and finding new favorite books!

Hiya! I'm Soquel (Soh-kell in case you're wondering how it's said.) I'm an author who loves all types of books as long as they are clean. I swoon over romances with a man who is strong in his faith and convictions and always does the right thing no matter what it will cost him.
That's the sort of hero I enjoy writing as well. I write in many genres including fairytale retellings, historical, urban fantasy, steampunk-lite, and chick-lit/rom-com. My newest book is a snarky chick-lit with a sweet romantic subplot. It's called Kiss and Dwell. Follow me here for more info.
My favorite books include Persuasion, Keturah and Lord Death, The Princess Bride, Tress of the Emerald Sea, Stealing Cinderella, Spinning Silver, The Lovely War, and Edenbrooke.
I'm looking forward to your recommendations and some fun bookish discussions.

Soquel wrote: "Hiya! I'm Soquel (Soh-kell in case you're wondering how it's said.) I'm an author who loves all types of books as long as they are clean. I swoon over romances with a man who is strong in his faith..."

I love Spinning Silver and Edenbrooke! (And Persuasion, of course!)

Hiii, I go by Ella Marie in the bookish world. I am currently loving clean romcoms with Christian values and Christian romance books.
I’ve published 5 sweet Hallmark vibe books and I’m finally writing my first faith-filled love story. I’ve loved this journey and I’m discovering myself as a new author.
I don’t have a favorite trope, I really love them all. But there are a few tropes I won’t seek out but have read amazing books with them.

Blue wrote: "Hello! I'm Blue Huxley of Blue Jade Books (writing duo with Jade Behr)!
Probably not surprising to hear, but I love to read romance. I'm not picky about tropes either, although I guess second chanc..."

Welcome Blue!
And I think you just have to look at second chance books as new beginnings. I have a soft spot for them because my own marriage is a second chance romance. Though I have to admit there was some suffering in the between years!


Soquel wrote: "Hiya! I'm Soquel (Soh-kell in case you're wondering how it's said.) I'm an author who loves all types of books as long as they are clean. I swoon over romances with a man who is strong in his faith..."

Welcome Soquel,
I'm so happy you put the pronunciation because I would have butchered your name. Though I think it's really pretty.

Ella wrote: "Hiii, I go by Ella Marie in the bookish world. I am currently loving clean romcoms with Christian values and Christian romance books.
I’ve published 5 sweet Hallmark vibe books and I’m finally wri..."

Welcome Ella Marie,
I totally understand what you mean about not seeking out certain tropes, but still discovering a few amazing books within those tropes. I have a few of those, but if I discover a book and it looks interesting to me, regardless of trope, I'll give it a try.

Mora wrote: "Blue wrote: "Hello! I'm Blue Huxley of Blue Jade Books (writing duo with Jade Behr)!
Probably not surprising to hear, but I love to read romance. I'm not picky about tropes either, although I guess..."

Same!!!

Hi. I write futuristic romcoms under the pen name Leslie Dacapo.

I always imagined I’d be a science fiction author, but every time I try to write traditional sci-fi, I fail. Maybe that's because I'm a fan of both kissing and books, so my muse only wants to give me kissing books. My muse and I compromise by writing romantic comedies set in a guardedly-optimistic near-future world.

To support my writing habit, I work as a software team leader and project manager at a Midwest technology company. I enjoy bicycle riding, ukulele playing, and attending as many writers conferences as possible.

Good to see you here :) I like your muse!

Leslie wrote: "Hi. I write futuristic romcoms under the pen name Leslie Dacapo.

I always imagined I’d be a science fiction author, but every time I try to write traditional sci-fi, I fail. Maybe that's because ..."

Welcome Leslie,
I definitely get the need to mix genres. I personally love reading a good mixed genre book!

Also, my mom was a music teacher, and she loved teaching the ukulele. Always fun to meet someone who plays.

Hi everyone,

I write contemporary western romance under the pen name Cali Black. I write sweet with faith, sweet with sizzle which means lots of chemistry, and I have a sweet with grit. Later this year I am publishing my first Sweet Christmas novella in an anthology with other authors and my WIP is a sweet with suspense!

I categorize my books like this because I get bored fast and want to write a lot of different things. I don't however want a lot of pen names, so I hope these labels will help my readers find what they like all under the same umbrella.

I'm a wife and mom. I homeschool my kids and teach high school speech and creative writing in our homeschool network.

Happy to be here!

Welcome Cali!
I definitely understand getting bored and needing to shake things up.

Are all of the books in the anthology going to be suspense, or just yours?

The anthology is all Christmas novellas. The suspense is just me. 😃

Cali wrote: "The anthology is all Christmas novellas. The suspense is just me. 😃"

I don't think I've ever read a Christmas Romantic Suspense. You'll have to share the anthology with the group when it comes out.

Hello! I'm Briana Bass and I write Christian smalltown romance with the goal of empowering, encouraging, and equipping young women on their faith journeys. My background is working in higher education and volunteering in youth ministry, so mentoring and coaching teens and young adults is near and dear to my heart.

My books are all closed-door with no swearing. They're also novellas because sometimes we all need a quick read!

I read in several genres, from YA fantasy to classic British literature. Jane Austen is my favorite author and inspiration.

Hi, I'm just a reader of most genres of romance, but I mostly read clean. I'm excited to join this group because it seems like an online book club, and I like the idea of talking to others with similar reading tastes.

Hi, I'm Tracey, an author and reader of sweet small town contemporary romance. I love anything from friends to lovers to cozy Christmas romances. Some of my favourite authors are Heidi Swain, Rachael Lucas and Cress McLaughlin.

I'm looking forward to meeting new people here and sharing our love of romance books!

Welcome to all the new members!

Briana
I love short reads, and don't think they get nearly enough love!

Rae
You're not "just" a reader. You're what makes us authors continue writing, because we love sharing our stories with you. And I'm super happy you are looking at this group like an online book club, because that is exactly what my hope for it was!

Tracey
Someone after my own heart, who loves all of the tropes!

Hello, everyone. My name is Victoria Trout, and I write sweet historical romances with mysteries and adventures. I was a team writer with my mom until she passed away in 2009. I struggled to write until very recently when I formed my village of support, which has been pivotal in getting me back on track. I currently have two books published. I am working on the second book in my Western series, and I’m looking to expand my reach into sci-fy fantasy (still thinking about that one).

I prefer sweet/closed-door romances. I have a bit of a sailor's mouth, but there are many words that are used for cussing that I don’t like. So, I feel saying “no cussing” would be hypocritical. My books do have cussing, but I feel it is mild. I enjoy all kinds of genres mainly I love a book with strong characters, a fantastic plot, with some twists thrown in. I have read some sports romances, but I am not a sporty person. If a book follows the previous rules, I will likely finish and review even if it’s not a genre I would have picked previously.

Welcome Victoria! There are a few scifi clean romance authors in the group. If you need someone to bounce ideas off of, you might find some help with that here.

Hi all, my name is Sue Macdonald and I am writing a romance series following six women in the same family. I started writing just as a creative outlet and I've published 2 books so far, working on the third now.

I'm also disabled, and I think a lot about how we represent or imagine disabled people in romance stories.

I'm a big fan of clean romance (both books and TV/movies) and I'm really glad to have found this group! Looking forward to both reading suggestions and writing tips. It looks like there are a lot of good discussions going already so I am going to spend some time catching up.

Hi Sue! Welcome💗

Sue wrote: "Hi all, my name is Sue Macdonald and I am writing a romance series following six women in the same family. I started writing just as a creative outlet and I've published 2 books so far, working on ..."

Hi Sue! I'm glad you found the group as well, and super excited you're here and already enjoying the space. Don't be afraid to comment on any of the threads, and start any new ones you think might interest other members. I love to hear from everyone!

Hi everyone!
My name is Maddie. I am 26 and a Christian who lives in Wisconsin!
I have been looking for a group that I can share clean romance books with and grow my TBR list! I love romantasy and fictional romance books.

I hope to interact with you all more!

Welcome Maddie!!! I hope you find some great books to add to your TBR list as well. We have numerous fictional romance authors and readers in the group, and I know there are a few romantasy authors and readers as well. As an added note, don't be afraid to suggest some books you find and enjoy in your favorite genres in the threads. I think everyone here loves the group effort of building up our own lists. So, we love to hear from everyone.

Welcome! It can take a bit to get the hang of the forum format of Goodreads groups, but it will get easier with time, I promise. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. I'm sure others probably have the same questions. I will try my best to help.

We're happy to have you here!

Hi everyone! My name is Janice. I love reading all sub-genres or romance.

Hello!
I'm an author and reader, and excited to find this group! My latest book is a fun romantic dramady with a supernatural twist. I'm a Christian, so expect to see that influence too! And always clean.

For reading, I love Jane Austen, C.S. Lewis, Tolkien, and Madeline L'Engle for the classics. Most recently, I discovered Angela Bell and have been diving into more fun victorian romances. I definitely like the more fun and funny ones!

I gravitate towards books that have a little bit of the supernatural and/or fantastical/whimsical mixed in.

Looking forward to interacting with the group!

Hello, and greetings! Newbie to GoodReads and loving the vibe. Just introducing myself before digging into all the interesting threads of discussion that I see.

I read contemporary fiction, mysteries and rom-coms and domestic suspense books. But I prefer to write sweet romances. You know, the kind so aspire to.

Yep, I am a fiction author 8-0)

Anyway, greetings one and all. I look forward to participating.

Hello everyone!
I am new to Goodreads and still figuring out how to use this app lol. I joined in the hopes to find people who want to discuss books and share thoughts, recommendations etc. I am really into small town (or big town) romance, not too steamy but mild steam. I’m currently into the Laurie Gilmore Dream Harbor books and almost anything Frieda McFadden. I would love to get any recommendations from you!!

My goal this summer is to keep track of my reading and hit some personal reading goals this season. :)

Hi everyone, I’m Robert Ginger, a romance author new to Goodreads. I love writing stories about love, healing, and second chances. Excited to meet fellow readers and discover more wonderful romances here.