My Thoughts On YA Romance:

Hello, Friends!

As it is February I figured what's better to write about than romance! So, today, I'm breaking down some of my thoughts on YA Romance.

I don't have any else to say, so let me just dive right into the topic :D

My Thoughts:

My Love For YA Romance:

I'm being 100% honest when I say that YA romance is my favorite genre! (It's really romance in general, but you get the idea XD) If you were to take a look at all of the books I own, the vast majority are YA romances, and if they aren't, the books have a prevalent romantic subplot. We see a common theme here ;) If I'm honest, I'm not sure exactly what the positives of YA romance are, other than the fact that I love them, and they are my favorite. I've always gravitated toward books with a good love story in them. There's just something about two book characters falling in love that makes me giddy. I just love it so much!

A BIG Negative:

I'm just going to start off with the thing I dislike about YA Romance (most YA books, if I'm honest) so we can get it out of the way. I DON'T like or approve of the smut/spice that's included in YA Romances. And here is the main reason why; because YA readers are far too young! The YA age range is 12-18 years old. While some might argue that for readers higher up on the spectrum (such as 17 or 18 year old's) smut/spice is okay for them to read I don't believe that smut/spice is okay for readers who are lower on the age spectrum. Things that 17 and 18 years old's are quote on quote "old enough" to view/read are not appropriate for 12 and 13 (even 14) year old's shouldn't view. And it could be argued that we should divide up the YA age range instead to be more appropriate; which I would be all for that! But, my main point is that I don't approve of or like that, there is smut/spice in any YA book, but especially YA romance. And to me, whether the reader is 12 or 18 doesn't change my belief on smut in YA books at all.

A Minor Negative:

Another negative I have about YA romance (a very minor one), is that most are fairly shallow love stories. And I get it, the books are often about two teenagers falling in love and so they won't be super deep. But, as someone who is often told they are an old soul, I crave books/love stories that are deep. I want deep topics to be discussed, I want a deep love story, and I want characters that are complex, that have been through something hard. And of course, some YA romances have this (I know of several) but often when they are deeper they contain content that isn't exactly clean (such as smut and language). And it gets tiring not only to search for deep stories but have to continually skip over or not be able or allowed (for some readers) to read these stories because of the questionable content.

Now, why am I talking about these things? Why am I discussing my gripes with YA Romance books?

It's to share the main reasons why I as a soon-to-be author write YA romance. Because I love them so much and because I have struggles/gripes with YA romance books, I want to fill the area of YA romance books that I feel is lacking. I want to give readers (like myself) books that are 100% clean of any smut or language but are still amazing to read! I want to give readers who want deeper love stories deep love stories that are (of course) 100% clean, whether that's for personal reasons or others. I just want to write quality books that readers will fall in love with, the way I and many others have fallen in love with books.

Well, that is all for today! Let me know in the comments your thoughts on YA Romance! I'd love to hear what you think :D

With Love, Kathryn Hawke