Clean Reading Recommendations

I obviously can't read every book ever published, so I've started asking other people if they've read any "clean" books recently. ("Clean" meaning no to minimal cussing and no explicit sex scenes.)

This week, I'm featuring fantasy books reviewed by Kristen at Fantasy Cafe. She said the following fantasy books are clean reading.

(Click on the titles to go to her reviews. I included snippets from her reviews.)

Dreamdark: Blackbringer by Laini Taylor (YA traditional fantasy; enchanting, the writing is lovely)

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. (YA dark fantasy; fantastic storytelling containing both humor and seriousness, fantasy and reality)

Mercedes Thompson series (Moon Called; Blood Bound; Iron Kissed) by Patricia Briggs. (Dark fantasy; Swear words mentioned, but not actually said. [i.e. the 'he swore' style]. There was a rape scene in one book but it was not at all graphic. [Kristen] actually had to read it twice because it was not described in any real detail and at first [she] thought it was only an attempted rape.)

The King Raven trilogy by Stephen Lawhead. (historical fiction/fantasy; entertaining)

Thank you, Kristen, for taking the time to send me this information.


Patricia Briggs' earlier books aren't dark like her current ones. In fact, they contain well-honed, but playful, humor. They are also clean. Some of my favorite books are When Demons Walk and Steal the Dragon and Masques by Patricia Briggs. Someday, I might post a review of these three books on Genre Reviews.