20 Enjoyable Clean Reads

Today, I am showcasing twenty enjoyable clean reads which I have found most delightful! Ten of these books will be older books and/or classics, and the other ten will be newer books, published in the last twenty years.

These books are all pretty clean, and should have no language, no sex (outside of a light hug or kiss), no witchcraft, and minimal violence, unless otherwise mentioned.

#1: Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan

One of the most read books besides the Bible, John Bunyan’s allegorical masterpiece is a must read for any Christian! It follows the character named Christian as he meets people and travels towards the Celestial City. Christians, those who love allegories, and fantasy lovers will enjoy this story!

#2: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

A clean and enjoyable romance story, Pride and Prejudice is a classic for a reason. Even I, who don’t like romance novels that much, find myself enjoying this one, being a little over halfway through the book. I have also watched both popular versions of the movies (the 2005 and 1995 ones). Funny, witty, and relatable, I highly recommend this book for romance fans.

#3: The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

This book is my all time favorite unabridged classic! I love clean stories with characters who struggle, good lessons, and symbolism, and BOY does this book have them all, especially symbolism. The symbolism is utterly AMAZING in this book, the characters are flawed and have struggles, but ultimately righteousness comes out in the end. You can read my review here for more on this book, but I highly recommend it for anyone, especially those who like classics and the things I mentioned above.

#4: A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

This is a great historical fiction set during the time of one of my favorite historical events, the French Revolution. The first 125 pages or so (approximately the first section/book of the unabridged story) are a little slow, but once you get past those, it just gets better, climaxing at the end, which is the most powerful and best part of the story. I highly recommend this for those who love classics, historical fiction, are interested in the French Revolution, and who enjoy Dickens’ novels.

#5: True to the Last by Evelyn Everett-Green

This book, republished by Lamplighter Ministries, is the book that inspired me to start writing. It’s emotionally impactful (which is a lot coming from me, who doesn’t usually get moved emotionally by books) and has a lot of good lessons in it. It’s an extremely sad book, (to the point where I can barely pick it up again without crying, the only book to ever do that to me) but the emotions are so well written in my opinion, it would be a good read for any aspiring author, for those who enjoy older stories, and those who like Lamplighter-type character building books.

#6: A Lost Pearle by Mrs. Georgie Sheldon (Alternately titled: Lost, A Pearle)

This book was the first romance book I ever really liked, and for good reason. The romance is mixed with intrigue, a strong, yet still feminine heroine, and all the characters are connected in a very fun mystery! After being duped into marrying her fiancé’s best man to save her fiancé from scandal, the main character, Pearle, runs away and fends for herself while trying to hide from her new husband, and she and other major characters begin to unravel a bunch of secrets intertwining them all together. It’s a great story which I would recommend to adventure-lovers, romance fans, and those who enjoy a cozy read with elements of mystery and intrigue.

#7: The Prisoner of Zenda by Anthony Hope

One of the only books I’ve ever read twice, The Prisoner of Zenda is an awesome book full of political intrigue, sword fights and battles, romance, and light fantasy. Set in the fantastical kingdom of Ruritania connected to the real world, the main character, Rudolph, has to impersonate his cousin, the king of Ruritania, after the king is kidnapped by his brother scheming for the throne. The romance in this book isn’t my favorite, but I can overlook it due to the fact that I love the rest of the story, and my all time favorite villain, the utterly dramatic Rupert of Hentzau, is in it. It also has a couple light curse words, but other than that, it is clean. I’d highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys sword fights, light historical fantasy, and political intrigue.

#8: Sir Knight of the Splendid Way by W.E Cule

The best way to describe this book is it is the Pilgrim’s Progress with knights. As one who loves all things medieval and allegories, this book was totally awesome, albeit slightly confusing (though as I read along, it made sense), and it was written in old English, which isn’t a biggie for me, but may be hard to read for others. You can check out my review of it here! The dramatic audio CD put out by Lamplighter Ministries is also good, and actually might be more enjoyable than the book itself. I’d highly recommend this book to those who enjoy older stories, allegories, medieval-esque vibes, and adventure. Also this book has no romance, which is a huge plus for me (since I’m so picky with it, haha!)

#9: Marcia Schuyler by Grace Livingston Hill

I read this book with my mom, and really enjoyed it! In fact, it was the concept which really caught our attention! The titular character marries the man her sister left at the altar, and seeks to win his heart, but her sister comes back around hoping to win him back. It’s a very sweet, appropriate, and fun romance story, which, while not packed full of battle or political intrigue, was engaging enough to keep us both wanting to read more. I’d recommend this to those who love romance, classical stories, and stories which are more drama-filled rather than action-packed.

#10: The Honorable Imposter by Gilbert Morris

I couldn’t get away with this post without mentioning one of my current all-time favorite books, the Honorable Imposter by Gilbert Morris. Surprisingly, it’s not a medieval book, but rather an engaging historical fiction focusing on the Pilgrims and first thanksgiving. The main character, political intrigue, and romance are all very well done, and, unlike other historical fiction books I’ve read, it balances plot with historical details, rather than going overboard on either. It’s also the beginning of a forty-book series focusing on America’s history. I’d highly recommend this to those who enjoy historical fiction, Christian readers, and anyone who is looking for a good, historically accurate book about the Pilgrims.

#11: The Redemption by Marylu Tyndall (or M. L. Tyndall)

Now we get to some of the more modern books, and the first one on my list is Marylu Tyndall’s Christian pirate book, The Redemption. This is an awesome book for someone who is looking for a pirate book with no smut, language, and from a Christian perspective. How can a pirate book be Christian? Well, you’ll have to read it to find out! (Book 2 and 3 in the series are my favorites). There are suggestions of rape in the series and an attempted one, but it is stopped with nothing critical being shown or described, and it is handled very tactfully. Still, it could trigger some people, so I thought I’d mention it. I’d recommend this book and series to those who love adventure stories, pirates, the sea, and romance!

#12: Snow White with the Red Hair by Sorata Akiduki

This is a really cute ongoing manga series with several books in print and even an anime series of it made. The name is slightly misleading–the only Snow White references are made during the first half of the first book. But, the story is adorable and written in a sort of fairy-tale-ish style, focusing on the relationship between the main character, Shirayuki and the prince who saves her, Zen. The side characters are the best in my opinion, though, providing the story with variety and fun. There is the occasional curse word, however, and a couple costumes in a few of the volumes are revealing, but these are very rare. I wrote two reviews of a couple books in the series, the first volume here, and the ninth one here. I would recommend these to those who enjoy manga, fairy tales, sweet, slow romance, and quirky side characters.

#13: Sir Kendrick and the Castle of Bel Lione by Chuck Black

This is the only Chuck Black book I’ve read, but it was quite enjoyable! It’s a medieval fantasy, with allegorical elements, and it’s short enough for middle grade readers to enjoy too. In fact, I wished the story itself was longer! I didn’t care too much for the (perfectly appropriate) romance, but that is personal preference, and this book is one of the few which warranted a five star rating from me! I would recommend this book to middle grade-adult readers who enjoy allegories, medieval fantasy, and medieval battles.

#14: The Healer’s Apprentice by Melanie Dickerson

Calling all fairy tale lovers! This book (and the entire series after it) are clean and Christian fairy tale retellings (with minimum to no magic in them)! This book is a Sleeping Beauty retelling, and each of the following books retell a different fairy tale, some in very unique ways. Most of them follow the same family, which is also really cool! The first book, the one listed, does have references to dark magic/witchcraft, but it is shown to be evil, and handled in a Biblical way. My personal favorites in the series are The Princess Spy (Princess and the Frog retelling) and The Fairest Beauty (Snow White retelling) which is really odd because I don’t actually like the actual fairy tales that those are based off of as well. Even odder is my least favorite ones were the ones based off two of my favorite common fairy tales, Rapunzel and Cinderella. But they were still good, just not my favorites. I would highly recommend this series to all those who enjoy fairy tale retellings, romance, and historical setting sort of fantasy stories.

#15: The False Prince by Jennifer Nielsen

Okay, I’ll admit, I loved almost everything about this book! The main character, the plot, the TROPES (I LOVE the whole hidden nobility trope, it’s my all time favorite). It’s entirely clean, and can be read by people of all ages. The only reason I didn’t actually rate this book 5 stars (I’d rate it about 4.5) is because of the romance. There’s no explicit romance in the book at all, but since the story is a series, it’s utterly obvious who the love interest is, and she is absolutely the WORST. I’ve only ever come across one other love interest I’ve detested as badly, and even then, she rivals this one for All Time Worst Love Interest. It’s actually made me hesitant to proceed in the series even though I otherwise love everything about the book. (If it wasn’t for that stupid Imogen I probably would have found my new all-time favorite book). But I’m very picky with romance, so everyone else will probably think I’m overreacting, so I would still TOTALLY recommend this one! If you like medieval fantasy, political intrigue, unreliable narrators, hidden nobility, fights for the throne, and YA characters, totally give this book a try!

#16: Resistance by Jaye Knight

Here is our first Indie-published book on this list, but it is a goodie! While there are some minor things which set it apart from a traditionally published book (a little long at some parts) but besides that, I honestly thought it could have really been traditionally published. It’s also quite popular around homeschool and Christian indie fantasy authors circles, and for good reason. It was very good and I really enjoyed it, this being especially important since I’m not usually one for fantastical creatures and the like. There were a couple minor issues I took with the book, but they were quite minor, and nothing content wise. Here is my review of it, if you’d like to see more about it. I’ve been working through the second book (as this is a six book series) and it is dragging a bit more than the first (and I’m not enjoying the fantasy creatures and hinted at romance at all this time around) but I haven’t actually finished reading it at the time that I’m writing this post, though I hope to finish it soon, and have my mind changed. I would totally recommend this to anyone who likes Christian, non-magical fantasy and rebellion/resistance sort of stories!

#17: Rising to the Challenge by Alicia A. Willis

This is another indie book, but I really like it! This book is book three in a series, but all the books are stand-alone (though certain characters mean more if you read the prior books. I actually only read books one and three in the series though!) They are also very clean, and this book, of the two I read, was my favorite. Probably because it employs my favorite trope, the hidden nobility one! The romance was a little cheesy, but written in a fairy tale/King Arthur sort of style, love at first sight, etc, etc, the books are written in old English and there is some head hopping employed (the latter two aren’t a big deal to me though) but it’s quite a good story. Its fantasy, but more like Prisoner of Zenda type fantasy, just set in a fictional county in the real world, which I’ve always enjoyed. You can read by review of the first book in the series here! I would recommend this book to those who enjoy medieval, King Arthur-like stories, the Hidden Nobility trope, and light medieval fantasy.

#18: The Legends of King Arthur and His Knights (Retold by Paul Vincent)

Again, another indie published book, BUT it is very closely based off the original legends compiled by Sir Thomas Malory in Le More d’Arthur, and a few which are not in the legends. Paul Vincent does an excellent job of sticking to the original versions without changing them too much, really only putting them into modern English and expounding on some of the character’s relationships which are sort of skimmed and overlooked in the originals. This version is a little more violent than some people may be comfortable with, but things aren’t described TOO detailed; if I had to rate it in terms of TV violence, I’d say higher PG to PG-13 violence, depending on your violence tolerance. If you want to read these legends, but have always been put off/confused by the old English versions, totally read this version. Also, Paul Vincent has a podcast of him reading the book for free on Apple Podcasts (not sure if its on Android) and I’m pretty sure it’s somewhere online for free too. And they are awesome; I actually listened to them before even reading the book, and I’m working on listening to it for the third time now! I highly recommend this retelling, since it’s modern English and doesn’t change almost anything from the originals.

#19: The Worth of a King by Kendra E. Ardnek

This is our last Indie mention, and it has a few more issues than some of the other indie books mentioned above. However, I mention this book for the sole reason that it is one of few books which has caused me to keep thinking of it. Like, I may even go back and change my rating a little because I keep thinking back on it. I’ve never really had a book do that to me before. In my review on Goodreads, I gave 5 stars for concept, 3.5 for the style/execution of the concept. I think my biggest complaint was it was a little juvenile in style for me, but the concept, fantasy elements, and even two out of three romances I really loved! The last romance I disliked, but HEY, they didn’t actually get together in the end, which I was shocked and SO GLAD for. Anyways, maybe I’ll give it a re-read and change my rating a little. I would recommend this for Middle grade and younger YA readers, but also adults who like that style, who enjoy medieval fantasy with lots of fantasy concepts (dragons, I think there were like, an immortal couple and/or a girl who could walk between worlds, stuff like that).

#20: Spy X Family by Tatsuya Endo

And we close out with my favorite manga series of all times, Spy x Family! I LOVE this series; it combines the found family trope with spies, assassins, school life, romance, and hidden identities! The three main characters, a spy, telepath, and assassin, are all hiding their identities from each other (except the telepath, the little girl, knows what her adopted parents are) and each are a part of the “family” for their own reasons. But they begin to start actually loving each other as real family, and it’s so adorable. They even have an anime of it out, and it’s awesome! The little girl’s telepathy ability is not witchcraft or anything, as it is contributed to a science experiment done on her which gave her the ability. There are also a few curse words throughout the series and a couple revealing outfits, mostly the mother’s assassin outfit, but she doesn’t wear it too much. Besides that, I haven’t found anything worse. So I would totally recommend this to manga lovers who enjoy the found family trope mixed with spies and the other qualities I mentioned above!

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So those are 20 enjoyable clean reads which I recommend! Have you read any of these? Do you want to read any of them? Let me know in the comments below! ~ Kay Adelin