My Content Rating System

As both an author and an English teacher, I believe readers deserve to know what they’re picking up before they start a book. That’s why every book I share comes with a simple content rating across three categories: Heat, Violence, and Language. Here’s exactly what each level means.

πŸ”₯ Heat

1 β€” None. Sweet/wholesome. Maybe a kiss. No suggestive content, ogling, or innuendo.
2 β€” Mild. Attraction is noticed and named: checking someone out, light innuendo or flirty banter, simmering tension, basic kisses without much description. Nothing explicit.
3 β€” Moderate. Heavier physical romantic tension; longer kisses and more description; making out; more frantic actions/feelings; or some loss of control; may hint at eventual intimacy, but nothing is on the page or implied to be happening.
4 β€” Heavy. Contains a fade-to-black or implied off-page intimacy.

βš”οΈ Violence

0 β€” None. No real peril or fighting.
1 β€” Mild. Brief scuffles, mild danger, nothing lingered on.
2 β€” Moderate. Battle/sword violence, real peril, injury, or deathβ€”not dwelt on graphically.
3 β€” Strong. Intense, sustained, or graphic violence; torture; on-page death handled vividly.

πŸ—£οΈ Language

0 β€” None. No profanity. Substitute/invented words only.
1 β€” Mild. Occasional “damn,” “hell,” “crap.”
2 β€” Moderate. Stronger words (s-word, etc.) and/or frequent mild language.
3 β€” Strong. F-bombs and/or pervasive strong language.

A frequency note may appear in parentheses when it matters β€” for example, “Language 2 (rare)” means only one stronger word appears in the entire book.

Want a curated list of 100+ books rated using this exact system? Grab my 100+ Spice-Free Reading List here β†’www.rvbowman.com/readinglist