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I recently bought a kindle book about writing romances which answers this question I think. It points out that Gone With The Wind may have romance but isn't a romance in itself. That is the story is a historical fiction (tells the story of a character's life around the American Civil War) and a romance does occur but the romance is only a sub plot of the story not the main plot. In a thriller likewise the main storyline is supposed to be something like finding a nuclear bomb before it can be exploded by terrorists (ala. The Peacemaker) or some other such high action plot. There can still be a romantic sub plot which may include some sexual content but the romance/sex isn't the most important thing. If romance/sex is the most important thing in a novel then it's not a thriller. It's a romance or an Erotic novel. Otherwise it's like making a science fiction movie (say a Star Trek movie) and spending valuable screen time showing multiple passes of the Enterprise. It may look great, but it doesn't really advance the story of how Kirk and his crew are going to save the galaxy.
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