Themed Recommendations: #AceAwarenessWeek

It’s the first day of Asexual Awareness Week (Oct. 20-26), so what better time to give you book recommendations with asexual and demisexual characters?

I’m going to try to feature some books that aren’t on every go-to list, so Every Heart a Doorway, Tash Hearts Tolstoy, and Let’s Talk about Love aren’t here. Let’s branch out! There are a lot of ace-spec books out there now, and I for one am thrilled about it.

So here are eight of my favorites:

 

 

Not Your Backup by C.B. Lee – young adult sci-fi. This is the third book in the Sidekick Squad series, but the aro-spec, ace-spec MC is a supporting character in the first two books, and the entire series is excellent, so be sure to also check out Not Your Sidekick and Not Your Villain.

Play It Again by Aidan Wayne – new adult contemporary romance. This is a super sweet romance that has not one but two ace characters! The love interest in the romance is gay ace, and the most important secondary character is aro-ace.

The Perfect Assassin by K.A. Doore – adult fantasy. This fantasy mystery has our ace MC – a trained assassin – trying to uncover a murderer before his family of assassins is blamed for the disrespectful deaths, which have set supernatural jaan free to haunt the streets.

Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe – graphic memoir. This is a deeply personal, beautifully illustrated, and incredibly relatable memoir of Kobabe’s experiences growing up asexual and genderqueer before that vocabulary was really known.

Brightest Gold by Olivia Sitter – adult fantasy novella. This is delightful and is absolutely spot-on in its description as “a fantasy for asexual, genderqueer, and dragon-loving people.” Asexual! Genderqueer! Dragons! What is not to love?

Into the Blue by Pene Henson – adult fiction/romance. This is a lyrically written novel with ample description and a lovely found family dynamic featuring many many queer characters including a demisexual MC and an asexual secondary character.

The Spy with the Red Balloon by Katherine Locke – young adult historical fantasy. This is book two in the Balloonmakers series but it works perfectly well as a standalone. Ilse and Wolf are Jewish-American siblings who can work magic and are blackmailed into service during World War II by the U.S. government. This book is gripping and uplifting and heartbreaking all in one, and it has great demisexual rep (and quite a few other queer IDs as well).

Finally, I have to mention that I wrote a young adult fantasy with an #ownvoices aro-ace MC! Royal Rescue is a fantasy adventure with magic, rebellion, dragons, and a protagonist who absolutely does not want a fairy-tale wedding.