Introduction

This is a list of books with asexual representation read by u/ohmage_resistance and u/recchai. We both are pretty passionate about a-spec representation and have each done four a-spec themed r/fantasy bingo cards. Over the last few years, we've been putting together a list of all the spec fic books with asexual representation we have read. This year, we wanted to update the list. We also have an updated version of the list for aromantic books.

Speculative fiction means any fiction that contains some speculative or non-realistic/true to life element. In this case, the majority of books on this list are fantasy, but sci fi, horror, superhero fiction, magical realism, etc. all make an appearance as well. More specific genre tags can be found in the description for each book. We also use the following abbreviations: MC is main character, SC is side character, CW is content warning, YA is Young Adult literature, and MG is Middle Grade/Children's literature.

We have ordered this list into categories based roughly on how much of a focus asexuality is in the story (with a bonus category for non book media). To save space here, we focus on giving the subgenre and a brief one sentence description of each book. We have posted short reviews for most of these books on our bingo wrap up posts + spillover to the comments on those pages. To find which post to look at, we have included a symbol on each entry at the end of each description in parenthesis.

• u/ohmage_resistance’s cards:
  • 0: read prior to doing bingo, no review available, but feel free to ask
  • 1: read during year one: wrap up here
  • 2: read during year two: wrap up here
  • 3: read during year three: wrap up here
  • 4: read during year four: wrap up here
• u/recchai’s cards
  • X: not used for bingo and no review available, but feel free to ask
  • A: read during year one (they did two cards that year): wrap up here
  • B: read during year two: wrap up here
  • C: read for a disability themed bingo card: wrap up here
  • D: read during year three: wrap up here

We would also recommend checking out these databases to find more ace rep:  the ace & aro book database and this short story database (usable but with the functionality still being improved by u/recchai) to find even more examples of a-spec representation.

• What counts:
  • Books where an explicit asexual label is used
  • Books where a character is described as being on the ace-spectrum without explicit labels are used (many stories take place in settings without any official labels)
  • Books described as having an ace-spec experience (so even something as vague as “not liking people that way” or “not interested in sex” count, although the more vague depictions will typically be lower in the list or have a disclaimer)
  • We also have a non book media section as well this year to include some other categories.
• What does not count:
  • Characters who have asexual traits due to their non-human nature (ie. a character being described as ace because they are a robot with no genitals)
  • Characters who have asexual traits due to magic
  • Headcannons/characters whose sexual orientation is still largely up for debate
  • Characters who are confirmed to be on the asexual spectrum with no or unclear evidence in the text itself (Word of God representation)
  • Some stories that break these rules but we still want to recommend will be present in the Shout Out section

We know this is a big list, so if you are looking for anything in particular, let us know in the comments and we’ll try to help out. If you have more suggestions about other speculative fiction books with asexual representation, we’d love to hear it! We’d really appreciate it if you would clarify if it meets the rules or not though or to what extent it has representation.

Main focus

• Goddess of the Hunt by Shelby Eileen: (mythology retelling poetry collection): aro ace MC, SC. A poetry collection interpreting Artemis as being aro ace. (3)
• In Which a Demon King Does Not Have a Romantic Interest in his Human Gardener by Rori Thornton (cosy fantasy): aro-spec ace-spec MC * 2 Demon King Jurao comes back to find the castle gardens have acquired a secret gardener, who is a human! So he makes him Royal Gardener, but who does everyone think he is attracted… Note: 1st volume in a webseries, further a-spec side characters come up, but the focus gradually shifts away from it as the plot.
• Valentine by Julie Mannino: (fantasy) bi ace MC, homoromantic ace MC, Rhys is magically lured into a fairy harem. (CW: conversion therapy, not the best writing) (A)

Major subplot

• Adrift in Starlight by Mindi Briar: (sci fi romance) Biromantic asexual MC, briefly mentioned homoromantic ace SC. A nonbinary courtesan is hired to seduce an ace archeologist. Their plan goes off the rails when an experiment goes wrong, leading them to have to go on the run from the law. (3, B)
• Beyond the Black Door by AM Strickland: (YA fantasy) heteroromantic/demiro ace MC, ace SC. A girl can walk into other people’s dreams, but she keeps seeing a mysterious black door there. It seems like bad news, but will she open it anyway? (1, A)
• Fallen Thorns by Harvey Oliver Baxter: (urban fantasy) aro ace MC, aro ace SC. Before Arlo can get settled at university, he dies and becomes a vampire. (X)
• The Grand Duke's Valet by Rori Thornton: (cosy monster fantasy) aro-spec ace spec MC, A Regency inspired romance in which adopted human Nie receives an unexpected proposal, which he chooses to accept. Note: this is the first volume in a  webseries, other a-spec characters come up, but it ends up having a large amount of romance. (X)
• The Ice Princess's Fair Illusion by Dove Cooper: (fairy tale retelling) aro ace MC, lesbian ace MC. A-spec verse novel retelling of King Thrushbeard. (2)
• The Language of Roses by Heather Rose Jones: (fantasy retelling): aro ace MC, Beauty and the Beast retelling. Alys must allow Phillipe, the Beast, to court her, but she has never fallen in love. (X)
• The Meister of Decimen City by Brenna Raney: (superhero) questioning grey-romantic asexual MC. A quasi-supervillain had to deal with being under government surveillance, taking care of her sentient dinosaur children, and stopping her much more evil twin brother. (2, A)
• Not Your Backup by C.B. Lee: (YA superhero) questioning aro ace MC, aro ace SC. A girl and her super powered friends deal with teenage problems and try to tackle a corrupt system. (This is book three, the aro ace character is a side character in books 1-2, and we see her start questioning in book 2) (Book 2: 1, book 3: 2)
• Royal Rescue by A. Alex Logan: (fairy tale inspired fantasy) aro ace MC. In a world where young royals have to find a future spouse by rescuing another royal or being said rescuee, a boy starts to question if this is really the best way of doing things. (1, A)
• Saved By Grace by Sita Bethel: (urban fantasy) homoromantic ace MC, homoromantic demisexual MC, Sex-demon Alel is half starved, when he meets a human more interested in snuggling and kissing than sex, which he likes. (Not the best representation.) (A)
• Sea Foam and Silence by Dove Cooper (and sequel Harmony of Water and Weald): (fairy tale retelling) demiro? ace MC, aro ace SC. A verse novel retelling of the Little Mermaid, but she’s a-spec. (1)
• Song of the Huntress by Lucy Holland: (historical fantasy) hetero ace MC, Queen Æthelburg and King Ine must stop the court turning against them and evil magic with help of tricked Lord of the Hunt Herla. (D)
• What Wakes the Bells by Elle Tesch: (YA fantasy) Demisexual/demiromantic MC, aro ace SC. This is a YA novel about a girl whose family is tasked with preventing ancient bells from ringing, lest they wake the Bane, and what happens when she fails.(4)

Relevant in multiple passages

• A Tide of Treason by A.B. Daniels-Annachi: (fantasy) homoromantic ace MC, Dorian seeks the sea to escape his father, Zara wishes to save her underwater community from pollution, and privateer Veshak has his own agenda when he comes upon them. (D)
• At the Feet of the Sun by Victoria Goddard (Book 2 in the Lays of the Hearth-Fire series): (cozy fantasy) ace-spec MC. A bureaucrat has a very eventful retirement. (2, D)
• Baker Thief by Claudie Arseneault: (fantasy mystery) biromantic demisexual, aro allo MC; aro, questioning aro-spec SC. A policewoman and a thief investigate unethical energy sources in basically fantasy Quebec. (1, A)
• Being Ace edited by Madeline Dyer (mostly speculative YA anthology): 12/14 have clearly asexual main characters (meaning it was clearly portrayed on page), and they were a mix of aromantic and alloromantic. Some also had ace side characters. (3)
• Belle Révolte by Linsey Miller: (YA fantasy)  biro ace MC. Two girls swap places so they can learn magic and help take down their tyrannical government. (1)
• Call of the Sea by Emily B Rose: (fantasy) demisexual MC, Scottish-mermaid story of a young woman faced with having to choose a husband in a matter of days. (A)
• Catch Lili Too by Sophie Whittemore: (fantasy mystery) MC questioning place on ace-spectrum. A siren with a dark past gets hooked into solving the murder of a young girl in a small town. (3)
• City of Spires by Claudie Arseneault (books 1-4): (political fantasy) aro ace, demi-biro ace, greysexual greyromantic, heterosexual aro, lesbian aro, and demisexual characters. This is a super queer series about the efforts of people to fight injustices in their city. (book 1: 0, B; book 2: 0; book 3: 2; book 4: 3)
• Don't Let the Forest In by C.G. Drews: (YA dark academia horror): homoromantic ace MC. This is about a boy who goes to a boarding school who finds out that his friend's dark twisted drawings are coming to life. The two of them have to stop these monsters. (3, B)
• Dread Nation by Justina Ireland (duology): (YA historical zombie) aro ace SC in book 1 who becomes a MC in book 2. Black girls have to train as zombie killers in Post-Civil War USA. (book 1: 1, A; book 2: 3, D)
• Clariel by Garth Nix: (YA fantasy)  aro ace MC (controversial representation). Clariel is forced to move to a new city and gets embroiled in the political events going on. (1, X)
• Foul Lady Fortune by Chloe Gong: (urban fantasy retelling) demisexual MC, aro ace SC, A pair of spies work together to solve a series of murders in 1930’s Shanghai. (A)
• Iamos Trilogy by Lyssa Chiavari (book 1 and novella between books 1 and 2 read): (YA sci fi) heteroromantic ace, heteroromantic demisexual MC (book 1), aro ace SC (1.5). Boy on future Mars discovers time travel to get to ancient Mars. (book 1: 1, book 1.5: 4)
• Goblin of the Glade by McKenzie Catron-Pichan (book 2 in the A Numina Parable series, can be read as a standalone): (YA fairytale inspired fantasy) heteroromantic ace MC, heteroromantic ace SC, arguably aro ace SC. A goblin girl and her two identical triplets go on a quest to save the imprisoned Numina (which represent concepts like Fate, Fortune, Time, Death, Sun, and Moon). (3)
• How to Sell Your Blood and Fall in Love by D.N. Bryn (Book 2 in Guides For Dating Vampires): (urban romantasy) demi/greyromantic demisexual MC. After Dr Clementine unexpectedly wakes up as a vampire at his pharmaceutical job, he agrees to buy blood from Justin, a vigilante vampire protector. (B)
• How to Flaunt Your Chains and Surrender a Vein by D.N. Bryn (Book 4 in Guides For Dating Vampires): (urban romantasy) biromantic ace-spec MC. Vampire Rahil accidentally becomes trapped in Mercer’s shed, who is being coerced into making ‘holy silver’. (D)
• In the Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune: (cozy sci fi) gay ace MC. A human in a world full of robots rescues an android. (2, A)
• Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel: (retelling) aro ace MC. It's a retelling of the life of Kaikeyi, basically the evil stepmother in the story of the Ramayana, an Indian epic. (2, A)
• Keeper of the Dawn by Dianna Gunn: (YA fantasy) homoromantic ace MC. This is a novella about a girl who trained her whole life to be a warrior priestess but failed the test to become one. (4)
• Legacy of the Vermillion Blade by Jay Tallsquall: (classic fantasy) gay ace MC, gay ace SC. A classic fantasy story about a man’s struggle with an ancestral curse and finding his lost childhood love. (2, A)
• Little Black Bird by Anna Kirchner: (urban fantasy) 2 questioning a-spec MCs. A Polish young woman has to keep her powers hidden and under control, but she is hunted by local sorcerers and accused of unleashing demons. (B)
• Little Thieves by Margaret Owen: (YA fantasy) demiromantic? demisexual MC, demiromantic? demisexual love interest. It's about a girl who needs to steal enough money to leave the country, figure out how to escape a curse, balance multiple secret identities (princess, maid, and thief), and avoid being forced to become a servant to her goddess godmothers. Oh, and she has two weeks to do it. (3)
• Non-Player Character by Veo Corva: (cozy fantasy) biromantic (possibly demiromantic?) ace MC, demisexual SC, aro ace SC. This is a cozy litRPG about an anxious and autistic person who slowly makes friends with a local table top role playing game group. They then learn that the game that they're playing was more real than they thought. (4)
• Odd Blood by Azalea Crowley (books 1-3) (urban fantasy): demisexual (possibly demiromantic) MC, Struggling millennial Josephine ends up agreeing to nanny an elderly vampire. (Book 1: X, Book 2: A, Book 3: B)
• Of Books and Paper Dragons: (cozy fantasy) ace MC, Three introverts become friends while opening a bookshop together. (2, A)
• Pale Lights (Volumes 1 and 2) by ErraticErrata: (epic fantasy webnovel) ace MC. A revenge focused thief and an honorable sword-wielding noble participate in a deadly competition to become part of an elite group, the Watch. (Volume 1: 3 and Volume 2: 4)
• Quicksilver by RJ Anderson: (YA sci fi) ace MC. A girl has to avoid being found by evil aliens. She is also an alien, but a very human-like one. (0)
• Sawkill Girls by Claire Legrand: (YA horror) biromantic ace MC, Three teenage girls face off a monster preying on young women on Sawkill Rock, an island full of rich people. (3, A)
• Tarnished are the Stars by Rosiee Thor: (YA sci fi) aro ace MC.Three teens must team up to save their planet. (0)
• The Bone People by Keri Hulme: (literary magical realism) aro ace MC. A lonely artist becomes friends with a Maori man and his non-verbal adopted son. (Content warning: child abuse) (2 and 4, A)
• The Cardplay Duology by Brittany M. Willows: (anime-style urban fantasy) demiromantic demisexual MC, greysexual MC. Magical young people in very anime/superhero style world, with lots of playing card references, try to save the world from darkness. (Book 1: B, Book 2: X)
• The Circus Infinite by Khan Wong: (Sci fi) panromantic ace MC, A guy with gravity powers escapes being an experimental subject at an abusive research institute and literally runs away to join a circus. (2, A)
• The Dragon of Ynys by Minerva Cerridwen: (fairy tale inspired, cozy fantasy) aro ace MC. A knight goes on a quest to find a missing trans woman and bring LGBTQ acceptance to the world. (1, B)
• The Hereafter Bytes by Vincent Scott: (sci-fi) aro ace MC, Digital human with a job Romeo agrees to help his friend investigate why she’s in danger and ends up on adventure. (4, A)
• The King’s Peace by Jo Walton: (classic fantasy retelling) aro ace MC, A thinly disguised King Arthur retelling from the perspective of basically a female asexual version of Lancelot. (2, A)
• The Perfect Assassin by K.A. Doore: (fantasy) homoromantic asexual, Newly qualified assassin Amastan is unsure he wants to kill, but has to step up and investigate when fellow assassins start turning up dead. (A)
• The Sapling Cage by Margaret Killjoy: (YA fantasy) Demi or greysexual MC, aro ace SC. This is a YA book about a trans girl who joins a coven of witches. (4)
• The Transmutowns: Mercury by Sam Saylett (books 1 and 2): (urban fantasy) Aro? ace MC (of both books, both more clear in book 2), also a side character who used to think he was aro ace but now does not. Book one is a short novella about a woman who starts working for her estranged mom in a town where vampires, shapeshifters, and paladins congregate. (4)
• Shadows of Cathedral Lane by M.G. Mason: (urban fantasy) demisexual MC. Detective Sergeant Nikki Sandford gets dumped and has to help a ghost figure out his own murder. (B)
• Snowstorm & Overgrowth by Claudie Arsenault: (fantasy and sci-fi): A solarpunk themed short story collection with a mix of identities.Some do not have any asexual representation. (A)
• The Thread that Binds by Cedar McCloud: (cozy fantasy) aro ace, alloromantic ace MC; greyromantic, demisexual demiromantic SC. Three employees at a magic library become part of a found family and learn to cut toxic people out of their lives. (2, X) 
• To Love the Dragon King by Antonia Aquilante: (fantasy): aro-spec ace-spec MC, aro ace SC. Sascha is sent to be a concubine to a cruel man who is also a traitor, and is then rescued by the king. (D)
• The Unbalancing by R.B. Lemberg: (fantasy) ace-spec MC, ace SC, The star near the islands is increasing its dangerous tremors, worrying its new keeper. A reluctant poet is pushed into action by their ancestor. (A)
• Until the Last Petal Falls by Viano Oniomoh: (cozy fantasy, kinda like romantasy but with a QPR) 2 aro ace MCs. It's a queerplatonic Nigerian Beauty and the Beast retelling. (3, X)
• Weaver of the Middle Desert by Victoria Goddard (Book 3 in The Sisters Avramapul trilogy): (fairytale inspired fantasy) MC is aro? ace. (side characters possibly demi?). Pali and Arzu checked up on their sister Sardeet and then they go on an Jack on the Beanstalk inspired adventure in this novellette. (3)
• Wild Flowers, Electric Beasts by Alina Leonova: (science fiction): homoromantic ace MC, ace SC. Two species of humans share a planet, but devastation occurs when a treaty is broken. (B)
• Wolf Among the Wild Hunt by Merc Fenn Wolfmoor: (fantasy) aro ace MC * 2, Skythulf is rescued from the fight pits to become a knight, but a mistaken killing means he must face the wild hunt or die. (D)

Mentioned in passing

• A Promise Broken by S.L. Dove Cooper: (fantasy) aro ace MC. Four-year-old Eiryn and her uncle struggle to come to terms with her mother’s death, while facing community hostility. (D)
• After the Dragons by Cynthia Zhang: (contemporary fantasy romance) greysexual greyromantic? gay MC. Eli, a biracial American on a doing a research program in Beijing, and Kai, a Chinese college student with a terminal illness from exposure to air pollution, meet as they try to find ways to treat the illness and take care of the small dragons all around the city. (3, C)
• After World by Debbie Urbanski: (dystopian sci fi) aro ace MC. An AI tasked with solving environmental collapse determines humans must go. Sen is the last human, whose life is documented by a storyworker. (D)
• The Bard by Jean Hanna: (high fantasy): demisexual MC. Elf bard Caldorian ends up on adventure. (B)
• Between Spells and Shadows by R.N. Barbosa (urban fantasy romance) homoromantic asexual. Witch Thea has a rival who constantly seeks to ruin her life. So she summons a demon to get her own back. (X)
• The Bruising of Qilwa by Naseem Jamnia: (fantasy mystery) aro ace MC. The main character has to balance their responsibilities as a healing trainee, a refugee, an older sibling, and a teacher. (2, A)
• Caraway of the Sea by Madeline Burget: (pirate fantasy) heteroromantic ace-spec, Caraway is her brother’s first mate and enforcer, a death at sea puts them at odds, and on land she begins to get dangerously close to a rival captain against his wishes. (D, 4)
• Chameleon Moon by RoAnna Sylver (book 1 + short story collection): (hopepunk dystopian) biro ace MC. A guy gets amnesia in a city that is falling apart. (Book 1: 1, short story collection: 2)
• The Chronicles of Nerezia by Claudie Arseneault (books 1-4): (queernorm fantasy) aro ace MC, Horace, an ever failing apprentice, meets a mysterious elf and an artificer with a magic wagon. (book 1: 4, A, books 2-4; C)
• The Cybernetic Tea Shop by Meredith Katz: (cozy sci fi) lesbian ace MC (also an ace-coded robot SC). A software engineer starts to befriend an AI who runs a tea shop. (1, X)
• A Dance of Water and Air by Antonia Aquiline: (fantasy romance) demisexual (possibly demiromantic?) MC. A prince is engaged to marry the queen of a neighboring country for political reasons, but he starts falling in love with her brother instead. (2, A)
• The Deed of Paksenarrion trilogy by Elizabeth Moon: (classic fantasy) aro? ace MC. Farm girl runs away from home to become a mercenary. (CW: sexual assault and torture) (1, Book 1: X, Book 3: D)
• Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger: (YA fantasy) ace MC. Lipan Apache girl must use her power to see the ghosts of people and animals to figure out who killed her cousin. (0, A)
• Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire: (portal fantasy) heteroromantic ace MC. A girl gets locked out of the magical realm she found and is now in the real world. Will she find her way back? (0, X)
• Eye Spy by Mercedes Lackey: (YA fantasy) aro ace MC. A girl raised in a spy family decides to become a magical architect/engineer. (0)
• Fae and Human Relations quartet by S.O. Callahan, Sarah Wallace: (cosy historical fantasy romance) homoromantic demisexual MC (Book 1) ace MC (Book 4). Fae, human, and fae-human young people get together to solve magic organisation problems. (Book 1: D, Book 4, X)
• Firebreak by Nicole Kornher-Stace: (dystopian sci fi) aro ace MC. Video game streamers try to help superhuman soldiers get free from the capitalistic dystopian government. (1)
• From the Dark We Came by J. Emery: (urban fantasy): demisexual MC. Senior monster hunter Belar is hired by a vampire he tried to kill twice. (X)
• In-Between by MJ James: (portal fantasy): Aro ace MC. This book is about an autistic woman who learns that her son is half-elven and in line for the elvish throne. His biological father is an evil tyrant and they go on the run. (4)
• Jacob’s Ladder Trilogy (books 1-2)  by Elizabeth Bear: (sci fi)  lesbian ace MC, arguable ace SC in book 2. A girl who got captured by an enemy faction must escape and find a way to save the multi-generational starship they are all on. (Book 1: 2, book 2: 4)
• The Last Hour Between Worlds by Melissa Caruso: (secondary world urban fantasy) biromantic demisexual MC. New mother Kembral is trying to enjoy a night off when guests at the ball start dropping dead. (D)
• Letters to Half Moon Street by Sarah Wallace: (cosy fantasy romance): homoromantic demisexual MC. Epistolary novel in queernormative regency London with magic. (4, X)
• The Map and the Territory by A. M. Tuomala: (post apocalyptic epic fantasy) aro ace MC. A wizard and a cartographer try to figure out why cites around the world were destroyed in magical ways. (3, B)
• No Gods, No Monsters by Cadwell Turnbull: (literary urban fantasy) biromantic ace MC. It's about the world realizing that werewolves and other monsters walk among them, while secret societies work in the background. (4)
• Not Good For Maidens by Tori Bovalino: (YA fantasy/horror retelling) ace MC. This is had two timelines, one about a girl trying to save her relative who is trapped in a dangerous Goblin Market, the other is about that character's aunt decades before getting seduced by the goblin market. (1, B)
• Of the Wild by E. Wambheim: (cozy fantasy) gay ace MC. A forest spirit is getting worn out rescuing and caring for abused children. (2, B)
• Painted Flock by Claudie Arseneault (Book 2 Val-de-mer): (urban fantasy) demiromantic demisexual MC. Emmanuelle is determined to restore the witches trapped in exocores, but must convince Clémence to trust her. (D)
• Power to Yield by Bogi Takács (Sci fi): aro ace MC, SC. A woman takes a new job on a world world neurodivergence is normalized. (0, A)
• Promise Me Nothing by Dawn Vogel: (YA urban fantasy) aro ace MC, Briar is expelled from the fae realm for being involved in a rebellion and gets sent to a supernatural reform school. (A)
• Secondhand Origin Stories by Lee Blauersouth: (superheros) ace MC, Second-generation superpowered youngsters gather together in Chicago and navigate the world as it exists. (A)
• Sere from the Green by Lauren Jankowski: (urban fantasy) Grey-asexual/grey-aromantic MC, aro ace SC. A woman discovers the existence of a society of shapeshifters and Guardians. (1, A)
• Small Gods of Calamity by Sam Kyung Yoo: (urban fantasy) Biromantic ace MC. This is a short novella about a spirit detective trying to hunt a spirit eating worm spirit and dealing with his traumatic past in an urban fantasy version of Seoul. (4, D)
• A Snake Falls to Earth by Darcie Little Badger: (YA fantasy) ace MC. A snake animal person goes off to find a new home, while a Lipan Apache girl tries to discover the meaning behind a story her great-grandmother told her. (1, D)
• Socially Orcward by Lisa Henry and Sarah Honey (Adventures in Aguillon book 3): (cosy romantasy) 2 homoromantic ace MCs. Dave the orc looks after dragons with new kitchen boy Simon, who has a dangerous secret. (B)
• So Let Them Burn by Kamilah Cole: (YA epic fantasy) demi/heteroromantic(?) demisexual MC. It's about two sisters who are trying to avoid having their newly independent country sink into war again, as one of them gets bonded to a dragon on the side of their previous colonizers and the other tries to break that bond (3, B)
• Song of the Six Realms by Judy I. Lin: (YA fantasy) demisexual MC. Musician Xue gets pulled into a Celestial power struggle. (X)
• Stake Sauce, Arc 1: The Secret Ingredient Is Love. No, Really by RoAnne Silver: (urban fantasy): greyromantic greysexual MC, aromantic asexual SC. Ex-firefighter Jude guards a local mall from vampires, but it turns out his annoying upstairs neighbour is also one. ©
• Sufficiently Advanced Magic by Andrew Rowe: (litRPG/progression fantasy)  biro ace MC. A boy goes to school to learn magic and gets caught up in a bigger conspiracy. (2)
• The Stones Stay Silent by Danny Ride: (fantasy) aro ace MC, Leiander, a trans man, flees religious persecution further fueled by plague to try and live his life as he is. (3, A)
• The Tale That Twines by Cedar McCloud (Book 2, book 1 also on this list): (cozy fantasy) demiromantic demisexual MC. June returns to the city eir parent died in to apprentice at a magical library and make friends old and new. (4, B)
• Tell Me How It Ends by Quinton Li: (YA fantasy) aro-spec ace MC, Iris can predict the future with her tarot cards, and needs to earn money. Marin needs help to save their friend imprisoned in a nearby kingdom for being a witch. (A)
• This Golden Flame by Emily Victoria: (YA fantasy) aro ace MC, A girl in a Greek inspired setting teams up with an automation to find her brother and freedom. (2, A)
• Vengeful (Villains Trilogy) (character is also in book 1: Vicious) by VE Schwab: heteroromantic? ace MC (somewhat controversial representation). Follows a couple of people who gained superpowers and are evil or at least morally grey. (1, A)
• Werecockroach by Polenth Blake: (weird sci fi) aro ace MC, aro ace SC. Three odd flatmates, two of whom are werecockroaches, survive an alien invasion. (2, B)
• The Winter Knight by Jes Battis: (urban fantasy retelling) ace MC. Hildie, a Valkyrie, has to investigate a murder amongst the knights of the round table in modern Vancouver whilst autistic college student and suspect Wayne has to figure out his family and relationships. (A)
• With the Lightnings by David Drake: (military sci fi) Aro ace MC. A lieutenant in the navy/space force and a librarian get caught up in trouble when enemy forces start a coup on a planet they’re on. (3, B)
• The World We Make by N.K. Jemisin (book 2 in series): (urban fantasy/horror) Aro ace MC/POV character.  The avatars of New York City continue to face off against the Woman in White. (4)
• Ymir by Rich Larson: (cyberpunk sci fi) aro? ace MC. This is a cyberpunk book about a notorious traitor/capitalist sellout who returns to his home planet to hunt some monsters and make some more poor life choices. (4, D)

Side characters only

• A Dark and Starless Forest by Sarah Hollowell: (YA urban fantasy) ace SC, Derry and her siblings live in an isolated house surrounded by a menacing forest, which she must confront as one by one her siblings start disappearing. (A)
• An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon: (dark sci fi) aro ace SC. An exploration of the trauma of slavery set in a spaceship. (Look up content warnings if you need them) (1)
• Bury Your Gays by Chuck Tingle (speculative horror): aro ace SC. This is about a gay screenwriter who is pressured by executives to confirm that two of his characters are gay and then kill him. When things go wrong, he starts to be stalked by his own characters. (4)
• Every Bird A Prince by Jenn Reese: (MG urban fantasy) aro MC, bi ace SC, Eren has to come up with a crush and be a ‘Bird Champion’ to defeat the Frostfangs. (A)
• Fire Becomes Her by Rosiee Thor: (YA historical/political fantasy) demiromantic MC; ace, aro ace SC. This one is about a girl who’s supposed to spy on the opposing side of a political campaign. (0, A)
• Hunter’s Blessing by A.J. Barber:  (urban fantasy), aro ace SC, Hunter Alicia has remade herself since her brother murdered his friends, protecting people from rogue summoners, so when he turns up again, can she trust him? (A)
• In the Ravenous Dark by AM Strickland: (YA fantasy) panromantic ace SC. Girl has to hide the fact that she has magic powers or the royal family will basically force her to be bonded to a sketchy ghost bodyguard. (0)
• In Shadowed Dreams by S. Judith Bernstein: (urban fantasy) aro ace major SC. It's about a college student as he learns that magic is real after someone attacks his secretly a mage friend. (3)
• The Masquerades of Spring by Ben Aaronovitch:  (historical fantasy mystery) ace SC A jazz loving fop is dragged by an old friend into a hunt for a magical saxophone. (X)
• Natural Outlaws and Fractured Sovereignty by S.M. Pearce: (fantasy heist) bisexual aromantic MC, homoromantic asexual SC. It's about a group of queer thieves who are blackmailed by their governor to enact a heist to steal riches from an enemy kingdom. (3, A)
• Once & Future by AR Capetta and Cory McCarthy: (YA sci fi retelling) ace SC, A King Arthur retelling, but Arthur is now a queer Arab girl in space. (1)
• Our Bloody Pearl by D.N. Bryn: (romantic fantasy), alloromantic ace SC, A pirate rescues a siren from an abusive situation and helps them heal. (2, A)
• Party of Fools by Cedar McCloud: (cozy fantasy), 2 aro ace SC. This is a cozy fantasy short novella about an emperor who disguises herself to go on an adventure to find great food, runs into two members of the Resistance who tag along, and a member of the Guard tries to catch up with them. (3, D)
• Seven Devils by L.R. Lam and Elizabeth May: (YA sci fi space opera) asexual SC. It's about a group of women who break free from societal brainwashing to join a resistance against an empire. (3)
• Someone You Can Build a Nest In by John Wiswell: (cozy horror romantasy) sapphic ace SC, also sapphic ace coded nonhuman MC. A human monster hunter inadvertently helps a disguised, shapeshifting monster recover from an injury. Their relationship builds, even as the shapeshifting monster seeks to improve her disguise as a human and sabotage efforts to hunt her down for her heart. (3, B)
• Sorcery of Thorns + sequel novella by Margaret Rogerson: (YA fantasy) aro? ace SC. A generally fun story about a girl who wants to work in a library full of dangerous animated books. (0)
• Summer of Salt by Katrina Leno: (magical realism) aro ace SC, Georgina is still waiting for the magic the women of the Fernweh family on the island of By-the-Sea develop when a stormy summer casts them under suspicion. (A)
• Raybearer duology by Jordan Ifueko: (YA fantasy) biro ace SC. A girl is forced to try to befriend and then kill a prince by her abusive mother in a Nigerian inspired world. (Book 1: 1, X, Book 2: 2, X)
• The Faceless Old Woman Who Secretly Lives in Your Home by Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor: (YA historical/supernatural horror) Aro ace SC. This is a story about the faceless old woman who secretly lives in your home tormenting/helping a guy and telling the story of her life of crime before she became the faceless old woman. (4)
• The Second Mango by Shira Glassman: (YA fantasy romance) straight demiromantic? demisexual SC. This is a short novella about a lesbian queen and her disguised-as-a-man female bodyguard going on a quest to find a partner for the queen. (3)
• The Vanished Birds by Simon Jimenez: (literary sci fi) biromantic ace SC. A boy mysteriously appears on a planet and is taken in by traders traveling by a spaceship. (3)
• The Witch King duology by HE Edgmon: (YA fantasy) bi ace, demisexual SC. I think it’s kinda like A Court of Thorns and Roses but the main character is a gay trans guy and everyone is queer and way more progressive.(book 1: 1, X, book 2: 2, B)
• The Wrack by John Bierce: (fantasy) ace SC (technically POV, but this is a mosaic novel). This is a book that covers a fantasy world's response to a plague called the Wrack. (4)
• This World is Not Yours by Kemi Ashing-Giwa: (Sci fi drama/horror) Aro ace SC. This is a novella about two women in a not super healthy relationship on a sci fi planet where there's a mysterious substance that can destroy life called the Gray. (4)
• To Be Taught, If Fortunate by Becky Chambers: (cozy sci fi) ace SC. Four scientists study life on alien planets. (1, A)

Minor part of a long series

• Heartsong by T J Klune (book 3 Green Creek): (urban fantasy) pan ace SC, Uncertainty and potential betrayal stalk the werewolf factions. (X)
• Rhythm of War by Brandon Sanderson (Stormlight Archives book 4): (epic fantasy)  heteroromantic ace SC. Follows multiple characters in a world facing an existential threat. (0)
• Three Seeking Stars by Avi Silver (Book 2 in Sãoni Cycle): (YA fantasy) ace MC. The group ask for help in fixing problems in the rainforest, but must convince others their focus is the right one. (X)
• Tropic of Serpents (book 2 Memoirs of Lady Trent) by Marie Brennan: (historical inspired fantasy)  aro ace SC. A woman in pseudo-victorian England who is determined to study dragons as a scientist (0, X)

Coding shout outs: books that break the rules but are still worth mentioning

• Archivist Wasp by Nicole Kornher-Stace: (YA post apocalyptic) A girl teams up with the ghost of a supersoldier to find the ghost's missing friend. (Word of God representation) (0, X)
• Good Angel by A. M. Blaushild: (YA urban fantasy) An angel goes to university, makes friends with a demon, decides to major in soul stealing, and embraces her inner teenage rebel. (breaks non human rule). (2)
• Silver in the Mist by Emily Victoria: (YA fantasy) A spy has to befriend then kidnap the most powerful caster in the land in order to save her country. (more or less Word of God representation) (1)
• The Fire’s Stone by Tanya Huff (fantasy): aro ace MC, A thief, a wizard, and a prince must go on a quest to return a stone and save a kingdom. (Word of God representation) (X)
• The First Sister Trilogy (books 1-2) by Linden A. Lewis: A woman is in a religious order that forces her to be a sex worker and wants to get out, and a man searches for his soldier partner who might have betrayed him. (Word of God representation) (Book 2: 3)
• The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells (sci fi):  A half human half robot person is forced to act as security for an immoral company although all it wants to do is watch TV. (breaks non human rule) (0, X)
• The Teller of Small Fortunes by Julie Leong: (cozy fantasy): This is a cozy fantasy about a fortune teller who becomes part of a group of friends and goes on an adventure while trying to find her friend's son. (word of god representation) (3)
• Vespertine by Margaret Rogerson: (YA fantasy) A nun gets possessed by a revenant and now has powers. They slowly become friends. (Word of God representation) (0)

Non Book Media

• BoJack Horseman: (adult animated TV show) Heteroromantic ace side character (first mentioned in season 3) This is a dark comedy about a former sitcom star in a world where anthropomorphic animals live alongside humans. (4)
• Deck of Many Aces: (DnD podcast): This is a DnD podcast where all the players are a-spec. There’s four characters who are part of an organization investigating various in world mysteries. (none of the characters being played are confirmed on screen to be a-spec, but it’s so relevant to the overall experience of the podcast that I had to mention it) (3)
• Penny Larceny: Gig Economy Supervillain (Visual Novel): Option to play as ace, aro, or aro ace character. Play as Penny Larceny, young henchperson for hire in a world of superheroes and supervillains, where you pull off heists and seek to find out what's really going on. (D)
• The Imperfects: (superpower TV show): Homoromantic ace MC It's about three teens who have a genetic illness. They were experimented on, but their treatment had the unfortunate side effects of turning them into superhumans: a banshee, succubus, and were-chupacabra, respectively. Now they’re searching for a cure to their side effects. (4)
• The Magnus Archives written by Jonathan Sims: (horror audiodrama) biromantic ace MC (first mentioned in season 3). This is  about an archivist who records statements of creepy supernatural encounters on tapes. There’s connections between the statements that feed into an overarching plot. (2, B)

Conclusion:

Just counting stories with representation, we get about 142 books/series/stories with about 198 asexual spectrum characters! Of course, there’s still ace-spec experiences not covered by this list (we’re a long way from completely representing everyone), but it’s a start. Many of these books don’t get much mainstream attention because they are indie or self published books. We hope that this encourages some people to branch out and look in a wider variety of places if they want to find more representation.

Thank you for reading this long post!

Intro:

This is extremely late at this point (you know it's bad when multiple people have put out completed cards...), but I still wanted to share my wrap up for my a-spec (asexual and aromantic spectrum) bingo card for 2025, mostly because I think it’s a valuable resource. It’s been a busy year for me, I graduated university and got my first actual adult job. There’s also been some schedule changes and some family stuff going on that also took a lot of my time up since April. I did finish my reading for bingo before April, but writing this wrap up just wasn't my first priority for a long time. But I finally stopped procrastinating and had enough time/motivation to make this post. To make up for the delay a bit, I’ll comment somewhere with my top recommendations for this years bingo squares as applicable.

Also, previous years I did a much better job at recording some notes about the ace rep in each book as I read them, this year I didn’t really do that (which I’m regretting about now). I will link to longer reviews I’ve made on the Tuesday Review Thread (commented throughout 2025 and until bingo ended in 2026) for almost all of these though (and Storygraph should have me covered for the remainder).

Overall, this was not my strongest year of a-spec bingo, ngl. I think this has been hurt by the last two years both having some of my all time favorite media (Lays of the Hearth Fire and The Silt Verses), but this year had books I liked, but nothing quite like that. BoJack Horseman was probably the closest I came, but I don’t think that quite connected to me on the same level. I still over all enjoyed doing it though, and I hope to be able to do it again for 2026 bingo (I’m four squares in at this point, and if you have recommendations you want to share, please do!) There were also some pluses as well, like aro allo rep being easier to find this year than in previous years.

I’m ordering very roughly based on quality of representation. I tended to prioritize by how relevant a character being a-spec was to the story as well as avoiding harmful tropes/stereotypes. These are only my opinions though, other a-spec people might disagree! (Also, it's been so long that my memory isn't super great for all of these, so things might be extra wonky).

You can find my a-spec themed cards from year 1 here, year 2 here, and year 3 here. Also, u/recchai has made three a-spec bingo card wrap-ups (for four total cards) which you can here, here, and here.

Helpful definitions/abbreviations:

Feel free to skip this section if you don't need it, but here's some helpful definitions if you don't know what I'm talking about.

• Ace/asexual: someone who experiences little to no sexual attraction
• Aro/aromantic: someone who experiences little to no romantic attraction
• Allo/allosexual: someone who experiences sexual attraction the typical way
• Alloro/alloromantic: someone who experiences romantic attraction the typical way
• Ace-spec: on the asexual spectrum; someone who relates the asexual experience more than the allosexual one
• Aro-spec: on the aromantic spectrum; someone who relates the aromantic experience more than the alloromantic one
• A-spec: anyone on the asexual or aromantic spectrums
• Demi(sexual/romantic): someone who experiences (sexual/romantic) attraction only after a bond has formed with a specific person. Ie no crushes or immediate sexual attraction.
• Grey(sexual/romantic): someone who rarely experiences (sexual/romantic) attraction
• Aro ace: aromantic asexual
• Aro allo: allosexual aromantic

Let me know if you have any other terminology questions! I tried not to include too much jargon, but it’s really hard to talk about some of these without it.

Rules:

All stories must include some sort of a-spec representation. Characters who have a-spec traits due to their non-human nature (ie Murderbot from Murderbot Diaries) or magic (ie Tarma from Vows and Honor) do not count. Neither do head cannons (characters whose sexualities are up for debate). Characters who are confirmed to be a-spec by the author but with no textual evidence (ie Keladry from Protector of the Small) do not count. So every character must be confirmed by the words asexual, aromantic, ace, aro, etc being used or must be described as having an a-spec experience (so even something as vague as “not liking people that way” or “not interested in sex/romance” count).

Reviews:

Not a book (HM): BoJack Horseman (animated TV show)

• This is a dark comedy about a former sitcom star in a world where anthropomorphic animals live alongside humans. 
• Representation: Heteroromantic ace major character, first mentioned in season 3, I think, and proceeds to be a part of his character after that. There's also 2 heteroromantic ace side characters, a handful of minor ace background characters. This TV show for years was the go-to/ultimate example of good asexual representation (this was definitely the case when I first realized I was ace), so it was nice to finally watch it. And imo its reputation is well deserved. My main critique is that Todd (the main ace character) is kind of immature and frequently infantalized, and I think that could have been handled better. But it was nice to see a character who gets an actual arc related to sexuality (but not necessarily on self acceptance so much as trying to find a good partner while being ace). Asexuality was relevant to way more episodes than I thought it would be, and the show was good at explaining the basics for an a majority allo audience who probably aren’t super familiar with asexuality but also having more than that going on.
• Review: This was pretty good. The Hollywood references didn't always work for me (I’m not much of a TV/movies person), but I appreciated a lot of the commentary on addiction, mental health, generational trauma, etc. It particularly did a good job covering mental health themes, but the goal being more on good character writing than trying to be inspiring at all costs. Full reviews here and here.

Published in the ‘80s (HM): The Bone People by Keri Hulme

• It's about a lonely artist who becomes friends with a Maori man and his non-verbal adopted son.
• Rep: Aro ace main character. So this was a reread for me (there’s rather slim pickings for books with a-spec rep published in the ’80s, but I’m glad I at least had some options). I still think it’s a good depiction of what’s being aro ace at a time where the MC wasn’t able to find a community or have the same words, even if that wasn’t a huge part of the book.
• Review: I appreciate this book a lot as a literary work, probably a bit more on a reread since I’ve been reading more literary leaning books lately. I will say that this book does have some hard to read depictions of child abuse, and that hit even harder on a reread.  Full review

High Fashion (HM): The Tale that Twines by Cedar McCloud

• This is a book about a newly hired apprentice Illuminator who is working at a magical library, as e returns to the city e was born at, makes new friends/reconnects with an old friend, and processes trauma and grief that e has been holding onto for a long time.
• Rep: Demisexual and demiromantic MC, greyromantic side character, allo aro side character. I really liked the demi representation in this book. A lot of times, demi rep feels a bit like a romance trope instead of an actual identity that the author wants to explore, but that wasn’t the case here. I also liked how many a-spec side characters we got, and how they interacted with each other.
• Review: This felt a bit self indulgent at times, but this is still one of my favorite cozy/cozy adjacent fantasy series, especially for its queer world building and themes around healing. Full review

Published in 2025 (HM): What Wakes the Bells by Elle Tesch 

• This is a YA novel about a girl whose family is tasked with preventing ancient bells from ringing, lest they wake the Bane, and what happens when she fails.
• Rep: Demisexual/demiromantic MC, aro ace side character. I’m used to demi identities being a minor part of a book, but here the author managed to tie it into a major plot point, which was interesting to see. I do see it still focusing a bit more on the MC’s comfort with certain actions than attraction per say though.
• Review: it wasn’t bad, but there were a few parts that I thought could use some fleshing out, particularly, character interpersonal dynamics (besides the MC’s contentious relationship with her mom, which was well handled). Full review

Short stories (I’m grouping these together):

• Sex with Ghosts by River Kanning
  • Short story about an ace receptionist at a sketchy brothel where people have sex with robots.
  • This is probably the most interesting one for me here, the crossing boundaries themes were pretty clear here, although I do wish the >!stuff at the hotel was better elaborated on? It felt like it was going in a masturbation direction, which I think could have better integrated with the ace themes and also the entire idea of the hotel.!< IDK, overall though it still made me think.
• The Belles of Rosemere: Solitude by K.A. Cook
  • This is a story about a princess who gets locked in a tower, but appreciates it instead of seeing it as a punishment.
  • There's a heterosexual aromantic MC. A lot of the ideas in the story are pretty familiar to me as someone who has read a fair number of K.A. Cook stories by now. I don't think it'll be one of my favorite Cook stories but it wasn't bad. I do wish the MC's desire for solitude was a bit better established in her backstory though.
• Create My Own Perfection by E.H. Timms
  • This is an aro ace medusa retelling.
  • This deals with the theme of an asexual woman being sexually harassed by a man, and using her powers as a medusa to escape it. It was an interesting idea but the story was super short so it wasn’t dug into with too much depth. t didn't quite have as much emotional impact as I think it could have.
• Must Love Cake by Azalea Crowley
  • This is a monster romance novelette about two people bonding over their shared love of cheesecake, with heteroromantic? asexual MCs
  • This very romance heavy and therefore not for me. I can't really comment on that much. I will say it's a pretty diverse story.
• With Feathers On by E. Wambheim
  • This is a story about a woman who's partner is a shapeshifter, as she tries to find him again. Her partner is implied to be asexual.
  • I’m not the biggest fan of romance, so this probably didn't work the best for me, but I can appreciate the love for non-conventional relationships. It’s not the clearest rep on this list.
• Combined comment with slightly more detailed reviews.

Impossible Places: The Hereafter Bytes by Vincent Scott

• This is a short sci fi comedic book about a digital person who in the process of helping a friend gets caught up in a digital conspiracy.
• Rep: Aro ace MC. Despite being in a robotic body, this character was ace even before their brain got uploaded, so he does qualify as rep for me. There were some pretty good discussions about asexuality (less so aromanticism, but that also came up), which was nice but not really groundbreaking if you already are familiar with these identities. I was hoping for more commentary on how the MC being technically dead and living in a robotic body intersects with tropes/stereotypes about asexuals but that didn’t come up. It was cool to see that he had a dominatrix friend though, there’s more connections between the ace community and the kink community than people might assume.
• Review: Idk, this was a bit rough around the edges but I generally appreciated what it was trying to do. Some of the humor really landed and some of it went on for a bit too long for me. Full review

Down with the System (HM): Bury Your Gays by Chuck Tingle

• This is about a gay screenwriter who is pressured by executives to confirm that two of his characters are gay and then kill him. When things go wrong, he starts to be stalked by his own characters.
• Rep: Aro ace side character. I’ll give Tingle credit for trying (which is the only reason why this is so high up), in that he used this character to acknowledge the lack of a-spec representation present in media, even in media that often tries to acknowledge many other queer identities (although this book missed a lot of nuance around this point imo). That being said, she was basically an aro ace version of the gay best friend trope, especially since she felt pretty shallow as a character.
• Review: I had high hopes and it didn’t work out. The author’s love of horror came through well, but a lot of the themes around representation just started to fall apart when looked at critically, imo. Very long review/rant here.

Gods and Pantheons (HM): Pale Lights Volume 2: Good Treasons by ErraticErrata

• In this one, there's four protagonists who go to a deadly magic school to train them to be members of the Watch, and the second half of the book is them on assignment.
• Rep: Heteroromantic ace MC (1 out of 4 POVs). It came up a several different times, which was nice. I do think that Tristan, the ace character, is a bit clueless to sexual innuendos and stuff like that in a way that doesn't really make that much sense with his background though.
• Review: I enjoyed the beginning but this ended up dragging on for too long for me and I lost my patience. Some parts of the premise/some plot twists also broke my suspension of disbelief pretty badly. Full review

LGBTQIA protagonist (HM): Compound Fracture by Andrew Joseph White

• It's a book about an autistic trans teenage boy in rural West Virginia whose family has been targeted by the corrupt sheriff.
• Rep: Aro-spec MC. This is one of those books where the MC has a lot of identities, and the focus was more on them being trans, autistic, and disfigured. I did think that what aro rep was there was pretty well handled and it had a realistic depiction of someone learning about aromanticism.
• Review: This was lighter on speculative elements than I was used to, so not really right up my alley, but it wasn’t bad. Full review

Cozy SFF (HM): Non-Player Character by Veo Corva

• This is a cozy litRPG about an anxious and autistic person who slowly makes friends with a local table top role playing game group. They then learn that the game that they're playing was more real than they thought.
• Rep: Biromantic (possibly demiromantic?) ace MC, demisexual, aro ace side characters. Again, the MC being agender, anxious, and autistic are more of a focus in this book, but there is also some good discussion around asexuality.
• Review: This is one of my favorites of the year, cozy a-spec fantasy seems to work for me. Seeing Tar slowly become more comfortable around the rest of the crew and challenge themselves while also knowing when they need to take a break was pretty sweet. Full review

 

Stranger in a Strange Land (HM): Keeper of the Dawn by Dianna Gunn

• This is a novella about a girl who trained her whole life to be a warrior priestess but failed the test to become one.
• Rep: Homoromantic ace MC. It did come up a few times, mostly in the context of the MC getting into a relationship, but there wasn’t much discussion around the dynamics of an ace/allo relationship.
• Review: It wasn’t bad, but it was a bit rushed pacing wise and the final conflict could have been set up better. Full review

Elves/Dwarves: Awakenings by Claudie Arseneault

• It's about Horace, a nonbinary person who has struggled to find an apprenticeship that works for em, as e meets a mysterous elf and an inventor/merchant.
• Rep: Aro? ace MC. A-spec themes were less of a focus here than there are in some of Arseneault’s other works, but there’s even more focus on platonic themes, which was nice to see.
• Review: It was a fun cozy fantasy time, although it was very much the introduction for later books in the series.  Full review

Paladin (HM): Beyond the Paladin Door and Against the Broken Oath by Sam Saylett (Note: I’m used book 2 (Against the Broken Oath) for bingo, but I read both books so I’m reviewing them both here)

• Book one is a short novella about a woman who starts working for her estranged mom in a town where vampires, shapeshifters, and paladins congregate. Book 2 follows a paladin who has a secret about who he has sworn to protect and a secret about his past. 
• Rep: Aro? ace MC (of both books, both more clear in book 2), also a side character who used to think he was aro ace but now does not. There was a few times it came up, but it wasn’t super relevant. We’ll see if it comes up more in book 3.
• Book one was decent. It was a bit short and there was probably a few things in it that could have been fleshed out more, but it wasn't too bad. There were some flaws in book 1 that became much more obvious in book 2, but I was most bothered by Bird had several tropes in/related to his backstory that didn’t work for me. Full review.

Multi-POV (HM): No Gods, No Monsters by Cadwell Turnbull

• It's about the world realizing that werewolves and other monsters walk among them, while secret societies work in the background.
• Rep: Biromantic ace POV character. So I don’t remember this character’s asexuality being the major focus for him, but it did come up (this is yet another book where there’s a lot of identities getting explored, and several other ones are a bit more at the forefront).
• Review: This is a really interesting literary take on "people with magical powers are oppressed" and "hidden urban fantasy parts of the world is exposed" type of plot lines. I’m excited to continue on with this series at some point. Full review.

Bookclub (HM): The Sapling Cage by Margaret Killjoy

• This is a YA book about a trans girl who joins a coven of witches.
• Rep: Demi or greysexual MC, aro ace side character. Once again, the focus was more on the trans rep for the MC. I feel like the ace side character could have been handled a bit better (IDK why the MC thought he was being flirty if she knew he was ace and uninterested in sexual/romantic relationships).
• Review: I thought it was pretty solid. It was doing some interesting things (like including anarchist themes), but not totally breaking new ground yet. I'm interested in seeing where it will go in the future. Full review

Recycle a Bingo Square (of course replaced with Ace / Aro Spec Fic from 2020 (HM)): Small Gods of Calamity by Sam Kyung Yoo

• This is a short novella about a spirit detective trying to hunt a spirit eating worm spirit and dealing with his traumatic past in an urban fantasy version of Seoul.
• Rep: Biromantic ace mc. It was established explicitly early on in the book but never came up again. I’m hoping that it might be explored more in a sequel if one comes out?
• Review: I had a lot of fun with this. It was also cool to see an urban fantasy book with a different sort of setting than we normally get. Full review

Parent protagonist (HM): In-Between by MJ James

• This book is about an autistic woman who learns that her son is half-elven and in line for the elvish throne. His biological father is an evil tyrant and they go on the run.
• Rep: Aro ace MC This is another example where the MC is a survivor of sexual violence, and I wish the intersection between that and her being asexual was explored a bit better. 
• Review: It had an interesting depiction of autism (especially in a mother character), but the ending felt rushed. Full review

Generic title (HM): Two Dark Moons by Avi Silver

• It's about a girl who falls off the mountain her community lives on and makes friends with a community of dangerous giant lizards who live below.
• Rep: Aro-spec MC It wasn’t as clear as I would have hoped, but I could kind of see it.
• Review: This was a coming of age story with cool world building and an MC with a strong personality. Full review

Pirates: The Faceless Old Woman Who Secretly Lives in Your Home by Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor

• This is a story about the faceless old woman who secretly lives in your home tormenting/helping a guy and telling the story of her life of crime before she became the faceless old woman.
• Rep: Aro ace side character. So this was a character who didn’t want to get married or be in a relationship (which caused conflict with his family), but did use his charm and good looks in order to con people. Considering that a lot of allos fear a-spec people leading them on, I wish this was better explored.
• Review: This didn’t really work for me. The MC has to go through several really drastic personality shifts and I don’t really see how all of those connect. Full review

Last in a series: The World We Make by N.K. Jemisin

• The avatars of New York City continue to face off against the Woman in White. (This is book 2 in a series)
• Rep: Aro? ace POV character. She’s the stereotypical STEM nerd married to the job a-spec character, but at least she’s South Asian so we get a little POC rep. I thought marriage fraud might come up since she’s an immigrant trying to marriage for tax benefits green card purposes, but I don’t think Jemisin realizes that this can be an issue?
• Review: Not my favorite, to say the least. This was originally meant to be a trilogy so the ending felt really rushed. Some of the themes around cities also didn’t really work for me. Long rant review here.

Hidden Gem (HM): The Wrack by John Bierce:

• This is a book that covers a fantasy world's response to a plague called the Wrack.
• Rep: Ace POV character. An even more stereotypical married to the job STEM nerd a-spec character.
• Review: There was some cool world building ideas, but for a book with this many POVs, I thought the characterization could be a bit better/more nuanced. Some of the themes around pandemics really landed though. Storygraph review here

Indie Published (HM): Different Worlds by Lyssa Chiavari

• This follows Henry and Tamara, two teenagers living on Mars, after their friend Isaak goes missing, as they try to figure out how this disappearance is linked to the shady governmental organization running Mars.
• Rep: Aro ace side character. I remember no specific details about the rep, unfortunately, and I didn’t take good notes about this one. It was there though, and not a huge focus.
• Review: It wasn’t bad, but it was too romance focused for me. Full review

Author of Color (HM): This World is Not Yours by Kemi Ashing-Giwa

• This is a novella about two women in a not super healthy relationship on a sci fi planet where there's a mysterious substance that can destroy life called the Gray.
• Rep: Aro ace side character. This felt like an even stronger example of the a-spec best friend trope: having an a-spec character play the role of a supportive friend to queer people in a relationship, where they're not threatening and have minimal needs of their own because they're a-spec.
• Review: This was not my favorite. There was a lot of relationship drama, and also a lot of the plot developments broke my suspension of disbelief. Full review

Epistolary (HM): Letters To Half Moon Street by Sarah Wallace

• This is a cozy epistolary queernorm Regency m/m romance in which an introvert moves to London and is metaphorically adopted by a local rich extrovert.
• Rep: Demisexual MC. Honestly, I’m being a bit generous calling this rep; it’s not very clear.
• Review: I’m not the target demographic for this one, but if the summary sounds good to you, I think you’ll probably have a decent time at least. Full review

Biopunk: Chill by Elizabeth Bear

• Perceval's family, friends, and allies travel across the giant, damaged starship to find a traitor. (This is book 2 in the Jacob's Ladder trilogy).
• Rep: Homoromantic ace MC, ace side character? I’m also being pretty generous calling this rep, but it was more clearly established in book 1, so I’ll cut myself some slack. 
• Review: a lot of the characters didn’t feel very distinctive, but the world building was cool. Full review here