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aroaessidhe · 1 year

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Aromantic Adult Books - High Fantasy (mostly)

ARO WEEK 2023

KAIKEYI / historical fantasy/retelling / aroace MC

MOONSHINE / 1920s-ish fantasy / major side character who has some POV is aro bi

THE LANGUAGE OF ROSES / fantasy novella / aro MC

AN ACCIDENT OF STARS / upper YA/adult portal fantasy / secondary MC is a polyam married aro woman

A DAY OF FALLEN NIGHT / high fantasy / apparently one of the MCs is aroace, haven’t read it yet!

CITY OF STRIFE/ISANDOR SERIES / high fantasy / last cast includes multiple aroaces, demiros & greyros

THE WOLF AMONG THE WILD HUNT / fantasy novella / centres a QPR between and aroace & enby

THE ORACLE STONE / NA high fantasy / one of the three MCs is aro pan

THE BRUISING OF QILWA / fantasy novella / MC is aroace

*as a note, some of these only briefly explore aromanticism, and/or explore the ace part of the aroace character more. If you want more details on how much things are explored, see my database!

#aromantic #aromantic books #aroweek2023 #arospec awareness week #aro books #KAIKEYI #THE LANGUAGE OF ROSES #A DAY OF FALLEN NIGHT #CITY OF STRIFE #ISANDOR #THE BRUISING OF QILWA #asaw #aro week #aroweek #aro week 2023 #ok after i made this post i saw the author of the oracle stone call it upper-YA......sure i guess #i mean a lot of this is on that crossover level

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readaspecbooks · 3 months

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Take the A!

A Monthly Book Club for Reading Aspec Books

The monthly aspec book club is here! Whether you're ace-spec, aro-spec, a combination, or neither, join us in reading a variety of reads featuring a-spec main characters across genres. With no set meeting dates and discussions segmented by chapter spans, you can read and discuss these stories at your own pace. Our selection process also seeks to ensure that each member gets to provide direct input when deciding each month's reads.

More information below the cut; Discord invite in the reblogs.

Signal boosts allowed and appreciated! :)

Our Mission Statement

Take the A is a book club focused on reading fiction books across genres with characters on the ace/aro-spectrum to help readers discover the wide variety of stories that feature these often overlooked identities. You do not have to be aspec to join, simply excited to read and discover new stories.

How It Works

Each month's read will be selected by a process consisting of a nomination and a voting round. Members have three opportunities to contribute to the selection process: (1) by nominating a book, (2) by reacting to nominations, and (3) by voting on finalists. Books can consist of novels, novellas, graphic novels, and webcomics; nonfiction reads, anthologies, and collections will not be considered at this time. When the month begins, channels will be opened segmenting the books into their parts, usually defaulting to three sets of chapters. Throughout the month, readers can participate in commentary and suggestions within these channels as they progress through the read at their own pace. Channels for previous reads will remain open for a three-month* period after the month finishes, allowing readers to go back if they missed it or continue discussion if they desire. *Subject to change depending on activity levels, community wants and needs, etc.

Kicking off February

In order to start slow for February (and to prevent people from having to scramble to find a book last minute), there will be no nominations or overarching read for the month. Instead, five free read aro short stories from across the internet will be voted on by users, ending February 4 at 8 PM ET. The first Nomination phase will begin for March in mid-February.

The link to the Discord and initial taglist is in the notes. Feel free to follow this account for group updates and book recs! Ask box is open for questions.

#booklr #lgbtq books #asexual #aromantic #bookblr #book club #books #aspec #aspec books #ace books #aro books #asexual books #aromantic books

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betterbooksandthings · 7 months

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"The best asexual and aromantic fantasy books are packed full of magic, monsters, and mayhem. In a genre where we can imagine anything from unicorns to unique political systems to new approaches to gender and sexuality, these books take on the assignment and expand further than we thought possible."

#10 OF THE BEST ASEXUAL AND AROMANTIC FANTASY BOOKS #ace books #aro books #CHOSEN. AGAIN. BY J. EMERY #THE CIRCUS INFINITE BY KHAN WONG #TELL ME HOW IT ENDS BY QUINTON LI #SOCIALLY ORCWARD BY LISA HENRY AND SARAH HONEY #THE BRUISING OF QILWA BY NASEEM JAMNIA #IN THE LIVES OF PUPPETS BY TJ KLUNE #CITY OF STRIFE BY CLAUDIE ARSENEAULT #HUMAN ENOUGH BY E.S. YU #EVERY HEART A DOORWAY BY SEANAN MCGUIRE #BISCLAVRET BY K.L. NOONE

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aro-who-reads · 2 months

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Anthologies including aro stories

(that I have read recently)

I know most people probably aren't going to read an anthology because it has one aro story in it (well, I would. And have done so!) But here's a little list in case any of these interest anyone generally, or people have access to them and would like to check out the aro stories.

1. Everything Under the Moon (Ed. Michael Earp). Aro story is Seeing Colour by Jes Layton.

I've already talked about this one, I think it's my favourite on the list (the story itself and the anthology as a whole). The anthology is full of queer fairytale retellings, and Seeing Colour is about a young aro person getting to know an older single person.

2. An Unexpected Party (Ed. Seth Malacari). Aro story is The Graveyard Shift by Jes Layton.

I also enjoyed this one, it's an Australian queer YA spec fic anthology with a deliberate focus on less common queer rep (lots of trans, nonbinary rep) and emerging writers. Being aro isn't really a focus of the story but it does use the phrase "alloromantic bullshit". There was another story with an ace character who might have been meant to be aro as well?

3. This is Our Rainbow (Ed. Katherine Locke and Nicole Melleby). Aro story is Girl's Best Friend by Lisa Jenn Bigelow.

A queer middle grade anthology. While not explicitly an aroace story, it does explicitly talk about having a squish on someone, who the MC attempts to befriend by turning into a dog. (I also believe the author is aroace?)

4. Out There: Into the Queer New Yonder (Ed. Saundra Mitchell). Aro story is The Undeniable Price of Everything by Z Brewer.

YA queer futuristic anthology. Unfortunately I found the aro story in this one of the weaker stories in the anthology, as it was a bit confusing. I also just didn't like the anthology as much as a whole either, but that might just be because it was more romance focused and I wasn't as interested.

#aro #aromantic #aro books #It's still sort of aro week right...#I'm partway through a couple of actual novels I thought I might write about but I got distracted reading other stuff #Tbh I found all three of the all out/out now/put there anthologies disappointing #Especially in regard to representing a broad range of queer identities

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mossy-aro · 1 year

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Ace/aro books coming out this year that I’m looking forward to!

Is Love the Answer by Uta Isaki - stand-alone manga about a college girl who discovers she is aroace. The same mangaka also did ‘Mine-kun is Asexual’ a couple of years ago which I liked, though it was much shorter, so I’m happy to see a full length release from them. This came out just last week, so I’m super excited to read it when it gets here!

I want to be a wall (Vol.2) by Honami Shirono - manga series - releasing 17th Jan. I already posted about how much I enjoyed Vol 1 of this series, but for recap it’s about an aroace woman and her lavender marriage to a gay man who is unrequitedly in love with his best friend. I’m really excited to see how their non-conventional relationship plays out :) it’s very slice of life and cozy!

I am Ace by Cody Daigle-Orians aka Ace Dad Advice - releasing 21 Feb 2023. I’m glad to see a book about a sexuality actually written for an ace audience, because I feel like a lot of aspec books/articles are aimed at raising awareness with allos. I’m excited to see how this one goes!

Sounds Fake But Okay: An Asexual and Aromantic Perspective on Love, Relationships, Sex, and Pretty Much Anything Else - by Kayla Kaszyca and Sarah Costello - releasing 21 Feb 2023. I’ve listened to their podcast a bit over the years and I’m curious to see what they come up with in this book!

If you want to see a fuller list of all the ace and aro books coming out this year, check out this list HERE!

#aro #aromantic #aroace #asexual #ace #aspec #ace books #aro books #aspec books #aspec recs #personal #I want to be a wall #uta isaki #is love the answer #I’d def recommend checking out the list - it has a lot more on there if y’all r interested #including a lot of fiction books!

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aro-sora · 8 months

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Aro Writing Collection

Happy Aromantic Spectrum Visibility Day, I wanted to share some resources to find aromantic books/poetry/writing of any kind

A Carnival of Aros

Aro Worlds fiction

AZE Journal

The Aro Zine

Arospec Poetry Network (and their zine collection)

Aro & Ace books database

Queer Books database

Queer Fiction Book database

Aromantic stories recommended by Claudie Arseneault

AUREA's resources page

Aromantic books and no romance books on @aroaessidhe

Aromantic books on @aro-who-reads

Aro friendly media, Aggressively Arospectacular, and Aggressively Arospec Week on @aggressivelyarospec

@arospecfanworksweek for aro fanworks

Also I'm adding Commons Bonds as a book rec. It's a spec fic anthology of aromantic/platonic-focused works (you can find it in the aro books lists/databases linked above too)

If anyone has other things to add let me know!

(and thanks to @haveievermentioned for some of the recs)

#aro #aromantic #arospec #actually aromantic #aro writing #aro books #resource #aromantic spectrum #aromantic spectrum visibility day #to read

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demisexual-kingdom · 6 months

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Any good book recommendations that explicitly include masculine demisexual or ace characters? Let me know if that's too specific. The only one I've read is loveless

I've recently read the being ace antology, which was very good and had some diverse ace rep. As for other books i'm not really up to date

This recent rec post on tumblr looks promising

This one looks interesting as well

And there's the goodreads page for being ace, careful for TW for aphobia, violence, death, loss and discussion of societal pressures towards sex or romance. In particular one story “Nylon bed socks” deals with eating disorders, mental health institutions, familial rejection and neglect and suicidal tendencies (it also features a plural main character)

Hope you find anything you like!

-Mod Ruadhan

#ask #answer #answered #anon #ace books #aro books #book recs

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battyaboutbooksreviews · 2 months

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Books for Aromantic Spectrum Awareness Week

🦇 It's Aromantic Spectrum Awareness Week (February 18th-24th)! In an effort to #ReadQueerAllYear, here are a few books featuring aromantic characters you can add to your TBR!

💚 Little Thieves by Margaret Owen 🤍 The Bone Season - Samanta Shannon 🤍 Hullmetal Girls - Emily Skrutskie 🖤 Tarnished Are the Stars - Rosiee Thor 💚 Kaikeyi - Vaishnavi Patel 🤍 The Reckless Kind - Carly Heath 🤍 First Test - Tamora Pierce 🖤 No More Heroes - Loren Rhoads 💚 This Golden Flame - Emily Victoria 🤍 Baker Thief - Claudie Arseneault 🤍 Immoral Code - Lillian Clark 🖤 Loveless - Alice Oseman 💚 The Last 8 - Laura Pohl 🤍 The Midnight Bargain - C.L. Polk 🤍 The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy - Mackenzi Lee 🖤 Common Bonds - Claudie Arseneault, C.T. Callahan, B.R. Sanders, and RoAnna Sylver 💚 The Black Veins - Ashia Monet 🤍 Liar’s Guide to the Night Sky by Brianna Shrum 🤍 The Crow Rider - Kalyn Josephson 🖤 Summer Bird Blue - Akemi Dawn Bowman 💚 Hazel's Theory of Evolution - Lisa Jenn Bigelow 🤍 Summer of Salt - Katrina Leno 🤍 The Poppy War - R.F. Kuang 🖤 Not Even Bones - Rebecca Schaeffer 💚 Elatsoe - Darcie Little Badger 🤍 Rick - Alex Gino 🤍 Switchback by Danika Stone 🖤 Sal & Gabi Fix the Universe - Carlos Alberto Hernandez 💚 Gender Queer - Maia Kobabe 🤍 Their Troublesome Crush - Xan West 🤍 Every Bird a Prince - Jenn Reese 🖤 The Butterfly Assassin - Finn Longman 💚 Red Skies Falling - Alex London 🤍 When Villains Rise - Rebecca Schaeffer 🤍 The Bruising of Qilwa - Naseem Jamnia 🖤 Funeral Girl - Emma K. Ohland 💚 The Kindred - Alechia Dow 🤍 The Summer of Bitter and Sweet - Jen Ferguson 🤍 Dear Wendy - Ann Zhao 🖤 Tell Me How It Ends by Quinton Li 💚 This Dark Descent - Kalyn Josephson 🤍 Awakenings by Claudie Arseneault 🤍 Compound Fracture by Andrew Joseph White 🖤 Other People’s Butterflies by Cora Ruskin

Per @aroaessidhe: Little Thieves, The Kindred, The Summer of Bitter and Sweet, Gender Queer, (and I think The Bone Season?) have ace or demisexual MCs, not aromantic. also, a lot of the rest are side characters, not main characters.

Thank you, genuinely, so much, for this correction. I'm very sorry for the mistake. I create these guides between work assignments (I work from home, around the clock, trying to make ends meet in this mess of an economy) and didn't do my due diligence in double-checking every book. I think this started as an aro/ace list I was compiling and I tried to separate it into two guides. I apologize for the discrepancy vehemently and will strive to do better in the future. Thank you for catching my error.

#books #aromantic books #aro books #aromantic #queer romance #queer books #queer community #queer #queer fiction #booklr #book blog #book list #books to read #book reader #book reading #queer book recs #book recs #batty about books #battyaboutbooks

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kyanitedragon · 2 years

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Friendly reminder that there's a Koisenu Futari book for sale! It's only written in japanese, but I would consider buying it anyway to support the series if you can! Especially since the series isn't watchable through any official release for those outside of Japan!

If you can read japanese, or are simply curious, the book has been said to be written from both Sakuko and Takahashi's point of view!

I'm buying it myself, to support the series, to have an actual japanese aro-ace book and not just english books, and also to have a nice cover picture of Sakuko, Takahashi, and cabbages!

[ID: The cover image, digital art of Takahashi Satoru on the left and Kodama Sakuko on the right. They are both looking forward with neutral expressions, and their hands are holding a cabbage together. The background is yellow and in japanese it reads "Koisenu Futari" written by Erika Yoshida, who is the script writer for the series. End ID]

Links to buy:

[Amazon Japan] [CD Japan]

[Obligatory How To (unofficially) Watch Koisenu Futari in English!]

#make sure to check shipping btw! it can get really expensive sometimes!#koisenu futari #こいせぬふたり #恋せぬふたり #aromantic #asexual #aroace #aromantic asexual #two people who can't fall in love #a couple without falling in love #kodama sakuko #takahashi satoru #aro books #ace books

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arashisenshi · 1 year

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The Stones Stay Silent launches on April 14th!

Here is the official blurb:

When a deadly plague sweeps the land, the priests of the Parents accuse those deemed to have incurred the gods' wrath. Leiander, unmarried and with interests unbecoming to the woman people consider him to be, flees for his life. With the Night Demon Kevv'ach by his side and his deepest wish undiminished, he journeys to the Great Lith, said to still channel the magic of the Parents. He will beseech the gods to remake his body in the image of the Father, so the world sees him as his true self: Leiander.

And here’s what you can expect:

- A character-driven medieval-ish fantasy story; - Transgender aroace main character seeking to live his life and maybe bake; - Cinnamon roll Night Demon bestie with partial amnesia (and a sweet tooth); - Steadfast friends turned found family (and occasionally, a pair of mules); - Absent gods who left behind mysterious blue monoliths; - Strict gender roles dictating what jobs people have, what colors they wear, and what tattoos they get + a couple of fanatics hell-bent on enforcing said rules; - Extensive travel through a plague ravaged realm; - A conspicuous lack of magic; or swords; or sorcery; or monsters; - Even more giant statues; - A bunch of recipes to try for yourself, from Romanian, Austrian and... whatever cuisine baked goat cheese in walnut crust comes from; - Named chapters! Pronunciation guide! Maps for each part! Extensive content warnings! Handy reference chart for timekeeping! Cameo appearance by my cat! - Eventually, I promise, a happy end.

You can already preorder the ebook on Amazon and have it synch to your device on Friday, when the paperback will also be available there. If you’d rather support your local indie bookshop, go for it! You can ask them to order a book for you once published, by providing them the following details:

Title: The Stones Stay Silent Author: Danny Ride ISBN: 9783982494906

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If it’s not up your alley, you don’t want or can’t afford to buy the book, you can still support - it would mean so much!

- share this post - let your friends know - ask your local library to order the book for you! (you and anyone else can read it for free then!) - suggest it as reading for book clubs - add the book to your list on goodreads - mark it as to read on the story graph - upvote it on reedsy discovery - there is a detailed review there from an independent reviewer, and you can also read the first chapter for free!

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images: 1) promo material of the book featuring the book cover 2) moodboard of the seven parts and the epilogue 3) promo material showing a sample of the book interior

#The Stones Stay Silent #Danny Ride #lgbt fantasy #lgbtq fantasy #lgbtq representation #trans books #ace book #aro books #aroace books #aroace mc #trans mc

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sugarycandle · 3 months

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aro week 2024 reading challenge (with recommendations!)

i decided to only read books with arospec character during aro week, so i created a little challenge for it on storygraph! come join if you'd like <3

some recommendations (books that i have already read) under the cut! (this is by no means exhaustive, and there are a lot of books with characters that are both aro and ace bc i tend to read a lot of those. would love to hear your recommendations bc i do want to diversify what i read as well!)

main characters:

the priory of the orange tree & a day of fallen night (samantha shannon) - LOVE these books so much. both have a main pov character that is aroace. not explicitly labeled in the story bc it's fantasy but especially in adofn, it's really clear

vespertine (margaret rogerson) - ya, aroace mc, not explicitly stated on page but it's obvious imho

loveless (alice oseman) - is anybody surprised

tarnished are the stars (rosiee thor - all books have arospec characters) - ya, aroace MC, not one of my favorites but the rep is nice

common bonds - a short story collection with arospec characters everywhere (my favorites were "discography" & "a full deck")

the thread that binds (cedar mccloud) - this just the definition of cozy fantasy for me. multiple arospec characters (sorry i don't remember the actual identities and can't find info), qpr, found family, and so much more (there's also a prequel out now but i haven't read that one yet)

werecockroach (blake polenth) - idk what to say about this, cockroaches kidnap everyone except the mc and friends, aroace + agender mc

hazel's theory of evolution (lisa jenn bigelow) - middle grade, aroace mc but it's not the focus, really heartwarming "wish i had this when i was a kid" vibes

two dark moons & three seeking stars (avi silver) - ya, i LOVE these books, aroallo mc & found family but with lizards

baker thief (claudie arseneault - all books have arospec characters) - aroallo genderfluid mc, wasn't a big fan of the story but i really liked the characters

by your side (margherita scialla) - a queerplatonic short story, i'm not the biggest fan of short stories but it's about two people deciding to be in a qpr

convenience store woman (sayaka murata) - i'm not really sure if the mc is supposed to be aroace but that's how i read it. it's supposed to be funny but i thought it was depressing as fuck lol

elatsoe (darcie little badger) - ya, aroace native mc (it only explicitly says she's ace tho), this one was a lot of fun, it's basically a murder mystery in a really interesting world

goddess of the hunt (eileen shelby) - poetry collection about aroace artemis (we stan)

side and background characters:

summer of salt (katrina leno) - ya, very minor aroace character

sorcery of thorns & the mysteries of thorn manor (margaret rogerson) - ya, minor aro (aroace?) character (i have a special weakness for margaret rogerson bc i was at her book signing and told her i appreciated her writing aro/ace characters, and she wrote "aro/ace pride" in with my dedication lol)

aces wild (amanda dewitt) - ya, aroace sc, i LOVE him you don't understand. this is about a group of ace teens but gabe is my favorite, i would die for him. also i need amanda dewitt to write a million other books about these characters

hell followed with us (andrew joseph white) - ya, very minor aro character but this book is BRILLIANT, everybody should read it (after reading the trigger warnings)

wren martin ruins it all (amanda dewitt) - ya, mc is ace so that's the focus, but there's a side character who doesn't use labels and isn't interested in dating at all

a grim and sunken vow (ashley shutterworth) - ya, this is the third book in the series, demiromantic sc, absolutely loved his storyline (he appears in the first books as well but i hated him lmao)

and books i haven't read yet but am hoping to read during aro week (i'm therefore not 100% sure this information is correct):

city of strife (claudie arseneualt) - is supposed to have multiple arospec characters

every bird a prince (jenn reese) - middle grade, aroace mc

archivist wasp (nicole kornher-stace) - aroace mc, no romance

the black veins (ashia monet) - apparently no love interests!!! sounds like a dream

fallen thorns (harvey oliver baxter) - aroace mc

let me know if you have any recommendations! <3

#aromantic #aromantic spectrum #aromantic representation #aromantic books #aro books #aro week #aro week 2024 #sorry for spamming wanted to add the recommendation in the main post not a reblog

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aroaessidhe · 1 year

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Aromantic YA contemporary books!

ARO WEEK 2023

OTHER PEOPLE’S BUTTERFLIES / aroace MC discovering her identity

IF IT MAKES YOU HAPPY / MC has an aroace qpr/best friend, and is also starting a new (romantic) relationship

TAKE ME TO YOUR NERDY LEADER / aroallo girl moves to a new town and makes friends and a friends w benefits

LOVELESS / aroace MC discovering her identity

THE RHYTHM OF MY SOUL / two aroace partners at an intense dance company

IMMORAL CODE / high school heist, one of the 5 MCs is aroace

IT SOUNDS LIKE THIS / high school marching band, grey-aroace major side character (/potential future love interest)

SUMMER BIRD BLUE / questioning aroace MC

*as a note, some of these only briefly explore aromanticism, and/or explore the ace part of the aroace character more. If you want more details on how much things are explored, see my database!

#aromantic #aromantic books #aroweek2023 #arospec awareness week #aro books #OTHER PEOPLE’S BUTTERFLIES #IF IT MAKES YOU HAPPY #TAKE ME TO YOUR NERDY LEADER #LOVELESS #THE RHYTHM OF MY SOUL #IMMORAL CODE #IT SOUNDS LIKE THIS #SUMMER BIRD BLUE #asaw #aro week #aroweek #aro week 2023

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readaspecbooks · 3 months

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February Reads: Aro Short Stories

Kicking off the group and celebrating Aromantic Spectrum Awareness Week this February, we'll be reading four free, online short stories with aro-spec main characters!

These stories are:

“And If The Body Were Not The Soul,” by A. C. Wise

“How My Best Friend Rania Crashed A Party And Saved The World,” by Ada Hoffmann

“How to Become A Robot in 12 Easy Steps,” by A. Merc Rustad

“Nkásht íí,” by Darcie Little Badger

There is a chat open for each story, plus a complete list of the stories voted on available on our Discord server. We'll also be doing the first round of official nominations for March's read within the next few days, so join now!

Discord link is in the reblogs and this account's pinned post. You don't have to be aspec to join, just excited to read and discover new stories.

#aspec reads #aro reads #aro books #aro short stories #asaw 2024 #aromantic #arospec #take the a feb24

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disasterdemi · 3 months

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Do you know of any books / other media w allosexual demiromantic characters that dont end up in qprs or stated to be nonsexual romance, and don't emphasize friendships? (bc Im very repulsed by those things - I do understand its very unlikely to find media with no friendship - something i struggle w a lot as a plato repulsed aplatonic)

Ugh I've been trying to think of / find answers for this and frustratingly I've come up short!! The only allosexual demiromantic rep I can think of is Fire Becomes Her but that is very much about friendship & QPRs so I wouldn't recommend it in this case.

Going to throw this out to my followers and the aro crowd, hopefully they'll know of some more options??

Maybe @aro-who-reads might have something too that I missed?

#aro #aromantic #demiromantic #alloaro #aplatonic #aplspec #arospec #aroallo #aro rep #demiromantic rep #demiromantic characters #alloaro characters #aro books #aro media #ask #entropy-sea-system

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aro-who-reads · 6 months

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Found another "aromantic" mention in a book out in the wild, in Australian queer fairytale retelling anthology 'Everything Under the Moon'.

According to the forward, one of the stories is about an aromantic character!

#aro books #Obviously it's only one short story in a whole collection. But aromantic inclusion in queer anthologies is often missing

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gwen-tolios · 2 months

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Ace Bookclub Recap - Fire Becomes Her

I love to share ace book recs (it's part of why I run an ace bookclub) and this month we read Fire Becomes Her by Rosiee Thor. Book has been added to my Ace Rep Database.

Summary: With only a drop of flare, one can light the night sky with fireworks or burn a building to the ground -- and seventeen-year-old Ingrid Ellis wants her fair share. Ingrid doesn't have a family fortune, but at least she has a plan: Rise to the top on the arm of Linden Holt, heir to a hefty political legacy and the largest fortune of flare in all of Candesce. Her only obstacle is Linden's father who refuses to acknowledge her. When Senator Holt announces his run for president, Ingrid strikes a deal to spy on the senator’s opposition in exchange for his approval and the status she so desperately craves. But the longer Ingrid wears two masks, the more she questions where her true allegiances lie.

Spoilers below!

My bookclub really liked this book. There's a delightful cathartic element to the end we all got behind, and I believe this is the first book we've read that ends with a QPR.

There's a range of aspec characters, which always makes a book better, and we had a bit of conversation about Ingrid. What labels, exactly, define her? We had a bit of back and forth (my bet is birogreyromantic at least) but we all agreed she was some flavor of aspec. We also agreed, you know what, it's okay that we don't know. Ingrid's arch through the book really is discovering who she is and what she wants, and this felt like such a real, messy way of figuring out your ace identity: while in the midst of a relationship. (I myself have used my relationships as touchstones to figure my aceness out)

There's some beautiful conversations in here about trying to explain love outside of a romantic capacity and about how you shouldn't mold yourself to the expectations of others. I wish the world-building had been a little more thought out (flare is a source of power like electricity, treated like currency, is a consumable form of magic used for pleasure and policing, and also serves as how one votes even though it's a limited resource mined from the ground, which was a bit much), but for this book taking place on the campaign trail with some rebel action, it's the characters that you're here for.

#book rec #ace books #aro books #queer books #ace book club #lgbt books #fire becomes her

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