I created this list by asking aromantic readers, reviewers, and authors about their favorite science fiction and fantasy books with aromantic protagonists. While the idea of “good representation” varies from individual to individual, all of these are books with aromantic representation recommended by those within the aromantic community.
If you are an aromantic reader who wants to add a book to this list, you can email me at queersffbooks@theillustratedpage.net. Please note that I want to keep this list small so I am unlikely to add many more books to it. You are also welcome to comment below with your own recommendations.
Baker Thief by Claudie Arseneault
A warm-hearted story filled with queerness and community, Baker Thief is a fantasy novel that brings the classic enemies-to-lovers trope to a queerplatonic relationship between a magical, aromantic genderfluid vigilante and the demisexual detective on the case. Baker Thief is the best depiction of a queerplatonic relationship I have ever encountered, and I loved watching the two leads negotiate their newly-founded partnership.
— Recommended by Sarah Waites, grey-aro admin of the Queer SFF Book Database
Werecockroach by Polenth Blake
Filled with dry humour and unexpected twists, Werecockroach is an innovative novella which skillfully explores forging new friendships, neurodivergence, poverty, and communication (among many other themes) on a backdrop of alien invasion and literal werecockroaches as three flatmates try to escape the city. This story is heartwarming and fun in all the right ways, and despite its limited cast it showcases two aromantic and asexual characters with different experiences and relationship to these labels.
— Recommended by Claudie Arseneault, an asexual and aromantic-spectrum writer
Come Drink with Me by Michelle Kan
Sweet and elegant and lovely, and the perfect length for what it is. I loved the language and imagery, how the classical Chinese opera setting made it feel both grounded and ethereal at the same time, and the way these characters’ loves – for their crafts, for their home, for each other above all – were so strong and so important to them (while also being gently but insistently aromantic, which I appreciate, a lot). It has the staying power of the best kind of fairy tale.
— Recommended by @venatrixlunaris, an aroace reader
Archivist Wasp by Nicole Kornher-Stace
Archivist Wasp is a story that blends post-apocalyptic fiction with fantasy, science fiction and ghost stories to tell a tale of discovering both your own strength and the strength of community. With two prickly leads, it may sound like it threatens to fall into tropes about aromanticism, but it’s a tale about finding community and friendship in which the main characters are valued for who they are. It’s one of the most unapologetically aromantic books I’ve ever read even compared to books with more explicit representation.
— Recommended by Lynn, aro and ace spec author of science fiction and fantasy
Not Your Backup by C.B. Lee
C.B. Lee’s charming Sidekick Squad series consistently provides excellent queer representation, and the third book, Not Your Backup, follows Emma as she organizes a resistance to the corrupt League of Heroes and questions where she is on the aromantic and asexual spectrums. Her process of discovering her own identity and the labels that might best fit her felt true to life, and I love Not Your Backup for it.
— Recommended by Sarah Waites, grey-aro admin of the Queer SFF Book Database
The Ice Princess’s Fair Illusion by Lynn O’Connacht
Poignant and full of nuance, The Ice Princess’s Fair Illusion turns a familiar fairytale on its head to provide aromantic and asexual characters a happily ever after of their own. This novel in verse retells King Thrushbeard through the lens of two a-spec royals recounting the story of how they met and how they came to be partners. O’Connacht weaves a narrative tapestry with humor and honesty, taking readers on a magical journey full of heart and placing queer platonic love at the center.
— Recommended by Rosiee Thor, author of Tarnished Are The Stars
Two Dark Moons by Avi Silver
Two Dark Moons is a deeply immersive YA fantasy novel in which lush and original worldbuilding meet amazing characters. Its three key words—queerness, astrology, and lizards—don’t do justice to the deftness with which it touches upon self-determination and community, nor to the care and complexity with which it treats relationships of all sorts and gives breathing space for the hard-to-define lines between queerplatonic and romantic relationships for some aromantic people.
— Recommended by Claudie Arseneault, an asexual and aromantic-spectrum writer
Tarnished Are the Stars by Rosie Thor
The characters are realistic and relatable, the story is compelling, and the friendship between the main characters is a joy to read. It realistically portrayed the struggle of queer identity and the relief of finally understanding!
— Recommended by Jay A. Rama, demiromantic writer of epic science fiction and fantasy
The King’s Peace by Jo Walton
Jo Walton’s Tir Tanagiri books (specifically the first two that make up the duology about Sulien ap Gwien) can be described as “What if Arthuriana but Lancelot is an aroace woman and we set it in a low fantasy secondary world where queer relationships are perfectly fine?” It’s military and political fantasy at its finest with some of the best world-building I’ve had the pleasure to read. Sulien herself is a fantastic main character, brave, loyal and inspiring.
— Recommended by Lynn, aro and ace spec author of science fiction and fantasy