Dexter meets Victoria Schwab in this dark and compelling fantasy about a girl who is determined to take down the black market once and for all in the conclusion to the trilogy that started with the critically acclaimed Not Even Bones.
Nita finally has Fabricio, the boy who betrayed her to the black market, within her grasp. But when proof that Kovit’s a zannie—a monster who eats pain in order to survive—is leaked to the world, Nita must reevalute her plans.
With enemies closing in on all sides, the only way out is for Nita and Kovit to take on the most dangerous man in the world: Fabricio’s father. He protects the secrets of the monsters who run the black market. Stealing those secrets could be the one thing that stands between Nita and Kovit and certain death in the thrilling conclusion to the trilogy that began with the critically acclaimed Not Even Bones.
Representation Includes
- Latina asexual and aromantic main character (Nita)
- Thai asexual and aromantic main character (Kovit)
Content Warnings
graphic violence, emotional abusive parent, torture and mutilation, gore, kidnapping, dissection, murder, cannibalism, druggingReviews
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Common Bonds is an anthology of speculative short stories and poetry featuring aromantic characters. At the heart of this collection are the bonds that impact our lives from beginning to end: platonic relationships. Within this anthology, a cursed seamstress finds comfort in the presence of a witch, teams of demon hunters work with their rival to save one of their own, a peculiar scholar gets attached to those he was meant to study, and queerplatonic shopkeepers guide their pupil as they explore their relationship needs and desires. Through nineteen stories and poems, Common Bonds explores the ways platonic relationships enrich our lives.
Representation Includes
- Aromantic protagonists of various identities
Content Warnings
Content warnings for each story listed in the front of the book. Additionally, “Draconmōt Council of Human Study Report compiled by Usander Greystart” replicates some anti-Native American stereotypes; “Fishing Over the Bones of the Dragon” has discussions of dubiously-consensual sexual coercion or rape.Reviews
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- Edited by Claudie Arseneault, RoAnna Sylver, C. T. Callahan, and B. R. Sanders
- Featured Authors
- Published 2021 by The Kraken Collective
- Paperback ISBN-13: 9781775312970
After seven years working as partners, Kai and Ilsa are the best professional finders in the business. There’s nothing they can’t track down, no matter how unfamiliar the star system or hazardous the path. When a new client insists on accompanying the search for his daughter, Ilsa and Kai reluctantly agree. How can they refuse when Eleazar Dantes is desperate enough to pay double their usual fee?
But a high-stakes investigation is no time for distractions. Even more troublesome, when Kai realizes his true feelings for Ilsa, his timing couldn’t be worse. Never mind that she doesn’t seem to reciprocate: heartbreak is the least of their problems as the trail they’re following grows dangerous.
With every step forward, Kai and Ilsa are more certain they won’t find Eleazar’s missing daughter alive.
Representation Includes
- Aromantic asexual woman protagonist
Content Warnings
Non-consensual kissing; aroace character deals with unrequited romantic feelings from her partner; anti-ace and anti-aro sentiments expressed by characters; gun violence; kidnapping; on-page murder; claustrophobic atmosphereReviews
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Details
- Originally published published March 16th 2016 by Less Than Three Press
- Re-released self-published in 2020
- ISBN13: 9781946316141
Seersana University is worlds-renowned for its xenopsychology program, producing the Alliance’s finest therapists, psychiatric nurses and alien researchers. When Jahir, one of the rare and reclusive Eldritch espers, arrives on campus, he’s unprepared for the challenges of a vast and multicultural society… but fortunately, second-year student Vasiht’h is willing to take him under his wing. Will the two win past their troubles and doubts and see the potential for a once-in-a-lifetime partnership?
Representation Includes
- Two male alien/genetically-engineered characters with a very close queerplatonic-like relationship
- Jahir is, according to the author, bisexual
Content Warnings
Death of children; portrayal of asexuality experience that relies on tropes about lack of hormonesReviews
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- Publication Date: July 2, 2013
She warned of the pain. She did.
But no warning can prepare you.
Nothing can.
Long, long ago, a little mermaid became intrigued by the way tall-crabs don’t act at all like the prey she’s more comfortable chasing. Her quest to understand will take her places she had never dreamed possible – onto land and beyond the endless cold.
But quests always come with a price and hers is no exception. If she cannot find love within a year, she’ll become sea foam. With only a month left and no closer to understanding ‘love’ at all, what is Maris to do? Tall-crabs – humans – are confusing and contradictory and love comes in so many forms, how can she ever know which one is right to win her life amidst friends and family on land?
Fantastical worldbuilding meets verse novels in this queerplatonic retelling of The Little Mermaid, the first story in a series of queer fairytale retellings.
Representation Includes
- Asexual main character, implied to be demiromantic, with a fantasy chronic pain condition who uses sign language (mermaid)
- Asexual, sex-repulsed, and aromantic main character (prince)
- Lesbian major character (princess)
Content Warnings
Anti-ace and anti-aro sentiments discussed in passingReviews
Where to Find
Details
- Published September 27th 2018 by The Kraken Collective (first published June 9th 2016)
A Dragon, a Phoenix, and an Opera House.
Bonds that transcend time, loyalties that defy hardship, and the magic of the places we call Home.
(Wherein a Dragon and a Phoenix make their living on earth in an Opera House.)
An Aromantic Chinese Fairytale.
Representation Includes
- Two aromantic Chinese protagonists
Content Warnings
Destruction of house in fireReviews
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Details
- ISBN: 9781794632547
- ASIN: B07N2PCWT2
At age eighteen, when they become marriageable, all royal children in the Thousand Kingdoms must either go questing to rescue another royal or be hidden away to await rescue themselves. Some go the traditional route of princes rescuing princesses, but not all princes want to be rescuers…and some would rather rescue other princes.
Then there’s Prince Gerald, who has no interest in getting married at all. When he refuses to choose a role as either rescuer or rescuee, his royal parents choose for him and have him magicked away to a distant tower to await a spouse.
Gerald, however, is having none of it. He recruits his guardian dragon and a would-be rescuer and soon the trio is dashing to all corners of the united kingdoms on a quest to overturn the entire system.
Representation Includes
- Aromantic asexual protagonist
- Supporting LGBTQ+ characters
Content Warnings
anti-ace sentiment (both internalized and from outside), suicidal ideation, (magical) animal abuse, character gets drugged and enchanted against their will, character becomes physically disabled after suffering a serious injury.Reviews
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- Paperback ISBN: 1950412563
- Published April 8th 2019 by NineStar Press
Every time something goes missing from the village, Sir Violet, the local knight, makes his way to the dragon’s cave and negotiates the item’s return. It’s annoying, but at least the dragon is polite.
But when the dragon hoards a person, that’s a step too far. Sir Violet storms off to the mountainside to escort the baker home, only to find a more complex mystery—a quest that leads him far beyond the cave. Accompanied by the missing baker’s wife and the dragon himself, the dutiful village knight embarks on his greatest adventure yet.
The Dragon of Ynys is an inclusive fairy tale for all ages.
Representation Includes
- Aromantic asexual protagonist
- Lesbian couple supporting characters, one of whom is trans
Content Warnings
Instances of trans-antagonism and flirting to an aro ace character, both of which are addressed on-page and resolved. The dragon conducts off-page, non-violent theft. The book contains visuals of spiders and an off-page avalanche.Awards
- Otherwise Award longlist nominee
Reviews
- Corey Alexander’s review of a previously published version; Corey’s concerns were addressed in the 2020 rerelease, but I could not find detailed discussion of the changes or how they were implemented.
- Kathryn Speckels’s review
- Surbhi Sinha’s review
- Polly’s review
- More reviews by trans readers of the 2020 version needed.
Where to Find
Details
- Published September 15th 2020 by Atthis Arts, LLC
- Paperback ISBN13: 9781945009686
Dark, irreverent, and truly innovative, the speculative stories in Homesick meditate on the theme of home and our estrangement from it, and what happens when the familiar suddenly shifts into the uncanny. In stories that foreground queer relationships and transgender or nonbinary characters, Cipri delivers the origin story for a superhero team comprised of murdered girls; a housecleaner discovering an impossible ocean in her least-favorite clients’ house; a man haunted by keys that appear suddenly in his throat; and a team of scientists and activists discovering the remains of a long-extinct species of intelligent weasels.
In the spirit of Laura van den Berg, Emily Geminder, Chaya Bhuvaneswar, and other winners of the Dzanc Short Story Collection Prize, Nino Cipri’s debut collection announces the arrival of a brilliant and wonderfully unpredictable writer with a gift for turning the short story on its ear.
Representation Includes
- Pansexual, neurodivergent cisgender man
- Lesbian cisgender Jewish woman
- Transgender white man
- Queer white cisgender man
- Latino transgender man
- Native (Sincangyu Lakota) bisexual cisgender man
- Korean-American transgender woman
Content Warnings
Some of the stories contain horror elements, discussion of past violence against children, mention of off-screen suicide, mentions of racism, homophobia, and transphobia.Reviews
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Details
- Published October 15th 2019 by Dzanc Books
- Paperback (ISBN13: 9781945814952)
Emma Robledo has a few more responsibilities that the usual high school senior, but then again, she and her friends have left school to lead a fractured Resistance movement against a corrupt Heroes League of Heroes. Emma is the only member of a supercharged team without powers, and she isn’t always taken seriously. A natural leader, Emma is determined to win this battle, and when that’s done, get back to school. As the Resistance moves to challenge the League, Emma realizes where her place is in this fight: at the front.
Lambda Literary Award finalist C.B. Lee returns with the third book in her bestselling Sidekick Squad series, which has garnered both critical acclaim and fans for its joyous tone and inclusivity.
Representation Includes
- Aromantic and asexual spectrum Latina protagonist
Content Warnings
sci-fi violence, off page minor character death, internal shame though aroace questioning, medical experiments, abduction, blackmail. Content warnings are provided at the end of the book.Reviews
- Alex Brown’s review
- Iam’s review
- Fadwa’s review
- Reviews from queer Latina readers needed
Where to Find
Details
- Published June 4th 2019 by Duet Books, the YA imprint of Interlude Press
- Paperback (ISBN13: 9781945053788)