Book Recs: Books with Ace Protagonists

Taking a break from making very niche rec lists for a super specific trope used in an even more specific genre! So instead, I’m here today with books from various genres, featuring an even bigger array of tropes, but all of them sharing a specific representation. And yeah, the title gives it away, I know; it’s not a surprise all the books listed below have main characters who are on the asexuality spectrum. Hopefully, the selection is broad enough that everyone finds something for themself!

The Perfect Assassin

K.A. Doore
Goodreads
Rep: poc cast, gay ace mc, side lesbian characters

Why Should I Read It?

No joke, but this is actually one of the best fantasy books I’ve read in recent years. It has a great world-building inspired by Islamic culture, with a water and economy based magic system. And it’s about assassins. The whole series, which this is the beginning of.

The Art of Saving the World

Corinne Duyvis
Goodreads
Rep: ace lesbian mc with anxiety
TW: violence, panic & anxiety attack, homophobia

Why Should I Read It?

So you want to read a science-fiction book that is actually fun? And spins the Chosen One trope on its head? Oh, do I have a treat for you! There are also different dimensions and doppelgängers. Do I really have to keep talking?

Learning Curves

Ceillie Simkiss
Goodreads
Rep: panromantic ace mc with ADHD, fat Puerto Rican lesbian mc

Why Should I Read It?

You know how sometimes all you need in your life is a sweet little sapphic romance book? This is my offering to you for those days. It’s cute, it’s full of fluff, it has a healthy relationship that progresses naturally & without some ridiculous dramas, it has a supportive family… It basically has it all, for when you want to sooth your heart!

Upside Down

N.R. Walker
Goodreads
Rep: gay ace mcs

Why Should I Read It?

Or maybe you want a cute gay romance, instead? Your wish is my command! It’s an ideal comfort read, let me start there. It offers a specific sense of humour in the form of a rambling main character, but you’ll never know you actually love that until you try it!

The Black Veins

Ashia Monet
Goodreads
Rep: trans ace mc, Black bi female mc, Puerto Rican queer mc, Black bi male mc

Why Should I Read It?

An urban fantasy book which is a also a road trip book which is also a character driven book. And what a group of well-developed, fully fleshed out, likeable and relatable characters it offers! What’s more important, they all actually feel like teenagers. Truly hard to ask for something better, especially with a really cool world building concept.

Daybreak Rising

Kiran Oliver
Goodreads
Rep: Black pan demi mc, lesbian mc with PTSD, trans characters, nonbinary character

Why Should I Read It?

It’s one of those books where first of all the world building completely sells you on it. I mean, magic and technology coexisting? How neat is that? But the good points do not end there, believe me. Mainly the diversity of the characters and the way it never for a second feels like it’s done for brownie points. Instead, the plot highlights the struggles those characters have to go through.

Soft on Soft

Mina Waheed
Goodreads
Rep: Black fat sapphic demi mc, Middle Eastern fat pan mc with anxiety, side bi Muslim character, side nonbinary character

Why Should I Read It?

This rec list is getting predictable… This is yet another fun, sweet, soft sapphic romance. But let’s all be honest. It’s actually the best genre there is. Of course we always want more. Especially when the story centers not one, but two women of color, and includes even more diverse characters as support.

We Go Forward

Alison Evans
Goodreads
Rep: aroace mc, bi poc mc, genderqueer poc side character, side m/m relationship

Why Should I Read It?

From a romance right to a book that features no romantic plots at all and instead focuses on friendship! And it’s a friendship between two Australian girls who find themselves in Germany and end up on a road trip through Europe together. Have you ever seen anything more refreshing?

And a little bonus: the genderqueer side character? They have a story of their own! Long Macchiatos and Monsters.

Beneath the Citadel

Destiny Soria
Goodreads
Rep: fat poc ace mc with anxiety, poc bi mc, achillean mc with a chronic illness

Why Should I Read It?

A found family of teen rebels. Your reader dream coming true, right? There are sibling relationships, there are complicated backgrounds, there are paths that don’t align but goals that do. Nothing is clear, nothing is obvious, and most of all, nothing is safe.

No Gods, No Monsters

Cadwell Turnbull
Goodreads
Rep: biracial bi ace trans mc, Black bi mc, Puerto Rican American sapphic mc, nonbinary side character, Black bi side character
TW: implied sexual abuse, drug abuse, implied domestic abuse, police brutality, gun violence

Why Should I Read It?

There are a few POV characters here and their stories all develop at their own pace & ultimately tie together in beautiful ways. A work of art. It’s also an urban fantasy story of the best kind, where our world is faced with the reality of horror creatures actually existing. So it’s more about the numerous ways of dealing with that than it is about fighting some Bad Guy.

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