Top Ten Tuesday: Books with AroAceSpec Characters

Top Ten Tuesday is a fun weekly meme, hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. Everyone is welcome to join in the fun.

The theme for this week was “Book with your favourite trope/theme” and I love seeing books with aro- and/or acespec characters in them with prominent roles. It’s not a trope, and not really a theme, but it is something I love to see in fiction.

This list is of characters (mostly main, but with a few major supporting secondaries) who feel attraction, romantic and/or sexual differently to the presented norm. They don’t have to be both to count for this list, because it’s not that if you’re one you’re automatically the other. It’s like a two-axis spectrum.

They can be so hard to find in books (it was SO HARD to get this list to 10 even using supporting characters.) This is because romance, particularly in YA, is the expected thing in SFF at the moment – a trend that can be very alienating to members of the aroacespec community. And it is a spectrum, from no attraction to very slow attraction only once someone is deeply known (demi) and everything in between.

Some of these books have been explicitly called aro- and/or acespec by the author, others haven’t. I’ve picked books where characters resonated strongly with me and my own experiences (or ones I’m excited about.)

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1. VESPERTINE, by Margaret Rogerson

VESPERTINE is the start of a duology about a nun who’s sharing her body with a demon Venom-style. The book doesn’t contain romance or any hint of attraction from the main character, but also doesn’t contain a direct reference to the character being aroacespec. This has lead a lot of readers to assume that Artemisia (the MC) is “straight and just not met the right boy yet,” which shows just how much allomantic m/f relationships are considered the norm.

The author has said that Artemisia is aroacespec and addressed the fact that because it’s not said explicitly (in this book but will be in the next) in a great post on tumblr that seems to have been taken down since.

2. THIS GOLDEN FLAME, by Emily Victoria

Both leads in this YA debut are aroace, which is the reason I picked up THIS GOLDEN FLAME originally. This automaton-filled world has a slightly Greek feel, where automaton have fallen dead but when orphan scribe Karis accidentally wakes one up, she suddenly finds Alix is more human than she expected, and now the government are searching for her.

The book focuses on the friendship between the two leads, without there ever being an attraction between them (a real rarity!) There are the same trust issues and betrayals common to YA, but this time it’s all about how it affects their budding friendship.

3. THE WINTER GARDEN, by Alexandra Bell

She isn’t explicitly called aro in either the book or the promotional material that I’ve seen, but Beatrice from THE WINTER GARDEN does mention several times her lack of interest in marriage from a more personal perspective (vs the “it’s not a great deal for women unless in love in this time period.”)

This is a historical fiction with fantastical elements about grief and misogyny and being confined into a box by society – it is not a wintry book, despite the title! It’s the sort of book that makes you so angry about the world, so you want the women to triumph as a big “showed you” to all the male characters.

4. LITTLE THIEVES, by Margaret Owen

LITTLE THIEVES is a YA with a demisexual protagonist and a demi love interest. Their relationship is not the focus of the story, but I loved seeing their sheer panic and confusion over these feelings. That is such a rare thing to find in fiction – the shades between no attraction and some but it developing differently to “the norm” – and it was so so nice to see.

The book itself is nothing short of a bundle of fun. It’s an irreverent re-imagining of The Goose Girl, but from the perspective of the one who steals the life. It was an absolute blast to read.

5. KAIKEYI, by Vaishnavi Patel

KAIKEYI is a book I haven’t read yet as it doesn’t come out until the end of April, but I am so excited about it (if I had discovered it before writing my most anticipated books of 2022, it would have gone on there.)

It is a retelling of a reviled queen from Hindu mythology, called Kaikeyi, and she’s described an as ace warrior queen in the promotional material. It’s about a woman determined to make a mark in a male-dominated world, forging her own destiny rather than the one decided for her – even if it brings her into conflict with the gods.

6. THE MASK FALLING, by Samantha Shannon

The fourth instalment in THE BONE SEASON series, THE MASK FALLING confirms that the protagonist Paige is demisexual. It also discusses the difference in how Warden and Paige experience attraction toward each other.

It was really nice to see that enunciated, to make plain and canonical something that was hinted at earlier. Plus to have that confirmation and exploration before Samantha Shannon unleashed some very heart-stopping twists only made them land with more impact.

7. THE MIDNIGHT BARGAIN, by C. L. Polk

THE MIDNIGHT BARGAIN is a romantic fantasy and, while the leads are definitely not aroacespec, probably the most important secondary character presents as aro (to me.) Ysabeta has no interest in marriage and the locking away of magic associated with it, the thing society has determined for her, but would rather be a magus – which is banned for women as it can harm unborn children.

Both Ysabeta and lead Beatrice want more than what’s considered their place by men, but I was probably rooting for Ysabeta more because I recognised that desire to be herself in academia – which was doubly banned.

8. A SINGLE THREAD OF MOONLIGHT, by Laura Wood

A SINGLE THREAD OF MOONLIGHT is the latest YA historical with strong romance subplots from Laura Wood. Like the entry above, the aro character in this book is a supporting character Cassie, the main character’s step sister (it’s a gorgeous Cinderella-esque tale.)

Cassie also would far rather be an academic than a married woman, though her mother (who married for money and security) is determined she should stop acting so inappropriately in order to find a suitor. I loved the easy acceptance Cassie got from Iris, and the way it ended for her. Plus their friendship is the sort of absolute-support that I love to see in female friendships.

9. FIRE BECOMES HER, by Rosiee Thor

FIRE BECOMES HER is Rosiee Thor’s second book, both of which feature acespec characters. However, this is the first one published in the UK, so it’s the first one I’ve been able to get (though I haven’t had a chance to read it at the time of writing due to printing delays.)

It’s a 1920s-inspired book, in a world where magic is power and an ambitious arospec girl wants to climb the social ladder through exploiting the political ambitions of others. I mean, 1920s inspired with politics and arospec rep? What more could I want?

10. RAYBEARER, by Jordan Ifueko

When a book, particularly a YA, mentions that a girl is sent to kill a prince, I automatically assume that they are going to fall in love. It is a very common story premise after all. It was one of the reasons I put off reading this book for a while.

However, while RAYBEARER does talk about the love between the two, it’s always a platonic/fraternal love. Because the prince is ace. It was just such a refreshing change, and one of the many ways this book something new to YA. Time to get around to the sequel, I suppose!

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What aroacespec characters have you loved reading about?

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