spideycat Posted February 7, 2016 Share Posted February 7, 2016 Adding a couple book recs to this list! 1. Title: Tell the Wolves I'm Home Author(s): Carol Rifka BruntGenre: YA literary fictionEligible Shelves: ace character, no sexSuggested Ratings: Teen and up, I guess? Content Warning/Tags: This book does feature 2 relationships that border on romantic and are kind of weird: June has a crush on her uncle, and then she has similar feelings later on for her uncle's boyfriend (Toby), but it never gets even remotely sexual and it's portrayed more as a squish or very emotionally intimate friendship. The closest it comes to sexual is when Toby kisses the back of June's neck one time and June kisses his fingers. Oh, and there's also one kind of non-consensual kiss between June and a boy at her school, but it's very brief. Other Stuff: While the protag, June, is never explicitly identified as ace, I'm pretty sure she is. In addition to never expressing sexual interest in anyone, she basically pours out a glorious asexual manifesto at one point: "What he said was that everyone--especially teenagers--should stop having sex. [...] It didn't seem like too bad an idea to me. I mean, why did sex have to be so important? Why couldn't people live together, spend their whole lives together, just because they liked each other's company? Just because they liked each other more than they liked anyone else in the whole world? If you found a person like that you wouldn't have to have sex. You could just hold them, couldn't you? You could sit close to them, nestle into them so you could hear the machine of them churning away. You could press your ear against that person's back, listening to the rhythm of them, knowing that you were both made of the same exact stuff. You could do things like that.Sometimes, if you're standing close enough to another person, you can't even tell whose stomach is growling. You look at each other and then you both apologize and say, "That was me," and then you laugh. You don't need sex for that kind of thing to happen. For your body to forget how to tell if it's hungry or not. For you to mistake someone else's hunger for your own." 2. Title: Code Name Verity Author(s): Elizabeth WeinGenre: YA fiction, WW2 historical fictionEligible Shelves: no sex or even romance. There's one kiss, but it's just for appearances and not part of a romance. Suggested Ratings: Somewhere between teen and mature, for violence. Content Warning/Tags: Basically, this book's central relationship is the platonic best-friendship between Maddie and Queenie, two women in the RAF during WW2. It's a really beautiful story of their friendship. There's no romance in the book. I'd say it's very women-centered and feminist story. Most of the main characters and relationships are women navigating a very patriarchal world, and it's amazing. That said, there is torture in this book. Sometimes pretty explicit and always stuff you would never wish on your worst enemy (and definitely not on your favorite characters). That said, I don't think it's too squicky/unpleasant. The way it's handled is pretty distant and matter-of-fact. You know what's been happening to these characters, but it's all being reported after the fact. Similarly, some characters die. Some characters die in front of other characters. The most sexual thing about this book is that one character fears being raped at one point. Although it never happens, the character she's worried about raping her does grope her and other women at every opportunity. Other characters chastise him for this, and the book acknowledges the behavior as problematic. Link to post Share on other sites
BluebirdOfHappiness Posted March 18, 2016 Share Posted March 18, 2016 I apologize if anyone has already mentioned this, but if you are looking for Ace books, please go check out Less than Three Press! They are an LGBTQ publisher that specializes in queer romance, and they actually have quite a few books with both asexual and aromantic characters. They have a new collection available for pre-order that I am really excited about called Solitary Travelers, which are all books about asexuals. They have science fiction, fantasy, steampunk, romance, aromance, dragons, you name it. I actually cried when I found some of these books, because these are books totally about asexuals for asexuals, which I have never seen from any other publisher. I feel like we need to signal boost them here, so they know that we are reading and interested in more stories with asexual protagonists! Link to post Share on other sites
dreamfae Posted June 11, 2016 Share Posted June 11, 2016 Title: The Dryad's Shoe Author: T. KingfisherGenre: Fantasy | Adult Eligible Shelves: No sex, no romance Suggested Ratings: 0 sex, 0 romance Other Stuff: This is a short story that can be read online here. It's a take-off of the Cinderella variant where the protagonist gets the dresses from the tree on her mother's grave (which in this version is inhabited by a sentimentally-inclined dryad). However, the main character, Hannah, is a passionate gardener who has no interest whatever in balls or princes or any lifestyle where you can't get your hands dirty and do your own weeding. Better yet, it's strongly indicated that she's ace. Here she's having a conversation with the talking bird who acts as go-between for the dryad: "...And they expect you to have heirs and such.” “That’s the general way of things, yes.” “Not gonna happen,” said Hannah, dunking a stem in water infused with willow chips. “And don’t tell me I’ll change my mind when I’m older.” Link to post Share on other sites
SweetBriar14 Posted June 12, 2016 Share Posted June 12, 2016 Everyone has probably read it but To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee has no sex and no romance. Scout and Dill 'marry' but they are only 6 so I don't think it counts. Content warning, there is a trial centred on rape but I don't count rape as sex. I would rate both sex and romance as 0 for this book. Link to post Share on other sites
fuzzipueo Posted June 12, 2016 Share Posted June 12, 2016 Title: The Dryad's Shoe Author: T. Kingfisher Genre: Fantasy | Adult Eligible Shelves: No sex, no romance Suggested Ratings: 0 sex, 0 romance Other Stuff: This is a short story that can be read online here. It's a take-off of the Cinderella variant where the protagonist gets the dresses from the tree on her mother's grave (which in this version is inhabited by a sentimentally-inclined dryad). However, the main character, Hannah, is a passionate gardener who has no interest whatever in balls or princes or any lifestyle where you can't get your hands dirty and do your own weeding. Better yet, it's strongly indicated that she's ace. Here she's having a conversation with the talking bird who acts as go-between for the dryad: "...And they expect you to have heirs and such.” “That’s the general way of things, yes.” “Not gonna happen,” said Hannah, dunking a stem in water infused with willow chips. “And don’t tell me I’ll change my mind when I’m older.” This is the kind of fairy tale I would have liked as a kid. Plus, it's based on one of the most adaptable versions. :D Link to post Share on other sites
Foj Posted June 29, 2016 Share Posted June 29, 2016 Title: Dreamhealers duo (Mindline and Mindtouch) Author(s): M.C.A. Hogarth Genre: science fantasy Eligible Shelves: no sex, ace character Content Warning/Tags: some deaths and drug use Other Stuff: baking! These are indie books, and the pacing can be slow, or odd, but it portrays an interesting world, a beautiful friendship, and lovely lyrical language. It is part of Hogarth's Pelted series, and there are some short stories that feature the same characters as well. I love reccing this series, and wish I could find more books like it. Thanks for this thread, even if I've read a good portion of the recs already. :) Link to post Share on other sites
fuzzipueo Posted July 4, 2016 Share Posted July 4, 2016 Title: All the Wrong Places Author: Ann GallagherGenre: M/M | Adult | Biromantic | Ace Characters | Cross-cultural Eligible Shelves: No sex, romance Suggested Ratings: 0 sex, 4 romance Content Warning/Tags: Kissing, skateboarding accidents (Brennan Cross is semi-pro), discussions about sex, and Zafir Hamady works in the local sex shop (it really is relevant to the plot). I do have one big warning: Brennan runs into an old girlfriend who makes him question his orientation leading one of the stupidest breakups that I've read in a book. This is a HEA book though, so eventually gets over his moments of stupid and makes amends. Other Stuff: This book is set in the Bluewater Bay series put out by Riptide Publishing but is readable as a standalone. You do not have to read the other books in the series (though I've read a few others and they're pretty good). Summary: Three cheating girlfriends in a row have given skateboarder Brennan Cross the same excuse: he wasn’t meeting their needs. Desperate and humiliated, he goes to the professionals at the local sex shop for advice. Zafir Hamady, a sales clerk at Red Hot Bluewater, has an unusual theory: he doesn’t think Brennan is a bad lover. In fact, he doesn’t think Brennan is heterosexual. Or sexual at all, for that matter. He also can’t stop thinking about Brennan. But even if he’s right and Brennan really is asexual, that doesn’t mean Zafir has a chance. Brennan’s never dated a man, and Zafir’s never met anyone who’s game for a Muslim single father with a smart mouth and a GED. Brennan’s always thought of himself as straight. But when sex is explicitly out of the mix, he finds himself drawn to Zafir for the qualities and interests they share. And Zafir can’t help enjoying Brennan’s company and the growing bond between Brennan and his son. They work well together, but with so many issues between them, doubts creep in, and Brennan’s struggle with his identity could push away the one person he didn’t know he could love. Link to post Share on other sites
fuzzipueo Posted August 23, 2016 Share Posted August 23, 2016 Title: The Fairie Godmother's Apprentice Wore Green Author: Nicky KyleGenre: Aromantic | Ace Characters | Queer Platonic | Dragons on the make! Eligible Shelves: No sex, No romance Suggested Ratings: 0 sex, 0 romance Content Warning/Tags: Here be dragons, or rather, here be a lone traveler on her way to becoming a dragon ... :D The plot does drag a bit at the beginning, but once you get past that, the story's pretty good. Summary: The village of Styesville has a dragon problem, and is in sore need of a knight in shining armor to solve it for them. Instead, they get a strange traveler in a ragged cloak they barely even notice at first. Worse still, it soon becomes clear the problem setting fire to their village isn't as simple as a dragon... Categories: Aromantic Fairy Tales Fantasy Lesbian Queerplatonic Solitary Travelers Link to post Share on other sites
God of the Forest Posted September 2, 2016 Share Posted September 2, 2016 [moved back to off-a] Link to post Share on other sites
Blackthorn Posted January 13, 2017 Share Posted January 13, 2017 Title: Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell Author: Susanna Clarke Genre: Historical/Fantasy | Adult Eligible Shelves: No sex, very little romance, Ace Character Suggested Ratings: 0 sex, 1 romance Other Stuff: Early 1800's England re-imagined with magicians! Beautifully written in a Austen / Dickens style. One of the main characters does get married, but any romantic aspect is ignored. Mr Norrell is definitely Aro Ace. No sex anywhere in evidence. Thinking back, Lord Byron is a very minor character towards the end of the book - there may be some mentions of him behaving badly to women, but nothing at all explicit. Link to post Share on other sites
dreamfae Posted January 22, 2017 Share Posted January 22, 2017 It's not a book per se, but I can't resist recommending the webcomic Widdershins by Kate Ashwin. It's a series of adventures set (mostly) in the imaginary 19th-century Yorkshire town of the same name, which is an epicenter for magic and therefore attracts wizards and other eccentric types. It has a diverse cast of excellent characters, an intriguing magical system, and a great sense of humor. Although it doesn't come up in the comic itself, the author has reportedly confirmed that one of the main characters, Jack "Mal" O'Malley, a cranky vagrant who suffers from the ability to see spirits, is ace. She occasionally does character Q&As between chapters of the comic, where readers submit questions and she draws the characters answering them; one time someone asked what kind of person various characters would like to marry, and Mal's response was simply "Nah." Link to post Share on other sites
AspieAngel Posted February 6, 2017 Share Posted February 6, 2017 On 8/2/2015 at 5:03 PM, SoManyBooksToRead said: Title: His Majesty's Dragon Author: Naomi Novik Shelves it's eligible for: No Sex, no romance (Almost positive - it's been a few years at least since I read them...really sorry if I'm wrong) Suggested Ratings: 0 sex 0 romance I hope I'm right.. Other Stuff: Alternative universe during Napoleon era where dragons exist and are used for battle - there is a whole series of at least 5 books. It's a great series. Book 9 the final book came out in 2016. Some books do have relationship stuff when the main character gets a girlfriend. I can't recall which books did and which books didn't but I don't think anything is too harsh. Link to post Share on other sites
fuzzipueo Posted February 16, 2017 Share Posted February 16, 2017 Title: Author: Genre: | Eligible Shelves: Suggested Ratings: Content Warning/Tags: Other Stuff: Link to post Share on other sites
Azrael Posted February 16, 2017 Share Posted February 16, 2017 The Little Prince - Antoine de Saint Exupery Link to post Share on other sites
WobblyWallaby Posted February 17, 2017 Share Posted February 17, 2017 Title: The Universe Versus Alex Woods Author: Gavin Extence Genre: Young Adult Eligible Shelves: Pretty sure there is no sex in it but there is some romance Suggested Ratings: ? sex 1 romance Content Warning/Tags: Some death. Lots of geeky Other Stuff: This book touches on science and spiritual, love and loneliness, life and death and all the awesome that can occur in being human. Link to post Share on other sites
dragon_nerd Posted February 17, 2017 Share Posted February 17, 2017 Title: Temeraire seriesAuthor(s): Naomi NovikGenre: Fantasy/alternate history Eligible Shelves: no sex and no romance Suggested Ratings: 0/1 sex (its implied in books 1,2,4&7 but the other books have no references to it that I can recall, there are 9 books total) 0/1 romance (minor subplot in books 1,2,4&7 again but no other references to it that I can remember) so it depends on which book you are talking about. Content Warning/Tags: Its set during the Napoleonic wars so there is a fair amount of fighting, shooting etc. Other Stuff: The series of books revolves around the primary characters Temeraire and Captain William Laurence. Captain Laurence is a member of the British Royal Navy, serving in combat against Napoleon's navy when he recovers a dragon egg unlike any other known to the British. The egg soon hatches, and Temeraire, a Chinese dragon, is born. Under the impression that an "unharnessed" dragon will become feral and unmanageable, Laurence becomes Temeraire's companion. Despite the difficulties this causes, Laurence begins to think of the dragon as his dearest friend. This forces a change in the sailor's life, drawing him from the prestigious Royal Navy to the less desirable Royal Aerial Corps. Link to post Share on other sites
fuzzipueo Posted February 17, 2017 Share Posted February 17, 2017 Title: Blank Spaces (Toronto Connections #1) Author: Cass Lennox Genre: Romance | Adult | Series Pairing: Homoromantic Asexual / Gay Eligible Shelves: Definitely romance / negotiated space/intimacy / mystery Suggested Ratings: 0 sex (though it is discussed) / 4 Romance Content Warning/Tags: Mystery / Art / clothing style / mix of characters Other Stuff: Vaughn and Jonah couldn't be more different from each other, but make an interesting match with each other. The mystery is light and enough to hold one's attention. The setting is the art gallery where Vaughn makes his living and a small part of Toronto, Canada. ==================================================== Title: Finding Your Feet (Toronto Connections #2) Author: Cass Lennox Genre: Romance | Adult | Series Pairing: Transgender Male / Female Romantic Asexual Eligible Shelves: Definitely romance / dancing / miscommunications Suggested Ratings: 0 sex / 5 romance / kissing Content Warning/Tags: To paraphrase Fred Savage, this is a kissing book, and pretty typical m/f romance with all the attendant tropes that tend to plague that particular genre, up to and including the "big misunderstanding and lack of communication" between the couple. (It's annoying and kind of ruined my experience, but that's a personal problem. YMMV.) Other Stuff: Evie Whitmore is in Toronto to scout out a school, take a break from her life in England, and meet other aces. She gets caught into a dance competition and is paired up with Tyler Davis, who has issues and relationship trauma to get over. Will this pair ever get over themselves long enough to actually talk about stuff? Or will Tyler and Evie go their separate ways? Link to post Share on other sites
otachi Posted May 30, 2017 Share Posted May 30, 2017 Title: Childhood's End Author: Arthur C. Clarke Genre: Science-fiction Eligible shelves: no sex, no romance Suggested Ratings: 0 for no sex; 1 for no romance Other stuff: Aliens! Interspecies friendship! Main character of color (on the second part)! There are some secondary couples, but you can ignore them. Link to post Share on other sites
otachi Posted May 30, 2017 Share Posted May 30, 2017 Title: God Bless You, Mr Rosewater Author: Kurt Vonnegut Genre: General fiction? (Post-modernism is weird) Eligible Shelves: no sex; no romance Suggested Ratings: 0 for sex; 0 for romance Content Warning/Tags: It's a comedy, but a peculiar one. There's probably some dated words that can be considered insensitive today. Other stuff: N/A Link to post Share on other sites
otachi Posted May 30, 2017 Share Posted May 30, 2017 Title: The Shadow over Innsmouth Author: H. P. Lovecraft Genre: Horror Eligible Shelves: no sex; no romance Suggested Ratings: 0 for sex; 0 for romance Content Warning/Tags: It's Lovecraft, so there's implied racism. Other stuff: Some people consider it to be anti-climatic, but I really like it. Link to post Share on other sites
Rynn Posted June 2, 2017 Share Posted June 2, 2017 Title: Les Fiancés de l'hiver (La Passe-Miroir #1)Author(s): Christelle DabosGenre: Science Fiction/Fantasy/SteampunkEligible Shelves: No sex, most likely ace main character, possibly also aro Suggested Ratings: 0 sex, 1 romance, the romance is very brief and only involves secondary characters. Content Warning/Tags: murder, not graphic Other Stuff: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18043539-les-fianc-s-de-l-hiver It's French. Main character at one point questions why she's never felt attracted to anyone and whether that will ever change. Objects have personalities in this universe. She has a pet scarf. I haven't read the sequel yet, but I think the author will keep her ace. Bonus: webcomic about an asexual vampire http://www.smackjeeves.com/comicprofile.php?id=152615 Link to post Share on other sites
fuzzipueo Posted June 2, 2017 Share Posted June 2, 2017 33 minutes ago, Laurann said: Bonus: webcomic about an asexual vampire http://www.smackjeeves.com/comicprofile.php?id=152615 Here's a more direct link to the comic Heartless I've really enjoyed watching this comic evolve and grow. Link to post Share on other sites
Tunhope Posted March 9, 2018 Share Posted March 9, 2018 I'm really pleased that the question I asked regarding authors' and readers' preferences has got another thread going, even though my stories would be excluded from your categories (for the reasons stated on the original thread.) Given the responses which have already appeared on the original thread, would you consider starting up two other categories? One, stories that contain no females involved in romance, affection or sex , and, two, ditto, for males? No scales. Absolutely an either/or. Sorry - I didn't look at the dates of the posts. You've had this thread going for quite a while and I didn't realise. Please ignore the reference in the first sentence! Link to post Share on other sites
dragon_nerd Posted March 9, 2018 Share Posted March 9, 2018 On 06/02/2017 at 5:19 AM, AspieAngel said: On 02/08/2015 at 10:03 PM, SoManyBooksToRead said: Title: His Majesty's Dragon Author: Naomi Novik Shelves it's eligible for: No Sex, no romance (Almost positive - it's been a few years at least since I read them...really sorry if I'm wrong) Suggested Ratings: 0 sex 0 romance I hope I'm right.. Other Stuff: Alternative universe during Napoleon era where dragons exist and are used for battle - there is a whole series of at least 5 books. It's a great series. Book 9 the final book came out in 2016. Some books do have relationship stuff when the main character gets a girlfriend. I can't recall which books did and which books didn't but I don't think anything is too harsh I can't rememer all of them but 1&2 for sure have romance. No sex in all of them though I believe Link to post Share on other sites
fuzzipueo Posted March 9, 2018 Share Posted March 9, 2018 3 hours ago, Tunhope said: I'm really pleased that the question I asked regarding authors' and readers' preferences has got another thread going, even though my stories would be excluded from your categories (for the reasons stated on the original thread.) Given the responses which have already appeared on the original thread, would you consider starting up two other categories? One, stories that contain no females involved in romance, affection or sex , and, two, ditto, for males? No scales. Absolutely an either/or. Sorry - I didn't look at the dates of the posts. You've had this thread going for quite a while and I didn't realise. Please ignore the reference in the first sentence! We can certainly do that. We should have separate threads for each maybe? Link to post Share on other sites
Tunhope Posted March 9, 2018 Share Posted March 9, 2018 Yes, thank you . Separate threads would be great. That way, no ACES would suddenly find themselves face to face with detail they really did not wish to read. So, could you add my Badge of Loyalty to your ' absolutely no female sex or romance here' thread please (or what ever the thread's name will be) ? Four openly gay polyamorous men who live in north east England, one of whom must choose which badge he's loyal to - the one he was given when he joined the police force or the tattoo he wears that symbolises polyamory. Crime/mystery background. Pen name Jude Tresswell. Badge of Loyalty is there on Goodreads polyam themed list (as you've kindly noted elsewhere) and a few other lists, but, being ACE myself, I'd really appreciate something which was ACE-specific. (I'm sorry - I don't know how to get the Goodreads link up to show the book's lovely cover.) Link to post Share on other sites
fuzzipueo Posted March 9, 2018 Share Posted March 9, 2018 32 minutes ago, Tunhope said: Yes, thank you . Separate threads would be great. That way, no ACES would suddenly find themselves face to face with detail they really did not wish to read. So, could you add my Badge of Loyalty to your ' absolutely no female sex or romance here' thread please (or what ever the thread's name will be) ? Four openly gay polyamorous men who live in north east England, one of whom must choose which badge he's loyal to - the one he was given when he joined the police force or the tattoo he wears that symbolises polyamory. Crime/mystery background. Pen name Jude Tresswell. Badge of Loyalty is there on Goodreads polyam themed list (as you've kindly noted elsewhere) and a few other lists, but, being ACE myself, I'd really appreciate something which was ACE-specific. (I'm sorry - I don't know how to get the Goodreads link up to show the book's lovely cover.) Take a look and let me know if I missed something: Link to post Share on other sites
Correner Posted March 16, 2018 Share Posted March 16, 2018 Johannes Cabal the Necromancer and its sequels (haven't finished the last one yet) don't have any sex that I can remember. Link to post Share on other sites
fuzzipueo Posted March 16, 2018 Share Posted March 16, 2018 7 hours ago, Correner said: Johannes Cabal the Necromancer and its sequels (haven't finished the last one yet) don't have any sex that I can remember. No sex, and only a hint or a whiff of romance, since Johannes set out on his journey to save his girlfriend. Link to post Share on other sites
NerdAlert93 Posted May 17, 2018 Share Posted May 17, 2018 On 2/21/2015 at 12:58 AM, little fox said: Oh. Just a comment on this. Apparently there is a scene of attempted rape? I read this book for school in grade 6 and I don't remember the scene (at the time I didn't notice it either). But someone mentioned that to me and Wikipedia mentions it. I am not sure if the scene is super vague or if I was just ignorant. It was kinda clear but not explicit. The sexual part is condensed to one sentence, wrapped in her emotion and panic, which drew the reader's attention away from the actual rape Link to post Share on other sites
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