As we enter 2023, we're taking a look at some of the best books being released this year with characters on the aromantic and asexual spectrum. From demisexual fiction to aro/ace self-help guides and asexual YA fiction, here are our 10 most anticipated aro/ace books coming in 2023.

Note: some release dates of these books may be pushed back and covers may change.

Sounds Fake But Okay - Sarah Costello & Kayla Kaszyca

Advice & Self-Help - Non-Fiction

21 February 2023

Sarah and Kayla invite you to put on your purple aspec glasses - and rethink everything you thought you knew about society, friendship, sex, romance and more.

Drawing on their personal stories, and those of aspec friends all over the world, prepare to explore your micro-labels, investigate different models of partnership, delve into the intersection of gender norms and compulsory sexuality and reconsider the meaning of sex - when allosexual attraction is out of the equation.

Spanning the whole range of relationships we have in our lives - to family, friends, lovers, society, our gender, and ourselves, this book asks you to let your imagination roam, and think again what human connection really is. Includes exclusive 'Sounds Fake But Okay' podcast episodes.

Ace and Aro Journeys - The Ace & Aro Advisory Project

Advice & Self-Help - Non-Fiction

21 April 2023

What does it mean to be ace or aro? How should I approach the challenges that come with being ace or aro? How can I best support the ace and aro people in my life?

Join the The Ace and Aro Advocacy Project (TAAAP) for a deep dive into the process of discovering and embracing your ace and aro identities. Empower yourself to explore the nuances of your identity, find and develop support networks, explore different kinds of partnership, come out to your communities and find real joy within. Combining a rigorous exploration of identity and sexuality models with hundreds of candid and poignant testimonials - this companion vouches for your personal truth, wherever you lie on the aspec spectrum.

I Want To Be A Wall, Vol. 2 - Honami Shirono

Slice-Of-Life - Manga

17 January 2023

This is a supply-and-demand marriage!?

"I thought I would live alone forever." Married life where the supply and demand of such two people match.

Yuriko and Gakurouta recount their first meeting and proposal to a curious Sousuke. Their first impressions may not have been the best, but once they got a chance to have a proper conversation, it turned out they had more in common than they thought!

Ace Notes - Michele Kirichanskaya

Advice & Self-Help - Non-Fiction

21 April 2023

What is the ace lens? Is my relationship queerplatonic? Am I sex-favorable, sex-averse or sex-repulsed?

As an ace or questioning person in an oh-so-allo world, you're probably in desperate need of a cheat sheet. Allow us to introduce your new asexual best friend, an essential resource serving up the life hacks you need to fully embrace the ace. Expect interviews with remarkable aces across the spectrum, advice on navigating different communities, and low-key ways to flaunt your ace identity.

Covering everything from coming out, explaining asexuality and understanding different types of attraction, to marriage, relationships, sex, consent, gatekeeping, religion, ace culture and more, this is the ultimate arsenal for whatever the allo world throws at you.

The Hummingbird Killer - Finn Longman

YA Dark Thriller - Fiction

11 May 2023

Friend by day. Traitor by night. The second book in the dark, twisting YA trilogy about a teen assassin's attempt to live a normal life.

Teen assassin Isabel Ryans now works for Comma, and she's good at it: the Moth is the guild's most notorious killer, infamous throughout the city of Espera.

But Isabel still craves normality, and she won't find it inside the guild. She moves in with a civilian flatmate, Laura, and begins living a double life, one where she gets to pretend she's free.

But when Isabel's day job tangles her up with an anti-guild abolitionist movement, it becomes harder to keep her two lives separate. Forced to choose between her loyalty to her friends and her loyalty to Comma, she finds herself with enemies on all sides, particularly those from the rival guild Hummingbird, putting herself and Laura at risk.

Love Letters For Joy - Melissa See

YA Contemporary Romance - Fiction

06 June 2023

A new LGBTQIA+ romance story by the author of You, Me, and Our Heartstrings.

Less than a year away from graduation, seventeen-year-old Joy is too busy overachieving to be worried about relationships. She's determined to be Caldwell Prep's first disabled valedictorian. And she only has one person to beat, her academic rival Nathaniel. But it's senior year and everyone seems to be obsessed with pairing up. One of her best friends may be developing feelings for her and the other uses Caldwell's anonymous love-letter writer to snag the girl of her dreams. Joy starts to wonder if she has missed out on a quintessential high school experience. She's asexual, but that's no reason she can't experience first love, right?

I Am Ace - Cody Daigle-Orians

Advice & Self-Help - Non-Fiction

21 February 2023

How do I know if I'm actually sexual? How do I come out as asexual? What kinds of relationship can I have as an ace person?

If you are looking for answers to these questions, Cody is here to help. Within these pages lie all the advice you need as a questioning ace teen. Tackling everything from what asexuality is, the asexual spectrum and tips on coming out, to intimacy, relationships, acephobia and finding joy, this guide will help you better understand your asexual identity alongside deeply relatable anecdotes drawn from Cody's personal experience.

Whether you are ace, demi, gray-ace or not sure yet, this book will give you the courage and confidence to embrace your authentic self and live your best ace life.

Planning Perfect - Haley Neil

YA Contemporary Romance - Fiction

21 June 2023

In this charming, heartfelt YA romcom about being on the asexual spectrum, a girl tries to craft the perfect wedding for her mother but discovers that sometimes the best parts of life can't be planned.

​Felicity Becker loves watching an event come together. Whether it's prom, graduation, or just the annual Arbor Day school dance, there's something magical about crafting an experience that people will remember. So when her mom gets engaged, Felicity sees the wedding as the perfect opportunity to show off her skills.

Court Of The Undying Seasons - A.M. Strickland

YA Paranormal Fantasy - Fiction

11 May 2023

In becoming a vampire, I’m less than a girl. And more. Or maybe I’m becoming what I always have been, deep inside. A blade.

When nineteen-year-old Fin volunteers to take her secret love's place in their village's Finding, she is terrified. Those who are chosen at the Finding are whisked away to Castle Courtsheart, a vampire school where human students either succeed and become vampires, fail and spend the rest of their lives as human thralls... or they don't survive long enough to become either. Fin is determined to forge a different path: learn how to kill the undead and get revenge for her mother, who was taken by the vampires years ago.

As Fin begins to discover new aspects of her own identity and test her newfound powers, she stumbles across a string of murders that may be connected to a larger ritual - one with potentially lethal consequences for vampires and humans alike.

You Don't Have A Shot - Racquel Marie

YA Contemporary Romance - Fiction

09 May 2023

A queer YA romance about rival soccer players from author Racquel Marie, perfect for fans of She Drives Me Crazy.

Valentina “Vale” Castillo-Green’s life revolves around soccer. Her friends, her future, and her father’s intense expectations are all wrapped up in the beautiful game. But after she incites a fight during playoffs with her long-time rival, Leticia Ortiz, everything she’s been working toward seems to disappear.

Embarrassed and desperate to be anywhere but home, Vale escapes to her beloved childhood soccer camp for a summer of relaxation and redemption…only to find out that she and the endlessly aggravating Leticia will be co-captaining a team that could play in front of college scouts. But the competition might be stiffer than expected, so unless they can get their rookie team’s act together, this second chance—and any hope of playing college soccer—will slip through Vale’s fingers. When the growing pressure, friendship friction, and her overbearing father push Vale to turn to Leticia for help, what starts off as a shaky alliance of necessity begins to blossom into something more through a shared love of soccer. . . and maybe each other.

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