Pride Month isn’t over yet, and Nikki and Meg are closing it out with the corner of the rainbow nobody’s putting on a deep dive: asexual romance. The A doesn’t stand for ally, y’all; it stands for a whole spectrum of stories where the spice dial gets turned down and the intimacy dial gets cranked all the way up.

Listen in for:

* What actually fills the space in a romance when sex isn’t the payoff, and why the genre’s deep interiority makes ace stories hit so hard

* The “problem to be solved” trope they’re both done with, and what separates a great ace romance from a lazy one

* Why ace and aspec characters stay nearly invisible in mainstream media, and what that did to a whole generation figuring themselves out

* Nikki gets real about identifying as ace, dating in a small town, and why these books feel like a promise that it’s possible

The queer love continues on this show forever and ever; Pride Month just gave it a spotlight. Press play, then come tell them how you read romance.

Our Ace/Aspec Recommendations:

* Upside Down by NR Walker

* His Quiet Agent by Ada Maria Soto

* Oceans That Swim by Casey Cox

* Inevitable by Briar Prescott

* Unconventional Hearts by Emmy Sanders

* Squared Away by Annabeth Albert

* Cupid Calling by Viano Oniomoh

* The Charm Offensive by Alison Cochrun

* Something Fabulous by Alexis Hall

* Something Extraordinary by Alexis Hall

* Finding You by E.M. Lindsey

* Here We Go Again by Alison Cochrun

* Role Playing by Cathy Yardley

* That Kind Of Guy by Talia Hibbert

* The Mistletoe Motive by Chloe Liese

* Our Bloody Pearl by D. N. Bryn

* The Cybernetic Tea Shop by Meredith Katz

* Set the Record Straight by Hannah Bonam-Young

Other Mentions:

Sex Lives of Superheroes by Diana McCallum

The Greening of Thaddeus Grey by Jay Hogan

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