13 novels featuring female characters in STEM

The Chai Factor

by Farah Heron

Calling all enemies-to-lovers fans! Things aren’t going as engineer Amira planned and she’s heading home to finish her grad school thesis in peace. When a fellow train passenger sexually harasses her, with a side of racism to boot, a white man intervenes but Amira is not pleased. And she’s even less pleased when she arrives at her grandmother’s house and learns that same white man is part of a barbershop quartet who is now renting the basement. So much for silence! Amira and Duncan have banter and sparks aplenty, despite the initial animosity. As their relationship evolves, they have to be honest about their differences. Grumpy Amira goes on a real journey with her anger as she figures out the kind of person she wants to be. A humorous, heart-warming contemporary romance that doesn’t shy away from hard topics, like racism, religious homophobia, and workplace sexism. (This is closed door.)

The Boyfriend Project

by Farrah Rochon

I devoured this fun and thoughtful romance. After witnessing many live-tweet moments on Twitter over the years, Farrah Rochon decided to turn live-tweet-gone-viral into a fabulous rom com premise: her heroine Samiah Brooks catches her three-timing boyfriend after reading about his date with another woman—on Twitter. When the three “girlfriends” Samiah, London, and Taylor go viral, they meet up, become besties, and vow to focus on their single selves by not dating for six months. With her newfound free time, Samiah pours herself into developing her passion project. But just as her dream app starts to take shape, she meets a sexy coworker who seems like he could be perfect boyfriend material. Steamy, smart, and centered around friendship, I’m so glad Rochon is continuing the series with books for London and Taylor, too.

Slay

by Brittney Morris

At school, Kiera Johnson is an honor roll student, math tutor, and one of the only Black kids in her classes. But in the world she's created for herself, she is one of hundreds of thousands of Black gamers dueling in the online role-playing card game, Slay. Kiera is the game developer, but no one in her "real life" knows about the project, and her identity is a secret online. When Slay is mentioned in relation to the murder of a Kansas City teen, Kiera is distraught. News of the game and its Black-players-only rule reach media outlets, and Kiera's safe haven becomes a point of national discussion. When an anonymous troll enters the game and threatens to sue over discrimination, Kiera is determined to protect herself, her game, and her Blackness in a world that doesn't understand.

Remedial Rocket Science

by Susannah Nix

From the publisher: "Opposites attract when a computer geek meets billionaire bad boy. The last thing Melody expects when she accepts a dream job offer is to run into her college one-night stand again. Not only does the hunky blast from her past work at the same aerospace company where she's just started in the IT department, he's the CEO's son. Jeremy's got a girlfriend and a reputation as a bad boy, so Melody resolves to keep her distance and focus on building a new life for herself in Los Angeles. But despite her good intentions, she can't seem to stay away from the heavenly-smelling paragon of hotness. As the two begin to forge an unlikely friendship, Melody's attraction to Jeremy grows deeper than she's ready to admit. Can the woman who always plays it safe take a risk on the man who's all wrong for her in all the right ways? This slow-burn romance is the first in a series of standalone rom-coms featuring heroines who work in STEM fields."

The Calculating Stars: A Lady Astronaut Novel

by Mary Robinette Kowal

This won a host of awards last year, including the Hugo and Nebula Awards for best novel. From the publisher: "On a cold spring night in 1952, a huge meteorite fell to earth and obliterated much of the east coast of the United States, including Washington D.C. The ensuing climate cataclysm will soon render the earth inhospitable for humanity, as the last such meteorite did for the dinosaurs. This looming threat calls for a radically accelerated effort to colonize space, and requires a much larger share of humanity to take part in the process. Elma York’s experience as a WASP pilot and mathematician earns her a place in the International Aerospace Coalition’s attempts to put man on the moon, as a calculator. But with so many skilled and experienced women pilots and scientists involved with the program, it doesn’t take long before Elma begins to wonder why they can’t go into space, too. Elma’s drive to become the first Lady Astronaut is so strong that even the most dearly held conventions of society may not stand a chance against her."

The Echo Wife

by Sarah Gailey

A sci-fi twist on the domestic thriller, The Echo Wife centers on Evelyn Caldwell, a brilliant award-winning scientist, her obedient clone Martine, and Evelyn’s cheating husband. Gailey’s unique books vary so much in style and this one definitely stands out! The intimate first-person narration amps up the tension—and the enjoyment. Perfect for fans of the movie Ex Machina and “mad scientist” vibes. Content warnings apply.

To Be Taught, If Fortunate

by Becky Chambers

From the publisher: At the turn of the twenty-second century, scientists make a breakthrough in human spaceflight. With the fragility of the body no longer a limiting factor, human beings are at last able to journey to neighboring exoplanets long known to harbor life. A team of these explorers, Ariadne O'Neill and her three crewmates, are hard at work in a planetary system fifteen light-years from Sol, on a mission to ecologically survey four habitable worlds. But as Ariadne shifts through both form and time, the culture back on Earth has also been transformed. Faced with the possibility of returning to a planet that has forgotten those who have left, Ariadne begins to chronicle the story of the wonders and dangers of her mission, in the hope that someone back home might still be listening.

Honey Girl

by Morgan Rogers

Morgan Rogers takes her characters on a deeply emotional journey in this contemporary fiction debut. While on a girls' trip to Vegas, Grace Porter upends her carefully constructed life with one spur-of-the-moment (and intoxicated) mistake, waking up married to a complete stranger. She could rush to reverse it all, but her new wife Yuki takes her by surprise. Frustrated with her job and yearning for something new, Grace decides to see where this relationship might go and follows Yuki to New York for the summer. While they navigate their budding romance and their respective pasts, Grace's friends share hard truths with her in a way only people who have known you a long time can. But they never stop looking out for one another.

Cinder

by Marissa Meyer

Each book in the YA fantasy series The Lunar Chronicles puts a new spin on an old fairy tale. In this first installment, Cinderella becomes a kickass mechanic, despised by her mother and stepsisters because she’s a cyborg. Though it’s clear where the story is headed, spotting the imaginative ways Meyer reinvents the old fairy tale keeps the reader turning the pages. Fresh, fun, surprising, and compulsively readable.

Lessons in Chemistry

by Bonnie Garmus

A life-affirming tale of a chemist ahead of her time, a life-changing love affair, a dog with a huge vocabulary, and the combustible combination of chemistry, cooking, and afternoon television. Elizabeth Zott only ever wanted to be a scientist—but because she’s a woman in the 1960s, she has to go begging for beakers despite being the smartest researcher in the building. After Elizabeth is ostensibly fired for being unwed and pregnant (but really for being smarter than her boss and dating a rival scientist he loathes), she can’t make ends meet. Out of desperation she accepts a job hosting a tv show called Supper at 6. She loves to cook, because cooking, after all, is chemistry. The producers want her to smile and look pretty, but Elizabeth is much more interested in teaching housewives not just how to make dinner, but how to change their lives. Lively and life-affirming, with an unforgettable protagonist.

When Dimple Met Rishi

by Sandhya Menon

Dimple and Rishi are destined to marry—their parents arranged it years ago. And when both teens decide they want to attend the same residential summer program, their parents think there's no harm in letting them get to know each other. Rishi can't wait to meet—and woo—his future wife over the summer. But, unbeknownst to Rishi, Dimple's parents haven't told her anything. Can you saw awkward? When they meet, sparks fly—and not the good kind. At least not at first. This is bubble-gum feel-good Bollywood YA, tons of fun and surprisingly insightful. Publication date: May 30.

The Countess Conspiracy (The Brothers Sinister Book 3)

by Courtney Milan

Violet is more than the emotionless Countess and Sebastian the mindless rake they present to the world. They’ve been friends for years…and Sebastian has secretly been in love with her all that time. He’s also been presenting Violet’s scientific discoveries as his own—at her request—since society won’t recognize women in the field. She would rather have her knowledge out in the world, even if it won’t be attributed to her. But Sebastian wants to end their arrangement and Violet can’t have that, even if it means she’ll have to risk her heart. This is the third book in the Brothers Sinister series but it stands fine on its own. Note: Violet experienced infertility and miscarriages during her abusive marriage; exercise caution as needed. (This is open door.)

A Princess in Theory: Reluctant Royals

by Alyssa Cole

The first book in Alyssa Cole's excellent contemporary Reluctant Royals romance series introduces Naledi, a stressed out grad student who relies on logic to guide her in every situation. When she gets an email from Prince Thabiso of Thesolo declaring his intentions to fulfill their childhood betrothal, Naledi writes it off as spam. She grew up in the foster system of NYC, not a faraway country she's never heard of. But when the prince shows up in the city with romantic proposals and a different version of her life's history, Naledi starts to follow her heart. What ensues is a modern day fairytale between a self-sufficient science nerd and a crowned prince who's determined to be a great leader. I loved reading their story and meeting delightful side characters who show up in subsequent books. Note: each book in this series includes open door scenes.

13 novels featuring female characters in STEM

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