Asexual stories are hard enough to come by as it is, and when a majority of those narratives revolve around the difficulties of being ace, it’s extremely disheartening. That’s why it was so refreshing to see a variety of ace experiences explored and so many asexual characters who were unapologetically themselves. Despite their length, these stories were complex, their themes layered. These narratives felt so incredibly authentic and true to so many identities across all spectrums, and I know that so many people - ace or not - will see themselves represented in these pages.

My personal favorites were Well Suited, The Third Star, and The Witch of Festa Falls.

Short story collections are always a bit hit and miss, I find. I've never had one where I liked all the stories. I've also never had one where I didn't like all the stories - but this one came close for me.

We definitely need more ace stories and characters out there, so I was very excited to give this a go. However, it seemed to me like all the stories have carefully thought out, intricate backgrounds - that we aren't given. I had trouble following along. This may not be an issue for all readers, of course - I hope it isn't! I really want this book to do well.

It didn't suit me, sadly, but I hope it does well for other readers.

I was so excited to find this book and finally read some stories with amazing ace representation. That seems like such a rare thing to find, especially in fiction. I will say the cover initially made me think this would be non-fiction, so it may be a bit misleading. I also found it a bit jarring how each story was a different genre and we were jumping between sci-fi and fantasy and thriller like it was nothing. Those things aside, this is a lovely collection of stories and some of them were incredibly heart warming.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

I love how so much more positive Ace books are coming out. This is exactly what I needed when I was a kid. Having representation is so important. This book tackles different characters who identify as ace in fantasy, sci-fi, and contemporary landscapes.

My favorites in this collection were:
How To Love a Sidewinder- Kat Yuen
Well Suited- Rosiee Thor
Give Up The Ghost- Linsey Miller
Smells Like Teen Virgin- S.E. Anderson

There was also some rep with disabilities, different gender identities, and different ethnicities. I loved this anthology. Hopefully more books will be coming out like this in the future!

A great collection of diverse sci-fi/fantasy YA short stories exploring ace identities. The stories capture a wide variety of ace experiences and I think while I think many readers will enjoy this anthology, it is especially perfect for young ace readers looking for stories that reflect their own identity (ace stories, particularly ones that use the word "asexual" on the page are still hard to come by - especially intersectional ones that explore other marginalized identities alongside asexuality).

As with any anthology, some stories I really loved while others didn't quite work for me. My top five stories (in the order they appear in the anthology) were "Give Up the Ghost" by Linsey Miller, "Smells Like Teen Virgin" by S.E. Anderson, "Moonspirited" by Anju Imura, "The Third Star" by Roanna Sylver, and "The Witch of Festa Falls" by S.J. Taylor.

Being ace 4⭐️

Being ace is an anthology of short stories about characters on the ace-spectrum, written by ace authors.

This was one of my most anticipated reads of the year and I was super excited to receive an arc of this. Reading stories about ace characters has always been super important to me, so to have an entire book about ace people was just great.
Obviously as all anthologies go I loved some, liked some and wasn’t 100% into some, but overall it was a great time for me and I cannot recommend this enough. Through these stories I also managed to find new authors that I cannot wait to read more from. You will cry, feel sad, annoyed and overjoyed while travelling through time and space and meeting mythological beings.

Thank you netgalley and pagestreetpublishing for allowing me to read an arc of this book

Having so many more books available with ace rep makes this aroace extremely happy! I loved this short story collection and loved how it spanned not only genres but also the ace spectrum! It’s so important to have all different kinds of rep for ace people because everyone’s experience is so different and I think this collection is perfect for that! There were some stories I liked more than others but overall, this whole collection is really great and I’ll be recommending it for a long time!

A book about being ace! Yes please! I was so excited to see this and have the opportunity to read it and it definitely lived up to my expectations.

This was so wholesome. It is so hard to find ace stories and to have a collection of short stories all focused on ace stories is amazing. My favorite story was Smells Like Teen Virgin by S.E. Anderson. I would love to see that story and many other of the stories fleshed out as full length novels!

I recently started exploring my own ace identity and was excited toexplore some stories with characters on the ace spec. Sadly none of the stories clicked for me, I skimmed most of this anthology and none of the stories connected

I have never felt so seen as an ace person. FOURTEEN stories of ace characters in various settings. Some being told they're broken and some accepted exactly as they are. I would read a full length version of almost every single one of these stories. (I just have a fear of snakes so that one creeped me out a lot, but I still loved the character.) Some are by authors I've read and enjoyed before, and some are brand new to me.

Every story is about living authentically. This is one of those books that I wish existed for younger me. I am so happy that stories like these exist for others like us so that we know we aren't alone. Thank you so much for this.

Being Ace is a collection of Queer, Trans, Femme and Disabled stories of asexual love and connection. I’m so happy that this book of short stories about different kinds of ace people (being totally badass) exists!

As is common with anthologies like this there were some stories that I absolutely loved and some that didn’t really speak to me that much. Normally, short stories are not really my medium. That’s ok though, I certainly found some great stories in this collection, and I love that this book gives ace folk the opportunity of seeing themselves as heroes in so many different settings.

My favourite stories were:
✨Across the Stars
✨Give up the Ghost
✨The Third Star (my absolute favourite)
✨The Mermaid’s Sister
✨The Witch of Festa Falls

If you want to read a book about ace people being themselves, figuring things out and kicking ass, I’d absolutely recommend giving this a go!

Thanks so much to Netgalley and Page Street Publishing for giving me the chance to read an early copy in exchange for an honest review. Being Ace comes out on the 10th of October.

This was an absolutely amazing book with all different kinds of short stories about the asexual spectrum. I'm not ace myself, but I really enjoyed reading these fantastic stories and learning more about the A in LGBTQIA+.

Thanks to Netgalley for the advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review!

Perhaps I am biased because I am ace myself, but I have always felt like people who identify as asexual are typically forgotten about when discussing the LGBTQIA+ community. Heck, I think there are still people out there that believe the A in LGBTQIA+ should stand for ally which, sorry, no. Let asexual and aromantic people have a letter! But I digress, because asexual and aromantic people are typically always left out-because society inherently believes that everyone should want to be in a sexual, romantic relationship-people that identify as ace or aro aren't featured prominently in any form of media, let along fantasy or sci fi.

Well, my fellow aces and aros, we finally have some fantasy and sci fi stories that represent US! Granted, it is written by a group of people that are probably just as sick and tired of being left behind as we are, but at least it is something. Being Ace compiles numerous different stories ranging in genre, mostly containing fantasy or sci fi stories with a couple of contemporaries thrown in there. And goodness, does it feel like a breath of fresh air. It just feels so refreshing to read about people that not only are like me, but also aren't brought down by romantic plots. As a fantasy lover especially, I have read so many stories that were genuinely fun and enjoyable, but were bogged down by a forced romance plot because there always has to be a romance in a fantasy book, right? Or worse, a love triangle *shudders.* Well, Being Ace proves that romance in those types of stories isn't always necessary, and it was so much fun to read.

I'll admit, while I did enjoy the vast majority of stories featured in this anthology, I did find myself really enjoying some, but then not enjoying some others as much. But overall, it was a very positive experience. Some of the ones I loved the most were "How to Love a Sidewinder," "Across the Stars," "Sealights," and "The Mermaid's Sister." But my FAVORITE was "Smells Like Teen Virgin," which was basically an asexual take on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It was so much fun!

While it is a somewhat upsetting thought that it took a group of aroace writers to take matters into their own hands and write aroace stories, I don't regret the outcome. I hope that this book will prove to those outside the spectrum that these stories not only deserve to be told, but can be told in a refreshing, beautiful, and profound way. Bottom line to all writers and readers out there: the A in LGBTQIA+ stands for asexual/arcomantic, and don't you forget it!

This is a fantastic book and a much-needed addition to YA LGBTQIA+ fiction. It is especially great that the stories focus on the different ways a person can be asexual.

- BEING ACE is a joy to read. I had such fun tearing through this collection, which spans a variety of genres and of asexual and aromantic identities, often with other intersecting identities as well.
- No story in this book is a dud, which for me is a rarity in a short story collection. I was swept up in the world of each and every one. This book is proof that stories do not need to have romantic and/or sexual plot threads to be compelling.
- I'd happily read full length novels of a few of these stories, and I also discovered a few new-to-me authors, so this was a winner all around for me.

Thank you to net galley & Page Street Publishing for an arc of this title in exchange for an honest review.

I was really excited to get into this anthology, it's the first one I've seen that's specifically YA. The beauty of short stories is how much impact can come from just a few short pages. Unfortunately, I felt that a lot of stories in this collection did not feel very fleshed out and were hard to get through. I was noting more nitpicky editing things than actually enjoying each story which is never a great reading experience.
In terms of representation, I found all of the inner thoughts of each ace character to be deeply relatable to a younger me and it was nice to see those feelings, inner doubts, and queer joy represented. I hope we see more stories like this appealing to the masses!
Out of all the stories these are the ones that stuck out to me:
Across the Stars by Akemi Dawn Bowman: an orphaned girl in space tries to hunt down the memory of her parents with some off planet assistance. This one is soo cute and I would honestly read an entire book about these two.
Well Suited by Rosiee Thor: Fig and Brindle are fantastic names honestly, this one has magic, a fake fiancé troupe to get out of picking a man, and a generally fun plot. I also liked the writing for this one)
Smells Like Teen Virgin by S.E. Anderson: This one is about vampires and had an interesting concept where virgin's blood is more appealing to vampires (you can see how this would be a problem for an ace vampire hunter). This one had a refreshing pace, I enjoyed it.
There were a range of stories from scifi to fantasy to contemporary fiction, but I think I always gravitate towards a solid scifi or vampire story. These ones were the most entertaining to read.
Overall I would recommend it, I think it's a refreshing change from a lot of the YA out on the market right now. I hope to see way more ace representation thanks to books like this.

This book does an amazing job of showing the different sides of being Ace and what it means to be Ace. Love having more LGBTQ+ options for the library!

Having Ace writers deliver stories about Ace characters shouldn’t be such a novel concept, yet here we are. I’m thrilled that our library system will be able to offer our teen (and adult) readers a collection of stories that spans genres and features a variety of ace characters.

Very empowering and such a great collection of short stories!! I loved how different each and every story was and they are the perfect length to read for when you’re on the go!