In 2015, a United Nations resolution named February 11 as the International Day of Women & Girls in Science. Many use the day to call attention to the contributions of women in these STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) fields. Additionally, the day also acts as a reminder that many women, regardless of nationality, face barriers to access and a lack of equity when they arrive in these fields.
In honor of this day, we wanted to uplift these stories in publishing. Because the genre most interested in women’s narratives is romance, and Valentine’s Day is around the corner, we’ve compiled a list of contemporary romance titles where the women protagonists also face challenges in their STEM careers. Each story highlights a character at a different stage in her life professionally and personally.
A handful of these books are trendy titles, but I hope you’ll give them a chance or discover a new one. While we won’t label people’s favorite tropes like forced proximity or second chance, we will let you know if the writers have worked in STEM fields. I’m very new to the romance genre myself, and the first adult romance I read (on this list) featured a researcher lead, so this was fun to put together.
Before and After You by Hope Ellis
(Smartypants Romance)
After a rough start, Leigh D’Alessandro built a new life in a small Tenessee town working in a community hospital. Though she has a long list of reservations, she can’t shake her attraction for her best friends’ brother Walker Leffersbee. Known as a ladies’ man from the wealthy town banking family, Walker is working on his side project of property renovations. A forced proximity situation becomes too much as tension rises, secrets come out, and they must each learn to trust each other because a lot is at stake.
Before and After You is a standalone novel in the Penny Reid Book Universe. Outside of writing, Hope Ellis also works in public health as a health outcomes researcher.
Honey Girl: A Novel by Morgan Rogers
(Park Row)
28-year-old Grace Porter recently finished her Ph.D. program in astronomy and decided to really let loose for once in her life with a celebratory girl’s trip to Vegas. This work-through-the-summer and a straight-A woman raised by a strict military family is the last person anyone would expect to get so wasted she marries a woman she does not know the name of. Burnt out and facing a hostile job market, Grace joins her new wife across the country to see what joys in life she missed while focusing on school for all of her life.
Doctor January by Rhoda Baxter
(Choc Lit)
After a painful breakup with an abusive spouse, Beth feels like she’s starting to find “normal,” Right as she begins to see her lab partner James in a new light, her ex returns expecting to pick things up where they left off. James wants to wait for Beth but is unsure how much he can relay these feelings when Beth is navigating a complicated relationship with her ex.
Baxter wrote this book as a romance first, but there is a very dark subject regarding Gordon’s relationship, so please read up content warnings. The author has a background in microbiology.
The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang
(Berkley)
After developing an algorithm that lands her with so much new money, 30-year-old Stella doesn’t know what to do next but maybe try and improve her intimacy skills. Stella’s Asperger’s causes further difficulty, so she commits to practicing. Stella hires a Vietnamese Swedish escort named Michael Phan to help her practice everything from kissing to more-than-missionary. However, all the time she spends with Michael turns into real feelings real quick.
This was already a very popular book, and it blew up again due to BookTok. So, if you have read it and liked it try the other two books in the series—The Bride Test and The Heart Principle.
Princess in Theory by Alyssa Cole
(Avon Books)
Between juggling work and a grad school program studying epidemiology, Naledi Smith does not have time to deal with this constant barrage of e-mails claiming she’s betrothed to a prince an African prince in Thesolo. Growing up in foster care and making her way through university alone, Naledi’s had to always rely on scientific evidence and not fairy tales. However, Naledi is missing a lot of context. When Prince Thesolo goes to NYC to confront her, he’s enamored with her spunk and the freedom of anonymity away from the crown—even if it’s only temporarily.
This Cinderella (Naledi) meets Prince and the Pauper meets Coming to America (Thabiso) retelling is the first book of The Reluctant Royals series. Other novels follow her best friend, Thesolo’s assistant, and more.
The Soulmate Equation by Christina Lauren
(Gallery Books)
Single mom and Data/statistics wizard Jess Davis knows numbers. That is why she is shocked to find that the new DNA-based matching company, GeneticAlly, proving to find partners matches her up at a record-breaking 98% with founder Dr. River Peña. Despite the lingering curiosity, Jess wants nothing to do with this until the company offers to pay her to at least try pubically and get to know him personally. Needing the money, she agrees to give the scientist founder a chance and learns there’s more to River than she initially thought.
(featured image: Gallery Books, Park Row, and Berkley.)
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