Hello! I'm romance repulsed and I was wondering if there's any books that just have friendship in them or no romance?
The publishing industry loves romance, and tends to force authors to add them even where there doesn't need to be any, so it's kind of difficult to find books like this- but they do exist!
Some of these may have incidental relationships, but none of them have romances
We Could Be Heroes by Mike Chen only has one real relationship in it, and it's platonic
Vicious & Vengeful by V.E. Schwab is centered around an implied aro ace character and is way more focused on murder than relationships
The Valley and the Flood by Rebecca Mahoney does have a romance in the far back between side character but it doesn't really effect the plot
Middlegame by Seanan McGuire is about siblings above all else
We Can Be Heroes by Kyrie McCauley is about female friendship, but there is a subtle mention/implication of some kind of attraction, though it never becomes a plot point
Sadie by Courtney Summers is a mystery thriller that you should definitely check TWs for, but the slight moments of possible romance are overshadowed by the dark mission at hand and don't go anywhere
Unpregnant by Jenni Hendriks & Ted Caplan starts up right as a romantic relationship is ending, and focuses on friendship
The Wayward Children series by Seanan McGuire so far has very little romance- the only book with any kind of romantic relationship is the second one (which you could technically skip and still enjoy the other books)
Watch Over Me by Nina LaCour I haven't read, but have heard there's no romantic arc beyond maybe a moment of possible interest
okay, now a couple that are stretches
SLAY by Brittney Morris does have a romantic relationship present, but it isn't presented romantically. It's a toxic relationship and the "romantic" elements are definitely far and few between. Most of this book is about community and gaming
Here and Now and Then by Mike Chen has two different incidental romances with the main character, but the most important relationship of the book is father-daughter and romance never gets the spotlight
Save Steve by Jenni Hendriks & Ted Caplan is technically about romance, because the whole plot hinges on a crush, but the actual story is about friendship and (spoiler) the romance doesn't pan out for any of them
Loveless by Alice Oseman is coming out in February and definitely does have romance, but it's about someone coming out as aro ace, so if you want to read about rep you could still enjoy it!
