Our Calculations Determine These are the Best Books with Women in STEM 

Our calculations conclude that you’ll be absolutely captivated by Lessons in Chemistry, our Book of the Year. It’s set in 1960s California, and there are certain things that women just don’t do. When scientist Elizabeth Zott finds herself the host of a television cooking show, she kicks off a revolution that does more than just challenge the status quo. You will fall in love with the cast of characters in this debut novel that has already been picked up as an Apple TV+ series. After all, all’s fair in love and chemistry.  

Ali Hazelwood quickly became one of our favorite STEM romance authors with The Love Hypothesis, and her newest book, Love on the Brain, only solidified that for us. Pull on your lab coat and get your safety goggles in place because this enemies to lovers romance is the chemical equation of Bee and Levi as they co-lead in the lab for the project of a lifetime. It’s flirty, fun and full of the side of academics they don’t teach you about in school. *Winking emoji* 

Helen Hoang writes romances you won’t want to miss, and The Kiss Quotient is the perfect book for people who love women in STEM. It follows Stella Lane, a mathematician who develops algorithms to predict customer purchases, but while her job has provided her with plenty of money, her experience in the dating department is notably lacking — probably not helped by the fact that French kissing has no appeal to her whatsoever. So, she decides she needs practice, which leads her to hire an escort, Michael, to help her learn kissing and more. It’s an excellent read, and if you haven’t read it yet, it deserves a place on your TBR ASAP!  

What if you were a brilliant scientist, but the only thing people remembered about you was your beauty? Pick up this stunning read by Marie Benedict to explore this book based on a true story about Hedy Lamarr, a glamour icon and scientist. A beautiful woman married to an Austrian arms dealer flees from their castle, becomes a film star, and is secretly a scientist with an idea to help the US beat the Nazis and revolutionize modern communication. A story celebrating overlooked women in STEM, prepare yourself to be enthralled with this masterpiece.

Yaa Gyasi’s debut novel Homegoing was a revelation. It’s richly authentic and gorgeously written prose were among the many reasons we selected it as a Discover Pick back in 2016, and why we were so thrilled to have Yaa’s voice back with this one (so thrilled, in fact, that it was one of our Book Club picks). Transcendent Kingdom paints a breathtaking portrait of a family colliding with addiction and grief through the push and pull of science and faith. This novel is as beautiful as it is devastating and offers a powerful look at how we process and seek to contain the suffering around us. 

For an adult coming of age novel, you have to pick up Honey Girl. Grace Porter isn’t the type of woman for a crazy night in Vegas resulting in marrying a woman she doesn’t know, and yet, PhD-in-astronomy wielding Grace does exactly that, leaving her reeling and wondering if all her hard work and appeasement of her parents’ expectations are worth it. So, she flees to New York to spend a summer with the wife she barely knows, and when reality comes crashing in on her, she must face what she’s been running from. 

A combination of historical romance along with a dash of rom-com in an awesome love story about female empowerment and science. And, of course, a love story. What’s not to love here? This debut, along with the historical romances of Evie Dunmore and Suzanne Allain’s Mr. Malcom’s List, gives us a refreshing tweak to the genre. Lucky for you, if you love this one, you can get even more historical STEM romances with the second book in the series (out now) and the third book, A Love by Design, coming in January!

It would be an understatement to say we LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the writing duo known as Christina Lauren. Their writing dynamic has made many fans at Barnes & Noble with their hit The Unhoneymooners. Soulmate Equation continues their track record. What IS it about the chemistry of two people who fall in love? When done well, it seems like a sleight of hand. A perfect touch for magic of the heart. Following a single-mom statistician and Dr. River Peña, the founder of a DNA-based matchmaking company, this book is certain to delight readers!