EWOC hosts a monthly book club dedicated to the Romance genre. Complete this form if you’d like to join. Since this is restricted to Dartmouth, be sure to be logged in on your Dartmouth account in your browser. Note: this is a SEPARATE listserv. You have to complete the Google form to join Book Club.

Remember, this book club is for ROMANCE only. We will focus on heroines/authors that are WOC, since we are less represented and promoted especially in publishing. We welcome new members and book recs!

See our reads below if you’re looking for a new book or want to join!

2025 Reads
January: Break
February: TBD

2024 Reads
March: That Time I got Drunk and Saved a Demon by Kimberly Lemming
April: Sorry, Bro by Taleen Voskuni
May: Bitter Medicine by Mia Tsai
June: Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
July: Captive of the Horde King by Zoey Draven
August: Outdrawn by Deanna Grey
September: The Worst Best Man by Mia Sosa
October: Dark City Omega by Elizabeth Stephens
November: The Truth According to Ember by Danica Nava
December: Trick Shot by Kayla Grosse

Indie (self-published) Authors Versus Published Authors

This serves as clarification for some of the books we select. At times, heroines may not be clearly WOC. Other times, we there might be critiques about typos, pace, etc. See below for more context.

Indie (self-published) versus published authors

Indie authors have a very difficult time presenting WOC heroines. One author told us this directly: “…most authors (myself included) have to start our new series with a white heroine otherwise there is a good chance the series will tank from the beginning. Every time I write a POC heroine, my sales drop by 20%-30%.” This is also true of white authors that try to write WOC heroines.

Indie author’s main female characters could be white-presenting or white. Sometimes they are vague on race because of sales.

To set expectations: there is also usually less editing help until these authors become moderately popular. They write what they want and how they want, which may mean more smut, but also more typos, dialogue issues, and inconsistent pacing/plot. They’re doing the best they can without big publishing money, since they aren’t hiring professional editors.

Why we support them: WOC have to work harder to be picked up by large publishing companies, and a fan base helps. This is the best way to promote WOC authors and heroines. SenLinYu, author of Manacled (Dramione fanfic) got picked up this way, as did Elizabeth Stephens (author of the October book) recently. Let’s show them love! <3