Top 12 STEM romance heroines who prove that smart is sexy

If I’ve said it once I’ve said it a thousand times: I can’t tolerate TSTL heroines. And I believe I also might have mentioned a time or ten that I adore nothing more than ultra-smart, science-y/math-y/tech-y heroines. So, with that in mind, here are our top 12 picks for STEM heroines in romance today.

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Sweet
Tammara Webber

Amazon blurb:
He’s the love of her life, but he doesn’t know it.
She’s his one moment of sacrifice in a lifetime of survival.
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He was damaged and wild, but resilient.
She’s always been obedient; now she’s restless.

Home for the summer between college and med school, Pearl Torres Frank knows two things: Boyce Wynn is the embodiment of everything she should run from, and everything she wants to run to. Rebellious and loud. Unconcerned with society’s opinion of him. Passionate. Strong. Dangerous.

And one more trait he hides from everyone but her:
Sweet.

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Under Fire
Scarlett Cole

Amazon blurb:
Hot, hard-bodied Sixton Rapp is a former SEAL who’s raring to begin his brand-new civilian life. He and his Navy “brothers” start a security firm that offers the kind of services only a team of military-trained professionals can provide. But nothing prepared Six for his new client: an innocent woman on a mission to improve thousands of lives. . . unless someone takes hers first.

Dr. Louisa North knows time is against her as she tries to create a “miracle” medical treatment for a disease with no known cure, until she creates a sample so powerful that the wrong people want to use it as a chemical weapon. At first, Six is unwilling to accept Louisa as his client. But soon he realizes that the danger is real and that there’s much more to this plain-Jane scientist…including a burning passion between them that neither of them can resist. 

And now that an enemy is on Louisa’s trail, Six will do whatever it takes to protect her—or die trying.

NOTE: Check out our 5-star review of Under Fire!

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A Hope Divided
Alyssa Cole

Amazon blurb:
The Civil War has turned neighbor against neighbor—but for one scientist spy and her philosopher soldier, war could bind them together . . .

For all of the War Between the States, Marlie Lynch has helped the cause in peace: with coded letters about anti-Rebel uprisings in her Carolina woods, tisanes and poultices for Union prisoners, and silent aid to fleeing slave and Freeman alike. Her formerly enslaved mother’s traditions and the name of a white father she never knew have protected her—until the vicious Confederate Home Guard claims Marlie’s home for their new base of operations in the guerilla war against Southern resistors of the Rebel cause.

Unbeknowst to those under her roof, escaped prisoner Ewan McCall is sheltering in her laboratory.

Seemingly a quiet philosopher, Ewan has his own history with the cruel captain of the Home Guard, and a thoughtful but unbending strength Marlie finds irresistible.

When the revelation of a stunning family secret places Marlie’s freedom on the line,  she and Ewan have to run for their lives into the hostile Carolina night. Following the path of the Underground Railroad, they find themselves caught up in a vicious battle that could dash their hopes of love—and freedom—before they ever cross state lines.

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Standing Up
Kate Forest

Amazon blurb:
Standing up for yourself doesn’t require legs.

Brilliant physics major Jill Kramer tutors jocks in math to pay her tuition. The college junior has big dreams—NASA. And if her self-centered ex taught her anything, it’s to never again let a guy distract her from her goals, especially the hottie failing calculus.

Former football star Mike Lewis hopes the cute calculus tutor will save his otherwise perfect GPA. Top grades will convince his demanding father that he’s still pursuing law school and not his real dream—the Broadway stage. Acting seems unachievable at the moment, with him hunched over crutches and in crippling pain from a past car accident, but after amputation surgery he’ll strut on state-of-the-art prosthetics.

Jill can’t help but fall for Mike—brains in his head, muscles in his chest, and vulnerability in his legs. Mike loves her determination and her refusal to pity him.

But when choices have to be made—family versus goals, dreams versus love—they both need to find strength to stand on their own, side-by-side.

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The List
Tawna Fenske

Amazon blurb:
It all starts with a list.

A sex list.

Cassie Michaels comes up with a list of naughty experiences to impress her sisters and finally convince them—and herself—she's not just a boring soil scientist. Unfortunately, it also makes Cassie a liar if she doesn't tick off at least some of the kinky exploits before her sister's bachelorette party. Luckily, she's found just the man to help her, starting with number four—sex with an anonymous stranger.

As the owner of a chain of computer shops, Simon Traxel doesn't deal with mundane repairs, but when a brunette with killer green eyes and a list of sexploits frozen across her computer screen shows up at one of his shops, he's ready to get a little hands on.

Simon's more than willing to have some fun helping Cassie turn her made-up adventures into reality. Between steamy public romps that go hilariously awry, and sexy antics with kitchen utensils, getting through a to-do list has never been this much fun. But nearing the last few items means nearing the end of their time together, and Simon isn't ready to let her go...

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Phantom Shadows
Dianne Duvall

Amazon blurb:
Dr. Melanie Lipton is no stranger to the supernatural. She knows immortals better than they know themselves, right down to their stubborn little genes. So although a handsome rogue immortal seems suspicious to her colleagues, Sebastien Newcombe intrigues Melanie. His history is checkered, his scars are impressive, and his ideas are daring. But it's not his ideas that have Melanie fighting off surges of desire. . .

Bastien is used to being the bad guy. In fact, he can't remember the last time he had an ally he could trust. But Melanie is different--and under her calm, professional exterior he senses a passion beyond anything in his centuries of experience. Giving in to temptation is out of the question--he can't put her in danger. But she isn't asking him. . .

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Beginner’s Luck
Kate Clayborn

Amazon blurb:
Kit Averin is anything but a gambler. A scientist with a quiet, steady job at a university, Kit’s focus has always been maintaining the acceptable status quo. A sudden windfall doesn’t change that, with one exception: the fixer-upper she plans to buy, her first and only real home. It’s more than enough to keep her busy, until an unsettlingly handsome, charming, and determined corporate recruiter shows up in her lab—and manages to work his way into her heart . . .

Ben Tucker is surprised to find that the scientist he wants for Beaumont Materials is a young woman—and a beautiful, sharp-witted one at that. Talking her into a big-money position with his firm is harder than he expects, but he’s willing to put in the time, especially when sticking around for the summer gives him a chance to reconnect with his dad. 

But the longer he stays, the more questions he has about his own future—and who might be in it. 

What begins as a chilly rebuff soon heats up into an attraction neither Kit nor Ben can deny—and finding themselves lucky in love might just be priceless . . .

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Scorpius Rising
Rebecca Zanetti

Amazon blurb:
For Nora Medina it started when she was yanked off a gorgeous Hawaiian beach, still in her bikini top, and onto her ex-husband’s government jet. A microbiologist doesn’t see a lot of emergency extractions, but marriage to Deacan Devlin McDougall taught her plenty about adrenaline. Nora knows it’s more than their unfinished business that has brought the sexy, maddening Scot back into her life. But she’d never have guessed this.

As a soldier of fortune, Deke has seen too much by any standards. But the terrifying bacterium sneaking through the highest halls of power isn’t his kind of battle. All he can do is keep close to his brilliant, fiery Nora and fight like hell to keep her safe. Because if he lets her get sucked down by the horror that’s coming, he’ll never get another chance at her heart . . .

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No Regrets
Shannon K. Butcher

Amazon blurb:
Renowned cryptologist Noelle Blanche refuses to have blood on her hands. So when the military asks for her help in a covert operation, she refuses--until masked gunmen raid her home and threaten her life. Suddenly it's all too clear that any blood spilled may be her own. Noelle has no choice but to trust the dangerous stranger sent by the military to safeguard her. A stranger who is everything she detests, everything she fears...and everything she desires.

Former Delta Force operative David Wolfe thought he had left it all behind--the horror, the hurt, the guilt. But now the men who savagely murdered his wife have set their sights on a brilliant cryptologist who can lead them to the cache of weapons they prize. As passion ignites between David and the woman he's sworn to protect, what began as just a mission escalates into the fight of his life. But can he prevent history from repeating itself?

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Hold Me
Courtney Milan

Amazon blurb:
Jay na Thalang is a demanding, driven genius. He doesn’t know how to stop or even slow down. The instant he lays eyes on Maria Lopez, he knows that she is a sexy distraction he can’t afford. He’s done his best to keep her at arm’s length, and he’s succeeded beyond his wildest dreams.

Maria has always been cautious. Now that her once-tiny, apocalypse-centered blog is hitting the mainstream, she’s even more careful about preserving her online anonymity. She hasn’t sent so much as a picture to the commenter she’s interacted with for eighteen months—not even after emails, hour-long chats, and a friendship that is slowly turning into more. Maybe one day, they’ll meet and see what happens.

But unbeknownst to them both, Jay is Maria’s commenter. They’ve already met. They already hate each other. And two determined enemies are about to discover that they’ve been secretly falling in love…

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Wicked Sexy
JT Geissinger

Amazon blurb:
A badass ex-Special Ops officer and a smartass hacker fight a dangerous enemy…and a blistering attraction to each other.

Connor Hughes is an ex-special ops officer, CEO of Metrix Security, and bonafide badass. His private security firm is renowned for its effectiveness. He’s renowned for his lethal precision and iron self-control. But when the former Marine meets a gorgeous young hacker with a mouth as smart as her brain, his control unravels in ways he never could have predicted.

Tabitha West is a genius MIT dropout with a bad attitude, an obsession with Hello Kitty and piercings in unmentionable places. Tabby amuses herself by outwitting the most secure technology systems on the planet.

Known in hacker circles as Polaroid due to her photographic memory, she’s as secretive as she is accustomed to working alone. So when Connor decides she’s the only one who can help him catch a cyber criminal intent on taking down one of his clients, she tells him exactly where he can stick it. 

But when the cyber criminal turns out to be the Hannibal Lecter of computer crime—and a dark presence from Tabby’s past—Tabby and Connor are drawn into a dangerous game of cat and mouse. They quickly find themselves fighting not only their common enemy, but also an explosive desire that threatens to consume them.

When the stakes are this high and the game this deadly, will falling in love be the most dangerous move of all?

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Truth or Beard
Penny Reid

Amazon blurb:
Beards, brothers, and bikers! Oh my!

Identical twins Beau and Duane Winston might share the same devastatingly handsome face, but where Beau is outgoing and sociable, Duane is broody and reserved. This is why perpetually level-headed Jessica James has been in naïve and unhealthy infatuation with Beau Winston for most of her life. Whereas Duane and Jessica have always been adversaries. She can't stand him, and she's pretty sure he can't stand the sight of her...

But after a case of mistaken identity, Jessica finds herself in a massive confusion kerfuffle. Jessica James has spent her whole life paralyzed by the fantasy of Beau and her assumptions of Duane's disdain; therefore she's unprepared for the reality that is Duane's insatiable interest, as well as his hot hands and hot mouth and hotter looks.

When Jessica finds herself drawn to the man who was always her adversary, how much of her level-head heart is she willing to risk?

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What about y’all? Have any smarty-pants heroines you’d like to recommend? Let us know! We’d love to hear from you.