diff --git a/src/quantecon_book_theme/assets/styles/_base.scss b/src/quantecon_book_theme/assets/styles/_base.scss
index 24ba341..ad14d31 100644
--- a/src/quantecon_book_theme/assets/styles/_base.scss
+++ b/src/quantecon_book_theme/assets/styles/_base.scss
@@ -154,6 +154,14 @@ em {
   color: var(--qe-emphasis-color, colors.$emphasis);
 }
 
+// Reset emphasis styling inside citation reference links
+// Prevents "et al." in references from inheriting emphasis color
+a.reference em {
+  font-style: normal;
+  font-weight: inherit;
+  color: inherit;
+}
+
 // Strong/bold styling - semi-bold weight with color
 strong,
 b {
diff --git a/src/quantecon_book_theme/assets/styles/_color-schemes.scss b/src/quantecon_book_theme/assets/styles/_color-schemes.scss
index 8522258..24d5601 100644
--- a/src/quantecon_book_theme/assets/styles/_color-schemes.scss
+++ b/src/quantecon_book_theme/assets/styles/_color-schemes.scss
@@ -24,6 +24,12 @@ body.color-scheme-gruvbox {
     font-weight: 600;
   }
 
+  // Reset emphasis styling inside citation reference links (gruvbox)
+  a.reference em {
+    color: inherit;
+    font-weight: inherit;
+  }
+
   strong,
   b {
     color: var(--qe-strong-color, colors.$gruvbox-definition);
@@ -40,6 +46,11 @@ body.color-scheme-gruvbox {
       color: var(--qe-emphasis-color, colors.$gruvbox-emphasis-dark);
     }
 
+    // Reset emphasis styling inside citation reference links (gruvbox dark)
+    a.reference em {
+      color: inherit;
+    }
+
     strong,
     b {
       color: var(--qe-strong-color, colors.$gruvbox-definition-dark);
diff --git a/src/quantecon_book_theme/assets/styles/_dark-theme.scss b/src/quantecon_book_theme/assets/styles/_dark-theme.scss
index 88ab18a..45738df 100644
--- a/src/quantecon_book_theme/assets/styles/_dark-theme.scss
+++ b/src/quantecon_book_theme/assets/styles/_dark-theme.scss
@@ -153,6 +153,11 @@ body.dark-theme {
     color: var(--qe-emphasis-color, colors.$emphasis-dark);
   }
 
+  // Reset emphasis styling inside citation reference links (dark mode)
+  a.reference em {
+    color: inherit;
+  }
+
   strong,
   b {
     color: var(--qe-strong-color, colors.$definition-dark);