I have talked about my mom on this blog before. She is a force of nature who has greatly impacted my life, not solely because she literally gave me life. My mother is a strong, opinionated, and sometimes aggravating woman who cheats at dominoes and rewatches episodes of Perry Mason, correctly guessing the killer only because she has seen the episode at least half a dozen times. She also has a disability.
This is one of the reasons why having strong disability representation in books is so important to me. Especially in romance novels where, historically, the heroes and heroines have been rather lacking in diversity of all kinds.
So to kick off Disability Pride Month, let’s talk about some romance novels with disability representation.
Historical Romance
Elizabeth Hoyt is one of my favorite historical romance authors. Her books are absolutely amazing. And this book, a stand-alone in the Maiden Lane series, is no different.
Lady Phoebe Batten is almost completely blind. Captain James Trevillion (swoon) has a leg injury from his time in the military.
Click here to check out this book!
Eveline Armstrong is hard of hearing, which the people around her haven’t fully realized so they assume that she’s just an idiot.
But she is definitely not. As she learns about, and falls for, her new husband, she learns more about herself and discovers how strong and capable she really is.
Click here to check out this book!
Contemporary Romance
Chloe Brown is chronically ill and a wheelchair user who is determined to do “something bad”. Enter Red Morgan, tattooed, motorcyclist, and all around hunk. Who of course has a secret soft side.
I honestly think that Talia Hibbert could rewrite the dictionary, and I would love it. This is one of my favorite of her couples.
Click here to check out this book!
In this debut novel, by an author who has cerebral palsy, two people try to fight their attraction to each other.
Nick is a fabulous singer who uses a mobility aid due to cerebral palsy. Hayley is a professional dancer with a real jerk of a boyfriend. Can they make it work?
Click here to check out this book and find out!
YA Romance
I absolutely adore this series. The writing, the characters, the world, it is all so good.
Prince Rhen is cursed to turn into a monstrous beast every year. Harper is just a regular girl who gets swept from the real world into this fantasy realm.
It’s a marvelous version of the classic Beauty and the Beast story with a heroine with cerebral palsy.
Click here to check it out!
Shelbi is a genius who just happens to have bipolar disorder.
Andy struggles with alcoholism.
Be prepared to cry because these characters have been through a lot, but watching them come together is a beautiful thing to read.
Click here to check out this book!
Romantic Fantasy
I’ve talked about the representation in Fourth Wing before. But it bears mentioning again. Our main character, Violet, struggles with chronic pain. This plot point is probably my favorite thing about the entire series.
And Xaden, our love interest, is what bad boy daydreams are made of.
Click here to check out this book!
Now, this is the 6th book in a 7th book series. And I would strongly recommend reading all of the books in the series. (And not doing the tandem read of this book and Empire Of Storms.)
But our main character Chaol has been irrevocably injured in a previous book.
And our love interest, Yrene, is a healer who is trying to help him recover.
Click here to check out this book!
Well, those are just some of the books in these different romance novel categories that have main characters with a disability.
If you have any other book recommendations, whether for Disability Pride Month or just in general, please let me know! I’m always on the hunt for good books.
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