Romance novels featuring disabled characters are hard to find. They need to show that disabled people are part of everyday life. This will also help to boost our self-confidence by showing disabled characters just like us. Thankfully, this genre is slowly working on including disabled people as protagonists. So we’ve asked disabled dating site Disabled Mate to round up six romance novels where disabled individuals play the main role.
Between You and Me – by Lynn Turner
At the age of 16, Finnegan Kane survived a plane crash that killed his parents and cost him his leg. As an adult, Finnegan is a scientist working to improve the lives of disabled people by creating new ways to make prosthetic limbs. All he needs are the funds, which leads him to turn to a venture capitalist by the name of Emanuela Monroe.
Finnegan wasn’t counting on any sparks flying between them, but that’s exactly what happened. They both run away from their feelings, but will they come together in the end and make their dreams come true?
Rain Falls – by Kelli Jae Baeli
While looking to make some extra money, India Bell finds two jobs. The first is to interview an up-and-coming lesbian romance writer by the name of Tegan Lowry. The second is to write a lesbian novel herself to win a bet and get an editing job.
The trouble is that India is a sci-fi writer, and knows nothing about romance. Could Tegan help her? As excited as Tegan is by this opportunity, she believes that a gorgeous woman like India would never go for a girl who uses crutches and lives in a basement apartment. But one can only hope.
The War that Saved my Life – by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
Ten-year-old Ada has never left her one-bedroom apartment as her mother is too humiliated by her twisted foot. When her little brother Jamie is sent to London to escape World War 2, Ada sneaks out to join him. So begin Ada’s new life and that of Susan Smith, a woman who is forced to take the two kids in.
As Ada masters riding a pony and reading, as well as watching out for German spies, she begins to trust Susan. At the same time, Susan begins to love Ada and Jamie. Will their love be enough to keep them together during wartime? Or will Ada and Jamie fall back into the hands of their cruel mother?
Carry the Ocean – by Heidi Cullinan
Jeremy Samson is a high school graduate who can’t wait to leave for college and get away from his judgmental parents who don’t believe in clinical depression. When an autistic double major in maths and computer science, named Emmet Washington, enters his life, things get heated up.
When Jeremy’s untreated condition reaches a critical point, Emmet is the white knight that rescues him. He takes him as his roommate at the Roosevelt, a quirky assisted-living facility nearby. As Jeremy gets settled in at the Roosevelt, Emmet starts to hope that he can be loved for the man he is behind his autism.
Making a Comeback – by Julie Blair
Six months after Liz Randall’s wife dies, she’s still having a hard time keeping her head above the water. A jazz pianist, she’s worried about keeping her band together, especially after they’ve been offered a gig at the prestigious Monterey Jazz Festival.
Not sure whether she’s ready yet, Liz enlists the help of her neighbour, Jac Winters, a true jazz connoisseur. Jac is happily living a small life in a town called Carmel-by-the-Sea with her guide dog but finally agrees to help Liz. Music initially brings the two women together, but will love keep them in each other’s arms for good?
By Disabled Mate
More on Disability Horizons…
- Arlene on the Scene: disability and children’s books
- Once upon a time: children’s books need disabled heroes
- Disability and entertainment: comic books and disability
