GS vs. STA: Disabled Heroines

2017 NB: The title of this entry was changed from “Handicapped Heroines” to “Disabled Heroines” due to the fact that “handicapped” was and is an ableist term. I want to apologize for the poor choice, and apologize that I cannot change the URL to match the headline. Thank you to Brooke W. for bringing this to my attention on Twitter. – SW

It’s a little different than the “Help a Bitch Out” feature, but it’s all about looking for good things to read. Good Shit vs. Shit to Avoid is a recommendation thread devoted to books in a specific genre that feature a type of heroine, hero, plot, or locale that is often difficult to find, particularly when that feature is done right. Today, Heather, the awesome, from The Galaxy Express, is looking for disabled heroines:

When you have a chance, I’m hoping you can assist me with information about a particular type of romance heroine. I’m thinking my question might be eligible for your HaBO feature. A friend of mine and I were discussing how we’d like to read romances involving a handicapped heroine—one where the heroine gets the hero without any serious cop-outs.

By cop-outs, we mean:

1) The heroine’s handicap is resolved/healed in some way prior to her HEA.

2) The handicap becomes a non-issue based on milieu (e.g., deafness in an environment where every non-deaf human has to wear earplugs to keep the local inhabitants from piercing human ear drums with their loud calls).

3) The couple is united by a magical, psychic, biological, etc. bond they have no control over. This bond tends to ensure the hero can’t have a satisfying relationship with the vast majority of otherwise eligible women.

4) The handicap turns out to be a side-effect of great magical or psychic power that enables the heroine to save the world or the country.

SF/F would be nice, but we’re basically looking for stories regardless of sub-genre.

Oh, Heather, I hear you on the cop-outs. Love my conquer all, but there are some physical ailments it can’t overrule. What romances featuring disabled heroines do you recommend?

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