This Rec League request was spawned by a comment from Dread Pirate Rachel. Here’s the request:
Is there a Rec League for romances with neurodivergent heroines? There aren’t many that I can think of. A Desperate Fortune, by Susanna Kearsley, comes to mind, as the contemporary storyline features a heroine with Asperger’s. It was nice to see the representation, but unfortunately I felt like all the conflict and tension of her plot was due to that, which wasn’t great. The historical plot was so awesome that I still rated the book at 5 stars, but I found myself skipping through the contemporary parts as they seemed heavy-handed to me.
For this post, we’re using the definition of “neurodiversity” from the National Symposium of Neurodiversity found on the neurodiversity Wikipedia page:
…a concept where neurological differences are to be recognized and respected as any other human variation. These differences can include those labeled with Dyspraxia, Dyslexia, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Dyscalculia, Autistic Spectrum, Tourette Syndrome, and others.
Amanda: One of the books featured in the sale post mentioned above was Water Bound by Christina Feehan ( A | BN | K | AB ). The heroine has autism and has a magical connection with the ocean, and I’d definitely classify it as a paranormal romance.
Sarah: The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie, I think.
Redheadedgirl: The Lady Hellion, maybe? ( A | BN | K | G | AB | Au )
Sarah: The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion . There’s a scene in that book where the hero is venting about something that happened (he’s the narrator) and he says, “And THIS is the world I have to live in!”
Oh – The Witness, Nora Roberts. The heroine is neurodivergent, I believe, in a way that isn’t clearly explained if I recall, but fits a number of patterns.
Redheadedgirl: Unveiled by Courtney Milan, the hero has dyslexia. ( A | BN | K | G | AB )
The Duke’s Holiday ( A ) has a duke with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, and I know I read the book, but I can’t tell you how well it’s handled.
Sarah: When Beauty Tamed the Beast by Eloisa James! ( A | BN | K | AB )
Amanda: Seconding The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie. It’s one of my favorite historical romances.
Know any romances with neurodivergent heroes and heroines? Give us your recommendation in the comments!
Last Kiss by Jessica Clare and Jen Frederick. Heroine has autism and while her condition is a significant element in the story, it is not the main source of conflict.
KJ Charles writes an awesome amount of neurodivergent heroes! Jackdaw has a love interest with Dyslexia (though you may have to read the Charm of Magpies series beforehand to appreciate the plot fully), and her most recent book – An Unseen Attraction – has a hero with the best depiction of autism I’ve ever seen. Like, literally the first time I’ve had to put down a book and squee because it captured my experience so perfectly!
Heidi Cullinan–Carry the Ocean (Clinical depression and autism)
Ryan Loveless– Ethan Who Loved Carter (Tourettes and cognitive disabilities)
Catherine Anderson’s My Sunshine. The heroine has aphasia from an accident.
Connie Brockway, As You Desire, hero is dyslexic
The heroine’s sister in A Certain Want of Reason (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9112511-a-certain-want-of-reason) is on the austistic spectrum. She would be the only sane reason for wanting to read this book.
Theodor Taylor’s His Pretend Baby, is an amusing novel with an Aspergers-ish tech-mogul. My kindle copy turned out to be a collection of 4 short novels, and this one felt too short, with rather an abrupt ending, if I recall correctly, so that I was disappointed. But much of the hero’s behaviour seemed credible to me, and I thought that aspect of the story was well done.
Would Flowes from the Storm count? I know the hero’s difficulties arise from traumatic brain injury following a stroke but it remains a brilliant depiction of how to communicate when the world thinks you are mad or mentally deficient.
Secret Desires of a Governess by Tiffany Clare might qualify. The hero is illiterate, but still runs his estate. It might be dyslexia, but since there isn’t a word for it in the historical time frame, I can only guess.
Never Say Never to an Earl by Grace Callaway also features a hero who has sever manic depressive episodes that are described using an interesting metaphor and a heroine who can see auras due to a fall as a child. I adored it in true Grace Callaway fashion.
I’m going out on a limb here, because it’s not a romance, and the heroine is not neurodivergent–she has Alzheimer’s, but “Elizabeth is Missing” is worth a look. It’s a mystery of sorts in which the narrator has Alz and I found the way that the author manages to portray the personality and perspective of an Alz patient to be fascinating and incredibly empathetic. My aunt has Alz and a friend of mine lost her wife to Alz, so I found it particularly heartbreaking but it really gets you inside the head of what it must be like to slowly lose abilities and memories.
I am currently reading Meredith Duran’s A Lady’s Code of Misconduct and I would say the hero has ADHD. It is never labeled as a disorder but the hero has a hard time sitting still and focusing on papers and other symptoms of ADHD but is brilliant at exactly those types of things ADHD afflicted people can excel at. I have several in my family with ADHD so the characterization of the hero hit me as falling into that spectrum. It made the hero’s life harder growing up but it is not the conflict in the story.
Love on My Mind by Tracy Livesay is a diverse contemporary about a self-made woman and a tech-mogul with Aspergers. It’s dedicated to the author’s son, who has Aspergers. It really liked it.
A Crown of Bitter Orange by Laura Florand has a hero with ADHD.
Maybe Maby by Willow Aster the heroine has OCD.
Puddle Jumping by Amber L Johnson the hero has Autism.
I haven’t read it but Checked by Jennifer Janelli has a heroine with OCD.
In Miranda Neville’s Confessions from an Arranged Marriage, the hero is dyslexic. People keep thinking he’s stupid or too thoughtless to bother, and his dyslexia—or the lengths he goes to hide it—figures strongly into the plot.
And Crusie’s Bet Me has a dyslexic hero.
Hard Time by Cara McKenna. The hero has dysgraphia (a learning disability affecting writing & spelling) . Also, thirding The Madness of Lord Ian MacKenzie.
What about Sherry Thomas’ a study in Scarlett, i think she is on the spectrum. It’s a great book anyway – pretty sure i found it through a review on here. Its yhe kind of awesome that had me looking for anything she had ever written and waiting for more 🙂
A Rational With Arrangement by L Rowyn has a heroine with something like Aspergers. His Road Home has a hero who has trouble speaking though it’s due to a war injury. The hero of Sweet Agony by Charlotte Stein can’t bear touching and may be agoraphobic.
Addition by Toni Jordan has a heroine with OCD. Hero tries to fix her, she learns how to cope with her condition better and to accept herself.
An Unseen Attraction by KJ Charles has a hero with dyspraxia. (mm historical)
Connection Error by Annabeth Albert has a hero with ADHD (mm contemporary)
Mnevermind series by Jordan Castillo Price – best representation of a person on the autistic spectrum I have read, in particular book 2, which is told from his POV (mm speculative fiction/romance)
“Trial by Desire” by Milan Courtney has a hero with debilitating depression.
“Upside Down” by Lia Riley has characters with OCD and anorexia (continued in other books in “Off the Map” series).
A Desperate Fortune by Susanna Kearsley has a heroine with Aspergers
Neanderthal meets Human by Penny Reid.
On this same line I was just trying to figure out what book I read with a neurodivergent heroine and can’t remember what it is or pretty much anything about it. I feel like it was a CEO hero and the heroine was a computer geek? maybe? and there was a scene on an airplane. I REMEMBER NOTHING.
Falling into bed with a Duke by Lorraine Heath has a hero with dyscalculia (like dyslexia but with numbers)
Once Upon a Marquess by Courtney Milan – as mentioned in the SB review, hero has anxiety/OCD.
Enchanted Afternoon by Susan Wiggs – heroine is dyslexic.
Bet Me, by Jennifer Crusie — the hero is dyslexic, if I remember correctly
Imperfect Chemistry by Mary Frame has a heroine who I think is on the autism spectrum. It is a pretty interesting story. And the ebook has the advantage of being free.
:::rubs hands together::: I have two kids with autism, boy and girl, and work as an autism consultant for a university. Telling me a book has a hero or heroine with autism is a good way to make me go full-on alert otter.
Seconding Love On My Mind, I’ve got it on my Kindle, and haven’t read it yet (my TBR is fearsome, you guys), but I bought it specifically because it has a hero with autism.
I’m also seconding His Road Home by Anna Richland, which was a lovely story where the hero has aphasia stemming from a TBI. He and the woman learn to communicate with each other via text message.
Someone mentioned A Study In Scarlet Women by Sherry Thomas, which has a gender-bent Sherlock Holmes. Anyone who has ever read a Sherlock Holmes story or watched anything with Sherlock (particularly the Benedict Cumberbatch version) has their strong suspicions that Sherlock is on the autism spectrum, for all the modern TV version’s tendency to refer to him as a “high-functioning sociopath” (which I’m pretty sure is hooey in his case, he behaves much more like someone on the spectrum). In this case, Charlotte is definitely on the spectrum, and has a sister that is also on the spectrum, but with a more severe presentation (she’s nonverbal and has more pronounced social difficulties and repetitive behaviors). The mystery could have been better, but the characterization was on point.
I also JUST finished (I mean literally this morning, 20 minutes before I popped open the laptop) A Study In Charlotte by Brittany Cavallaro. It’s a YA retelling, set in a world where Holmes and Watson were real people and they have modern descendants, in this case, two teenagers named Charlotte Holmes (that appears to be a popular motif, for the obvious reasons) and James Watson. It was excellent. It’s pretty apparent that James is somewhat in love with Charlotte (a crush that managed to predate his even meeting her in person) but he’s cognizant of her boundaries (here be a trigger warning, which are many, both due to her being Charlotte, but also due to the fact she is a rape survivor) and doesn’t push. I loved it, and am super stoked that I already have The Last of August, the sequel, sitting right here.
I would also mention I Thee Wed by Celeste Bradley. I read about it here, and both the hero and his younger sister are on the spectrum. His sections detail some of the social rules that his sisters have taught him to negotiate the world, and they are completely accurate to what I work with clients on. I actually walked it in to one of my coworkers during a lunch break and read those sections to her and we agreed that the author had hit it dead on.
The sister of the heroine in Say Yes to the Marquess by Tessa Dare also reads as being on the autism spectrum. I asked Ms. Dare about that in a Goodreads Q&A. I think I remember her saying that she had not done that much on purpose, but agreed looking at the character, she does read as someone with undiagnosed autism. Being honest, I want her to get her own book.
Another vote for KJ Charles’ An Unseen Attraction, although I believe the hero you’re talking about has dyspraxia rather than autism.
two words: Miles. Vorkosigan.
Had a hard time thinking of a neurodivergent heroine, but To Pleasure a Prince by Sabrina Jeffries has a dyslexic heroine in Regina. She is a diamond of the first water who is a clever girl with a secret and a grumpy hero draws her out. Hmmm, may be time for a re-read.
I second Falling into Bed with a Duke by Lorraine Heath. The heroine draws out the hero’s secret this time around. The hero explains his challenge in a way that reflect his times.
Why Do Dukes Fall in Love by Megan Frampton has a hero who is considered odd or quirky, but in our times he would be described as having Asperger Syndrome or being on the spectrum. As an aside, nice supporting character in a dog in this story.
Naughty book alert: The Theory of Attraction by Delphine Dryden has an OCD rocket scientist hero who has to be in control, everywhere. He asks the girl next door for help in social situations and it goes from there. The social relationship that develops between the hero and heroine is special and I think of their story often.
The hero of Julia Quinn’s The Lost Duke of Wyndham has dyslexia. In contemporaries, two of the siblings featured in Darcy Burke’s Ribbon Ridge series are neurodivergent. The heroine of Only in My Dreams has sensory processing disorder, and the hero of The Idea of You is on the autism spectrum.
Crystal – I ALSO want the sister (Phoebe?) from Say Yes to the Marquess to get her own book. Quite desperately. I’d settle for a short story or novella. She was just crying out for someone to “get” her. I read Rafe from the same book as having ADHD.
It’s interesting that so many books have a non-neurotypical hero. I just went through my lists and most have already been listed or are a non-NT hero.
In Sarah MacLean’s One Good Earl Deserves a Lover the heroine, Pippa, describes herself as “odd.” She misses a lot of social cues. I don’t know if she’s supposed to have Asperger’s, but I do like that her odd-ness is what the hero likes about her.
Pandora in Devil in Spring is ADHD.
Madeline in When a Scot Ties the Knot has social anxiety.
Woohoo! I’m very happy to see this Rec League. I’ve read several of the books I’ve seen in comments so far, but I see many more to add to my TBR. As I suspected, I’m seeing more neurodivergent heroes than heroines, but I am still excited for all the recommendations.
Oh man. I can’t think of any heroines off the top of my head but I can think of several mm romances.
I just started rereading Adrienne Wilder’s ‘In the Absence of Light” for maybe the fourth time. One of the heroes has autism and I feel like there’s a good balance between the serious aspects of living with autism but also how much he’s still a “normal” person.
K. Sterling’s ‘Hide and Keep’ has a hero with Asperger’s. There’s several other books with these characters, but this first one is by far the best IMO.
Seconding Annabeth Albert’s ‘Connection Error’.
Heidi Cullinan’s ‘Dirty Laundry’ has one hero with severe OCD and the other hero has maybe dyslexia? I can’t remember if they ever say, but definitely problems with reading and how it affects his life.
I feel like there’s more; I’ll keep thinking. Maybe one of Amy Lane’s?
Simply Irresistible by Rachel Gibson. Heroine is dyslexic.
Would Simple Jess by Pamela Morsi count? I would consider Jess to have IDD – Intellectual Disability Disorder.
I love this thread.
Correction – IDD is Intellectual Development Disability. My bad.
Girl Least Likely to Marry by Amy Andrews. The heroine’s brain, and the fact that she takes prescription meds to slow it down/sleep/make it function is integral to her characterization.
All These Pieces of Me by C.E. Kilgore has an autistic heroine, a disfigured hero, a tight and loyal group of friends and BDSM (an excellent introduction/explanation to h, as well). Great series and a personal fave.
All These Pieces of Me by C.E. Kilgore has an autistic heroine, a disfigured hero, a tight and loyal group of friends and BDSM (an excellent introduction/explanation to h, as well). Great series and a personal fave.