For Disability Pride Month, Bookstr is bringing you a list of inter-abled romances you need to read. Before we move forward, to clarify: I am not an expert in disabilities, and I have included recommendations that interest me and that I consider underrepresented in the media as a whole. In addition, this list does not include chronic illnesses, but you can find those recommendations at the end of this list.
As a wheelchair user with a lifelong disability, I have struggled to find myself represented in the media. Now, finally, in the year 2025, I add these books to my TBR, hoping that the next generation doesn’t have to fight to see themselves as I have. In the making of this list, I’ve also tried to avoid the stereotypical tropes that come with inter-abled relationships, such as caregiver roles for able-bodied partners or progressive disabilities that end in death. This is a reality for some couples; however, it is not underrepresented in books by any means (you know who you are). Let’s uncover these hidden gems together and find you some rep in your next reads!
Trigger Warning: The mention of certain content and topics in these books may be triggering to some readers. Please check Trigger Warnings listed inside each of these recommendations before purchasing and read with caution.
Mental Disability Representation
ADHD, OCD, and Tourette’s Representation
Yes and I Love You by Roni Loren
This novel follows Hollyn Tate, a struggling actor with ADHD and Tourettes who hides behind a very popular commentary channel to overcome her anxiety. As Miz Poppy, she can be incredibly confident, someone she would never be in real life. Enter stage left, Jasper Deares, an improv actor who promises to help her overcome her anxiety through private lessons. What could possibly go wrong?
Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute by Talia Hibbert
Bradley Graeme, an OCD football player, and Celine Bangura, a social media star, cannot stand each other… Now. There was a time when they would be considered best friends, but then Bradley got all popular and left Celine behind, at least that’s what she would tell you. But when a school project brings these two teens back together, more than just insults start flying.
A Taxonomy of Love by Rachael Allen
Spencer and Hope have known each other since 7th grade. From the moment he saw her, he knew that she would change his life forever. They became fast friends, something that Spencer never thought he could have due to his Tourette’s. However, as they grow up, from ages 13 to 19, the term “friends” doesn’t seem to encompass all that they are to each other.
Autism Spectrum and Downs Syndrome Representation
Whatever Happens by Micalea Smeltzer
This heartbreaking romance follows Finn and Violet as they wallow in their loneliness. Finn has always known loneliness, as he is an autistic teen, obsessed with space, and has only one true friend, his service dog. Violet, on the other hand, is new to the loner label, as the once popular girl finds herself struggling after a tragedy. Now, they are next-door neighbors and find themselves drawn to each other, hoping they may not be alone anymore.
Rosie Loves Jack by Mel Darbon
TW: Abelism, Trafficking, and Coercion of a Vulnerable Child
16-year-old Rosie loves three things: her family, her dog, and her boyfriend Jack. Jack and Rosie met in a special education classroom and have been dating ever since. But after Jack has an outburst of anger due to his brain injury, he is sent away, and Rosie is left alone. Determined to find him, Rosie sets off on a journey overseas, full of danger, misunderstanding, and disappointment from her overprotective parents.
Note: This is the only novel on the list with both characters representing a disability, Jack and his TBI. I’m hoping, dear readers, that you’ll make an exception because this book is the only one I could find that has Downs’ representation as a romance!
Dyslexia Representation
Catch and Cradle by Katia Rose
Catch and Cradle follows a past and present relationship between two female lacrosse players on the same national team: Hope and Becca. Both women are struggling to get back onto the dating scene, but Hope’s teeny, tiny crush on Becca has turned into a full-blown obsession. When Becca finds out that Hope struggles in the classroom because of her dyslexia, it could jeopardize everything their lacrosse team has worked for. Well, she has to step in and help in any way she can, right? As a friend, of course!
Bipolar Disorder Representation
Chaos Theory by Nic Stone
An accidental drunk text leads to so much more when Andy Criddle meets Shelbi, after believing he was texting his ex-girlfriend. This one stupid encounter leads him to find that there is much more to the shy, quiet new girl than meets the eye. Together, they become each other’s confidantes: Shelbi with her Bipolar II diagnosis and Andy as he comes to a dark realization about his drinking.
Physical Disability Representation
Deaf Representation
The Tides Between Us by Cali Melle
What do you get when you cross a Deaf marine biologist, a professional surfer, and an injured sea turtle? The third book in the Orchid City series. Declan tells himself he wants to stay away from Giana, but in this summer romance, it proves easier said than done.
Give Me A Sign by Anna Sortino
Lilah knows she’s going to lose her hearing; that’s a fact, it’s just a matter of when. In order to prepare for this eventual reality, she wants to brush up on her ASL and heads back to Camp Gray Wolf, a summer camp for Deaf children that she once attended. While there, she meets Isaac, a profoundly deaf camp counselor who helps her practice her ASL. At Gray Wolf, Lilah finds much more than she was expecting this summer, and it’s not just the sun that is sizzling!
Note: The FMC is also experiencing hearing loss, and therefore Lilah and Issac may not totally constitute as an “inter-abled” couple, but I felt it was important to include, given her feeling of being “not enough” of one thing, which is a feeling some in the disabled community share.
Mute and Speech Impediment Representation
Fighting Quiet by Dana Hoff
Nate Brooks doesn’t back down from a fight and certainly doesn’t lose, except for once. When his past stumbles into his gym in the form of 18-year-old Claire Jennings (who cannot speak), well, now he has something to fight for. Nate is determined to give her back her voice and take down the people who took it, a ruthless gang known as the Vex. Who says there can’t be a little darkness in your happily ever after?
Not a Word by Dawn Sister
Niall doesn’t speak, and that doesn’t bother most people; he keeps to himself and lives his life desperately hiding his stutter. That is, until he meets Zak, who is 23 years younger than he is and will not shut up. Even if Niall wanted to, he doesn’t think he could get a word in edgewise. But the pair soon learns that just because you speak doesn’t mean you are heard.
Blind Representation
Take Me Down by Avery Kingston
Silas is going blind, but that’s a secret almost no one knows. Most people recognize him by his voice, as with his radio show, he can pretend to be as good as any God out there. But that life has gotten lonely, and it’s time for him to stop hiding and go after what he wants, the girl that lives below him, Kennedy, a woman surrounded by a dark shroud of addiction. Lucky for Kennedy, Silas can handle darkness; it levels the playing field.
Wheelchair User Representation
Knot My Type by Evie Mitchell
Frankie is a sexologist and all-access podcaster, bringing her fans into the intersection between love and accessibility from the comfort of her wheelchair. She needs help, however, from a carpenter named Jay, after a listener reaches out asking about accessible rope play, and the only way to know is to try it herself. There’s only one problem with that: Jay doesn’t do relationships, and Frankie is a relationship guru. Fortunately for Jay, it seems like Frankie won’t be the only one with her hands tied when it comes to their connection.
Amputees Representation
One by Jewel E. Ann
Gravity is the one thing prosthetic user Lake Jones has always hated. So when she has a chance encounter with a Minnesota NFL player, Cage Monaghan, and he seems to take the gravity right out from under her, she’s all too happy to oblige. Three years later, they meet again, and nothing will get in between them and their chance at happiness.
MS Representation
Quiver by Guiliana Victoria
When Dr. Katrina Narvaez started her new position as a neurology physician assistant, there was one rule she had to follow: don’t date the patients. She had thought this would be easy enough, until her green-eyed neighbor, with whom she shares a flirty relationship, turns out to be one of those new patients. Alessandro De Laurentis lives with MS, and he just so happens to be on her brother’s hockey team. This has bad idea written all over it. He just won’t give up, and after Kat agrees to drop him as a patient, their troubles get worse when a nosy reporter wants to break the story of their romance, but will she just end up breaking them apart?
Diabetes Representation
Fangirl Down by Tessa Bailey
Wells Whitaker has a fangirl. She comes to every game, no matter how badly he plays, there is always that smiling redhead in the crowd cheering him on. However, after one terrible golf game, Wells goes out in a ball of fire, a viral ball of fire. Determined to turn his game around and his reputation, he hires said fangirl to become his caddy. Josephine, on the other hand, is shocked that Wells would choose her. She doesn’t see herself as particularly different or special; in fact, the only thing that would mark her in the other category is her Type I Diabetes. So why is Wells so obsessed with her joining him? She has no idea, but she is excited to find out.
This is by no means a complete list of all the representations within the disabled community. If it were, I would be sorely disappointed in myself. However, I believe it is a step forward and a way to start a conversation. If there’s a book you think is missing that should be on here, tell us about it, tell your book club to read it, add to your TBR on Goodreads, do whatever you can to make sure that representation is out there and someone knows about it. Anyone who tells you this list is complete or perfect doesn’t understand that there will never be a finite number of disabilities in the world, or that one definition doesn’t encompass everything that could possibly affect a person. Because we are out there, we exist as more than one trope in a sad movie or something to use as inspiration, and I, for one, will never shut up about it.
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