Neurodivergent Leads | 4.7.23
Autism & ADHD rep FTW!
While I have no official diagnosis, I don’t think anyone has ever met me and thought “that person is as neurotypical as they come.” As such, despite not knowing exactly what flavor of neurodivergence defines my oft-frustrating brain, I find books with first person POV neurodivergent characters extremely relatable and comforting. It’s why I have a whole column on my romance spreadsheet to track books with autistic main characters, because fuck they hit harder than I expected when I first picked them up! So I’ve curated a list of some of my favorite neurodivergent love stories for you today. Perhaps you will find a similar comfort in them, but even if not, they’re damn good stories.
The Heart Principle by Helen Hoang. A concert violinist struggles with intense burnout in the aftermath of viral music fame while also learning she's autistic and taking care of her father after a stroke, and falls in love with a tattooed small business owner struggling with his own identity.
That’s the short version. Here’s the slightly longer one: Anna is experiencing autistic burnout and an unexpected diagnosis of such while her boyfriend, who her parents approve of and who she has no particular issues with because she really doesn’t consider him that much at all, asks that they open up their relationship before fully committing. Hurt and confused, she decides that despite his assumption she’ll just sit around waiting for him, she could probably benefit from this break from routine and sets out to experience some one night stands. And then she meets Quan, a cancer-surviving, motorcycling, tattooed co-CEO of a children’s clothing line (which he runs with the protagonist of book 1 of this trilogy), and falls hard. He also has an autistic brother (protagonist of book 2), so he’s weirdly the ideal person to help her navigate her new diagnosis. He knows she’s in an open relationship, but eventually it’s clear that this is more than just an experiment… for both of them. Though Anna needs some time to sort through that, because she’s under a lot of pressure from her family and her fame to perform, perform, mask, mask. She’s spent her whole life obeying. Can she break away in time to not lose the one person she never needed to pretend around?
This book fucked me up in all the best ways, and I both hate and love that no success in this book is had easily. These two poor sweet people have to fight (themselves, each other, the world) nearly to the death to claim their happy endings individually and together. Also, while Anna isn’t asexual, this book felt like some of the best representation of what it often feels like to be asexual in a world built for and by allosexuals, which also really hit hard.
Rating: 5/5
How hot? 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Lizzie Blake's Best Mistake by Mazey Eddings. Getting this out of the way at the top: the central premise of this book is an accidental pregnancy and subsequent cohabitation pregnancy/birth between the unexpected parents. That’s not everyone’s bag, so I get it if this one won’t be for you!
For those of you still here, this book (the sequel to recent rec A Brush With Love but sans science) follows the titular Lizzie Blake, a constantly late, mistake-prone baker with ADHD with only one consistent thing in her life other than her great friends: she never sleeps with a guy more than once. That is, until the buttoned up Australian Rake who similarly has no trust or interest in a long term relationship knocks her up after a passionate two night stand while he’s in the states on a business trip. When Lizzie decides to keep the baby, he moves to be with her through it (PLATONICALLY!) and has to work though his lack of feelings for anything (oh my sweet summer child) while Lizzie realizes she has to finally truly deal with her ADHD, because if she can barely take care of herself, she absolutely can’t take care of a baby if she doesn’t get her shit together.
While I find Lizzie occasionally annoying and Rake frequently frustratingly stubborn (which is saying a lot, because I love a stubborn character, being one myself), a lot of that is probably also my own baggage and in Lizzie’s case, my first instinct with her has roots in ableism. Which is especially galling to realize about myself, given that I’m 99% certain I have ADHD/ADD. This book forced me to confront some of my ableist assumptions and knee-jerk impatience to people around me, and though I’m not huge on unplanned pregnancies/babies in romance, I’m really glad I read this. Can’t wait for book 3, out just this week! The library says I should have my copy in about 4 weeks, so I’ll keep ya posted :)
Rating: 4.25/5
How hot? 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Act Your Age, Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert. Book 3 in the Brown Sisters trilogy follows baby sister Eve after the latest in her attempted entrepreneurial disasters blows up in her face. Her parents give her an ultimatum: grow up or else. In a fit of frustration and despair, she finds herself parked outside a cute little B&B and impulsively applying for their open chef position. The owner, Jacob Wayne, is not impressed with the purple-haired wild child with no formal kitchen training, despite his business partner seeing a spark. He’s blunt with her about this lack of interest in hiring her, and then she accidentally hits him with a car and his business partner hires her while he’s laid up. Bad start! She also has to live in his spare room while he struggles one-armed (broken, not amputated!) to run the recently refurbished B&B understaffed with the chaotic but surprisingly (to him) exceptional new chef.
Jacob was diagnosed with autism fairly early in his life, typical for men (women are frequently diagnosed with anxiety or depression while exhibiting the same autism or ADHD markers as their male counterparts, though I’m sure that has no bearing on my own anxiety/depression diagnoses nope nah), and over the course of getting to know Jacob and herself, Eve gets diagnosed as well. This is a delightful small town forced proximity enemies (ish) to lovers story about two people who struggle with control, first impressions, and asking for help. As with all Talia Hibbert books, it’s lovely.
Rating: 4.5/5
How hot? 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Next week, I’ll be recommending books about characters who are ALREADY MARRIED to each other (but, importantly, that I don’t consider “marriage in trouble” stories, necessarily).
What should I be reading next? Let me know in the comments!