Neurodivergent Romance
From sensory processing disorders to dyslexia and ADHD, panic attacks to the Autism Spectrum, these neurodivergent heroes and heroines get their happily ever afters.
Accidentally engaged
Heron, Farah, author
2021
"Reena Manji doesn't love her career, her single status, and most of all, her family inserting themselves into every detail of her life. But when caring for her precious sourdough starters, Reena can drown it all out. At least until her father moves his newest employee across the hall--with hopes that Reena will marry him. But Nadim's not like the other Muslim bachelor-du-jours that her parents have dug up. If the Captain America body and the British accent weren't enough, the man appears to love eating her sourdough creations as much as she loves making them. She sure as hell would never marry a man who works for her father, but friendship with a neighbor is okay, right? When Reena's career takes a nosedive, she decides to follow her heart by entering a video cooking contest to win the artisan bread course of her dreams. The one problem? It's couples only. Nadim happily agrees to fake an engagement so they can enter the contest, but as cooking at home together brings them closer and her family gets wind of the situation, Reena can't help thinking her faux fiancé might just be the real deal."-- Provided by publisher.
Act your age, Eve Brown : a novel
Hibbert, Talia, author
2021
The flightiest Brown sister crashes into the life of an uptight B&B owner and has him falling hard--literally.
Beard in mind
Reid, Penny, author
2017
All is fair in love and auto maintenance. Beau Winston is the nicest, most accommodating guy in the world. Usually. Handsome as the devil and twice as charismatic, Beau lives a charmed life as everyone's favorite Winston Brother. But since his twin decided to leave town, and his other brother hired a stunning human-porcupine hybrid as a replacement mechanic for their auto shop, Beau Winston's charmed life has gone to hell in a handbasket. Shelly Sullivan is not nice and is never accommodating. Ever. She mumbles to herself, but won't respond when asked a question. She glares at everyone, especially babies. She won't shake hands with or touch another person, but has no problems cuddling with a dog. And her damn parrot speaks only in curse words. Beau wants her gone. He wants her out of his auto shop, out of Tennessee, and out of his life. The only problem is, learning why this porcupine wears her coat of spikes opens a Pandora's box of complexity - exquisite, tempting, heartbreaking complexity - and Beau Winston soon discovers being nice and accommodating might mean losing what matters most.
The bride test
Hoang, Helen, author
2019
Khai Diep has no feelings. Well, he feels irritation when people move his things or contentment when ledgers balance down to the penny, but not big, important emotions--like grief. And love. He thinks he's defective. His family knows better--that his autism means he just processes emotions differently. When he steadfastly avoids relationships, his mother takes matters into her own hands and returns to Vietnam to find him the perfect bride. As a mixed-race girl living in the slums of Ho Chi Minh City, Esme Tran has always felt out of place. When the opportunity arises to come to America and meet a potential husband, she can't turn it down, thinking this could be the break her family needs. Seducing Khai, however, doesn't go as planned.
Dyscalculia : a love story of epic miscalculation
Felix, Camonghne, author.
2023
When Camonghne Felix goes through a monumental breakup, culminating in a hospital stay, everything - from her early childhood trauma and mental health to her relationship with mathematics - shows up in the tapestry of her healing. She repossesses herself through the exploration of history she'd left behind, using her childhood "dyscalculia" - a disorder that makes it difficult to learn math - as a metaphor for the consequences of her miscalculations in love. She negotiates the misalignments of perception and reality, love and harm, and the politics of heartbreak, both romantic and familial.
Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine
Honeyman, Gail, author
2017
Eleanor Oliphant struggles with appropriate social skills and tends to say exactly what she's thinking. Nothing is missing in her carefully timetabled life of avoiding unnecessary human contact. But everything changes when Eleanor meets Raymond, the bumbling IT guy from her office. When she and Raymond save Sammy, an elderly man who has fallen, the three rescue one another from the lives of isolation they have each been living. Ultimately, it is Raymond's big heart that will help Eleanor find the way to repairing her own profoundly damaged one.
Ellie and the harpmaker
Prior, Hazel, author
2019
Dan Hollis lives alone, in a remote barn hidden in the woods on Exmoor. He leads a simple life and takes great pleasure in the small things, he counts the toadstools he finds on his morning walk (317), he cuts his sandwiches into triangles and arranges them geometrically on his plate, he spends his days in the workshop at the bottom of the seventeen-step staircase. For the past twenty-three years he has been making harps, choosing beautifully-coloured local wood, carving and shaping it by hand, and adding his unique 'signature': a specially-chosen pebble that he sits in the wood. He enjoys his solitary, quiet routine. Then, one day, Exmoor housewife Ellie Jacobs stumbles across the barn by chance as she's walking in the woods. She's utterly stunned by the discovery of the enchanting workshop, and Dan (taken by her surprise -- and her cherry-coloured socks) gives her the gift of a beautiful cherry wood harp. But Ellie's controlling husband Clive refuses to let her keep it, and so she begins to take lessons in secret at the barn.
The girl he used to know
Garvis Graves, Tracey, author
2020
Annika Rose feels lost in social situations, saying the wrong thing or acting the wrong way; she just can't read people. Working at the Harold Washington Library, she prefers the quiet solitude of books or playing chess to being around others... apart from Jonathan. She liked being around him, but she hasn't seen him for ten years. Jonathan Hoffman is now a Wall Street whiz, recovering from a divorce and seeking a fresh start. When fate reunites them in Chicago, will their second chance end before it truly begins?
A girl like her
Hibbert, Talia, author
2018
Everyone has secrets. He wants all of hers. Meet the man next door ... After years of military service, Evan Miller wants a quiet life. The small town of Ravenswood seems perfect--until he stumbles upon a vicious web of lies with his new neighbour at its centre. Ruth Kabbah is rude, awkward, and--according to everyone in town--bad news. Thing is, no-one will tell Evan why. Does she perform ritual sacrifices? Howl at the moon? Pour the milk before the tea? He has no clue. But he desperately wants to find out. Because Ruth doesn't seem evil to him; she seems lonely. And funny, and clumsy, and secretly quite sweet, and really ... beautiful ... The more Evan's isolated, eccentric neighbour pushes him away, the more he wants her. Her--and all her secrets. Because there's no way a girl like Ruth truly deserves the town's scorn ... Is there?
The heart principle : a novel
Hoang, Helen, author
2021
"When violinist Anna Sun accidentally achieves career success with a viral YouTube video, she finds herself incapacitated and burned out from her attempts to be perfect in other people's eyes. If Anna ever wants to move forward, she has to learn to listen to her own heart, but that's not easy when her greatest fear has always been disappointing others. Her solution is to create a low-stress environment, with no expectations to fulfill, where she can experiment with being herself and going after what she wants. Translation: Anna is going to embark on a string of one-night stands. The more unacceptable the men, the better. That's where tattooed, motorcycle-riding Quan Diep comes in, but nothing goes according to plan. Their first attempt at a one-night stand fails, as does their second, and their third, until it starts to feel like a real relationship. But when her traditional-minded family disapproves of the relationship and the person she's slowly discovering herself to be, Anna must choose between meeting expectations and finding happiness in who she really is."-- Provided by publisher.
Highly suspicious and unfairly cute
Hibbert, Talia, author
2023
Bradley Graeme is pretty much perfect. He's a star football player, manages his OCD well (enough), and comes out on top in all his classes... except the ones he shares with his ex-best friend, Celine. Celine Bangura is conspiracy-theory-obsessed. Social media followers eat up her takes on everything from UFOs to holiday overconsumption--yet, she's still not cool enough for the popular kids' table. Which is why Brad abandoned her for the in-crowd years ago. (At least, that's how Celine sees it.) These days, there's nothing between them other than petty insults and academic rivalry. So when Celine signs up for a survival course in the woods, she's surprised to find Brad right beside her. Forced to work as a team for the chance to win a grand prize, these two teens must trudge through not just mud and dirt but their messy past. And as this adventure brings them closer together, they begin to remember the good bits of their history. But has too much time passed... or just enough to spark a whole new kind of relationship?
The kiss quotient
Hoang, Helen, author
2018
A thirty-year-old woman with Asperger's makes sense of her life using math, but one thing she can't handle is dating and the intimacy she feels it requires. Her conclusion: she needs lots of practice--with a professional. She hires the perfect male escort who teaches her that love is the best kind of logic.
Last call at the Local : a novel
Ruiz, Sarah Grunder, author.
2024
"Opposites attract when a free-spirited American singer-songwriter with ADHD teams up with a charming Irishman to revitalize his family's pub in the next heartfelt romance from the author of Luck and Last Resorts. Raine Hart is used to the challenges of living with ADHD. It's why she ditched her life in Boston to busk around Europe as a traveling musician. No boss. No schedule. No one to disappoint but herself. But when a careless mistake in Ireland leaves her unable to perform, she sees no other option but to give up her nomadic life. Since inheriting the Local, Jack Dunne has wanted to make the pub his own. But the baggage of running a family business and the intrusive thoughts that stem from his OCD make changing things a challenge. Over a pint with handsome, tattooed Jack, Raine accidentally insults him and the pub. Instead of taking offense, Jack is impressed by her vision of what the pub could be and offers her a job bringing it to life. But when Raine and Jack develop feelings for one another their opposite lifestyles won't accommodate, it becomes clear the pub isn't the only thing that needs reinventing. As the end of their business collaboration draws near, they'll have to find a way past the limits they've placed on themselves or let go of a love that could last a lifetime"-- Provided by publisher.
Red, white & royal blue
McQuiston, Casey, author
2019
First Son Alex Claremont-Diaz, with his sister and the Veep's genius granddaughter, are the White House Trio, a beautiful millennial marketing strategy for his mother, President Ellen Claremont. Then photos of a confrontation with his longtime nemesis Prince Henry at a royal wedding leak to the tabloids. The plan for damage control: stage a fake friendship between the First Son and the Prince. Alex soon discovers that beneath Henry's Prince Charming veneer, there's a soft-hearted eccentric with a dry sense of humor and more than one ghost haunting him. As President Claremont kicks off her reelection bid, Alex finds himself hurtling into a relationship with Henry that could derail the campaign and upend two nations.
Second first impressions
Thorne, Sally, 1981-, author
2021
Ruthie Midona has dedicated her entire adult life to caring for the Providence Luxury Retirement Villa's residents. Somewhere along the way, she's forgotten that there's a world outside of work - until she meets the son of the property developer who just acquired the retirement centre. Teddy Prescott charms the entire villa. He might even remind Ruthie what it's like to be young and fun again. But when Ruthie finds out Teddy's father's only fixing up the retirement home to sell it, putting everything she cares about in jeopardy, she's left wondering if Teddy's magic was all just a façade.
Spoiler alert
Dade, Olivia, author
2020
Marcus Caster-Rupp has a secret. While the world knows him as Aeneas, the star of the biggest show on TV, Gods of the Gates, he's known to fanfiction readers as Book! AeneasWouldNever, an anonymous and popular poster. Marcus is able to get out his own frustrations with his character through his stories, especially the ones that feature the internet's favorite couple to ship, Aeneas and Lavinia. But if anyone ever found out about his online persona, he'd be fired. April Whittier has secrets of her own. A hardcore Lavinia fan, she's hidden her fanfiction and cosplay hobby from her "real life" for years--but not anymore. When she decides to post her latest Lavinia creation on Twitter, her photo goes viral. Trolls and supporters alike are commenting on her plus-size take, but when Marcus, one half of her OTP, sees her pic and asks her out on a date to spite her critics, she realizes life is really stranger than fanfiction. Even though their first date is a disaster, Marcus quickly realizes that he wants much more from April than a one-time publicity stunt. And when he discovers she's actually Unapologetic Lavinia Stan, his closest fandom friend, he has one more huge secret to hide from her. With love and Marcus's career on the line, can the two of them stop hiding once and for all, or will a match made in fandom end up prematurely cancelled?
Summer reading : a novel
McKinlay, Jenn, author.
2023
For Samantha Gale, a summer on Martha's Vineyard at her family's tiny cottage was supposed to be about resurrecting her career as a chef, until she's tasked with chaperoning her half-brother, Tyler. The teenage brainiac is spending his summer at the local library, and there's no place Sam, who's dyslexic, likes less. And because the universe hates her, the library's interim director turns out to be the hot-reader guy whose book she accidentally destroyed. Bennett Reynolds is on a quest to find his father. He's taken the temporary job on the island to research the summer his mother spent there. An irresistible attraction blossoms when Ben inspires Sam to create the cookbook she's always dreamed about and she jumps all in on helping him find his father, and soon they realize their summer fling may heat up into a happily ever after.
A taste of sage : a novel
Santos, Yaffa S., author
2020
"Lumi Santana is a chef with a gift: she can perceive a person's emotions by tasting their cooking. Despite being raised by a mother who taught her that dreams and true love were silly fairy tales, she puts her heart and savings into opening her own fusion restaurant in Upper Manhattan. The restaurant offers a mix of the Dominican cuisine she grew up with and other world cuisines she is inspired by. When her eclectic venture fails, she is forced to take a position as sous chef at a staid, traditional French restaurant owned by Julien Dax, a celebrated chef known for his acid tongue as well as his brilliant smile. After he goes out of his way to bake a tart to prove her wrong in a dispute, she is so irritated by his smug attitude that she vows to herself never to taste his cooking. But after she succumbs to the temptation and takes a bite one day and is overcome with shocking emotion, she finds herself beginning to crave his cooking and struggling to stay on task with her plan to save up and move on as soon as possible. Meanwhile, Julien's obsessed secretary watches with gnashed teeth as they grow closer and becomes determined to get Lumi out of her way permanently"--Publisher description.
Two wrongs make a right
Liese, Chloe, author
2022
"There's much ado about everything when two adversaries become allies and fake a relationship to fool their meddling friends in this swoony, inclusive reimagining of the Bard's beloved play Much Ado About Nothing. Jamie and Bea have nothing in common except a meet-disaster and the mutual understanding that they couldn't be more wrong for each other. But when the people closest to them play Cupid and trick them into dating, Jamie and Bea realize they have something else in common after all-an undeniable need for revenge. Soon their plan is in place: 1. Fake date. Obnoxiously. Convince the meddlers they're madly in love. 2. Break up. Spectacularly. Dash everyone's hopes and put a stop to the matchmaking madness - once and for all. To convince everyone they've actually fallen for each other, Jamie and Bea will have to nail the performance of their lives. But as their final act nears and playing parts becomes easier than not, what once felt fake now seems all too real. What if Cupid's arrow wasn't so off the mark? And what if two wrongs do make a right?"-- Provided by publisher.
Yes & I love you
Loren, Roni, author.
2021
"Everyone knows Miz Poppy, the vibrant reviewer whose commentary brightens the New Orleans nightlife. But no one knows Hollyn Tate, the real face behind the media star...or the fear that keeps her isolated. When her boss tells her she needs to add video to her blog or lose her job, she's forced to rely on an unexpected source to help her face her fears. When aspiring actor Jasper Deares finds out the shy woman who orders coffee every day is actually Miz Poppy, he realizes he has a golden opportunity to get the media attention his acting career needs. All he has to do is help Hollyn come out of her shell...and through their growing connection, finally find her voice."--Provided by publisher.