Books like The Bitter Rival

This book is funny. But it is also sweet and touches on some heavy subjects, such as miscarriage and the butterfly effect it can have on an entire family and the way in which the main character, Eden, a dance instructor, is led very much by her past and the deep hurt it holds. 

Eden meets Hunter King, a pro-golfer, and this is where the fun and steam come in! V H Nicolson is Scottish, and the book is based in Scotland and uses local terminology, with a fun glossary at the beginning of each chapter.

I love Vi Keeland and Penelope Ward's way of weaving a beautiful story that makes you say, 'just one more chapter'.

They always pull you into the story and make you feel like you are there. I often read their books in a day because I can’t put them down.

I love the grumpy-sunshine trope in this book. It was fun and sexy and emotional. There is a hidden and very well-portrayed medical issue for one of the characters, which I felt added so much depth to the book and touched on very real, relatable issues.

A woman who is coming to terms with her own mortality. And the man who is determined to save her.

I did not see the twists and turns coming in this book. Not strictly a romance as the happy ever after is not one in the traditional sense. But yet the main theme running through this book is love and what happens when you experience a love so strong that it changes multiple lives.

It made me cry. But it also made me feel proud of just how much impact love can have. Not just on one person, but a whole community. Beautiful.

Prepare to cry! That’s my advice.

It is a beautiful story about childhood friends, Poppy and Rune, who are fated to be together. But circumstances break them apart, and when teenager Rune returns, Poppy has a secret – she has a terminal diagnosis.

This isn’t strictly a romance because the ending isn’t a traditional happy ever after. But it is bursting with love and all the strength that a gripping love story brings. I loved it.

It’s a book that makes you look at life and feel grateful again. To really remember how powerful we all are and can be when we harness our true meaning of loving ourselves and each other.

It is breathtakingly beautiful and will stay with you a long time after turning the final page.

This was one of the most honest books I have ever read.

Marian shares her life story with utter candour, from her early life up until her autism diagnosis as an adult. Her anecdotes and tales or faux pas and other social screw-ups are so relatable and she made me want to give her a hug in pure solidarity. I feel your pain, Marian!

When my daughter was diagnosed as autistic aged 10, I was desperate to be able to describe her and her ‘condition’ to the school so they would know how best to help her.

I was so grateful to discover this book by Clare Sainsbury (of the supermarket family), who is autistic herself. In it, she describes her schoolgirl experience and how she felt like a 'Martain in the Playground.' She was eight or nine when she realized she was ‘different in some nameless but all-pervasive way.’

I found reading this book to be nerve-wracking and heartbreaking but necessary. It looked into how my daughter was likely feeling every day. In a way, it was a guidebook for my own child. 

This is a speculative novel, asking readers: how might we use technology to replicate loved ones before they pass, so in a way, no one ever has to die? How would we want to remember them? How do we process and avoid grief through technology? And how might technology with an ableist focus create an erasure of neurodivergence?

The novel gives this speculative backdrop but focuses on authentic interactions and a beautiful relationship between the autistic protagonist Cora and her ADHD friend Adrien. The way Cora and Adrien express the pressure a neurotypical society imposes on neurodivergent people is resonant and nuanced. It also does a great job of showing the similarities and differences between autism and ADHD in a compelling way.

This is the second of Stephanie Burgis’s Regency Dragons books, but in my opinion, it can stand on its own.

The protagonist and viewpoint character, Rose Tregarth, is slowly emerging out of a fog of depression caused by the loss of her parents. She now lives with loving and somewhat eccentric cousins in Wales. Part of the charm of the book comes from the diverse cast of secondary characters, which includes a sapphic couple, a young girl with an anxiety disorder, and a young woman of color.

As an autistic reader, I very much appreciate that Rose’s love interest, a renowned dragon scholar, is coded as autistic, because it’s difficult to find good autistic representation in historical romance. Dragon fans take note: the book abounds with adorable miniature dragons with magical powers! 

Corinne Duyvis is autistic, and so is the narrator for this book, Denise. Unsurprisingly, given she shares the disorder, Duyvis has absolutely nailed this aspect of the character. As an autistic person myself, Denise feels relatable to me in a way that few fictional protagonists do. 

While other characters in the book struggle to understand her, her habits and mannerisms frequently make me say, “Hey! That’s like me!” Nothing beats having that experience with a character, and the book’s story, which sees Denise use her unique talents to attempt to secure a place for her family on a generation ship fleeing from catastrophe on Earth, is well-crafted and gripping throughout. 

In the second book in this endearing series, Lauren, who has ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) travels with her family so Lauren can be the flower girl in her auntie’s wedding. It takes Lauren’s family “two days, eight movies, four chapter books, and three throw-ups” to get to their destination. The book is filled with gentle humor, which helps me appreciate Lauren’s perspective while at the same time it doesn’t sugarcoat life with a child with ASD. Leach artfully balances it all: here’s the raw reality and it can be exhausting; yes, we get frazzled but we have a few strategies; and we still love our daughter. Trust me, you’ll laugh and you’ll sigh with this window into what it’s like with ASD.