Disability Reads Challenge Reviews - Page 2

July Disability themed books

*A Touch of Fate - Cora Reilly|393 pages, Kindle Edition

After waiting years for the release, this one missed the mark! It was an okay read, I felt there was no overall development in the relationship between Samuel and Emma. Emma was the saving grace and hence my 3.5* rating. She was just so strong compared to some other heroines of Cora Reilly's and I loved Emma.

Samuel was decent, but he did have his A-hole moments especially when it came to their relationship. I felt the relationship revolved around their compability in the bedroom rather than getting to know one another and understanding each other.

Quotes

“I’ll catch you if you fall.” I couldn’t help but smile at his declaration. “That’s very romantic of you,” I teased.

"I might not be able to walk, but i'll carry your worries as if they're mine, Samuel. You don't have to shoulder all the problems by yourself. I'm your wife, and i'm here for you, always."

"She was a beautiful girl, a beautiful woman, now my wife. I wished fate hadn’t shackled her to me. So much darkness lay in her past, and I carried too much darkness for it not to stain her future."

*Out on a Limb - Hannah Bonam-Young|408 pages, Kindle Edition

This was such a wholesome and sweet book. I had a list of disability themed books on my list that I wanted to re-read this month but none of them called out to me so I reached out to others and this came highly recommended. Devoured it in a day.

This was my first from this author and I look forward to her other works.

Win and Bo are just ❤️ They just complimented each other so much and clicked. Their banter, romance, friendship was just amazing.

The writing was simple and just refreshing. I really enjoyed that there was some realism especially when it comes to certain topics.

Quotes

“It’s so much easier to communicate insecurities when you don’t need to communicate them at all. Isn’t that all we ever want? To be seen and heard? Validated, even when we’re not able to ask for it.”

“Perhaps that’s all Bo and I are. Two people leaving behind the worst, looking forward to the good to come.”

“I’m going to friend the shit out of you, Freddie McNulty.”

“Comic books,” Sarah says, snickering.
“I’ve seen what you read on your Kindle. You’re in no place to judge.”

“That’s the question I was going to ask tonight,” Bo interrupts. “Who in this world matters the most to you?” “You,” I answer simply, pleading with him to hear me. What I said and all that it means. “You,” he repeats. “It’s you for me too. With a very close second,” he says, his eyes on my belly.”

Knot My Type - Evie Mitchell | 240 Pages, Kindle Edition

This was a first for me from this author and may be my last. It was an okay read.

It was a quick Insta-love which is something I can get behind but if it was well done and had shown them falling in love, but there was a time jump etc. The concept was interesting and I really liked Frankie straightaway. But the relationship between her and Jay seemed way too rushed and it didn't feel like they had great chemistry because I didn't really read them bonding and falling in love.

Some of the dialogues were cute, I suppose. I wish I could have liked them, but it fell sort of flat.

I loved the cover of the book and thought this would be perfect especially following on from Out on a Limb. But was sorely disappointed. Thankfully it was a quick read.

Quotes

❝Frankie isn’t asking a lot. She doesn't expect you to be perfect.❞ Mai gestured at herself and the women beside her. ❝She loves us because of our imperfections. She'll take you as you are, Jay. She'll do whatever's necessary to build a future with you. All she's asking for—all she wants, is for you to do the same.❞

❝You're the kind of woman who should come with a warning label.❞

❝What? Loves trashy reality TV shows and fails at cooking?❞

❝Makes a man lose his goddamn mind.❞

Book: More or Less Maddy by Lisa Genova

Page Count: 367 pages

Review: Maddy Banks, a university student who was misdiagnosed with depression and prescribed antidepressants, which later exacerbated her hidden disorder and spiraled into a manic episode and then led to her being diagnosed with bipolar disorder which challenges her studies, family dynamics, and her love life.

This book was read like a romance, young adult book, which threw me off knowing that the author herself is a neuroscientist and I was expecting her to delve into the science behind the disorder (like her first book) and I was disappointed + the language used in this book and Maddy's lifestyle really bothered me😅

Nonetheless, the description of her mania, her ups and lows, was PHENOMENAL! I didn't really know what being bipolar felt like until I read this book and couldn't put the book down!⭐

Quotes:

"If she hadn’t been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, she wouldn’t be going on a comedy tour in two weeks. None of the amazing things that have unfolded in her life would’ve happened without that fork in the road. Yes, that fork was scary and disruptive, but who wants to drive down a perfectly straight road for an entire lifetime?"

''I have bipolar disorder. Some people would say I am bipolar instead of I have bipolar. And that’s all good. You do you, but for me, it would feel weird to say I am something that I have.''

"But this chose her. Without her consent, like an arranged marriage, till death do they part. She wants an annulment, a divorce, an open window onto a fire escape, a new doctor, a time machine. Some way out of this."

Book: Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness by Susannah Cahalan

Page Count: 300 pages

Review: The author shares her story in a memoir about how she unexpectedly got really sick with a serious brain condition. Later, she found out that she had a rare autoimmune disease called encephalitis. This illness makes the immune system attack the brain, which causes inflammation (that's why the book is called "Brain on Fire") and leads to serious problems with her brain and mental health.

This book was incredible. It just sends chills down to my spine that you could be alive and well, and suddenly your life can be turned upside down with an unknown rare illness that doctors themselves have yet to understand or learn about. You could easily fall through the cracks of being misdiagnosed or undiagnosed due to the symptoms that overlap with mental illness.

Quotes:

“Someone once asked, "If you could take it all back, would you?"

At the time I didn't know. Now I do. I wouldn't take that terrible experience back for anything in the world. Too much light has come out of my darkness.”

“Sometimes, just when we need them, life wraps metaphors up in little bows for us. When you think all is lost, the things you need the most return unexpectedly.”

“No great mind has ever existed without a touch of madness,” Aristotle said.”

~oOo~

Fan Fiction: Solace by CaCD

Page Count: 120 pages

Review: Amid her abduction in her own home by her case suspect, Detective Olivia Benson, grappling with PTSD, is navigating through life after darkness. A chance reunion with her former partner, Elliot Stabler, and his daughter, Kathleen, ignites a desperate hope for shared recovery.

I loved it! <3 10 out of 10 for the writing and staying true to character.

Quotes:

“Do you want me to?”

“I need him gone,” she whispers, the words ragged, pulled straight from deep inside her. “I do.”

“But I need you more.”

“Olivia closes her eyes and lets her body sink deeper into the mattress, trying to find peace in stillness—wishing, not for the first time, that she didn’t feel so much like a guest in her own skin.”

Priya's disability themed log July 2025

Remember Me? by Sophia Kinsella

Number of Pages: 464

Review
A sweet, entertaining read with Kinsella’s signature humor and flair. The amnesia premise is fun, and Lexi’s confusion makes for some genuinely funny and touching moments.

That said, some parts felt overly stretched, and a few emotional beats didn’t land as deeply as they could have. The romance was soft but slightly underdeveloped more hinted than fully felt.

Still, it’s a light, feel-good book with thoughtful undertones about identity and ambition. Not perfect, but definitely enjoyable if you’re in the mood for something charming and easy to get through.

Rating: 3.5/5

Quotes:

"It's like I'm thirteen again and he's my crush. All I'm aware of in this entire roomful of people is him. Where he is, what he's doing, who he's talking to."

"I’m suddenly seeing the other side of me; the side I thought had disappeared forever. All this time, all my stuff was here. Suddenly I have a memory of Eric’s words, that first time I asked him about Jon. ‘You’d trust Jon with your life.’ Maybe that’s what I did. Trusted him with my life."

"There's genuine pain in Eric's eyes. And I feel a stab of guilt. But you can't stay with people because of guilt."

"The thing with giving up is you never know. You never know whether you could have done the job. And I'm sick of not knowing about my life."

The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang

Number of pages: 352

Review

A smart, tender rom com that brings something refreshingly different to the table. Stella’s autism is portrayed with care and nuance, and her growth is genuinely heartwarming. Michael, the love interest, is sweet, patient, and low-key dreamy.

That said, while the steamy scenes are bold and well written, the pacing sometimes feels rushed emotionally. A few conflicts resolve a bit too neatly, and character depth could’ve gone even deeper in places.

Still, it’s a unique and empowering romance with great disability representation, heartfelt chemistry, and a satisfying arc. A lovely blend of brains, heart, and heat.

Rating: 4/5

Quotes

"If you can’t stand being with a woman who’s more successful than you, then leave her alone. She’s better off without you. If you actually love her, then know the value of that love and make it a promise. That is the only thing she needs from you."

"I don't want just a night or a week or a month with you. I want you all the time. I like you better than calculus, and math is the only thing that unites the universe."

"This crusade to fix herself was ending right now. She wasn't broken. She saw and interacted with the world in a different way, but that was her. She could change her actions, change her words, change her appearance, but she couldn't change the root of herself. At her core, she would always be autistic. People called it a disorder, but it didn't feel like one. To her, it was simply the way she was."

"Math is the single most elegant thing in the universe, and economics is what drives the human world. If you want to understand people in a sophisticated manner, I believe economics is the way."

Book Title and Author: Cherry Amber by Yun Zhu

Page Count: 874 pages

Review (can be short but it has to highlight how the book/ FF related to the Disability theme):

Even though the book isn't fully about depressing stuff, I highlighted the review from that perspective. This book was somehow balanced between happy sunshine moments and depressing stuff.

Jiang Qiao Xi was raised as a replacement for his deceased older brother, forced to adopt his brother's identity and live in his shadow. Neglected emotionally and burdened by his mother's obsessive expectations, he endures years of emotional abuse. Struggling with academic pressure, family dysfunction, personal insecurities, and a sudden financial shift, Qiao Xi becomes socially withdrawn and develops reflexive feelings of anxiety.

Quotes from the book (a minimum of 2 quotes):

"Even in Hong Kong, Jiang Qiao Xi sometimes felt as if Ying Tao was accompanying him. In his childhood, he had learned to find spiritual comfort through imagination."

"Over the phone, Jiang Qiao Xi slowly reminisced about his childhood in Hong Kong, a golden period. Because his parents were still immersed in the pain of losing their eldest son and hadn’t fully accepted him yet, Jiang Qiao Xi seemed to have received a stroke of luck that slipped through heaven’s fingers."

"There has never been any savior. To create happiness, we must rely on ourselves."

"In Lin Ying Tao’s eyes, there was only him, just him alone. Even his name, carelessly given by his father, which made Jiang Qiao Xi feel cold and resentful every time it was mentioned, became “an especially beautiful poem” in Lin Ying Tao’s heart. The way she said it was sweet, crisp, with a smile, melting his heart."

"Not everyone instinctively associates thoughts of their parents with happiness, joy, or a supreme sense of security. However, Jiang Qiao Xi also discovered that he could gradually ignore those reflexive feelings of anxiety, depression, and discomfort, especially when Ying Tao was by his side."

"However, Cai Fang Yuan pointed out that nowadays, music websites can recommend new songs based on your favorite old ones. With rapid technological advancements, perhaps in the future, people won’t need friends anymore."