T10T — Valentine’s Day edition: let’s talk about DIVERSE romance!

a girl like her

It would have been impossible to write this list without mentioning the book that made me dive head-first into loving the romance genre, as well as the book that first made me realize there was more to the genre than just thin white women and cishet pairings.

DIVERSITY: Ruth (heroine) is fat, Black (own-voices), and autistic (also own-voices).

over and over again

I also couldn’t make this list without naming one of my favorite ships in the universe: Luca and Imre. This sweet, slow-burn age gap romance is honestly a master class in character development and angst. ♥

DIVERSITY: Luca is gay; Imre is gay and Romani. The author is a multiracial bisexual trans man.

the kiss quotient

Though the hype for this one has calmed down a little in the almost two years since its release, it’s definitely still high on my list of favorites. Not only is it diverse as hell, it also offers great treatment of sex workers!

DIVERSITY: Stella (heroine) is autistic (own-voices); Michael (hero) is Vietnamese/Swedish; several side characters are Vietnamese (own-voices).

the winter quarters

This is a recent addition to my list of favorites, but it was so delightful, just writing this post has me wanting to reread it. Childhood best friends turned lovers? That’s my shit right there.

DIVERSITY: Both main characters are Japanese and gay.

red, white & royal blue

You all knew this one was coming, right? I think just about everyone I know is putting this on their favorite romances lists, but I had to include it, too, because it’s just so damn cute and worthy of all the love and hype.

DIVERSITY: Alex is biracial (Mexican/white), bisexual, and has ADHD; Henry is gay. The author is queer.

the cardigans

Fair disclaimer here: this is the first book in the first season of a pretty long-running series (each installment is short and the over-arching series essentially imitates the idea of a television show), and these aren’t just romance books, they’re also mystery/crime thrillers following a couple of detectives… who just happen to have some pretty steamy feels for each other. ?

DIVERSITY: Malcolm is Persian/Jewish-American and bi; Seong-Jae is Korean-American, gay, and demigray-ace. The author is a multiracial bisexual trans man.

get a life, chloe brown

Have I talked about this book enough yet, honestly? It doesn’t matter, I’m gonna talk about it some more. ? It’s just so hilarious and sexy and the rep means SO MUCH to me.

DIVERSITY: Chloe (heroine) is Black (own-voices), fat, and has fibromyalgia (own-voices); Red (hero) has PTSD from a toxic/abusive relationship.

bloom

I wasn’t originally sure if I was making this list exclusive to adult romances, but then I remembered this precious little graphic novel existed, and there was just no way I could leave it out. If you haven’t met the sweetest, softest little baker boys imaginable, you gotta fix that.

DIVERSITY: Ari is Greek and gay; Hector is Samoan and gay.

made for you

This was my first Anyta Sunday read, and I can assure you, it won’t be my last. While there’s a lot of pining and angst in this one, it’s really mostly just incredibly cute and light. I didn’t know how much I loved romances involving home renovations until this one, either. ?‍♀️

DIVERSITY: Ben and Jack are both gay.

captive prince (trilogy)

Last but certainly not least comes the first book in one of my favorite series of all time. Loads of trigger warnings go along with this series — primarily the first installment; things lighten up tremendously afterward — but it features one of the single greatest romances I’ve ever read in my life.

DIVERSITY: Damianos is bisexual; Laurent is gay. The author is queer and genderqueer/nonbinary.