Fans pick 100 books like Ellie Haycock Is Totally Normal

I think the body horror and cosmic horror are wonderfully done, but the heartwarming moments between the queer, the disabled cast are the cherry on top!

This apocalyptic story cleverly challenges the treatment and expectations of disabled and neurodivergent folks during disasters. The protagonist has epilepsy and migraines, and I was immersed by the vivid depictions that emphasize how his disabilities affect him.

If I was hooked by the cover copy for Natalie Leif’s book, I was hooked by the first page of Sydney Langford’s. That page isn’t technically part of the novel; it’s a guide to American Sign Language, which is an important piece of the narrative and Sydney Langford’s life.

By the time I saw that page in an advanced copy, Sydney and I had become close friends, and her beautiful story of two disabled queer teens finding solace in each other truly resonated with me. We need more platonic love stories in the YA space, and this book is one I’ll never forget. 

We’re back to me being a baby again. As soon as people start dying, I’m usually out. That wasn’t the case with Cindy Otis’ mystery. I loved the high stakes and the part that disability played in the novel.

It all felt like a thoroughly modern version of a classic murder mystery, with our hearts racing as we reached the end. Also, the fact that this YA novel was written by an actual former member of the CIA is just objectively cool. 

There is so much to love about this book. It’s a sapphic time-loop romance, which should be enough to hook you, but it’s also fundamentally about disability.

Chatham is another close friend, and we each had a moment over the other’s book cover when they were first revealed–because they both prominently feature disability aids. It’s making invisible illnesses visible, which is so important to me. 

Okay, this book has a plot that you may find a bit difficult to believe, but that’s what I love about it. Daphne moved to her fiancé’s small hometown, where she knew no one to start a new life with him. Except, he dumps her for his childhood friend, Petra, who dumped her fiancé, Miles. And Daphne and Miles become roommates.

Emily Henry makes it work. I love how she defined the characters, especially Miles, who’s brooding and listens to sad music. But there’s another side of the man; he’s outgoing and knows everyone in town.

I do like a good forced proximity trope, and Henry has written a fine one. But this works for me because, like all of her work, the story is expansive. She tugged me into this universe, and I couldn’t let go. I was totally invested in Daphne and Miles’ relationship. 

This is the book I compare all other fake-dating books to. The meet-cute sucked me in. In a panic, Olive kisses the closest (and only) man she sees, hoping her friend will believe she’s on a real date in a biology lab. Now, her friend thinks she’s dating Adam, the smug young professor who seems to hate graduate students.

Let the conflict begin. I love that Olive is a STEM graduate student searching for a method of early detection of pancreatic cancer—the kind that killed her mom. She’s smart and passionate about her work. And I fell for Adam hard. Hazelwood only gives us Olive’s viewpoint, so I was trying to read his intent right along with her. And then there was the “aha” moment when I finally tied the prologue to the story. I will always and forever recommend this book.

As a person with strong ties to biology, I love that in this book, vampires and werewolves are no more magical or supernatural (and therefore also no more immortal) than any human; they just came from different branches down the evolutionary tree.

What I really liked were the dialogues–the sarcasm, verbal power games, and dry humor. And the character development, where an isolated person learns that opening up and accepting friendship and the feeling of belonging requires courage because it also makes one more vulnerable.

Ahh, Tia Williams, how I love thee. Out of the two perfect New York-set romances she has written, this one is the one that has a somewhat unexpected magic realism twist. This Harlem-based beauty follows two timelines—the present day of our protagonist Ricki, an impulsive, artistic florist with a mission to revitalize Harlem with flowers, and the 1920s jazz-soaked Harlem Renaissance era of our romantic hero Ezra, a grumpy, mysterious jazz musician.

The perplexing nature of how their worlds intersect and the deep passion of their relationship gives this romance so much fire and drive. It’s also very much a love story to Harlem, with a fabulous sub-plot about Ricki’s community initiative and how her colorful friends get on board. I honestly couldn’t put this one down!

Cara Bastone is one of my auto-buy authors; any of her books would make this list. Her magnetic prose and fully realized characters always draw me in. In this book, Eve discovers she’s pregnant after a one-night stand.

I’m not usually a fan of pregnancy romance, but this story captured my heart and made me sob by the end. And the hero, Shep, is one of my favorite romance heroes ever! I love how Cara writes about men with big hearts who aren’t afraid to show their feelings, and Shep fits that description to a T. 

I am a sucker for lifelong friends to lovers with a bit of the taboo, and this book delivered!

Our hero is a sexy hockey player with a dark past, and our heroine is a dancer with an overprotective and controlling family. When, on her wedding day, she learns the jerk she’s being forced to marry has been cheating on her, she runs right into the arms of her childhood crush and friend Jasper, who offers to whisk her away so she can figure out what to do and how to face her parents.

Jasper and Sloane were made for each other from page one, and I loved rooting for them! Add in the delightful small-town vibes, the belonging that comes from being part of an amazing, tight-knit family, and some steamy times, and it’s a recipe for an all-nighter (reading, that is).

Though this story is part of a… show more.