I’ve also divided them into YA and adult. Enjoy!
Diverse Romantic Comedies: YA
Diverse Romantic Comedies: Adult
Don’t worry! We’ve got even more diverse romantic comedies for you to dive into when you finish these. I love the #OwnVoices Asian representation in this one! Both Winnie and Mat are Thai, and there’s a great chapter set during the annual Songkran Festival. In general, it’s a light, fluffy book perfectly calculated to cheer you up. I really enjoyed the neurodiversity in this one. Being inside Iris’s head is interesting, and the romance is sweet. Will be published on 30 March. This might be the most sexuality-diverse YA book I’ve ever read. Darcy is bisexual, her older sister Ainsley is trans, Brooke is a lesbian (as are a couple of other characters), and there are supporting characters who are pansexual, gay, and genderfluid as well. My favourite thing about this book is how Darcy comes to terms with the fact that she might be bi but that doesn’t mean she isn’t allowed to be in a relationship with a guy, and it doesn’t mean she’s ‘less queer.’ Will be published on 9 March. This one is HILARIOUS. The fat representation is #OwnVoices, and Waylon’s internal monologue is dramatic, funny, and snarky. It reminds me of Oliver’s from Only Mostly Devastated by Sophie Gonzales. Will be published on 25 May. Like Park, Sunny is Korean American. She’s also entertaining and just a little naïve. The strong connection with her best friend is one of the best parts of the story, but the entire book is ridiculously easy to read. Will be published on 1 June. This book features a large, boisterous Chinese Indonesian family who keep the story buoyant with charm and humour. Though the romance is a lot more understated than I prefer, it’s fast, amusing read. I enjoyed this #OwnVoices diverse take on the traditional ‘single woman in her 30s desperately seeking husband’ trope. Be warned though that there is my pet peeve, a love triangle. And although I do think this book is funny, it’s a sharp kind of humour – think Bridget Jones. This book is quite a classic of the genre. I love Janie’s penchant for reciting trivia, and her relationship with her best friend Elizabeth is adorable. Essentially, Trystan and Galahad are inhabitants of a fairytale-esque land where people are divided into Bad folk and Good folk. They’re both Good, but they were on opposite sides of a war that’s just concluded, so things don’t get off to the best start. Then they find themselves having to strike up a partnership, and the inevitable ends up happening.
