A Reader’s Guide To Ruth Madison Novels

Ruth Madison has been publishing books since 2009. She decided at 12 that she was going to be a novelist and she was single-minded in that endeavor. She has both a BA and an MA in Creative Writing and has been honing her craft for a couple of decades.

The most unique aspect of Madison’s work is that her books all feature characters with disabilities. From a young age, Madison has been passionate about disability rights and hopes that her work will help bridge the gap between abled people and disability culture so that there is less ableism in the world.

Through the years she has experimented with different styles and types of stories but what remains constant is her dedication to accurate disability representation and deep emotional themes.

Frequently her books touch on issues of family, acceptance, and survivor’s guilt.

Here is a guide to her books so far and future plans:

Stand-Alone NovelsThe World Between Us

An overshadowed brother in a wheelchair and a beautiful woman who needs something from him. Is there any chance for love?

Next to his super successful (and handsome, don’t forget handsome) rock star brother, Dylan Sinclair doesn’t expect any woman to look at him for a second longer than it takes to stare in horror at his wheelchair. Especially not a goddess like Stephanie Rowe.

But she does notice him and he can’t help but wonder if it’s because of the access he could give her to his brother.

Stephanie is a woman on a mission. She has a lot to prove to break out of a soul-crushing job and show her family she can be successful on her own terms. Even as she realizes there’s more to Dylan than meets the eye, she can’t get distracted from building a life her parents can be proud of.

And falling for an unemployed white boy who can’t move his own feet is not winning her any points.

But then she discovers Dylan has been keeping a secret that would catapult her to success and everything she’s been working towards. Now all she needs to do is betray his trust.

Spice Level: a couple of open-door intimacy scenes

Purchase on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CC6H6CLK

The accident took his voice, but she heard him anyway.

Former rockstar Gabe Whitlock has been hidden away in a long-term care facility ever since an on-stage accident stole his music, his movement, and even his voice. No one’s thought about him in years.

Anna Lin is still raw from losing her mother and battling the panic attacks that derailed her college career. Living with her father again feels like a step backward — until he gets her a job as the activities coordinator at Rosehaven.

What she doesn’t expect is to find Gabe Whitlock, former frontman and guitarist of Pressure Front, quietly wasting away in a nursing home in Western Massachusetts.

Drawn together by music and art, Anna and Gabe forge an unlikely bond. But when Gabe’s sister schemes to seize control of his estate, Anna and a ragtag band of residents push back.

Their defiance threatens to cost Anna the fragile new life she’s building — and Gabe the last shreds of independence he has left.

Waiting to Break is an emotionally powerful, deeply romantic journey about finding your voice after losing everything, the dignity of choosing who you love, and the courage it takes to find your own path in life.

For fans of soulful, emotionally charged romance novels and authors like Jojo Moyes, Jodi Picoult, and Nicholas Sparks.

Content Includes: institutional neglect, medical trauma, grief, panic attacks/anxiety, power dynamics in caregiving, public debate about “right to die,” false accusations, elder death, loss of a parent

Spice Level: a couple of open-door intimacy scenes

Purchase on Amazon: Coming September 30th

Short Bingeable Reads

KINDLE UNLIMITED Novella

Delaney’s life is in ruins — her apartment flooded, her art rejected, and her confidence in freefall. Desperate for stability, she lands on her brother Marcus’s doorstep…only to discover she’ll be sharing the house with his best friend, Dax.

Dax, the charming adrenaline-junkie turned paraplegic, is rebuilding his life on his own terms. He’s cocky, frustratingly hot, and infuriatingly good at folding towels. Living with him means late-night confessions, accidental touches, and a chemistry that won’t quit.

But when Marcus returns from his work trip, he sets off a string of accusations, assumptions, and buried resentments that force everyone to confront uncomfortable truths.

Perfect for fans of witty banter, deep feels, and fiercely independent disabled heroes who aren’t looking to be saved — but just might be worth falling for.

Spice Level: a few open-door scenes

Purchase On Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FKZZPTM5

An artistic young woman dealing with an unplanned pregnancy… A quadriplegic CEO in need of a wife and child… Their worlds are miles apart, yet in this moment they need each other.

Chloe’s life is unraveling fast. Her grand plans to live the starving artist’s life are brought up short when she gets a positive pregnancy test. Suddenly she’s got to find real employment and figure out a new plan.

Erik is on the verge of losing the company that he’s poured his life into. Despite an attack that nearly killed him and left him paralyzed from the shoulders down, he’s kept up with his work. But an archaic stipulation in his father’s will might cost him everything he wants.

When Chloe confesses her real reason for needing a job, Erik begins to suspect that they might be able to help each other out. But as they build a fictional relationship, are their feelings just for show or turning into something more?

Spice Level: a few open-door scenes

Purchase On Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NB5VC0I

SeriesSled Hockey Team Of Cedar Harbor

Kevin Murphy is back in Cedar Harbor for a fresh start and totally not because he’s running away from mistakes that cost him his professional sledge hockey career in Toronto. No, he’s come to the small New England town to help others, not to hide.

Ten years ago Kevin lost both his legs and discovering adaptive sports helped give him his life back. Now he wants to start an amateur sled hockey team for newly injured men. Cedar Harbor is home to Thatcher Memorial Rehab where Kevin did his recovery and it’s the perfect place to give back to the disabled community.

Dr. Wilson insists on bringing a professional fundraiser on board. Carly Jennings is, as Dr. Wilson says, the best fundraiser in the state. She is organized, professional, and excellent at what she does.

Kevin takes an instant dislike to her, resentful of able-bodied people taking over his project and concerned that paying her will not be a good investment in the team.

What Kevin doesn’t know is that Carly has a very personal relationship to the disability community. Her younger brother Robbie is a quadriplegic from a car accident when they were teens and she knows exactly how important sports are for giving newly injured people their lives back.

She also knows that she’ll have to fight past some very ingrained ableism to get donors to invest in a hockey team instead of a cure…but she’s up for the challenge.

Kevin and Carly fight over the best way to build this new sledge hockey team while denying the intense chemistry between them. Until a game of Truth Or Dare changes everything…

Spice Level: Clean (spicy bonus scene available on RuthMadisonBooks.com)

Purchase On Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CN63YLPY

Robbie has a simple life. Despite his spinal cord injury, he keeps up an active lifestyle participating in multiple sports. He works from home and has dinner with his older sister every few nights. His best friend is the girl who checks him out at the grocery store.

He might be developing a crush on Samantha but she’s married and Robbie respects that.

Then Sam doesn’t show up to work and disappears. Robbie decides he must organize the members of his sled hockey team into a “wheelchair mafia” and rescue her.

Spice Level: Clean (spicy bonus scene available on RuthMadisonBooks.com)

Purchase On Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CR7XW2Z8

Becca is the rare woman who was diagnosed with autism as a child but she is still determined to improve herself and works hard to overcome any limitations.

Jack wakes up in a hospital, his entire world turned upside down. He’s used to being the one giving charity to disabled people and is not prepared to accept being disabled himself.

Then he meets Becca with her unique perspective and they begin to inspire each other to accept parts of themselves instead of trying to fix them. But as they fall for one another, Jack can’t help but worry how an autistic woman will fit into the life of wealth, parties, and shmoozing he plans to return to.

Spice Level: Clean (spicy bonus scene available on RuthMadisonBooks.com)

Purchase On Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CXF9TDTV

Duet

Madison’s very first novel, (W)hole, is a deeply personal journey into what it’s like to have desires that are not socially acceptable. It being her first novel and written more than 16 years ago, it has flaws. It is less of a romance and more of a coming-of-age. If you are curious about disability devoteeism, this is a good book to get an inside look at it.

It also introduces the character of Stewart Masterson, Madison’s most beloved creation. He has a couple of stand-alone stories about just him but will soon be getting a brand new collection focused only on him and his journey.

The sequel to (W)hole, Breath(e), has only a little bit of Stewart in it. Out Of Water is a short story that follows up with what Stewart is doing during Breath(e) and it will be included in the upcoming collection.

Coming Up

End of October: The fourth book in the Sled Hockey series, Love Comes Back, focusing on Danny’s story.

A compendium of Stewart Masterson including all new material both continuing his story and looking back at when he was first paralyzed.

More novellas for Kindle Unlimited: Roadtrip Secrets, and How To Manipulate An Aries

Join Ruth Madison’s email list to be notified of new releases: https://ruthmadisonbooks.com/bonus

Criticisms and Praise for Ruth Madison

It has been pointed out that a lot of the antagonists in her books are a bit over-the-top, almost cartoonish. The mother in (W)hole and Breath(e), Nancy in Thawing An Ice Heart, and Patricia and Vicky in Waiting To Break in particular.

In (W)hole there are a few issues with consent, mainly due to the time when they were written. Madison has since explained that she has learned a lot more about consent in the years since her first books were published and she does not condone Elizabeth’s behavior.

One of Madison’s strengths is in writing dialogue. Her books are also fast and easy to read, which is a strength to some and a weakness to others. She is known for unique, strong characters, who stay with you long after you finish reading and heroes who are kind, loyal, and compassionate.

You can get a taste of her writing style by downloading the first two chapters of Waiting To Break for free on her website: https://RuthMadisonBooks.com

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