February SFFKIT - SFF with romance

Sci fi / fantasy with romance

A sci fi or fantasy book with a romance element - or a romance book with a sci fi or fantasy element. Whichever way you spin it!

Above are some examples but there are plenty to choose from.

Do remember to update the wiki - https://wiki.librarything.com/index.php/2023_SFFKIT#February:SFF_Romance

Somewhere in the (2021) LT Challenge threads, someone read Grimspace (Sirantha Jax #1; by Ann Aguirre) and it looked like something fun and entertaining-- so I picked it up and read it 2+ years ago-- and it is fun and entertaining! Sirantha Jax has the "jumper" gene that allows her to travel through a space dimension (with the aid of a navigator), but it's both a blessing and a curse. In the opening of the story, she's in a psych ward after a spaceship she was piloting crashes, killing all aboard except herself... This is a space opera with a little romance thrown in--overall a light read and for what it is, a four-star read. For whatever reason, I didn't continue, so I might re-read this one to refresh my memory and then queue up the next book, Wanderlust and/or another one of the author's novels, Strange Love: :-)

ETA: I just looked up Strange Love and the subtitle is, "An Alien Abduction romance (Galactic Love Book 1)". This sounds a little more intense than the light romance of Grimspace; but we'll see!

If I can find the time, I'd love to read Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon, which would also tie in nicely with the Historical Fiction Challenge.

Most of the Liaden Universe books by Sharon Lee are very romantic so I am planning on reading Scout's Progress.

I'm going to plan on reading Long Black Curl by Alex Bledsoe, the next book in his Tufa fantasy series set in Appalachia. At the center of the book are two lovers who were once banished because of their romance, and are now coming back to the town--one to exact revenge, and one to try to save the town from the other. I've been meaning to read it for ages, and this seems like a good time...

>3 MissBrangwen: I might be reading Drums of Autumn, No. 4 in the series

Scout's Progress is one of their most romantic!

Let me strongly recommend Lois McMaster Bujold in this area. In science fiction, Shards of Honor or Komarr (immediately followed by the hilarious, dedicated to Georgette Heyer A Civil Campaign) are great places to start. While in fantasy, I am extremely partial to The Curse of Chalion and Paladin of Souls. All of these are extremely romantic but not at all formulaic or stereotypical, as I find some in this genre to be.

>7 ronincats: Ooh, yes, definitely seconding Bujold! Captain Vorpatril's Alliance is another great sci-fi/romance combo.

Although I read it in January, I can recommend
The wild hunt by Emma Seckel as a fantasy that has a slow romance in it.

Someone mentioned Remains by Mark W. Tiedemann had some romance in it, so I am tentatively making that my February book.

I just dnloaded and read, The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy (by Megan Bannen). I remember christina_reads posting about this last year as one of her favorite reads but, I was on the fence about it until Christina mentioned that the ebook is on sale for US $2.99 on AMZN and over at B&N. I picked it up last night and finished it this morning-- yes, all 448 pages! It's a created world with lore, demi-gods, zombie-like drudges, cowboys and technology.... Mercy isn undertaker and Hart is a Marshall in a small town on the border of a restricted Utopian bubble. It's pretty much hate at first sight; but things start to turn when, out of loneliness, Hart sends an anonymous letter out into the world. It's sounds so weird and really, it's impossible to really explain or describe it without it making it sound less than it is; but it is romantic and steamy and funny and horrific and fantastical... and I so wish there were other stories set in this world!

>11 Tanya-dogearedcopy: Ooh yay, I'm so excited that you enjoyed this one! I too would love to read more books set in the same world.

I would also like to recommend Olivia Atwater's Regency Faerie Tale series: Set in England in the early 19th century, these are charming, romantic novellas featuring the faerie as they interfere mix in human society. It's magic and love and a wistful sigh when you finish reading one of the stories.

>11 Tanya-dogearedcopy: I've added The undertaking of Hart and Mercy to my wishlist. :)

I may read Romancing the Werewolf by Gail Carriger. It's a novella set in her Parasol Protectorate universe, which is set in a steampunky universe in which vampires and werewolves are part of the society. I read the main five books that start with Soulless and enjoyed them. They are silly and fun and a nice comfort read.

>13 Tanya-dogearedcopy: Ooooh, these sound quite wonderful.

Tinker by Wen Spencer was quite good and would fit in this thread well. Also loved The Unicorn Creed by Elizabeth Scarborough.

>11 Tanya-dogearedcopy: I have had Hart and Mercy on hold at my library for months! I am waiting (im)patiently for it to arrive!

I read A Dragon of a Different Color for this challenge.

I have completed my read of Scout's Progress by Sharon Lee and it was a wonderful read!

I read The Stormbringer, a fantasy romance.

I just finished Lady of Magick by Sylvia Izzo Hunter, a historical fantasy novel with a subtle romantic subplot involving two of the secondary characters. I love this type of genre mashup, but sadly the book itself was disappointing.

Just finished Legends and Lattes, and it was adorable.

So, a couple weeks ago, I read Strange Love: An Alien Abduction Romance (Galactic Love #1 by Ann Aguirre) and I wasn't going to say much about it, as in the end, I really, really didn't like it; but I decided to write a comment or two about it as it may appeal to someone else. This is the story of a young woman who is sorta accidentally kidnapped by an insectoid alien and taken to his home planet where she must compete in a Squid Games-like contest to be considered his mate. The good things about this book are about consensual acts, and that you don't have to be an "alpha" type to win in life. I see other reviewers commend the challenges of cross-cultural negotiations-- always trying to find common ground, figure out things and words that are unfamiliar, the exhaustion of never being on home ground... and it's true that the author conveyed these ideas/feelings well through her female protagonist. The "pluses" actually carry a lot of weight in the book; but the big negative for me is the graphic descriptions of interspecies sex: The human is considered a "primitive monkey" and uses a translator designed for communication with cattle and; the alien is a bipedal insect. There's a lot to unpack here and it feels "wrong" and gross on a couple of levels. I won't be continuing the series; but it has an average 4.5 star rating on AMZN across 1,292 ratings-- so I suspect it's a "me" problem.

Today, I read Clean Sweep (Innkeeper Chronicles #1; by Ilona Andrews)-- which staci426 mentions in her thread. This is an urban fantasy with a touch if romance in it: Dina is an Innkeeper-- a witch who draws her power from the Victorian bed-and-breakfast she runs in Texas. She decides to cross the boundaries of her property and the rules of neutrality when the suburban development-- which her inn abuts-- is threatened by a a dog-killer. Things quickly escalate to a scenario involving aliens, vampires, and werewolves and heavy doses of magic & advanced technology. The romance is light with love triangle set up; but there's no intimacy beyond a kiss-- but there's a nice frisson of sexual tension. The only odd thing about the book overall were the four illustrations of the protagonists embedded in the text-- The pictures in my head are better, LOL. 3.25 stars

>23 Tanya-dogearedcopy: That is quite the premise for a story: "a young woman who is sorta accidentally kidnapped by an insectoid alien and taken to his home planet where she must compete in a Squid Games-like contest to be considered his mate"! 😂

I finished Chimes at Midnight by Seanan McGuire, from the October Daye series, and one of the continuing storylines is the developing relationship between Toby and Tybalt. I also finished a couple of short works from the same series, No Sooner Met, about Toby's and Tybalt's first real date, and Full of Briars, which has a romantic twist at the end.

Starting Time Was by Ian McDonald

COMPLETED Time Was by Ian McDonald. Novella about a book dealer who tracks down two lovers who seem to be appearing at times way too far apart for it to be natural.

Hunt the Stars by Jessie Mihalik
A great sci-fi romance.

I listened to Once More Upon a Time by Roshani Chokshi, a fairy tale (retelling? after-the-happily-ever-after?) where one of the twelve dancing princesses and the middle of the three brother princes were cursed by taking their love away just after their wedding. I didn't really have high hopes for it, but it wound up being fun.

Also, Keeper of Enchanted Rooms by Charlie N. Holmberg, in which a writer inherits a sentient house in Rhode Island in the mid 1800s, which (fortunately for him) comes with a housekeeper from a magical agency. Light and also fun.

>28 antqueen: Both on my TBR list! Glad to hear you enjoyed them.

>28 antqueen: I was in a bookstore today and decoded to look for Once More Upon Time and found it though it wasn't easy! Because the author os known for her Middle-Grade and YA works, I was first directed to those sections. Then to Romance, Fastasy and then General Fiction. Finally it was located on the New Releases shelf (though it was published in 2021!) It was also easy to overlook as it's a small book. Anyway, I grabbed a copy and read it this afternoon. :-)
It was cute and charming, with fun banter, some with sexual innuendo without being vulgar and; original-- devoid of the common tropes in the romance genre. I think I'll hold on to my copy for a while and see it the author writes anymore like this.

Finished Alex Bledsoe's Long Black Curl last night, and it was fantastic. This was the third in the series, and so far, every Tufa book has been better than the last. This one in particular centered on an ill-fated romance (not giving away anything by saying that, as the romance is broken from page one of the book), so it fit the month's challenge perfectly. Contemporary fantasy, though the genre tag doesn't do them justice.

>23 Tanya-dogearedcopy: that first book sounds like Freedom's Landing by Anne McCaffrey.

I decided to keep reading Remains even though it's now March, but I'm a little disquieted by the graphic description of sex. If that happens again I'm going to stop reading it even though it's kind of interesting.