New Releases in Science Fiction Romance for July

More hot science fiction romances coming your way this summer. I’m here to talk about some new releases since early June.

Generation ships are a fascinating science fiction concept, trying to imagine what it would be like to travel on a gigantic ship to a new world, all the while knowing thousands would live and die aboard the vessel without ever seeing humanity’s new home. Tracey Cooper-Posey’s Endurance series handles this well, with each book being written at a different point on the voyage. Her latest novella, Evangeliya, is a heartwarming story nicely summed up in this short blurb: “Liya and Gelin have worked for ten years to find a way to live together, despite few resources and less hope. Then Gelin learns he has been selected to become a parent…and the other parent is not Liya.”

Yes, there is a romantic element as the couples work through the situation but it was the glimpses of how shipboard life has evolved that most fascinated me. The first book in this series is Grayson’s Doom, by the way, if you’d rather start at the beginning of the saga.

Ruby Dixon has a new volume in her Ice Planet Barbarians series, Barbarian’s Rescue. I enjoyed this one; it seemed a bit episodic in nature, but I have the feeling the author is laying the groundwork to open the series up to some new possibilities. Here’s the story:  Bad day? Try mine on for size.

Rogue slavers have landed on the ice planet and captured the tribe. The only ones not snatched? Me, a walking human motormouth with no skill except that of incoherent babbling, and Warrek, who’s as silent as he is attractive. Two more unlikely people have never been paired together.

And now we’re supposed to form a rescue team.

Saving the others is either going to bring us closer together—or drive us completely apart. I’m pretty sure the feelings I’m having for my alien companion are as unrequited as they are inappropriate, but since we aren’t going to make it out alive, what harm is one teeny, tiny kiss?

Who knew that one kiss could change everything?

Contingency Plan (The Galactic Cold War) by Robyn Bachar continues her saga set in an alternative world. The plot goes as follows:  No home, no family and only faded memories of the life she lost. After the rebellion destroyed New Hong Kong and left Jiang Chen with a brain injury, she found a new place to belong aboard the Mombasa as its pilot. But after discovering she poses a danger to ship and crew, Jiang leaves, not wanting to risk causing them more harm.

Security chief Ryder Kalani blames himself for the mission failures plaguing the Mombasa—his sole duty is to protect his crew. Having lost his right arm in the rebellion and now fit with a prosthetic, he’s unsure whether he’s still the capable fighter he once was. The only thing he knows for certain is that Lieutenant Jiang Chen needs his help.

Jiang doesn’t trust herself any more, but Ryder does. They’re on the hunt for the Soviets’ new weapon, and Jiang’s forgotten past could lead them straight to it. Ryder just needs to get Jiang to trust in herself—and in him—before the weapon deploys.

On a lighter note, because I do like to provide you with a wide variety of offerings, how about some superheroine adventures?  The description of Sarah Kuhn’s second book in her Heroine Complex series, Heroine Worship: Once upon a time, Aveda Jupiter (aka Annie Chang) was demon-infested San Francisco’s most beloved superheroine, a beacon of hope and strength and really awesome outfits. But all that changed the day she agreed to share the spotlight with her best friend and former assistant Evie Tanaka—who’s now a badass, fire-wielding superheroine in her own right. They were supposed to be a dynamic duo, but more and more, Aveda finds herself shoved into the sidekick role. Where, it must be said, she is not at all comfortable.

It doesn’t help that Aveda’s finally being forced to deal with fallout from her diva behavior—and the fact that she’s been a less than stellar friend to Evie. Or that Scott Cameron—the man Aveda’s loved for nearly a decade—is suddenly giving her the cold shoulder after what seemed to be some promising steps toward friendship. Or that the city has been demon-free for three months in the wake of Evie and Aveda’s apocalypse-preventing battle against the evil forces of the Otherworld, leaving Aveda without the one thing she craves most in life: a mission.

All of this is causing Aveda’s burning sense of heroic purpose—the thing that’s guided her all these years—to falter.

In short, Aveda Jupiter is having an identity crisis.

When Evie gets engaged and drafts Aveda as her maid-of-honor, Aveda finally sees a chance to reclaim her sense of self and sets out on a single-minded mission to make sure Evie has the most epic wedding ever. But when a mysterious, unseen supernatural evil rises up and starts attacking brides-to-be, Aveda must summon both her superheroine and best friend mojo to take down the enemy and make sure Evie’s wedding goes off without a hitch—or see both her city and her most important friendship destroyed forever.

I can’t close this post without mentioning Anna Hackett’s latest in the Galactic Gladiators series, Barbarian. I’d been waiting for this one because I was highly intrigued by the characters to be featured. The situation remains complex on Carthago, with a lot going on but author Hackett works in the gladiating along the way. The plot: Abducted by alien slavers, experimented on, and left blind, the last thing doctor Winter Ashworth needs is a big barbarian gladiator in her life, especially an annoying one who thinks she’s small and weak.

Rescued by gladiators on the desert world of Carthago, Winter is doggedly working to embrace her new life. But two of her friends are still missing and she’ll do anything to help get them back…even if she has to work alongside Nero Krahn: hunter, barbarian, gladiator. The scowly, brooding man is too big, has too many muscles, and pushes all her buttons.

Nero is the House of Galen’s best hunter and tracker. Raised on a barbarian world, where strength and might are prized, he was bred to hunt and fight. Now the arena is his home and his loyalty is to his imperator. He knows he can use his skills to find the two lost women, even if that means protecting a small blind woman who takes every chance to misjudge his words and lash him with her sharp tongue.

But as they follow a dangerous trail to save their friends, a new enemy emerges–one who wants Winter. The pair find themselves reluctantly attracted to each other, uncovering a scorching desire that shocks them both. As Nero fights to protect Winter, the barbarian gladiator will discover the true meaning of strength from the small Earth woman he wants to claim as his.

I’m looking forward to reading Lovers and Lunatics by Jennifer Willis, Cosmic Rift by Aurora Springer, Reckoning by K. D. Jones and so many more…but I’d better read fast because there’ll be a whole raft of new books by next month!

And my favorite science fiction shows, Killjoys and Dark Matter are back on SyFy for their third seasons – shows not to be missed, if you have yet to try them out!

What science fiction pursuits are you up to this summer?

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