Note: Portions of this post previously appeared on Veronica Scott’s blog.
The Ripped Bodice Bookstore in SoCal is conducting their fourth annual Summer Romance Bingo. It’s an amusing exercise to take their bingo card of categories and identify science fiction romance titles that satisfy the requirements for readers. I recently asked the members of The Science Fiction Romance Brigade on Facebook, who are authors and avid readers, to recommend books. (Authors were allowed to recommend their own titles and I included some of mine where applicable.). Some categories were hard to fulfill and others were wayyy popular!
As the Ripped Bodice notes on their rules page, “You can interpret the categories however you want” so we took a bit of license on a few to make SFR fit a general romance trope.
To be clear, we’re NOT playing bingo here, merely providing a list of suggestions! Hop over to the Ripped Bodice site if you want to enter their reading contest, which runs through August 31, 2020.
Many of the books were suggested for more than one category; however I only listed each title in one category to keep the list as unique as possible.
It makes for a fun reading list and a different lens with which to view SFR.
I’ve included a few of the fun categories below and two to three suggestions in each. (The suggestions were listed in the post in no certain order.) To see all the books the SFR Brigade placed in each category, you can visit the original post on my blog.
Dumped at a wedding (or other big event we’ll say)
COSMIC MATE (STARGAZER ALIEN SPACE CRUISE BRIDES) by Tasha Black Author’s comment: “Stood up at the altar…”
DARAK: DRAKONIAN MAIL ORDER BRIDES BOOK 1 (INTERGALACTIC DATING AGENCY) by Cara Bristol Author’s comment: “The heroine’s sister dumps her fiance at the altar…”
ICE PLANET HOLIDAY (ICE PLANET BARBARIANS BOOK 5) by Ruby Dixon Nominator’s comment: “…h pretty much dumps boyfriend at holiday event for her true mate H…”
THE PROTECTORIT by Kelly Tharp Nominator’s comment: “She learns that he was forcing her to be engaged w/him at the social event (which ended up being their betrothal party that she didn’t know about) — she dumps him publicly after an argument and leaves (dramatically – lol).”
STOLEN BY THE ALIEN RAIDER (SILENT EMPIRE ROMANCE BOOK 2) by Leslie Chase Author’s comment: “The climax of Stolen by the Alien Raider is a forced wedding between the FMC and the villain – who ends up very thoroughly dumped indeed! A sword is involved.”
CHOOSING RILEY (SARAFIN WARRIORS BOOK 1) by S E Smith
Apple orchard (or other fruit)
SHIELD OF WINTER (PSY-CHANGELING BOOK 13) by Nalini Singh
VS Comment: My favorite book in the entire series!
ESCAPING FATE (VEREDIAN CHRONICLES BOOK 1) by Regine Abel
Nominator’s comment: “…a ryspak orchard that plays a major role in her series…. it’s a fruit w/medical properties.”
COLLISION (THE PROPHECY SERIES BOOK 3) by Lea Kirk SKYLAR’S GIFT: A
DRAGO STARGAZER ALIEN MAIL ORDER BRIDES BOOK (INTERGALACTIC DATING AGENCY) by Tasha Black
Author’s comment: “Hero escapes to a peach orchard and three more books take place there…”
CAMRON: A BADARI WARRIORS SCIFI ROMANCE NOVEL (SECTORS NEW ALLIES SERIES BOOK 7) by Veronica Scott
Protagonist smells “uniquely like themselves”
AYDARR: A BADARI WARRIORS SCIFI ROMANCE (SECTORS NEW ALLIES SERIES BOOK 1) by Veronica Scott
PRINCESS OF DRAGA (THE DRAGA COURT SERIES BOOK 1) by Emma Dean Nominator’s comment: smells in this series society determine where they sit on the social leader. The stronger/ harsher the smell, the higher you are….The weaker/sweeter the smell, the lower you are.
DARK FIRE (REFUGE BOOK 4) by Cynthia Sax
DOOM (XIAN WARRIORS BOOK 1) by Regine Abel
Nominator’s comment: “Hero smells like cinnamon when he is aroused.”
BLOOD LUST (RISE OF THE ILLIRI BOOK 1) by Auryn Hadley
Nominator’s comment: “…mates find each other via smell, and only they smell that way to each other. When a “natural leader” is born, they smell a certain way to everyone in their race...”
There was only one bed…
CLAIMED BY AN ALIEN WARRIOR by Tiffany Roberts
NIKHIL (KALISZIANS BOOK 1) by M K Eidem
GRETA AND THE GARGOYLE (ALIEN ABDUCTION BOOK 7) by Honey Phillips
BANE (XIAN WARRIORS BOOK 4) by Regine Abel
TRACKING TRISHA (DRAGON LORDS OF VALDIER BOOK 3) by S E Smith
I’m on a boat…
CAPTIVE (THE SURVIVAL RACE BOOK 1) by KM Fawcett
Author comment: “…(during part of their escape from alien captivity, they are on an umiak boat.)”
MATED TO THE ALIEN LORD: CELESTIAL MATES by Leslie Chase
ECHO 8 by Sharon Fisher
ICED (VALOS OF SONHADRA BOOK 10) by Regine Abel
For the entire expanded list of categories and recommendations made by the SFRB members, visit the original blog post.
