NOTE: This post first appeared in the Roswell Daily Record.
In the past few years science fiction romance authors have gotten pretty good at writing stories tied into holidays, especially romantic ones. Since this month contains Valentine’s Day, there are quite a few ‘special’ releases to choose from.
The Alien Love Letters series has a fun concept, revolving around correspondence between a human and an alien, and the complications and romance which ensue. Five of the top SFR authors came together to take on this writing prompt and developed very different tales. In From Vangar With Love by Julie K. Cohen, the main character duo has been pen pals for two years but the alien man has been pretending to be someone else. In this take on the classic trope, the author brings the woman from Earth, ready to marry the male she thinks she’s been writing to – suerprise! Reviewers of this novella enjoyed the complicated world building, which supplied the reasons for the MMC’s deception, as well as approving of the way the romance developed and the spicy scenes. From Earth With Love by Sandra R. Neeley has a unique setup, in that the FMC is widowed and bitter and has been sending her thoughts and longings out to the galaxy via her late scientist husband’s inactive email. Unbeknownst to her, an alien scientist who was receiving the official SETI communications has been reading everything she’s sent and fallen in love with her. As one reviewer said, summing it up so well: “It’s all about losing and gaining and embracing life in the moment. Maybe we are not alone in the universe like we think we are.”
There are three more books in the series.
The Alien Love Encounter Series began in 2023 and now contains 18 books by different authors. The original emphasis was on April Fool’s Day and mistaken identities, with HEA endings. The most recent 2024 releases center on Valentine’s themes. As the alien man states in the blurb for Deiri Di’s A Heart for a Scoundrel: “Now all I have to do is convince her that I am the right mate for her. Lucky for me, her species has a holiday that is all about that.” There are a lot of twists and turns in this story but the human FMC is in a financial jam and takes on a roommate who just happens to be an alien trying to set up a dating agency on Earth. In A Heart for Alien Hunting BY Alina Riley, the FMC is a human biologist who is convinced aliens exist and sets out to find one to prove her point. The alien MMC is here on Earth to obtain more chocolate when he happens to save the lady’s life and the story goes from there.
Of course the paranormal romance author world takes an interest in Valentine’s Day-themed stories as well. A new charity anthology Heart2Heart presents stories from ten well known authors of LGBTQ+ paranormal romance and as the blurb states: “This Valentine’s Day, the sunshiny necromancer, the lonely vampire, and the nonbinary dragon will put their trust in H2H and a certain cheeky cherub of romance. Will Cupid’s arrows strike true?”
XOXO: A Steamy Valentine’s Day anthology by various authors includes some paranormal romance tales and is another excellent chance to sample new-to-you authors. This anthology’s proceeds benefit the National Alliance on Mental Illness. Author C. D. Gorri’s tale Her Chocolate His Bar isn’t paranormal this time but reviewers single her story out consistently as being one of the highlights of the volume.
Head Over Heels for Monsters by various authors serves up spicy and sweet stories, with the proceeds going to benefit St., Jude’s Children’s Hospital. (Can you tell how much I love anthologies? I’ve found so many great authors after reading a taste of their story telling in a collection like this.)
Lisa Daniels and Scarlett Stone write the Holiday Shifters of Frost Mountain series and have recently released A Dragon Den’s Valentine’s and A Mountain Man’s Valentine’s, both taking place on the mountain of the title and involving survivors of an airplane crash who went through a portal to arrive at this paranormal place. There’s no way back to the world they knew. Despite the light hearted titles and book cover art, the characters have quite a bit of emotional backstory to work through, which adds up to a satisfying romance read.
Things are more lighthearted in Honey Phillip’s Valentine for My Vampire. The MMC is a vampire who also happens to be a gourmet chef with a restaurant in the cozy little town of Fairhaven Falls. A foodie influencer who pans his restaurant on her first visit decides to give the place a second chance and then gets drawn into helping him solve a mystery. It’s a cozy but spicy tale. All kinds of stories take place in Fairhaven Falls, not just at Valentine’s Day so if a reader enjoys this story, there are plenty more to dip into.
My Stuffed Valentine by Rozy Mack takes a single mother who discovers the cute stuffed animal she was given by a friend is actually a Guardian of Cupid, who has been cursed to stay in this form until he meets the right woman to break the curse. Hmmm, who might that be? Readers enjoyed the mix of realism and magic and rated this shorter work as a fun read for the holiday.
Petty Cupid by Sarah Blue involves a cupid who lies about having a date for the Valentine’s Ball. She ends up with a grim reaper for her fake date and will anyone be surprised when the fake relationship turns into the real thing? Readers loved this take on the classic fake relationship trope and the mixing of Love and Death together forever for their HEA. The only complaint was they wished the book was longer because they were enjoying the story and the characters so much.
I hope you have an excellent February full of happy reading, whether you celebrated the specific holiday or not! Romance and Happy Ever Afters aren’t tethered to any one day, thank goodness.
