NOTE: This post first appeared in the Roswell Daily Record.
Since June is LGBTQ Pride Month, I’ve gathered a number of recent science fiction and scifi romance releases to highlight.
Magic Lessons: Sapphic Space Fantasy (Magic Of The Galaxy Book 2) by Harlowe Frost combines SF and magic, with aliens and mythical creatures. The series centers around Viera, an elementary school teacher who was accidentally beamed off the planet and into a new world on an alien space station where she learns the universe is very different from what she thought she knew. In book two she returns to Earth and tries to cope with her new magic and her acquired knowledge. Reviewers praise the worldbuilding and the character development. The books end in cliffhangers since this is an ongoing series.
Together in a Broken World by Paul Michael Winters is an end of the world as we know it story where Zach and Aiden are among the few survivors of both a plague and a climate change disaster on all coasts. Although the worldbuilding is strong, the two characters really carry the story. One has chosen to live in a fortress he created in a bank and the other is roaming the devastated country on a mission for a covert organization trying to create a cure for the infection. The romance is slow burn for about two thirds of the book.
Hearing Red by Nicole Maser looks at the same general scenario – a disease ending the world – from the sapphic standpoint. Her two polar opposite Female Main Characters are a young doctor living with her father and a band of raiders and a woman who lived fairly comfortably through the apocalypse in her parents’ gated community. The doctor is stoic and uber serious and the rich girl is stubborn and relentlessly determined to look at the bright side. And blind. Did I mention there are zombies? Light on the world building but intense when it comes to character development and the slow burn romance. Readers couldn’t get enough of this book and want sequels, which is always a great sign.
Release: A grumpy/sunshine MM alien romance (Rescue Trilogy Book 3) by Mx. Alex is the concluding book in the series about a group of rescued human slaves trying to get home to Earth, aided by a human/alien duo. In this book old enemies of one alien Male Main Character show up and offer to help the humans but the deal sounds too good to be true. So should they be trusted or? The series is best read in order but reviewers were quite pleased with the way the adventures were resolved. Check the trigger warnings as there is a BDSM element in the romance.
Earth Boys Are Easy: A Superhero x Alien MM Romance (Villains in Space Book 1) by C. Rochelle asks “What’s a superhero to do when his own family sees his powers as unimpressive and he’s fifth in line for the throne?” The answer is to fall for a hot alien mercenary on a mission of his own and the book sets forth the way the two team up. Reviewers praise the emotional growth both MMC’s exhibit over the course of the book, as well as the banter and the adventure. And the spicy scenes of course. There’s a previous series, Villainous Things by this author, which readers suggest might well be read first, for context and world building, but the new book can be read as a standalone.
The Z Word by Lindsay King-Miller plunges a group of friends, enemies, and frenemies into a zombie outbreak during Pride and as the blurb says, the story becomes: “…a found family coming together to fight corporate greed, political corruption, gay drama, and zombies.” Reviewers lauded the humor in the book despite the gory goings-on as well as the book’s stance on ‘corporate Pride’ or ‘rainbow capitalism’. Be prepared for chainsaws and gruesome scenes (typical of the zombie genre) but enjoy the characters and their relationships.
Stowaway (Travellers Book 2) by Becky Black tells the tale of a fugitive in the galaxy, witty, flirtatious and like nothing the security chief of a freighter has ever seen before. The accused thief stowaway and the man who lives by black and white and rules strike sparks (of course – it’s a romance) and eventually risk everything to be together. The growth of the relationship in this one pleases readers, especially with the men being such opposites in the beginning. They have to learn to trust each other and each needs to bend a bit from the way they’ve always lived life.
Diamond in the Rough: Crellic Revival by C. W. Gray is a spinoff from the Blue Solace series but can be read as a standalone. The romance here is between the governor of an interstellar colony and a low level worker who has come to the planet to help raise alien babies. As the blurb states, the book offers: “…love at first sight, light and fluffy gay romance, family bonds, futuristic new world full of different species.” Readers were ecstatic to find the author beginning a new series, with cameos from characters in the previous series and even though the book is a short novella, it received great ratings.
Seed of Chaos (Eve of Destruction Book 5) by Benjamin Medrano is the latest in the series featuring a main character who has pretty much done it all, including conquering worlds and was trying to enjoy retirement with her found family/harem of women. As one reviewer for book one in the series said, “She is capable of destroying a spaceship with her magic, has enough money to purchase the best equipment, and even has a djinn companion who can resurrect her should she die.” In the new release the Female Main Character is again trying to have some peace and quiet but first there’s a deity to assist with a small favor and then her problematic fey family descends upon her for an extended visit. The books tend to be episodic with subplots driving the action and loosely intertwining but readers love the FMC and her friends and lovers.
Of course this is only a sampling of the LGBTQ SF/SFR available for your reading pleasure and we didn’t even touch upon Fantasy or Paranormal Romance. Happy reading!
