This post first appeared in the Roswell Daily Record…
Science Fiction and Paranormal Romance authors are quite creative about writing alien or shifter romances with holiday themes and a number typically are released around this time frame.
A group of well known SFR authors has coalesced around the theme of alien rescues occurring in snowy or Christmas-y setting and given readers seven new books to enjoy at the holiday season. Kringl by Tana Stone asks: What’s worse than crash landing on an ice planet? Discovering that it’s controlled by a group of angry elves who escaped from the North Pole! There are blue aliens, a stranded human woman and of course the elves who always keep the calendar at Christmas Eve but never allow Christmas Day to happen. Rudi by Honey Phillips features a human Female Main Character who escapes a dying Earth, only to end up on an icy cold planet. Things heat up when she and a giant alien warrior are sent on a rescue mission. Poor Rudi has antlers and is an outcast among his people – yes, this is a take on a Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer story. Khol by Ava Ross has a single mother and her young daughter crashlanding on a tropical paradise planet, inhabited by one reclusive alien. He rescues them, adventure and romance ensue and together they figure out how to give the child the holiday she’d been keenly looking forward to. Lashe by Ella Blake revolves around a human ambassador and her laconic shuttle pilot, an alien who has loved her from afar. When they crash on a storm tossed world and must work together to be rescued, his true feelings emerge and the duo must escape before an unsurvivable tempest hits. This is a standalone story in the author’s Lords of Destra series and readers were appreciative to have a new tale. Pyne, Gyft and Klaz by Alana Khan, Rena Marks and Ava York respectively fill out the series.
Jenny Schwartz spins a bittersweet holiday tale in Lost: A Christmas Novella. The MMC is a cyborg soldier, newly discharged at war’s end, whose family on Earth tells him not to bother coming home due to prejudice against cyborgs. He’s stuck on a space station trying to figure out what to do next and meets a robot child and a young woman with their own dilemmas. The attraction between the main characters is lowkey and while I enjoyed the story, I’d love for the author to expand it into novel length and give readers more about all of the characters.
Searching for Thanksgiving by S. E. Smith is set on her dragon-shifting world of Valdier and involves the dragonlings going on a quest to discover the true meaning of the holiday. The Female Main Character Crystal is a reclusive woman seeking peace and tranquility after leaving Earth. The MMC is a dragon shifter “haunted and hunted by others of his kind.” He’s been watching Crystal from afar and the dragonlings bring them together. Readers enjoyed this found family story and the hijinks of the young dragonlings.
Julie K Cohen’s title comes right out and says what many SFR readers are thinking – All I want for Christmas Is an Alien. The story takes place in her Zyanthan universe (but can be read as a standalone) and here’s how the blurb describes it: “Contains one determined human woman who won’t give up hope, a missing alien warrior who better make it home AND have one drekking good Christmas gift to make up for being late, questionable holiday cooking by a dear friend, and the kind of love that makes the galaxy hold its breath.“ Ms. Cohen always spins a good yarn and her Whisked Away By The Alien from 2023, a Hannukah-themed story remains a holiday favorite with SFR readers.
The Naughty Elf series brings together thirteen well known authors of LGBTQ romance, spinning holiday tales of mischievous North Pole-dwelling elves who get themselves in varying degrees of trouble with Santa and end up out in the wide world searching for their fated mates and happiness. In Lorelai M. Hart’s Naughty Elf: Aster, for example, the MMC is happily working away on the Christmas cookie team until someone sabotages him by putting salt in the batter. He’s transformed into an ornament as punishment (Santa was in a bad mood) and sent away, stuck in a junk store. A little boy begs his widowed, wolf shifter Dad to buy the tiny elf statue and the story goes from there to the HEA ending. Naughty Elf: Evan by Aria Grace tells the story of a Santa’s workshop elf who longs to get out and see the world. He sneaks out to be the monitor for a town named Joyville and holiday magic, merriment and romance ensue. As the blurb says, there’s “…a lone wolf shifter, Christmas cookies, lots of cocoa, true love, fated mates, a happy ever after…”. Note these are MPREG stories, occurring in a world where men can give birth. Eleven other elf tales complete the series, releasing weekly until December 2nd.
Isabelle Taylor provides a cozy holiday small town story in Christmas With A Chimera (Claw Haven Novellas Book 2). The chimera in question is a former resident of the town who struck it big as a Hollywood actor and has now come home to film a movie. He pretty much gets by on his charm and his celebrity but his former high school sweetheart isn’t fooled or beguiled. She’s a prickly café owner holding a grudge at the way he abandoned her so long ago. She’s not interested in a second chance with the lion-headed, goat-horned heartthrob but fate keeps throwing them together. This is a slow burn, spicy monster romance and of course there’s a HEA in store for the couple.
In Zhoel: All I Want for Christmas is an Alien (Kirenai Fated Mates (Intergalactic Dating Agency) Book 8) by Tamsin Ley, the alien in question has come to Earth to explore setting up a travel business to share small town Earth life with other citizens of the galaxy. Arriving in the midst of the holiday season, Zhoel is a bit adrift but there’s a matchmaking grandmother, a found family and a captivating human woman whose family business is in trouble. Working together might solve all their problems and ensure the HEA ending.
There are more holiday themed genre romances out there, with new ones popping up all the time but this sample can be a good start for loading up your To Be Read List. Happy holiday season and happy reading!
VS: And here are a few more that either I didn’t have room for in the RDR post (it’s an actual newspaper!) or which came out too late for my deadline. And even now I don’t have them all, I’m sure!:
GRUMPY DRAGON CHRISTMAS (FATED MATES OF THE SARKARNII BOOK SEVEN) by Hattie Jacks
He’s the grumpiest alien dragon shifter this side of the galaxy, and the last thing he wants for Christmas is a fated mate. With my fellow humans all safely coupled up with their Sarkarnii mates, I have a growing problem. I’m pregnant. So I insisted on being left on Kitchik, a tiny planet where the weather has already taken a turn for the worse. As the snow falls and I try to get used to my new existence and impending birth, I run into Drekkan. Big, bad, fire breathing Drekkan. He’s been marooned on Kitchik for too long and all he wants to do is cause trouble. Plus, he hates the winter solstice celebration which is just about to take place. Thing is, I love a bad boy, and Drekkan is as bad as they come. But he wouldn’t want a pregnant human with no home to speak of…and who loves Christmas as much as he hates it…would he?
MY ORC SANTA CLAUS (EASTSHORE ISLE BOOK FIVE) by Veronika Kane
I’m pretty sure there’s rules about an elementary teacher hooking up with a student’s parent, but what if I didn’t know that’s who he was? See, I’ve spent the last few months getting hot and heavy with this guy on the app MonsterSmash, but we haven’t exchanged names. This made our parent-teacher conference a little…awkward. Sakkara is the town’s mayor, and he has a protective streak a mile wide. I confess, I really like that, and right now, I want nothing more than to let him take care of me. Christmas is approaching, and it would be so nice to allow myself to let down my guard for a few weeks and experience the joy of the season with him and his precious daughter. But I’ve been hiding here from the threat of my past, and when it rears its ugly head, I know I can’t put Sakkara and his family in danger. Besides, what would a guy like him—successful, strong, and oh-so-delicious—want with a gal who brings nothing but trouble? And why does he seem determined to protect me at all costs?
AWAY IN A TENTACLE LAIR: A TINSEL AND TENTACLES STORY by Charlotte Brice
VS Note: MM PNR
Leo has always wanted the top job in the best marine research centre, but to get it, he must uncover Seaspray Bay’s secret. When he enlists the help of kindhearted local Kai, his heart pulls him in a different direction. Kai just can’t understand why Leo wants to study the ocean from inside a land-based building instead of actually in the sea. But then again, he is the octopus shifter keeping the secret of Seaspray Bay.
THE HOLLY AND THE TENTACLES: MM MPREG HOLIDAY ROMANCE: A TINSEL AND TENTACLES STORY by Minerva Howe
Aeryn is only happy at the miner’s space station he lives on because of his roommate, Legacy. Legacy has always been good to him, and he’s about to get even better when he discovers a secret fantasy Aeryn has. They share their favorite ideas at Christmas, and they give into their amazing chemistry, but then life, and the mining company they work for, conspire to keep them apart. The stakes go up when Aeryn finds out he’s pregnant, and then they have to decide what the most important things in their lives really are…This is an mpreg romance in space with biomech tentacles!
AN AVALANCHE HERO CHRISTMAS (HOLIDAY SHIFTERS OF FROST MOUNTAIN) by Lisa Daniels and Scarlett Stone
I knew I shouldn’t have agreed to take that sabbatical. At least, I wouldn’t have been on that flight when it crashed. But this is my reality now. I’m just a fae nurse with a fanny pack, Freezing my butt off on a magical mountain I can’t escape. This is going to be one hell of a Christmas. Getting buried alive in an avalanche was NOT on my bucket list. Neither was the sizzling-hot fisherman who pulled me out of the snow. He doesn’t like me, that’s for sure, and I think I know exactly why…It doesn’t help that he’s my only hope. Oh, and did I mention I’ve got a stalker? They call him the Fae Hunter. He looks more like Evil Santa. He’s got green eyes, a bushy beard, a pair of bloodthirsty blades…And he’s got my name on his naughty list.
KRAVED BY KRAMPUS: A YULE BE MINE MONSTER ROMANCE by Alexa Ashe and Jewel Hayes
I just wanted to write a fluffy Christmas romance—now I’m trapped with Krampus and tangled in Yuletide magic. My life as the “Queen of Christmas Cheer” was simple. Write a sparkling holiday romance, make everyone believe in happy endings, and never, ever think about the darker stories lurking in my mind. Then I burned a manuscript about Krampus. And he came to life. Now, I’m snowed in with an ancient, horned spirit who claims I belong to him. He’s temptation made real–dangerous power and gentle strength, with a voice like midnight promises. More claws and shadowed desire than Santa’s warm and fuzzy cousin. But the worst part? My stories are coming to life—literally. Each scene of darkness and passion I’ve ever dared to write is unfolding around me, complete with magic, monsters, and a winter storm determined to keep me trapped here. Krampus says I can’t run from this. He wants me to embrace my true power—and him. But if I choose this wild, intoxicating magic, I might lose everything I’ve built. Then again, maybe the Queen of Christmas is ready to reign in the shadows.
MONSTERS UNDER MISTLETOE: A MONSTROUS HOLIDAY ANTHOLOGY by Various
What is more iconic for the holiday season than a mistletoe? Whether it’s your workplace enemy, or your gym crush, all it takes is a tiptoe under the mistletoe and it’s true love. From Minotaurs, Orcs, Aliens, to grumpy Trolls, we’ve got a kiss for every good little monster this holiday season. Come get this monstrous holiday anthology where all the proceeds benefit Planned Parenthood. Snag a smooch under this mistletoe, and donate to a good cause!
SELKIE SANTA (MOTHAM CITY MONSTERS BOOK SIX) by Lilith Stone
Half human, half elf Harper has been quietly pining for her best friend, fisherman selkie Noah for three years. But after his conniving ex-turned up and ruined everything, Harper has sworn off love for good. When she takes a cooking job at the Monsters of Mercy aged care village, she also finds herself playing the elf in their Christmas show. What she’s not expecting is a certain sexy selkie to be in the cast. Noah has just returned to Motham City from a two-month fishing trip, determined to set things right with Harper. No more Mr Nice Guy waiting in the shadows. He’s going to declare his love once and for all. But when he turns up at The Monsters of Mercy to find Harper, he’s roped in to play Santa by the residents. Dressed in an oversize Santa outfit, what chance has Noah got to woo a seriously miffed elf? Can Noah and Harper finally work things out or will their love be tossed out like an unwanted Christmas gift?
Happy holiday reading!
