SF Romance Wanted

artifact · 07-22-2015, 07:03 PM

I'm looking for SF Romance with a plot and the genre seems to be erotica, erotica, erotica. *sigh*. There is some decent Linnea Sinclair and Space Opera often has romance in it but there MUST be some choices other than erotica under the 'Romance' heading. Shelves and shelves and shelves of UF Romance, Steampunk Romance seems to be on the upswing but spaceships and aliens and lasers with a love story (not a sex story) ... where are you?

No first person please (sorry, it just bugs me.) And I consider 'Last hour of Gann' more Romance than erotica even though its risque because its has an actual plot.

bfisher · 07-22-2015, 07:38 PM

You might like "Local Custom", "Scouts Progress" and "Conflict of Honors", set in the Liaden Universe. They are available in an omnibus from Baen called "The Dragon Variation" at a very reasonable price.

http://www.baenebooks.com/p-1188-the...variation.aspx

silverraven · 07-22-2015, 09:15 PM

I've never read them, but Diana Palmer (romance writer) writes some Science Fiction under Susan Kyle.
http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/k/susan-kyle/
S

FizzyWater · 07-22-2015, 09:21 PM

I have some that I've loved, and once I get off work I'll check my book lists. But one of my favorites is Susan Grant's Contact.

She has others, and they're in the SF Romance genre, so you may like those. I'd have to check my notes to see if I made any comments, but what I remember thinking was that Contact had more SF meat that her others. It just depends on how much SF you want in your SF romance.

Linnea Sinclair always seemed to have what I thought of as a 50/50 mix....and I'm not sure I've read anyone else who was able to balance the two genres as well.

So whatever else I do find, it's going to lean more toward the romance.

Will check in later.

ebusinesstutor · 07-23-2015, 12:48 AM

Try Lois McMaster Bujold's Vorkosigan series. The first few books (Cordelia's Honor and Barraryar have a lot of romance in them and her later Miles Vorkosigan books also have some romance as well.

Anne McCaffrey's Pern series and her Talents universe series that starts with To Ride Pagasus may also fit.

FizzyWater · 07-23-2015, 01:29 AM

Okay, I got home and dug through my book db.

First, a few comments:

ONE: You say all romantic SF appears to be "erotica". Some people think if a couple kisses and the scene doesn't automatically "fade to black", it's erotica. For others, it's not erotic unless it include some level of kink (BDSM/menage).

These days, it's hard to find a book specifically tagged as a romance, that doesn't have at least a couple of sex scenes, including the usage of a few words previously only heard in locker rooms (or at home, if you grew up like me with brothers

).

So I'm going with my definition of "romance" versus "erotica". Romance will have some kissy stuff, and will likely have at least a couple of sex scenes. It may hint at kink, but it's mildly executed.

TWO: My book db doesn't track whether the books were written in first person. You can check samples. There's one series I mention that I'll never read because it's "first person present tense". I noted it, but it's been recommended to me by so many people, I listed it anyway (for anyone else following the thread that's interested).

THREE: I like Science Fiction Romance as a genre, but tend to read it irregularly. I tend to buy books on recommendation from folks I trust, even if I'm not currently going to read it. So some of these books have been on my TBR (to-be-read) pile for awhile, and I still haven't gotten around to them. My last big read of SFR was when Linnea Sinclair was still publishing (feels like a decade ago).

FOUR: There's an entire subgenre of romance called "futuristic". I think of it as Sci-Fi Lite and in some cases, Very Lite. Some of these books/series are probably more "futuristic" than "science fiction". In those cases, the science-fiction part of the book is more backdrop than required for the storyline. If you have questions about a specific author/series/book, ask and I'll see if I can remember.

FIVE: Some of these are set on other planets, some are set here on Earth.

So here goes (book lists hidden under SPOILER tags to keep this from being far too long a post).

SCI-FI with ROMANTIC ELEMENTS (not marketed as romance, just happens to include one)

Spoiler:

SCIENCE FICTION ROMANCE (setting is better fleshed out and/or necessary for the plot)

Spoiler:

FUTURISTICS (Usually, the world building isn't very deep, or it's hardly necessary for the plot - the stress is on the romance. However, some of these were actually marketed as Futuristics by the publisher - could be there's more to them than the label implies.)

Spoiler:

CAN'T REMEMBER ANYTHING ABOUT/HAVEN'T READ/PICKED UP BASED ON A GOOD REVIEW BUT I DON'T REMEMBER THE DETAILS

Spoiler:

NO ROMANCE, BUT I REALLY LIKE THIS SERIES

Spoiler:

DON'T BOTHER WITH

Spoiler:

Graham · 07-23-2015, 02:41 AM

I enjoyed MCA Hogarth's Her Instruments trilogy:

http://www.mcahogarth.org/the-her-in...ogy/#earthrise

Graham

Terisa de morgan · 07-23-2015, 03:00 AM

My comments:

Spoiler:

And I'm reading now The Phoenix Chronicles, by Anna Hackett, sci-fi with treasure hunters, and they are entertaining (some sex but it's difficult to find books like Lyn Kurland's (romance readers can understand the comment

)

crossi · 07-23-2015, 06:21 AM

Restoree by Anne Mccaffrey

Terisa de morgan · 07-23-2015, 06:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crossi

Restoree by Anne Mccaffrey

One of my favorite books.

Greg Anos · 07-23-2015, 08:57 AM

Add Mccaffrey's The Ship Who Sang.
No sex scenes, I guarantee....

Rizla · 07-23-2015, 09:46 AM

The Night Land by William Hope Hodgson is a love story.

artifact · 07-23-2015, 09:46 PM

Thanks everyone! After reading all the recommendations maybe I should have said I've run out of SF Romance and can't find any more, not I can't find any

.

Space Opera is one of my major reading categories so I have it covered (Vorkosigan, Liaden, Mageworlds, Cherryh, Mike Shepherd, even some furry books whose author I can't remember.) This seems to be the go-to for SciFi Romance that isn't called Romance. The branded as SciFi Romance keeps turning into erotica stories wrapped around sex scenes (IMO.) I'm counting the days for the new Vorkosigan Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen.

Jean Johnson is more MilSciFi to me with only a drop of romance -- read it, will read the next one even if heroine has delusions of Mary Sueism. Read Scarabaeus, don't remember it being more than average but its been a while.

I devoured everything McCaffery back in HS. The Crystal Singer series should go into the Romance list as well now that I think about it.

Read all the Jayne Castle Harmony and St. Helens series (and Amanda Quick historicals.) More sorta paranormal urban fantasy before there was a genre. The Rainshadow updates strike me as bigger-badder power than the last book with mediocre writing and plot.

I'll look into Susan Kyle and a bunch of others everyone has listed. I think I've checked Grant, Koch, and Showalter but they all turned out to be 1st person so I'll double check. True Blood has me thinking of a popular vampire series -- must be a different author.

The Cat Star series is pretty much the perfect example of what I hate about books branded SciFi Romance: 1st person and silly sex scenes for no reason other than to have sex scenes. Guilty pleasure is Eve Langalais' 'Abducted' series and some Kaitlyn O'Connor -- both are branded as erotica and follow the Mars Needs Women trope but these two strike my funny bone. I just skip over the sex scenes when they get tiresome.

@FizzyWater I gave Jess Granger Beyond The Rain 4 stars (that means its a re-read), Beyond the Shadows only 2.

I'll pitch Kate Elliot's Jaran to SciFi love story fans. Space faring girl meets Genghis Khan mash-up with a good aliens vs. humans plot to wrap around it.

BenG · 07-24-2015, 01:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rizla

The Night Land by William Hope Hodgson is a love story.

And a couple of the most irritating lovers in literature for the second half of the book. If I wasn't reading it on my kindle I would have thrown the book across the room more than once.

BenG · 07-24-2015, 01:51 PM

I haven't read them but I have heard the Liaden books by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller have romantic elements in the story even though they're not outright romances. There's a thread about them a little below this one.

07-22-2015, 07:03 PM	#1
artifact Addict Posts: 276 Karma: 3569616 Join Date: Feb 2009 Device: jetBook (RIP), Kobo Touch	SF Romance Wanted I'm looking for SF Romance with a plot and the genre seems to be erotica, erotica, erotica. sigh. There is some decent Linnea Sinclair and Space Opera often has romance in it but there MUST be some choices other than erotica under the 'Romance' heading. Shelves and shelves and shelves of UF Romance, Steampunk Romance seems to be on the upswing but spaceships and aliens and lasers with a love story (not a sex story) ... where are you? No first person please (sorry, it just bugs me.) And I consider 'Last hour of Gann' more Romance than erotica even though its risque because its has an actual plot. Last edited by artifact; 07-22-2015 at 07:09 PM. Reason: Added Gann.

07-23-2015, 01:29 AM	#6
FizzyWater You kids get off my lawn! Posts: 4,220 Karma: 73492664 Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Columbus, Ohio Device: Oasis 2 and Libra H2O and half a dozen older models I can't let go of	Okay, I got home and dug through my book db. First, a few comments: ONE: You say all romantic SF appears to be "erotica". Some people think if a couple kisses and the scene doesn't automatically "fade to black", it's erotica. For others, it's not erotic unless it include some level of kink (BDSM/menage). These days, it's hard to find a book specifically tagged as a romance, that doesn't have at least a couple of sex scenes, including the usage of a few words previously only heard in locker rooms (or at home, if you grew up like me with brothers ). So I'm going with my definition of "romance" versus "erotica". Romance will have some kissy stuff, and will likely have at least a couple of sex scenes. It may hint at kink, but it's mildly executed. TWO: My book db doesn't track whether the books were written in first person. You can check samples. There's one series I mention that I'll never read because it's "first person present tense". I noted it, but it's been recommended to me by so many people, I listed it anyway (for anyone else following the thread that's interested). THREE: I like Science Fiction Romance as a genre, but tend to read it irregularly. I tend to buy books on recommendation from folks I trust, even if I'm not currently going to read it. So some of these books have been on my TBR (to-be-read) pile for awhile, and I still haven't gotten around to them. My last big read of SFR was when Linnea Sinclair was still publishing (feels like a decade ago). FOUR: There's an entire subgenre of romance called "futuristic". I think of it as Sci-Fi Lite and in some cases, Very Lite. Some of these books/series are probably more "futuristic" than "science fiction". In those cases, the science-fiction part of the book is more backdrop than required for the storyline. If you have questions about a specific author/series/book, ask and I'll see if I can remember. FIVE: Some of these are set on other planets, some are set here on Earth. So here goes (book lists hidden under SPOILER tags to keep this from being far too long a post). SCI-FI with ROMANTIC ELEMENTS (not marketed as romance, just happens to include one) Spoiler: Alex Hughes - Mindspace Investigations series - the romance is not the main part of the story, and develops over multiple books. I got sucked into these books to my surprise. Drug-addicted main characters are not generally my cup of tea. Gini Koch - Katherine "Kitty" Katt (haven't read it, but reviews looked good) SCIENCE FICTION ROMANCE (setting is better fleshed out and/or necessary for the plot) Spoiler: Patricia Waddell - True Blood and True Deception (I think this was meant to start a series, but didn't get picked up, but I could be wrong) CL Anderson - Bitter Angels (haven't read it, but reviews looked good) Jean Johnson - Theirs Not to Reason Why series - I think I picked this up purely because the cover caught my eye Multi-author series - 2176 series - Liz Maverick, Susan Grant, Patti O'Shea, Kathleen Nance (some are stronger than others; these same authors +1 also wrote a vampire paranormal romance series) Pattie O'Shea - Jarved Nine series - only read the 1st one, 2nd only recently released after author got rights back to first story Gena Showalter - Alien Huntress series - I really liked the first 2 or 3 of these, but it turned more into a "paranormal" romance series that happened to include aliens living on earth Michelle O'Leary - The Huntress (also liked Last Chance, but it was supposed to be a trilogy, and she disappeared online for so long, I never followed up to see what happened to it) FUTURISTICS (Usually, the world building isn't very deep, or it's hardly necessary for the plot - the stress is on the romance. However, some of these were actually marketed as Futuristics by the publisher - could be there's more to them than the label implies.) Spoiler: Jayne Castle Harmony series, St Helens series - the science fiction backdrop of these novels is so thin, it's like you're on a movie set where are the buildings are just fronts with no depth . They're very popular with "futuristic" readers, however. Robin D. Owens - Celta Tales series - more like paranormal/fantasy that happens to be set on another planet. I like these, but they're hardly SFR. Main premise: people with paranormal powers from Earth leave the planet so they can practice their religion without persecution. One of the books spends a lot of time on one of the ships (that's set up as a sort of museum of Earth tech). CJ Barry - books all start with "Un" - Unearthed, Unleashed, I don't know if there's a series name. I know I read the first one, but it was so long ago I don't remember details. Justine Davis Coalition Rebellion series - I think these came out not too long after Star Wars. Early attempt - and before the ebooks were released, sold for ridiculous prices on the used book market - for Sci-Fi romance Space Opera. Susan Kearney Rystani Warrior series - I have no memories of these books. Catherine Spangler Shielder series - I know I read the first one, but it was so long ago I don't remember details. CAN'T REMEMBER ANYTHING ABOUT/HAVEN'T READ/PICKED UP BASED ON A GOOD REVIEW BUT I DON'T REMEMBER THE DETAILS Spoiler: Kristin Landon Hidden Worlds series Sharon Shinn - Jenna Starborn (supposed to be Jayne Eyre in space) Shannon K Butcher - Forget Me Not Sara Creasy Scarabaeus series Kris DeLake (sci-fi romance pseudonym of Kristine Katherine Rusch) - I bought these because I like Rusch's Retrieval Artist series, but I've never gotten around to reading them. CL Wilson Tairen Soul series - this looks like a SF/F hybrid, but it was gushed over by romance reader blogs I follow Marcella Burnard Enemy series Ann Aguirre Sirantha Jax series - I passed on reading these because they were written in 1st person, present tense, but they've had a lot of good recommendations, if you can read FPPT Sherrilyn Kenyon The League series - may be more superhero-y than true SF Jess Granger Beyond the Shadow Realms series Cheryl Brooks Cat Star Chronicles series - definitely romance-heavy over sci-fi NO ROMANCE, BUT I REALLY LIKE THIS SERIES Spoiler: Kristine Katheryn Rusch Retrieval Artist series DON'T BOTHER WITH Spoiler: Jacquelyn Frank Three Worlds series - it's like hunter/gatherers living in trees on another planet (and she never intends to finish the series) Katherine Allred Alien Affairs series - more hunter/gatherers in space (to be honest, I only remember I was disgusted I'd wasted my time reading the first book and I marked her as never-buy-again) Sharon Lynn Fisher - Ghost Planet - I actually thought this started out really well, with an interesting concept, but the 2nd half was so bad IMO, it was as if it was written by another person (or she'd written the start and cleaned it up, then rushed to finish the book) Dara Joy Matrix of Destiny series - this series is...over the top campy. It's almost like she wrote it as a satire of the romance novel. Some romance readers really love these books.

07-23-2015, 03:00 AM	#8
Terisa de morgan Grand Sorcerer Posts: 6,227 Karma: 11768331 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Madrid, Spain Device: Kobo Clara/Aura One/Forma,XiaoMI 5, iPad, Huawei MediaPad, YotaPhone 2	My comments: Spoiler: Gini Koch: Quite romantic elements and bed scenes, but funny books Gena Showalter - Alien Huntress: I agree only the two/three first ones are sci-fi, and they are nice Lois McMaster: The two afore mentiones (Miles' parents books) and, for Miles, Komarr and A civil campaing, mailny And I'm reading now The Phoenix Chronicles, by Anna Hackett, sci-fi with treasure hunters, and they are entertaining (some sex but it's difficult to find books like Lyn Kurland's (romance readers can understand the comment )

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07-22-2015, 07:38 PM	#2
bfisher Wizard Posts: 1,638 Karma: 28483498 Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Ottawa Canada Device: Sony PRS-T3, Galaxy (Aldiko, Kobo app)	You might like "Local Custom", "Scouts Progress" and "Conflict of Honors", set in the Liaden Universe. They are available in an omnibus from Baen called "The Dragon Variation" at a very reasonable price. http://www.baenebooks.com/p-1188-the...variation.aspx

07-22-2015, 09:15 PM	#3
silverraven Guru Posts: 967 Karma: 3438612 Join Date: Oct 2009 Device: Kindle Voyage, Kindle 4NTB x 4	I've never read them, but Diana Palmer (romance writer) writes some Science Fiction under Susan Kyle. http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/k/susan-kyle/ S

07-22-2015, 09:21 PM	#4
FizzyWater You kids get off my lawn! Posts: 4,220 Karma: 73492664 Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Columbus, Ohio Device: Oasis 2 and Libra H2O and half a dozen older models I can't let go of	I have some that I've loved, and once I get off work I'll check my book lists. But one of my favorites is Susan Grant's Contact. She has others, and they're in the SF Romance genre, so you may like those. I'd have to check my notes to see if I made any comments, but what I remember thinking was that Contact had more SF meat that her others. It just depends on how much SF you want in your SF romance. Linnea Sinclair always seemed to have what I thought of as a 50/50 mix....and I'm not sure I've read anyone else who was able to balance the two genres as well. So whatever else I do find, it's going to lean more toward the romance. Will check in later.

07-23-2015, 12:48 AM	#5
ebusinesstutor Star Gawker Posts: 526 Karma: 6944314 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Spruce Grove, AB Canada Device: Kindle Paperwhite	Try Lois McMaster Bujold's Vorkosigan series. The first few books (Cordelia's Honor and Barraryar have a lot of romance in them and her later Miles Vorkosigan books also have some romance as well. Anne McCaffrey's Pern series and her Talents universe series that starts with To Ride Pagasus may also fit.

07-23-2015, 02:41 AM	#7
Graham Wizard Posts: 2,743 Karma: 32912427 Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: North Yorkshire, UK Device: Kobo H20, Pixel 2, Samsung Chromebook Plus	I enjoyed MCA Hogarth's Her Instruments trilogy: http://www.mcahogarth.org/the-her-in...ogy/#earthrise Graham

07-23-2015, 06:21 AM	#9
crossi Guru Posts: 992 Karma: 12000001 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Seattle Wahington U.S. Device: kindle	Restoree by Anne Mccaffrey

07-23-2015, 08:57 AM	#11
Greg Anos Grand Sorcerer Posts: 11,247 Karma: 35000000 Join Date: Jan 2008 Device: Pocketbook	Add Mccaffrey's The Ship Who Sang. No sex scenes, I guarantee....

07-23-2015, 09:46 AM	#12
Rizla Member Retired Posts: 3,183 Karma: 11721895 Join Date: Nov 2010 Device: Nook STR (rooted) & Sony T2	The Night Land by William Hope Hodgson is a love story.

07-23-2015, 09:46 PM	#13
artifact Addict Posts: 276 Karma: 3569616 Join Date: Feb 2009 Device: jetBook (RIP), Kobo Touch	Thanks everyone! After reading all the recommendations maybe I should have said I've run out of SF Romance and can't find any more, not I can't find any . Space Opera is one of my major reading categories so I have it covered (Vorkosigan, Liaden, Mageworlds, Cherryh, Mike Shepherd, even some furry books whose author I can't remember.) This seems to be the go-to for SciFi Romance that isn't called Romance. The branded as SciFi Romance keeps turning into erotica stories wrapped around sex scenes (IMO.) I'm counting the days for the new Vorkosigan Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen. Jean Johnson is more MilSciFi to me with only a drop of romance -- read it, will read the next one even if heroine has delusions of Mary Sueism. Read Scarabaeus, don't remember it being more than average but its been a while. I devoured everything McCaffery back in HS. The Crystal Singer series should go into the Romance list as well now that I think about it. Read all the Jayne Castle Harmony and St. Helens series (and Amanda Quick historicals.) More sorta paranormal urban fantasy before there was a genre. The Rainshadow updates strike me as bigger-badder power than the last book with mediocre writing and plot. I'll look into Susan Kyle and a bunch of others everyone has listed. I think I've checked Grant, Koch, and Showalter but they all turned out to be 1st person so I'll double check. True Blood has me thinking of a popular vampire series -- must be a different author. The Cat Star series is pretty much the perfect example of what I hate about books branded SciFi Romance: 1st person and silly sex scenes for no reason other than to have sex scenes. Guilty pleasure is Eve Langalais' 'Abducted' series and some Kaitlyn O'Connor -- both are branded as erotica and follow the Mars Needs Women trope but these two strike my funny bone. I just skip over the sex scenes when they get tiresome. @FizzyWater I gave Jess Granger Beyond The Rain 4 stars (that means its a re-read), Beyond the Shadows only 2. I'll pitch Kate Elliot's Jaran to SciFi love story fans. Space faring girl meets Genghis Khan mash-up with a good aliens vs. humans plot to wrap around it.

07-24-2015, 01:51 PM	#15
BenG Home Guard Posts: 4,729 Karma: 86721650 Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Alpha Ralpha Boulevard Device: Kindle Oasis 3G, iPhone 6	I haven't read them but I have heard the Liaden books by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller have romantic elements in the story even though they're not outright romances. There's a thread about them a little below this one.

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