Since the Smart Girls Love SciFi blog is ceasing operations at the end of June, I’m taking over this weekly reporting of new and upcoming releases in science fiction and fantasy romance. These releases are as reported to me by the authors, and I have not read them. I always recommend sampling before you buy!
(NOTE: If the author provides me with buy links I insert those; otherwise I default to Amazon.)
TRAPPED WITH THE CYBORG by Cara Bristol
(Veronica sez: One of my favorite SFR series!)
The only thing more dangerous than a suicide mission is falling in love…
Amanda Mansfield has faced challenges in her life: the disapproval of her critical father and the near-fatal accident that ended a promising military career and resulted in her transformation to cyborg. Now a Cyber Operations field agent, she volunteers to lead the most dangerous Cy-Ops mission ever: infiltrating enemy territory to find the secret hideaway of a terrorist mastermind. The last thing she needs is an added complication.
A FAIRIE TALE: THE BELOVED by Genevra Thorne
(Veronica sez: I LOVED this one and then went and snapped up the first book in the series.)
Lord Ashton of Aethyria is enticement, seduction, temptation–born with the power to strip even the most modest woman of her gown, her will, and her virtue. With the glamour of being born a half Daoine Sidhe faerie comes the sad fate that once a woman has gazed into Ash’s eyes, she forever loses the ability to see anything other than his ravishing beauty, and can certainly never glimpse into his soul. Ashton’s allure is so raw and enchanting, in fact, that he has exiled himself from even the human side of his family, lest his own aunts be tempted by him, and lives a life of solitude and fleeting passions. But he is part human as well, and it is his human blood that makes him long for a magic no faerie spell can equal. It is his deep desire for true love that leads him to keep his magnificent face hidden from the woman who captures his heart.
WARRIOR WENCH (THE ASARLAI WARS BOOK ONE) by Marie Andreas
(Veronica sez: Just started this one, loving it so far.)
Vaslisha Tor Dain is a mercenary starship captain with a few simple rules: A good ship is better than a great man, in case of confusion always err on the side of blowing someone’s head off, and never fall for a telepath or a member of her crew.
All of those are about to bite her in the ass.
Vas’s life takes a turn for the worse when she comes back to her crew after what should have been a two week pleasure trip to find out she’s actually been gone a month and has no memory of missing time. Her beloved ship, The Victorious Dead, has been sold for scrap and its pieces scattered throughout the galaxy. In addition, there are unmarked ships blowing apart entire planets and the Commonwealth government can’t, or won’t, stop them.
And that’s just her first day back.
BUSINESS OR PLEASURE (THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMEWORLD SECURITY BOOK 3) by Cassandra Chandler
He’ll have to do more than guard her body.
Paige Sloan has dedicated her life to protecting Earth’s ecosystems. She always thought that meant addressing and preventing human mistakes. But her latest samples of the swampland she’s studying have returned weird results and put her on the hit list of an invasive species—of aliens. The Tau Ceti are trying to create a base on Earth, and Paige is the only person alive who knows where those samples were taken.
Khel has been sent to protect Paige and bring her to the Coalition spaceship orbiting Earth. He has no idea what he’s in for when he approaches the incredibly independent and intractable Earthling. Her passion for her planet is strong enough to burn down the walls he’s created in himself to be the perfect Sadirian soldier—and it lights a flame of desire in him unlike any he’s ever known.
AVENGE HER by Sophia Kimble
As a Highland Warrior cursed with immortality, Malcolm Campbell fought many battles, but staying away from a beautiful witch is proving to be the greatest of his life. But when a blizzard traps them together in his castle and dark energy shrouds his home, her closeness ignites buried desires and tests the vow of celibacy he made to his wife’s broken body centuries ago.
POISON OR PROTECT: A DELIGHTFULLY DEADLY NOVELLA by Gail Carriger
Can one gentle Highland soldier woo Victorian London’s most scandalous lady assassin, or will they both be destroyed in the attempt?
New York Times bestselling author Gail Carriger presents a stand-alone romance novella set in her popular steampunk universe full of manners, spies, and dainty sandwiches.
Lady Preshea Villentia, the Mourning Star, has four dead husbands and a nasty reputation. Fortunately, she looks fabulous in black. What society doesn’t know is that all her husbands were marked for death by Preshea’s employer. And Preshea has one final assignment.
GHOST REBELLION (MINISTRY OF PECULIAR OCCURRENCES BOOK 5) by Pip Ballantine & Tee Morris
The chase is on! After rescuing Queen Victoria from the clutches of the Maestro, Agents Eliza D Braun and Wellington Books are in hot pursuit of Dr Henry Jekyll. While he continues his experiments on the aristocracy of Europe, he leaves a trail of chaos and despair in his wake. However when Eliza and Wellington run him to ground in India, they are forced to come face to face with ghosts from the past, and the realities of empire.
FIRE DANGER by Clare Davon
A love that’s fated to go up in flames.
All her life, a faint memory of her parents and fire has glowed at the back of Rachel Quinn’s mind. With her parents long dead, there is no one to clarify what it means.
When a gorgeous winged man rescues her from a pack of werewolves, something flares to life inside Rachel. Suddenly she can see the paranormal world around her, a world unseen by mortals. And far more complicated.
When Phoenix’s massive orange-and-red wings erupt from his back, he knows his Challenge—an age-old battle against his Demonos counterpart—is upon him. Heeding Rachel’s cry for help adds a layer of complexity never seen in any previous Challenge.
STAR REBELS: STORIES OF SPACE EXPLORATION, ALIEN RACES AND ADVENTURE – an anthology of short stories featuring Lindsay Buroker and more…FREE
There are rebels among the stars…
Meet eleven protagonists battling to save themselves and the ones they love. Human, cyborg, clone, or alien, they’ll find themselves pitted against intergalactic crime bosses, interstellar mercenaries, a quantum-wave-riding collective mind, and the universe itself. Along the way, there’s plenty of action, adventure, humor, and even some romance.
PORTALS VOLUME 4 from Members of the Science Fiction Romance Brigade – a FREE Sampler
Enter, and you’ll be introduced by award-winning authors to worlds beyond imagining, with heroes & heroines who dare to take it to the edge and beyond. Count on these adventurers to take their best shot … at their enemies and at romance!
Contains 10 first chapters, with links to purchase any or all of the complete books, should you wish.
Two we may have missed mentioning when they came out fairly recently:
THE PAGES OF THE MIND (THE UNCHARTED REALMS) by Jeffe Kennedy
(Veronica sez: I love Jeffe’s Twelve kingdoms series and this is an offshoot of that series. Plus: kickass librarian! I enjoyed this book.)
Magic has broken free over the Twelve Kingdoms. The population is beset by shapeshifters and portents, landscapes that migrate, uncanny allies who are not quite human…and enemies eager to take advantage of the chaos.
Dafne Mailloux is no adventurer–she’s a librarian. But the High Queen trusts Dafne’s ability with languages, her way of winnowing the useful facts from a dusty scroll, and even more important, the subtlety and guile that three decades under the thumb of a tyrant taught her.
Dafne never thought to need those skills again. But she accepts her duty. Until her journey drops her into the arms of a barbarian king.
LOST HEART: A CELTA NOVELLA by Robin D. Owens
(Veronica sez: I have not read this yet but I’m a big fan of her Celta series!)
Celta, a place of magic, telepathic animal companions, and romance . . . Lost Heart, a story rife with hidden agendas and dangerous secrets.
Barton Clover, Chief of Security for his large and noble family, is deeply aware of his responsibilities. When two young relatives repudiate the family and later disappear, he’s determined to find them and convince them to return. He has no time or inclination for love . . . but his family disapproves of his nothing-but-work life. They decree that he must visit a matchmaker or lose his position.
Enata Licorice, a respected librarian, has been doing research in a mysterious records vault . . . and is finding odd blanks in her memory. Lonely, she yearns for a good husband and arranges a matchmaking session of her own.
PreOrders:
BEFORE SHE WAKES: FORBIDDEN FAIRY TALES by Sharon Fisher
You’ve never read bedtime stories like these. RITA Award finalist Sharon Lynn Fisher blends dark erotic romance, fantasy, and science fiction in these bold tales of seduction and sensual awakening. . . .
STARS BETWEEN US (LOVE ON THE SPACE FRONTIER BOOK 3) by Melisse Aires
Lonely single mother Odessa contacts her former lover Veras, the man she never got over. It seems he never got over her, either, but he is leaving the spaceport in a short time for medical school on a distant planet. Traveling so far is a one-way trip; they know they have no future together. They will enjoy the the few days they have.
As of Tuesday evening, from Amazon:
Thanks so much for including Trapped by the Cyborg — and for doing this weekly list. It’s a lot of work to upload this information!
I enjoy doing it, fun to see all the new releases (or at least the ones I’m aware of)! I’ve got a process going, pretty smooth so far. I’m always eager to have a new book by you so it was my pleasure to lead off with the latest Cyborg! Best wishes on the new release…
*mwah*
I like covering some fantasy romance too and really, Dafne’s story was too good not to mention!
So many lovely books. I’m honored to see Business or Pleasure among them 🙂
Great line up. So glad you’ve taken this on, Veronica. Just finished Marie Andreas’ Warrior Wench. Fantastic!
Great line up, Veronica. Star Rebels looks awesome with several SciFi Romance writers that I am not familiar with. The only story I have read is Pope’s Blood Ties which I loved. I am also excited to see Genevra Thorne’s newest since I am currently reading the first book in her Faerie Tale series. This is the first book I have read from her. Warrior Wench also sounds great. So many choices!