The Ripped Bodice Bookstore in SoCal is conducting their second annual Summer Romance Bingo. I thought it would be fun to take their bingo card of categories and identify scifi romance titles that would satisfy the requirements for readers. I asked the members of The SciFi Romance Group on Facebook to recommend books and definitely allowed authors to recommend their own titles. I said I’d take the first three books to be suggested in each category, which I’ve pretty much stuck to, with a few exceptions noted below.
As the Ripped Bodice notes on their rules, “You can interpret the categories however you want” so we did take a bit of license on a few to fit scifi romance.
To be clear, we’re NOT playing bingo here, merely providing a list of suggestions! Hope over to the Ripped Bodice site if you want to enter their contest, which runs all summer 2018.
And I certainly included a few of my own titles!
It makes for a fun reading list. I’ve included the Amazon links (to book 1 if an entire series is listed) but many of the books are also available on other ebook platforms. I only have so much time in my life to chase down links LOL.
Happy Summer Reading to All!
Soccer/Futbol:
STAR CHAMPION by Susan Grant Amazon
ALIEN WARLORD’S PASSION (WARLORD BRIDES INDEX BOOK 2) by Nancey Cummings and Starr Huntress – heroine’s son plays soccer and other sports.
TRAPPED ON TALONQUE by Veronica Scott Amazon
Fairy Tale Retelling:
BEAST: A FILTHY SWEET FAIRY TALE ROMANCE by Miranda Martin Amazon
BREATH OF LIFE (THE GAIAN CONSORTIUM SERIES BOOK 2) by Christine Pope Amazon
CINDERSTELLAR by J M Page Amazon
Forced Proximity:
OPERATION PHOENIX (NOVA FORCE BOOK 1) by Susan Hayes Amazon
ASHES AND METAL (CYBORG SHIFTERS BOOK 5) by Naomi Lucas Amazon
THE SCORPION’S MATE by Susan Trombley Amazon
RED SKY IN THE MORNING by Elana Brooks Amazon
Firefighters:
THE PIRATE CAPTAIN’S DAUGHTER by Ruby Lionsdrake Amazon
BLAZING (VALOS OF SONHADRA BOOK 3) by Nancey Cummings. Fighters made of fire. Amazon
JUNKYARD HEROES (THE ENDURANCE) by Tracey Cooper-Posey. VS Note: They would fight fires if there were any on this generation ship… Amazon
Young Adult Paranormal (or SFR):
LUNAR CHRONICLES by Marissa Meyer Amazon
OBSIDIAN (A LUX NOVEL BOOK 1) by Jennifer L Armentrout Amazon
SUPER STARRELLA (SECRET SUPERS BOOK 1) by Aurora Springer Amazon
Carriage Sex – For SFR I defined it as whatever might be an SFR equivalent to a Regency carriage (or mode of transportation):
DARK PLANET WARRIORS by Anna Carven. VS Note: Hero and heroine make love in tiny shuttle going from Point A to Point B – hence the SFR version of a carriage! Amazon
THE ALCHEMIST’S KISS: A MAGICAL STEAMPUNK ADVENTURE by AR DeClerck “dirigible sex” Amazon
WANTED AND WIRED by Vivien Jackson “drone rigger car sex…and space station sex…” Amazon
STAR KING by Susan Grant – “The hero and heroine make love on the back of a giant, carriage-sized snail.” Amazon
BLIND FATE by Regine Abel. “Sex in a shuttle!” VS Note: We just had so much fun with this category, had to add all the books mentioned! Amazon
Fashionista:
STAR SURVIVOR by Veronica Scott; heroine is fashion designer in far future Amazon
TERRAN by Cara Bristol – “Heroine has pink hair and a full sleeve tattoo and wears army boots.” Amazon
MAON : MARSHAL OF TALLEV by Cailin Briste – “Heroine is a fashion designer.” Amazon
WULF in TALES OF THE CHOSEN BOX SET by Kayelle Allen. “Male model”. Amazon
Set at Summer Camp:
VS Note: Literally at a summer camp per Tasha!
STARGAZER ALIEN MAILORDER BRIDES (INTERGALACTIC DATING AGENCY) KITT, REMINGTON AND INDIANA by Tasha Back (3 books)
Enemies to Lovers:
ICE PLANET BARBARIANS BOOK 1 by Ruby Dixon Amazon
CONQUERED: A DARK SCI-FI REVERSE HAREM ROMANCE (VAKARRAN CAPTIVES BOOK 1) by Sara Fields Amazon
STRANDED WITH THE CYBORG (CY-OPS SCIFI ROMANCE BOOK 1) by Cara Bristol Amazon
Heroine’s Eyes Are Described Using the Ocean:
FLARE by J C Hay “…the gulf between stars…” VS Note: As he said, if space is kinda like the ocean between stars. Amazon
CONTACT by Susan Grant Amazon
LOVE AND THE CORPS by Ava Cuvay Amazon
EDEN DISCOVERED (THE EDEN SERIES BOOK 3) by Lexi Post Amazon
Mermaids:
HEART OF THE DEEP by Tiffany Roberts VS Note: I sort of mischievously added this one because these are the scifi romance version of merpeople! Amazon
AEQUANA by Linda Mooney Amazon
BLUEBEARD’S CURSE by Regine Abel Amazon
Extreme Location:
DRAGON’S BABY (RED PLANET DRAGONS OF TAJSSBOOK 1) by Miranda Martin Amazon
NEVERWYLDE (RIM OF THE WORLD BOOK 1) by Linda Mooney Amazon
FIRE PLANET WARRIOR’S CAPTIVE by Calista Skye Amazon
OVERLOAD FLUX by Carol Van Natta Amazon
LAST HOUR OF GANN by R Lee Smith Amazon
THE WINDS OF FALL by Sandy Wickersham-McWhorter Amazon
Happily Ever After:
VS Note: This is basically the ‘Free’ space in the middle of the card because duh romance=happy ever after or at least happy for now!
DANGER IN THE STARS by Veronica Scott Amazon
HUNTED BY THE CYBORG (CY-OPS SCIFI ROMANCE BOOK 6) by Cara Bristol Amazon
UNIT 77: BROKEN (CyBRG Files Book 1) by Mina Carter and Evangeline Anderson Amazon
Queer+Historical:
THE PAST’S PROMISE by Linda Mooney and Carolyn Gregg Amazon
THE MAGPIE LORD (A CHARM OF MAGPIES BOOK 1) by K J Charles Amazon
Hero Named Harry:
THE LOST NIGHT (RAIN SHADOW SERIES BOOK 1) by Jayne Castle Amazon
Honorable Mention: TIGER EYE: THE FIRST DIRK & STEELE NOVEL by Marjorie Liu, which several people mentioned. It’s more of a paranormal than scifi but the hero is named Hari. I LOVED this whole series but especially the first book. Amazon
Book That Is Now a Movie (Amended by reader to read as “Book That Should Be A Movie”):
WRECK OF THE NEBULA DREAM by Veronica Scott VS Note: No, someone else suggested this one, not me!Although I certainly don’t disagree LOL. Amazon
THE LEAGUE (NEMESIS RISING) SERIES by Sherrilyn Kenyon Amazon
DRAGONRIDERS OF PERN SERIES by Anne McCaffrey Amazon
GALACTIC GLADIATORS SERIES by Anna Hackett Amazon
CLASS 5 SERIES BY MICHELLE DIENER Amazon
THE PSY-CHANGELING SERIES by Nalini Singh Amazon
Pre-Renaissance:
TRANSCENDENCE by Shay Savage Amazon
DREAMS OF STARDUST (DE PIAGET SERIES BOOK 3) by Lynn Kurland Amazon
Hero Smells Like “MAN”:
SHANE: MARSHAL OF TALLAV by Cailin Briste Amazon
DARK FIRE (THE REFUGE BOOK 4) by Cynthia Sax “He smelled good, like smoke and male…” Amazon
NIGHTFALL (CY’REN RISING BOOK 1) by Robyn Bachar “Male scents (alien pheromomes for the win!)” Amazon
Time Travel:
ON HIGHLAND TIME (TIME WEAVERS BOOK 1) by Lexi Post Amazon
TANGLED IN TIME (PROJECT ENTERPRISE BOOK 3) by Pauline B Jones Amazon
AN ACCIDENTAL GODDESS BY Linnea Sinclair Amazon
Tech in the Big City:
MUMBAI MANHUNT (CORPORATE SERVICES BOOK 2) by JC Hay Amazon
THE E. T. GUY (OFFICE ALIENS BOOK 1) by V. C. Lancaster Amazon
JUMPER’S HOPE (CENTRAL GALACTIC CONCORDANCE BOOK 4) by Carol Van Natta Amazon
Heroine Is Older Than Hero:
HERS TO COMMAND (CYBORG SIZZLE BOOK 8) by Cynthia Sax Amazon
KALEN: WARLORD BRIDES (WARRIORS OF SANGRIN BOOK 2) by Nancey Cummings and Starr Huntress Amazon
CONTINGENCY PLAN (THE GALACTIC COLD WAR) by Robin Bachar Amazon
AT THE MERCY OF HER PLEASURE: ANTONELLO BROTHERS BOOK 1 by Kayelle Allen Amazon
MINDER RISING (GALACTIC CONCORDANCE BOOK 1) by Carol Van Natta Amazon
Baby on the Cover:
A BABY FOR CHASHAN (DRAGONS OF PREOR BOOK 9) by Celia Kyle and Erin Tate Amazon
WARLORD’S BABY: WARLORD BRIDES (WARLORDS OF SANGRIN BOOK 5) by Nancey Cummings and Starr Huntress Amazon
DRAGON’S LOVE (RED PLANET DRAGONS OF TAJSS BOOK 3) by Miranda Martin and Juno Wells Amazon
Birds Are Somehow Involved:
FOUND GIRL: PROJECT ENTERPRISE 6 by Pauline B. Jones Amazon
STAR CRUISE: SONGBIRD by Veronica Scott Amazon
DARK FLIGHT (REFUGE BOOK 2) by Cynthia Sax Amazon
Return to Hometown:
CAPTURED (WARRIORS OF HIR BOOK 1) by Willow Danes Amazon
ALWAYS HER WINGMAN (MARS SQUADRON BOOK 17) by Jessica E Subject Amazon
Damsel in Distress:
CHAMPION (PRISON PLANET BOOK 3) by Emmy Chandler Amazon
A BABY FOR THE ALIEN PRINCE: CELESTIAL MATES (THE ALVA) by Miranda Martin Amazon
ANTON’S GRACE by Regine Abel Amazon
MATED WITH THE CYBORG (CY-OPS SCIFI ROMANCE BOOK 2) by Cara Bristol Amazon
APPLESAUCE AND MOONBEAMS by Carol A Strickland Amazon
MISSION TO MAHJUNDAR by Veronica Scott Amazon
My thanks to everyone who participated in suggesting books…
Feel free to tell us in the comments about any we missed, especially if you know of SFR novels with heroes named Harry! Happy Summer Reading!
This turned out great! When you were asking for submissions, I couldn’t think of any should-be-a-movie books because, heck, we’d all like our books to be movies! SF is a natural for the big screen. Seeing how Titanic was a movie, Wreck of the Nebula Dream fits that category perfectly.
Thanks! It was fun trying to find books that fit some of the categories. I never expected the “Hero Named Harry” to be such a challenge! I’d love to see WRECK made into a movie someday. There’ve been some very tentative feelers on it over the years but alas, nothing remotely substantive. It’s a ‘movie in my mind’ LOL!
Thanks for listing three(!) of my books. This was a fun task, coming up with books to meet the random categories. And yes, Wreck of the Nebula Dream definitely should be a movie.
What a great list! I was giggling at how much goading it took to find books whose heroes admittedly “smelled like man”! Fantastic sleuthing to compile your bingo card, Veronica!
This was a fun idea! Thanks for including me 🙂
You should do this kind of thing more often. It was fun! Thanks for including Wulf and At the Mercy of Her Pleasure. 😀
Thank you so much for mentioning Dark Fire, Dark Flight and Hers To Command! This is SUCH a fun post. I love it!
Pingback: Taste of Cyn – Playing SciFi Romance Bingo
What a great list of books. I’ve read most, but still have more to read. Fun!