SciFi Romance Authors Pick 15 Romantic Couples

This post first appeared in the Roswell Daily Record…

I think of February as the month of romance. Of course every month is full of romance for me, being a science fiction romance author but with Valentine’s day in the middle, February has an extra claim to the title. I asked my author friends at the Science Fiction Romance Brigade on Facebook to tell me who their favorite romantic couple in SFR was and then to share which of their own couples was a favorite. I was honored to see a few of my own titles pop up in the resulting comments!

USA Today Best Selling author Pauline Baird Jones, author of the Project Enterprise series, shared this: “My favorite romantic couple is Nick and Mara from Wreck of the Nebula Dream by Veronica Scott. I love the building romantic tension as they face crisis after crisis, working together. And Nick goes to the mat to protect her. For me, my most romantic couple is Mel and Jack from Out of Time. They have to cross time and space to be together.”

Krista Luna, author of the Fated Mates of the Varool series, had these couples to suggest: “A favorite of mine is Zylar and Beryl from Ann Aguirre’s Strange Love. They work so hard to relate to one another and build a life together, unafraid to overcome some truly alien differences. For my own books, I love grumpy-sunshine pair Kira and Grol from Possessed by the Alien Warlord. Even though they face numerous external threats, her constant enthusiasm and warmth break through the big lump of stone to expose a wealth of love.”

EG Manetti, author of the Twelve Systems Chronicles chimed in with: “I remain a huge fan of Aydarr and Jill from Aydarr by Veronica Scott. They meet under the worst possible circumstances and their respect for each other is as strong as their attraction. Together, they are an unstoppable force. Of course I love Lilian and Lucius from my Twelve Systems Chronicles. While their attraction is instantaneous, their love is built through trial and shared commitment until it has the power to reshape a galaxy.”

Lucy Peace, author of various SFR series including most recently The Warriors series, pondered a bit before telling us: “This is a tough question! I’m caught between a few couples for other authors. I think I have to go with Adalynn and Merrick from Tiffany Robert’s The Warlock’s Kiss. She’ll do anything to keep him and her brother safe and he’ll do anything to keep her alive and with him. I adore them. As for mine, another tough choice. Ronin and Sophia from The Bounty Hunter’s Honour (Renegades Book 5) win the day because she absolutely stuns him and at the same time adores him. They start as a gentle enemies to lovers but when they actually get a chance to get to know one another, things progress so quickly because he just can’t resist her and she realizes how much he’s there for her. I love them so much and their interactions are brilliant.”

CY Croc, author of the Preinqual Galaxy Aliens series among other titles, added her choices: “My all-time favourite couple are Frankie and Daz from Ella Maven’s The Alien’s Ransom. Daz is the essence of sexy alien warrior who’ll do anything for his fated mate and Frankie is the small feisty human who sees through his hard blue exterior and body weapons and loves him for what he is – a hot horned hero of an alien hunk. My own favourite couple are Saaxx and Tex from Saaxx Alien Hybrid. Alien Saaxx buys human Tex in a market and sees past his PTSD demons to the strong man he is underneath. She’s even more impressed when he warns off males of her own species. Tex is captivated by Saaxx’s kindness and alien beauty. A surprise physical change in Tex might scare any other female but it brings them even closer together and deepens their unusual bond.

Elsa Jade, who has written a number of titles in the Intergalactic Dating Agency series, went back a couple of decades for her favorite: “The most romantic SF couple that I re-read all the time is Sharia and Kane from Ann Maxwell’s Timeshadow Rider. It’s an older book (1990s) but the pining — such piiiiiining! — still holds up in my opinion. There is forbidden love! No touching! But the universe is dyyyyying! So of course they must touch! Just soooo romantic. For my own romantic couple, I still love my first indie SFR Queen of Starlight (Sheerspace Book 1) written when I was the pen name Jessa Slade which has its 10-year anniversary this year! Benedetta is a courtesan princess and Corso is a surly starship captain (timeless tropey fun!), and I wrote it because I couldn’t find enough stories where the spark of attraction and the fires of passion follow humanity to the stars. Now we live in a glorious future of abundant and awesome SFR! We are so lucky. “

As for myself, I think the most romantic couple I’ve ever read would by Ivy the empath and Vasic the Arrow soldier from Nalini Singh’s Shield of Winter (Psy-Changeling Book 13). I re-read that one quite often. It seems everything should keep them apart and yet nothing can and their journey to becoming a couple is full of angst. A close second would be Ever and Magnus in Anna Hackett’s Cyborg (Galactic Gladiators Book 10). Usually I can’t abide the amnesia trope but in this case, Magnus has forgotten so many important things, including the night they spent together and the way the couple comes back together just really tugged my heart strings. Third (it’s my column so I can pick more than one) would be Ruby Dixon’s Barbarian Beloved (Ice Planet Barbarians Book 18). Ariana has an anxiety disorder and Zolaya is so wonderful at helping her cope with life on an ice planet – the story really worked for me.

Of the couples in my books, I think Jill and Aydarr of the Badari Warriors series are my favorites. Their love is so strong, they’re such a team together and they’re the foundation for the entire series. The cover for the novella about their honeymoon is my favorite out of all 50+ book covers.

I hope I’ve given you some choices for your To Be Read list! Happy reading!