VS Note: This post first appeared in the Roswell Daily Record…
Since 2026 is the Year of the Horse I thought this column should be on the topic of centaur romances. The first thing to know is that centaur romances can be normal ‘spicy’ or they can be on the erotica side of things, where the relationship and the plot are secondary to the eye popping goings-on in the bedroom. For this column I’m staying strictly in the realm of romance where there may be steamy scenes but the emphasis is on the connection between the two main characters and the Happy Ever After ending for their plot.
In the romance world many centaurs are actually shifters and can become outwardly normal human men.
An example of this is The Centaur’s Bride: A Steamy Shapeshifter Romance (Mates for Monsters Series Book 4) by Tamsin Ley. The Main Male Character is a horse shifter who can only become a centaur, not a fully fledged horse. He’s trying to gain a place in the horse shifter pack anyway and he’s also trying to win the heart of the new owner of the ranch where he works as a very sexy cowboy. He also has to persuade her not to sell the ranch, which she just inherited. There’s a lot of plot here, which moves at a fast pace but readers generally rate this one quite high. Amazon
Centaur’s Little Helper (Pine Ridge Universe) by S.C. Principale gives the reader a bah humbug centaur handyman who doesn’t like the holidays and a human who gets lost and wanders into the town all unknowing that supernatural beings live there. She’s just been dumped by her boyfriend, who she’d expected to propose over the holidays so she’s not in the best of moods either. Readers appreciated the low angst in the book, the spice and the connection between the two characters as they do manage to find the joy in the season together. Amazon
There used to be a convention in traditional romance publishing long ago that the word ‘sweet’ implied no bedroom scenes. Nowadays its use has broadened considerably and tends to signal more of a cozy vibe or a sweet relationship between the two main characters, but there’s definitely spice involved. The Centaur in My Forest: Sweet Monsters (Coveted by the Centaur Book 1) by L.V. Lane meets this test. An injured human widow, lost in a forest is rescued by the centaur. He demands she be his for one month as the price for her safety. Readers lauded the fairytale like story set up, the steamy daydreams which occurred prior to the actual spicy encounters and the strength of the FMC. AmazonKU
The Centaur’s Secret: A Waiting Hearts World Romance (Waiting Hearts: Centaurs Book 1) by Jena Wade and Lorelei M. Hart takes a look at centaur romance from a Male/Male perspective. The centaur in question is hundreds of years old and he and his kind have been in hiding from humans but they’re lonely. The other MMC is a lion shifter who gets his hands on an old book, learns a lot of facts he never knew about the world he dwells in and sets off to find the mythical creatures. Of course he finds his fated mate. This story is part of a bigger connected world and there are other plot developments and complications to keep things stirred up. AmazonKU
Riding The Centaur Lord: A Gaslamp Monster Romance (Monstrous Gentry) by Evangeline Priest takes the reader to a different place and time, the Regency Period in England, and throws together a tavern keeper’s adopted daughter and a noble centaur lord. The story is slow burn and medium spicy according to most reviewers but the characters shone and the relationship between the unlikely duo was a key point in the book’s favor. The FMC’s strength of character and personality were noted in particular. AmazonKU
Heart of a Centaur (Monster Hearts) by Cara Wylde takes a more scifi romance turn, with an alien centaur who has been hiding out on Earth for a long time rescuing a monster hunter, dedicated to tracking alien ‘monsters’ and turning them in. She believes them all to be evil, out only to hurt people. Of course the one who rescued her is completely different and over time she learns they’re mates, which confuses her. Some aspects of the world building didn’t work for certain reviewers but were praised by others. AmazonKU
Nice and Splicy: Forbidden Love Romance Between the Boss’s Daughter and the Hybrid Centaur (Hybrid Hearts Book 3) by Alana Khan is the third entry in a series about a government project where gene splicing was going on. Here was the overall series’ concept: “Bred to be soldiers, these rescued genetically engineered males are about to experience life in a whole new way. How does the United States military plan to give them a fresh start? By creating an isolated town filled with adorable shops and then training these unique individuals for exciting new careers.” This author’s blurb for her story promises: “Chance and Jo will gallop into your heart and provide “centaurtainment” as they discover their hearts are hardwired for love.” She’s a hacker working at the lab for her stepfather and the MMC is one of the test subjects. Any connection between them is strictly forbidden but of course happens anyway. Readers enjoyed the relationship between the two characters and the way the MMC had to be socialized to mingle with humans since his previous experience was as a prisoner in the lab of the evil scientist. AmazonKU
I’ll close with a general caveat that when reading a centaur romance where the MMC doesn’t shift into human form (which includes some of the ones cited above), one must consider if monster romance is in line with their own tastes, will size differential issues (dealt with by various authors in their own world building) bother them and definitely pay heed to the authors’ trigger or content warnings. Your mileage may vary for whether the underlying concepts work for you. There are also a number of horse shifter romances, which I didn’t have space for today where the MMC does shift into human form, much like a werewolf would in the standard paranormal romance genre. Happy Ever After endings always!