Taji from Beyond the Rings


R. Cooper - 2019
    Isolated at the far edge of a distant system, the Sha are distrustful of outsiders, and previous I.P.T.C. diplomatic missions have ended with members imprisoned or dead. But, if pushed enough, the I.P.T.C. will overrun the planet to take what it wants. The situation is already precarious when student linguist Taji Ameyo is conscripted to translate for the newest I.P.T.C. ambassador. Taji, used to being alone, has never learned to hide his heart or his opinions, and the controlled Sha nobility regard little, outspoken human Taji with fascination, calling him shehzha. Mysterious, coveted figures, so devoted to their lovers that pleasing them is a test of Shavian honor, shehzha are usually kept out of public view. Taji is a nobody, hardly alluring, and yet it’s not long before his runaway mouth gets him entangled in imperial politics, and he has no one rely on but the soldiers assigned to protect him—one soldier, more than the others. At the mercy of both a greedy trade coalition and a proud empire, Taji has to determine what it means to be shehzha, while surrounded by ambitious noble families and a sharp-eyed emperor, and hopefully learn enough about the Sha to keep him and everyone he cares about alive. A queer sci-fi romance

The Doors of Eden


Adrian Tchaikovsky - 2020
    She and Mal were chasing rumours of monsters when they found something all too real. Now Mal is back, but where has she been, and who is she working for?When government physicist Kay Amal Khan is attacked, the security services investigate. This leads MI5’s Julian Sabreur deep into terrifying new territory, where he clashes with mysterious agents of an unknown power ­who may or may not be human. And Julian’s only clue is some grainy footage ­– showing a woman who supposedly died on Bodmin Moor.Khan’s extradimensional research was purely theoretical, until she found cracks between our world and countless others. Parallel Earths where monsters live. These cracks are getting wider every day, so who knows what might creep through? Or what will happen when those walls finally come crashing down...

Bone Rider


J. Fally - 2013
    Misha Tokarev, the love of his life, turned out to be an assassin for the Russian mob, and when it comes to character flaws, Riley draws the line at premeditated murder. Alien armor system McClane is also on the run, for reasons that include accidentally crashing a space ship into Earth and evading U.S. military custody. A failed prototype, McClane was scheduled for destruction. Sabotaging the ship put an end to that, but McClane is dubbed a bone rider for good reason—he can’t live without a host body. That’s why he first stows away in Riley's truck and then in Riley himself. Their reluctant partnership soon evolves into something much more powerful—and personal—than either of them could have imagined.Together, they embark on a road trip from hell, made all the more exciting by the government troops and mob enforcers hot on their trail. Misha is determined to win Riley back and willing to do whatever it takes to keep him safe. When hitman and alien join forces, they discover their impressive combined potential for death and destruction. It will take everything Riley has to steer them through the mess they create.

The Sentinel


Eden Winters - 2013
    But when commanded to kill a baby girl, he defies his commander and deserts the Federation, seeking a place in the universe for himself and the defenseless innocent he’s promised to protect. Dear Author,This man is a protector, a fierce and rugged man with a checkered past and an absent family… and yet he holds our new daughter with such tenderness and care. He loves my entire clan of a family nearly as much as he loves me, and despite his horrid birth family, he has become the brother, the son, the cousin, the uncle that they never knew they were missing.He loves us all, and protects us all… even when the proverbial s*$% hits the fan.Please tell our story, how he came to be so gentle and loving of my family, OUR family, yet can be so fierce, so distant, from the rest of the world.Photo Description: A sepia tone photograph shows a handsome man, bare-chested, who sits cradling a baby in both hands. He has short hair and a muscled body, and he gazes adoringly at the baby.This story was written as a part of the M/M Romance Group's "Love Has No Boundaries" event. Group members were asked to write a story prompt inspired by a photo of their choice. Authors of the group selected a photo and prompt that spoke to them and wrote a short story.

Casey's Warriors


Ann Mayburn - 2014
    When a wormhole opens from his galaxy to Earth and the women who could hold their future, Lorn will do all in his power to not only find his mate, but show her a Universe she never knew existed.Casey Westfall’s normal life changed forever when she finds the sexy leather clad man on her doorstep. One innocent kiss leads to an adventure that will span worlds and Casey will have to choose between the man who is the other half of her soul and never seeing her family or her world again. To complicate matters Kadothians live in polyamerous family units and Lorn will have to convince his Earth bride to accept not only his love, but the love of his best friend and brothers in arms or risk the chance of losing them to either the madness or the Hive—the race of sociopathic women bent on destroying and enslaving everything in their path, but Casey can’t see loving more than one man as being anything other than a sin. Lorn will have to teach his bride that she was created for both of them just as they were created only for her.In a Universe where all is possible, the battle to protect not only his people, but his heart rests on the soul of a human woman who must face the unknown and take a leap of faith that could save or destroy them all.

Cloak and Silence


Sherrilyn Kenyon - 2013
    And once his deadly secret was exposed, it cost him everything—his birthright, his family, and his stellar military career.Ture Xans spent his entire life hiding from everyone around him—his family, his friends, and anyone who wanted to get close to him—while trying desperately to fit in and keep his head low. Badly hurt by everyone he’s ever known, he trusts no one except his own best friend. But honestly, he can’t understand why he trusts her. Nor can he believe her when she describes a loyalty between the League allies the likes of which he’s never seen.Yet when Ture is captured by the League in a coup he wanted no part of, his life is saved by a hero he thought only existed in fables. A man who is every bit as scarred and mistrusting as he is. One who has no interest in being dragged into another war for any reason. Having spent his life as a living study of doomed relationships, Maris is well aware of the fiasco that invariably follows. Still, there is something about Ture he can’t resist. Something that won’t let him walk away when he knows he should. But when old enemies return to threaten them both, they either have to stand together or die alone.

Enemy Within


Marcella Burnard - 2010
     After a stint in an alien prison, Captain Ari Rose wonders why she even bothered to survive. Stripped of her command and banished to her father's scientific expedition to finish a Ph.D. she doesn't want, Ari never planned to languish quietly behind a desk. She wasn't built for it, either. But when pirates commandeer her father's ship, Ari once again becomes a prisoner. As far as pirate leader Cullin is concerned, Ari's past imprisonment puts her dead center in Cullin's sights. If she hasn't been brainwashed and returned as a spy, then he's convinced she must be part of a traitorous alliance endangering billions of lives. Cullin can't afford the desire she fires within him and he'll stop at nothing, including destroying her, to uncover the truth.

Planetfall


Emma Newman - 2015
    A planet promising to reveal the truth about our place in the cosmos, untainted by overpopulation, pollution, and war. Ren believed in that vision enough to give up everything to follow Suh-Mi into the unknown. More than twenty-two years have passed since Ren and the rest of the faithful braved the starry abyss and established a colony at the base of an enigmatic alien structure where Suh-Mi has since resided, alone. All that time, Ren has worked hard as the colony's 3-D printer engineer, creating the tools necessary for human survival in an alien environment, and harboring a devastating secret.Ren continues to perpetuate the lie forming the foundation of the colony for the good of her fellow colonists, despite the personal cost. Then a stranger appears, far too young to have been part of the first planetfall, a man who bears a remarkable resemblance to Suh-Mi. The truth Ren has concealed since planetfall can no longer be hidden. And its revelation might tear the colony apart…

The Star Thief


Jamie Grey - 2014
    There's just one problem - all she wants is to get out of the business.But after Renna rescues an injured boy on her final job, she finds herself on the run from the mob instead of enjoying retirement. She unwittingly becomes ensnared by MYTH, a top-secret galactic protection agency who offer her a choice - either help them on their latest mission, or spend the rest of her life on a prison ship.Forced to work under the watchful eye of handsome but arrogant Captain Finn, Renna learns the former mercenary-turned-hero has a few dirty secrets himself. As Renna works to discover the truth about Finn's past and keep the tantalizing man at arm's length, she unearths a plot to create an unstoppable army. The target? The human star fleet.Now Renna must pull off the biggest job of her career - saving the galaxy. And maybe even herself.

Close Encounters


Katherine Allred - 2009
    But she turned out stronger, faster, smarter, and more impervious to harm than anyone anticipated. A reluctant "superhero," Kiera wishes she were normal, but it is not to be.On Orpheus Two, the indigenous Buri race faces extinction, a prospect the powerful Dynatec corporation welcomes and, in fact, may be actively hastening. It is Kiera's job to protect these beautiful, exotic aliens . . . and to discover what there is on Orpheus Two that Dynatec feels is worth killing for.But the magnetic allure of Thor, the breathtaking Buri leader, is proving a dangerous distraction. And now, to save Thor's people, Kiera will need a power she's never before possessed—something hidden in the unexplored recesses of her heart.

Wild Blood


Naomi Lucas - 2017
    Part of an elite group that dealt with the horrors of the universe. At least that was what everyone at the spaceport was whispering as he walked by. A Cyborg, a hunter, a beast with eyes as dark as the pits of Hell and the stride of a predator. Katalina was a nobody who was intimate with death. It clung to her like a shroud, It followed her like the plague, and infected her like a parasite. When she overheard that the Monster Hunter needed an assistant, she took the job. And when the Cyborg’s eyes caught hers, she knew getting closer to death might just bring her back to life. The Cyborg didn’t scare her. So she followed him and left fate up to chance. Warning: mature readers only, explicit sex scenes. Book one of Cyborg Shifters, same universe as Stranded in the Stars, every book is a standalone that only subtly builds off of the others.

Darkside Blues


Anna Carven - 2016
    Once you feel its allure, you won’t be able to resist. Zyara al Sirian has devoted most of her adult life to the art of healing. As the First Division’s medic, she’s seen more than her fair share of war wounds and trauma. And ever since the Kordolians arrived on Earth, she’s had her hands full tending to a motley group of survivors. She hasn’t had a break in longer than she can remember. A break? What’s that again? After much persuasion, she finally agrees to take some well-deserved time off to explore the city with Sera, Arin, Jia, and their Kordolian mates. You need to relax. It’ll be fun, you’ll see. Darkside comes alive at night. When she crosses paths with a mysterious, charming Human called Kainan, she realizes there’s more to this lawless place than meets the eye. The Federation holds no sway here. Beneath Darkside’s glittering facade, Humans rule hidden empires from the shadows through secrecy and violence. Zyara gets a taste of their world when Human conflict spills out onto the street. She can’t help but intervene. It’s what she was trained to do. Her actions save a life. In return, Kainan says he will give her anything she desires. Oh dear. What’s a Kordolian to do? Warning: This book is a science-fiction alien romance. It contains swearing, violence, sensual sex scenes and silver aliens. It's definitely recommended for readers aged 18 and over. Darkside Blues is a novella set in the Dark Planet Warriors universe. It will make more sense if you've read the other books first, although that's probably not absolutely essential.

White Trash Warlock


David R. Slayton - 2020
    When a murderous spirit possesses Bobby’s wife and disrupts the perfect life he’s built away from Oklahoma, he’s forced to ask for his little brother’s help. Adam is happy to escape the trailer park and get the chance to say I told you so, but he arrives in Denver to find the local magicians dead.It isn’t long before Adam is the spirit’s next target. To survive the confrontation, he’ll have to risk bargaining with powers he’d rather avoid, including his first love, the elf who broke his heart.The Binder brothers don’t realize that they’re unwitting pawns in a game played by immortals. Death herself wants the spirit’s head, and she’s willing to destroy their family to reap it.

Changed: Mated to the Alien Alpha


Robin Moray - 2018
    They said Omega IV was safe. They were wrong. The giant humanoid inhabitants of Omega IV are conditioned to the Change—a biological event in their development that designates them altha or amekha—but for the new colony of humans, the Change comes as an unpleasant surprise. Dr Cameron Grant, bitter after a turbulent break-up, finds himself in a first-contact situation that was never covered in training. The alien warrior Tal'jen, seven feet tall and distinctly male, has taken an interest in him, an interest with a clear and pressing conclusion. Dr Grant can't deny his attraction, even as his body undergoes strange and frightening changes. Whatever is happening to him, it's obvious that Tal'jen understands it instinctively. He will have to place himself in the hands of an alien and hope that Tal'jen's interest is as benign as it seems. Meanwhile, Tal'jen, chief-in-waiting of his people, seeks a mate. The handsome and strange Cam'ren of the newcomers calls to him powerfully, though he has not yet gone through his Change. To be chief Tal'jen must mate with a bearer, so while he longs to claim Cam'ren for his own, he must be patient and hope that Cam'ren's Change will grant him the gift of bearing young. As the Change spreads through the human colony, leaving chaos in its wake, Cameron and Tal'jen must fight to protect both the delicate bond growing between them, and each other. This book is first in the Omega Colony series, however it can be read as a stand-alone title. This book features adult content and language, sexual situations, and male pregnancy.

Space Opera


Catherynne M. Valente - 2018
    In the aftermath, a curious tradition was invented-something to cheer up everyone who was left and bring the shattered worlds together in the spirit of peace, unity, and understanding.Once every cycle, the civilizations gather for the Metagalactic Grand Prix - part gladiatorial contest, part beauty pageant, part concert extravaganza, and part continuation of the wars of the past. Instead of competing in orbital combat, the powerful species that survived face off in a competition of song, dance, or whatever can be physically performed in an intergalactic talent show. The stakes are high for this new game, and everyone is forced to compete.This year, though, humankind has discovered the enormous universe. And while they expected to discover a grand drama of diplomacy, gunships, wormholes, and stoic councils of aliens, they have instead found glitter, lipstick and electric guitars. Mankind will not get to fight for its destiny - they must sing.A one-hit-wonder band of human musicians, dancers and roadies from London - Decibel Jones and the Absolute Zeroes - have been chosen to represent Earth on the greatest stage in the galaxy. And the fate of their species lies in their ability to rock.