Book picks similar to
Torn by Mary Brock Jones


sci-fi
stand-alone
new-zealand-authors
edited-by-grace-bridges

Queen of Starlight


Jessa Slade - 2014
    Transformed by empathic crystals into the perfect paramour, Benedetta Galil is the last treasure of her fading world. When raiders attack—seeking to corrupt the crystals and conquer all of charted space—she gives herself as a prize to the one man in the universe who values freedom over power. Mercenary sheership Captain Corso Deynah left oppression behind him on a burning planet and has no use for a sex slave, even one as seductive as Benedetta. But while he stubbornly resists her body, her fierce spirit tempts him, and he will risk everything—his ship, his seclusion, the very stars—to win not just her passion but her love. Originally published as "Enslaved by Starlight" in HOTTER ON THE EDGE: Science Fiction Romance Anthology.

In the Quick


Kate Hope Day - 2021
    Younger by two years than her classmates at Peter Reed, the school on campus named for her uncle, she flourishes in her classes but struggles to make friends and find true intellectual peers. Six years later, she has gained a coveted post as an engineer on a space station—and a hard-won sense of belonging—but is haunted by the mystery of Inquiry, a revolutionary spacecraft powered by her beloved late uncle’s fuel cells. The spacecraft went missing when June was twelve years old, and while the rest of the world seems to have forgotten the crew, June alone has evidence that makes her believe they are still alive.She seeks out James, her uncle’s former protégé, also brilliant, also difficult, who has been trying to discover why Inquiry’s fuel cells failed. James and June forge an intense intellectual bond that becomes an electric attraction. But the relationship that develops between them as they work to solve the fuel cell’s fatal flaw threatens to destroy everything they’ve worked so hard to create—and any chance of bringing the Inquiry crew home alive.A propulsive narrative of one woman’s persistence and journey to self-discovery, In the Quick is an exploration of the strengths and limits of human ability in the face of hardship, and the costs of human ingenuity.

Sensual Breeder


Miranda Bridges - 2020
    They will have to fight their attraction while evading capture from the Galactic Court, as well as other thieves who wish to obtain the reward money for themselves. And the women? Well, they are 30 years old, and at their prime, which makes them not just universal breeders, but the most desired ones in the galaxy...This is Miranda's newest series and is a Dual POV, showcasing the hero and heroine.

Blackthorn


Nate Johnson - 2017
     Petty Officer Logan is tasked with escorting Kaylee Williams through the rough streets of Montlake. Little did he know a simple assignment would morph into a race across the galaxy. If he wants to get her to safety, Miller must avoid pirates, the Imperial Navy, and the hazards of deep space. All while keeping a decrepit starship from blowing up along the way. Kaylee Williams desperately needs to get to Taurus. The future of the Empire rests with the secret information she carries. But can she trust this strange man to help her? But, if she can’t trust a man who repeatedly risks his life for her. Then who can she trust.

Taken


Erica Conroy - 2011
    And that’s not even the tough part for recently divorced diplomat Viktor Jacobs. No, that would be matching wits with the fiercely intelligent daughter of the opposing side. Between dodging her claws, avoiding a myriad of cultural taboos, and not accidentally getting married or killed, he has to somehow make the Lyrissians see that joining the Alliance of Worlds is the best choice for all of their futures.EXCERPTViktor's door chimed and he scowled. He exited the bathroom, glanced at the clock on the wall and stubbed his toe on the sofa as he made his way to the door. It opened to reveal not his friend Roger, the ship's commanding officer whom he was expecting, but S'rea."What is that on your face?" she immediately asked."Haffin hehl," Viktor tried to reply around the toothbrush still in his mouth. He removed the toothbrush while his other hand checked his towel was still firmly wrapped around his waist. "Shaving gel," he said again. He noticed her silent guard loitering in the corridor."You have no ridges," S'rea said and reached out her hand. Her touch along his shoulder was feather light and he had to fight off the urge to shiver."Sorry to disappoint," he said and stepped away from her. "What do you want, S'rea?""I want many things, U-man, but none of them are why I am here," she said.Viktor raised an eyebrow at her cryptic answer. "Sounds like something a man should hear with pants on. Take a seat. I'll be back in a second. Tell your 'babysitter' to come on in."

From a Distant Star


Karen McQuestion - 2015
    Everyone else—his family, his friends, his doctors—was convinced that any moment could be his last. So when Lucas miraculously returns from the brink of death, Emma thinks her prayers have been answered.As the surprised town rejoices, Emma begins to question whether Lucas is the same boy she’s always known. When she finds an unidentifiable object on his family’s farm—and government agents come to claim it—she begins to suspect that nothing is what it seems. Emma’s out-of-this-world discovery may be the key to setting things right, but only if she and Lucas can evade the agents who are after what they have. With all her hopes and dreams on the line, Emma sets out to save the boy she loves. And with a little help from a distant star, she might just have a chance at making those dreams come true.

IceFlight


Casey Lea - 2010
    But then she hadn’t expected to become the first person to make contact with aliens either.Kidnapped, enslaved and lost on the Outer Rim of a mighty civilization light-years from Earth, the only person she can turn to is her enigmatic new owner. A dishonored outcast, he is just as alone as Darsey. Exiled by his people and struggling to survive, the last thing he wants is a rebellious primitive as a slave. She complicates his efforts to hide a dangerous secret and to complete a quest that is likely to claim both their lives. They will only survive if they can find enough trust to forge an unwanted alliance.A science-fiction love story of alien romance, between a leading lady who packs a punch and her charismatic owner with a secret quest.

The Untethered


S.W. Southwick - 2017
    But when a few unrepentant ladies join his fight to live free, the Las Vegas desert is going to light up like the 4th of July.

Space Assassins 1 & 2: A Space Assassin Bundle


Scott Baron - 2020
    But even the most powerful killers sometimes faced the unexpected, and with it their own possible demise. But with a legendary blade in hand and an unlikely band of allies united, whoever had foolishly attacked the order would pay the ultimate price.

Broken Skies


Theresa Kay - 2014
    A disillusioned alien boy. They were never meant to meet…When Jax Mitchell’s twin is kidnapped by Earth's alien settlers, the E'rikon, she'll do anything to get him back—even form an alliance with a teenage E'rikon left behind by the same ship that took her brother.Jax agrees to act as a guide, and in return, the alien agrees to sneak her past the human-proof barrier surrounding the E'rikon city. Too bad it's not that simple. Jax soon finds that she's drawn to the alien boy with bright green hair and jewel-like scales on his back—and he's equally affected by her, the courageous redhead with haunted eyes. But she doesn't know the alien's true motives, and he has no idea that she is much more than she seems.With the aliens and the humans at odds, the connection forming between the two teens has consequences. What started off as a rescue mission sets in motion a chain of events that threatens not only the remaining humans and the growing alien society, but Earth itself.

Leia: Princess of Alderaan


Claudia Gray - 2017
    She's taking rigorous survival courses, practicing politics, and spearheading relief missions to worlds under Imperial control. But Leia has worries beyond her claim to the crown. Her parents, Breha and Bail, aren't acting like themselves lately; they are distant and preoccupied, seemingly more concerned with throwing dinner parties for their allies in the Senate than they are with their own daughter. Determined to uncover her parents' secrets, Leia starts down an increasingly dangerous path that puts her right under the watchful eye of the Empire. And when Leia discovers what her parents and their allies are planning behind closed doors, she finds herself facing what seems like an impossible choice; dedicate herself to the people of Alderaan—including the man she loves—or the galaxy at large, which is in desperate need of a rebel hero....

Departures


E.J. Wenstrom - 2021
    The Directorate says this is how it should be, and she trusts them, as all its citizens do. So tonight she dresses up, she has a party, and she dances. Then she goes to sleep for the last time … except, the next morning, Evalee wakes up.Gracelyn is a model Directorate citizen with a prodigious future ahead. If she could only stop thinking about the shuffling from Evalee’s room on her departure morning. Even wondering if something went wrong is treasonous enough to ruin her. If she pulls at the thread, the entire careful life the Directorate set for her could unravel into chaos.Swept away by rebels, Evalee must navigate a future she didn’t count on in a new, untidy world. As the Directorate’s lies are stripped away, she becomes determined to break Gracelyn free from its grasp—before Gracelyn’s search for the truth proves her to be more unruly than she’s worth to the Directorate.

Double Down


Susan Hayes - 2016
    Kit and Luke Armas are cyborgs created for one purpose, battle. Now that the war is over, they must fight to carve out a place for themselves in a universe they were intended to die for but never be a part of. Cargo pilot Zura Watson came to the edge of civilized space to start over. The Drift is a haven for the hunted, the lost, and those seeking second chances. It was also the last place in the cosmos Zura expected to find love. When the shadows of the past threaten to eclipse this trio’s future, they’ll have to fight for their chance at love and the life they’ve always dreamed of.

Roark's Baby


Hannah Davenport - 2019
    Instead it became some wacko adventure, we’re being chased by some creepy guy, named Ardak, who just so happens to want to kill us.... And now I’ve gone into labour, far away from medical and projected it to Roark… as if I don’t have enough to worry about, wondering what the first Human/Ulayian baby is going to look like and whether or not I can handle giving birth… Will Roark get here in time? Can he manage the pain? Can I actually do this? Why does everything have to be so damn complicated?

Dark Orbit


Carolyn Ives Gilman - 2015
    When a team of scientists is assembled to investigate this world, exoethnologist Sara Callicot is recruited to keep an eye on an unstable crewmate. Thora was once a member of the interplanetary elite, but since her prophetic delusions helped mobilize a revolt on Orem, she’s been banished to the farthest reaches of space, because of the risk that her very presence could revive unrest.Upon arrival, the team finds an extraordinary crystalline planet, laden with dark matter. Then a crew member is murdered and Thora mysteriously disappears. Thought to be uninhabited, the planet is in fact home to a blind, sentient species whose members navigate their world with a bizarre vocabulary and extrasensory perceptions.Lost in the deep crevasses of the planet among these people, Thora must battle her demons and learn to comprehend the native inhabitants in order to find her crewmates and warn them of an impending danger. But her most difficult task may lie in persuading the crew that some powers lie beyond the boundaries of science.