Top Ten Tuesday: Fantasy and Sci-Fi Romances

Top Ten Tuesday is a fun weekly meme, hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. Everyone is welcome to join in the fun.

This week’s prompt is a love freebie, which is always a tricky one for me, as I’m not a big reader of romance. I’m just not particularly interested in romance in books as an acespec reader. Last year, I did a “books with love or heart in the title.” Now, had I been thinking ahead, I would have only done five for each, and left myself with the space to write another this year, rather than doing 10 of each.

So this year, I eventually decided to spotlight fantasy or sci-fi romances that I rated 4 stars or higher.

Of course, everyone’s criteria for what classes as fantasy/sci-fi romance are different, so these are mine:

• The main plot/focus of the book is the romance. Other stuff can be happening (and rather has to for me to read it!) but the book’s “point” is the romance – everything else is happening around the romance, often setting up scenes for romance tropes.
• Contains a HEA/HFN (happily every after/happily for now.) Some people will want some sort of happy romance resolution at the end of every book in a series, but when it comes to series, as long as there is/I know that there will be (from talking to the author) a HEA/HFN by the end of the series, I count it. I don’t mind a break-up at the end of the book if I know it’ll be resolved next book.

I was initially surprised – and then realised that was silly in hindsight! – to discover that there are more Adult than YA titles meeting these criteria and also getting 4+ stars

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YA

1. BONE CRIER’S MOON, by Kathryn Purdie
2. THE BEHOLDER, by Anna Bright
3. SERPENT AND DOVE, by Shelby Mahurin
4. HIDDEN HUNTRESS, by Danielle L. Jensen

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Adult

1. A MARVELLOUS LIGHT, by Freya Marske
2. WINTER’S ORBIT, by Everina Maxwell
3. THE BRIDGE KINGDOM, by Danielle L. Jensen
4. BLOODFLOWER, by K. J. Harrowick
5. THE MIDNIGHT BARGAIN, by C. L. Polk
6. THE BEAUTIFUL ONES, by Silvia Moreno Garcia
7. CAMBIARE, by Avery Ames

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What fantasy and sci-fi romances have you enjoyed?