As the curator of a book blog, I always have more on my to-be-read list than I can possibly get to. The books I do read will naturally be clumped around my favorite tropes, topics, and settings. I know this means there are many good books out there that I haven’t read.  Adding reviewers tot he blog this year has been one great way to provide you with more book suggestions, but I am always looking for more ways to let you know about the SciFi romance that is out there. recently, I hit on an idea and decided to give it a try. I posted a call for Space Opera suggestions in our Goodreads group.  Today, I’ll be sharing recommendations from your fellow blog readers.

Please let me know if you like this idea so I’ll know if I should continue it going forward.

First, since we all come to SciFi romance along different paths, lets start out with a quick definition of Space Opera. From Wikipedia: “Space opera is a sub-genre of science fiction that often emphasizes romantic, often melodramatic adventure, set mainly or entirely in outer space, usually involving conflict between opponents possessing advanced technologies and abilities.” I think the most widely known example is probably Star Wars.  Now on tot he recommendations.

The first suggestion for Space Opera came from C.E. Kilgore who chose the Targon Tales series by Chris Reher. There are currently four books in the series. The first is The Catalyst, published December 19th 2012.

The Catalyst
by Chris Reher

Lieutenant Nova Whiteside, on an apparently routine assignment aboard an interstellar transport, finds herself the target of an assassination attempt. Her escape leaves her with no option but to rely on Seth, a former lover, for help.

Unfortunately, she realizes that they are now on opposite sides of an escalating war between the Commonwealth Union of Planets and an increasingly dangerous rebel organization.

In trying to find who is threatening her life, they discover a plot to destroy a distant planet – a world inhabited by creatures that are the key to Nova’s survival – and a conspiracy that threatens the stability of the Union Commonwealth.

Can Nova go beyond her strict military training to cooperate with people whom she is sworn to destroy?

Length: 160 pages
Currently available at Amazon for $3.95.

More books in the series:

  

Our next suggestions come from Pippa Jay. 

Starheart
by Greta van der Rol

She’s lost her husband, her best friend is missing. What else has she got to lose?

Slightly shady freighter captain, Jess Sondijk, thought she had her life under control until Admiral Hudson’s Confederacy battle cruiser stops her ship to search for contraband. His questions reopen matters she had thought resolved. What if her husband’s death on his way back from Tabora wasn’t accidental? Jess decides to investigate, while keeping Hudson at arms’ length.

While he’s attracted to the lovely Jess, Hudson is also concerned about what might be happening on Tabora and how that may involve the Confederacy’s enemies.

Jess and Hudson’s interests collide in more ways than one. But while Jess is more than willing to put her life on the line to protect what’s hers, Hudson must balance the risk of inter-species war at worst and the end of his career at best, in a deadly game of political intrigue, murder and greed. At the end of the day, how much is he willing to lose for the woman he has come to love?

Published February 18th 2012 
Currently available at Amazon for $3.99

I also found this alternative cover. Which one do you like best and why?

The Girls From Alcyone
by Cary Caffrey

Sigrid and Suko are two girls from the impoverished and crime-infested streets of 24th century Earth. Sold into slavery to save their families from financial ruin, the girls are forced to live out their lives in service to the Kimura Corporation, a prestigious mercenary clan with a lineage stretching back long before the formation of the Federated Corporations.

Known only to Kimura, the two girls share startling secret—a rare genetic structure not found in tens of millions of other girls.

But when their secret becomes known, Sigrid and Suko quickly find themselves at the center of a struggle for power. Now, hunted by men who would seek to control them, Sigrid and Suko are forced to fight for their own survival, and for the freedom of the girls from Alcyone.

Length: 316 pages
Published November 21st 2011
Available at Amazon for $0.99

Ambasadora
by Heidi Ruby Miller

If everyone told you love wasn’t real, would you still be willing to die for it?

Sara Mendoza and Sean Cryer are.

Sara is part of the Embassy’s plan. Captured, tortured, and falsely accused of treason, she is given a chance to win back her freedom. She only needs to charm information from one of the fragger leaders, then kill him. But by the time she figures out the Embassy’s intel is flawed and that Sean Cryer is her true mark, she’s already in love with him.

Sean knows why Sara is on his ship from the start, but as a lonely, anti-social doser, he doesn’t value his life, only his ideology within the fragger organization. Against his better judgment, he becomes her protector, each day caring more about a future he was always afraid to hope for.

Length: 382 pages
Published May 6th 2011
Currently available from Amazon for $2.99.

Nebula’s Music
by Aubrie Dionne

Each note brings her one step closer to the truth.

When the cyborg Nebula plays the piano she experiences memories from a time before her creation. These memories…which involve a captive rebel fighter being held on their ship…bring with them complex human feelings and awaken a desire for her to discover her origins.

Radian is the long lost love of the woman from which Nebula was made. He’s vowed to avenge his finance’s death and rescue her sister from the Gryphonites, a fierce race out to enslave the galaxy.

Nebula grapples with her identity and how much of who she is comes from someone else’s past. She is not the woman that died, yet she is undeniably drawn to Radian.

Together Nebula and Radian seek to rescue his fiancé’s sister and end the Gryphonites’ cruel reign. But can Radian learn to love again and can Nebula accept a past made from someone else’s memories?

Length: 89 pages
Published December 8, 2009
Currently available from Amazon for $2.99.

Don’t forget to let me know if you like getting recommendations from the group! 

I’d also love to chat about the covers. Which is your favorite and why?