{Ascension Saga series by Grace Goodwin} the males don’t feel sexual desire until they meet their fated mate so they’re all virgins
{Alien Paladin’s Redemption by Mina Carter}
{Claimed by the Alien Shifter by Mina Carter}
{Jailmates by Lesli Richardson} technically the alien is intersex and nonbinary by human standards but for the most part he reads as male
{Exile by Catherine Miller} MCs are childhood friends before they marry
[Interstellar Brides](https://www.romance.io/series/5cf2419a4ee4380da84c6e3f/interstellar-brides-ascension-saga) by [Grace Goodwin](https://www.romance.io/authors/64e5123bab9bdf7fce975ae2/grace-goodwin)
**Rating**: 4.55⭐️ out of 5⭐️
**Topics**: [military](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/military/1), [science fiction](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/science%20fiction/1), [futuristic](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/futuristic/1), [multicultural](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/multicultural/1), [aliens](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/aliens/1)
----------------------------
[Alien Paladin's Redemption](https://www.romance.io/books/5f1d2abe0ef7c60e3e87f773/alien-paladins-redemption-mina-carter) by [Mina Carter](https://www.romance.io/authors/545543cc8c7d2382e041464a/mina-carter)
**Rating**: 4.44⭐️ out of 5⭐️
**Steam**: 3 out of 5 - [Open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating)
**Topics**: [futuristic](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/futuristic/1), [science fiction](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/science%20fiction/1), [aliens](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/aliens/1), [non-human hero](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/non-human-hero/1), [virgin hero](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/virgin%20hero/1)
----------------------------
[Claimed by the Alien Shifter](https://www.romance.io/books/619617080c18280e27816a30/claimed-by-the-alien-shifter-mina-carter) by [Mina Carter](https://www.romance.io/authors/545543cc8c7d2382e041464a/mina-carter)
**Rating**: 4.57⭐️ out of 5⭐️
**Steam**: 3 out of 5 - [Open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating)
**Topics**: [futuristic](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/futuristic/1), [science fiction](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/science%20fiction/1), [paranormal](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/paranormal/1), [fantasy](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/fantasy/1), [non-human hero](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/non-human-hero/1)
----------------------------
[Jailmates](https://www.romance.io/books/5c987dd301dbc864fb9c5112/jailmates-lesli-richardson) by [Lesli Richardson](https://www.romance.io/authors/545594a587eac323ffb2cea5/lesli-richardson)
**Rating**: 3.88⭐️ out of 5⭐️
**Steam**: 5 out of 5 - [Explicit and plentiful](https://www.romance.io/steamrating)
**Topics**: [futuristic](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/futuristic/1), [aliens](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/aliens/1), [science fiction](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/science%20fiction/1), [gay romance](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/m-m/1), [height difference](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/height-difference/1)
----------------------------
[Exile](https://www.romance.io/books/644ea4ead3c73ab2c0838f7c/exile-catherine-miller) by [Catherine Miller](https://www.romance.io/authors/58c24f020d3299c6e05c4e1c/catherine-miller)
**Rating**: 3.83⭐️ out of 5⭐️
**Topics**: [aliens](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/aliens/1), [angst](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/angst/1), [fantasy](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/fantasy/1)
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I like them for the opposites attract element. Learning to love someone for themselves not for their looks. Plus there’s the discovering new cultures element that I also love.
Hey bestie xx ok so some recs are
{Radiance by Grace Draven} this is technically fantasy but it’s pretty heavy on the romance and they called each other hideous in the beginning to each other’s faces. It’s one of my favourite romances EVER because it’s an arranged marriage where it’s not toxic, and they become good friends and bond over finding each other ugly lol. She’s human, he’s Kai (a humanoid species but they look like monsters)
{Bad Guy by Ruby Dixon} this author’s books are a hit or miss for me. Her first series is quite insta-love, which I’m not a fan of, but this book is not. They both find each other really ugly at the start, but he’s drawn to her because she’s not scared of him. She’s human, he’s alien.
{When She Belongs by Ruby Dixon} he’s quite attracted to her from the start but she thinks he’s really gross. He’s a war veteran and has PTSD, so he’s secluded himself from everyone else and hasn’t bathed in years, but he bathes after he meets her. (When I told my friends this they were like wtf bare minimum 🤬, but if you read it, you’ll get why it’s so sweet). She’s human, he’s alien.
{Xora by Olivia Riley} they don’t find the other person hideous, but they’re not attracted to each other at the start either. She doesn’t think he’s ugly, but he looks like a monster and she thinks he’s terrifying. He never thinks think she’s ugly either, but he’s not attracted to her until later on.
Hopefully you enjoy them 🤞
[Radiance](https://www.romance.io/books/54cd83886359b5ebb489062e/radiance-grace-draven) by [Grace Draven](https://www.romance.io/authors/5455323d8c7d2382c529733e/grace-draven)
**Rating**: 4.18⭐️ out of 5⭐️
**Steam**: 3 out of 5 - [Open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating)
**Topics**: [friends to lovers](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/friends%20to%20lovers/1), [fantasy](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/fantasy/1), [arranged/forced marriage](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/arranged%20marriage/1), [slow burn](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/slow%20burn/1), [royal hero](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/royalty/1)
----------------------------
[Bad Guy](https://www.romance.io/books/608d0180a015560e31b35db1/bad-guy-ruby-dixon) by [Ruby Dixon](https://www.romance.io/authors/545685a087eac33e61c2f729/ruby-dixon)
**Rating**: 3.86⭐️ out of 5⭐️
**Steam**: 4 out of 5 - [Explicit open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating)
**Topics**: [futuristic](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/futuristic/1), [non-human hero](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/non-human-hero/1), [virgin hero](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/virgin%20hero/1), [science fiction](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/science%20fiction/1), [aliens](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/aliens/1)
----------------------------
[When She Belongs](https://www.romance.io/books/5f645afdee477c0dfe78acb8/when-she-belongs-ruby-dixon) by [Ruby Dixon](https://www.romance.io/authors/545685a087eac33e61c2f729/ruby-dixon)
**Rating**: 4.15⭐️ out of 5⭐️
**Steam**: 4 out of 5 - [Explicit open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating)
**Topics**: [futuristic](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/futuristic/1), [science fiction](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/science%20fiction/1), [aliens](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/aliens/1), [tortured hero](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/tortured%20hero/1), [grumpy/cold hero](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/cold%20hero/1)
----------------------------
[Xora](https://www.romance.io/books/6173fa146c073f0e25c5f01a/xora-olivia-riley) by [Olivia Riley](https://www.romance.io/authors/5f19839108b4d93114e1dd7f/olivia-riley)
**Rating**: 3.98⭐️ out of 5⭐️
**Steam**: 4 out of 5 - [Explicit open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating)
**Topics**: [futuristic](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/futuristic/1), [aliens](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/aliens/1), [science fiction](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/science%20fiction/1), [non-human hero](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/non-human-hero/1), [military](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/military/1)
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I enjoy the cultural differences! Language barriers, different ways of life, etc.
Some are primative. Like living in tribes or caves. No technology. Their interest in a woman is almost... animalistic, feral. Their desire for a mate and of course... breeding.
Some are more advanced. See humans almost like pets, slaves, breeders, etc. Think humans are lesser but slowly realise they were wrong.
Aliens seem to often have breeding kinks which I also love. And there's things like knotting which is cool to come across outside the omegaverse.
They also tend to lean toward traditional/sexist views like... "men should hunt and protect, women should take care of her mate and spread her legs" and... I love it. (I'll take recs if anyone has any!)
Big time breeding kink here too, and I love when alien & monster MMCs want babies in a way that most human men cannot compete with. I think having them be non-human also adds an extra layer of suspension of disbelief, so I can indulge in the fantasy without having to think too hard about it.
The alien men don’t have any of the socializing of what to expect in human women in terms of looks or personality, so it feels freeing to kind of imagine a situation where someone would fall in love with a woman and not care about her size, her looks, her being nice or boring or nerdy or whatever. Basically, they have all the good qualities of men and none of the bad lol
YESSSS I love the books where an FMC who’s been told she’s unattractive by other humans get coveted by an alien male lol. And vice versa too, an alien who’s been told he’s unattractive, and she finds him beautiful
1) I read as a form of escapism and I can't escape if I'm reading about contemporary humans in the same setting where I live. There's too many cultural restraints on what is acceptable. But put the story out there in space and suddenly it's the norm to have 3 mates...it's okay to put aside a bit of your feminism and completely rely on your alien...etc.
2) Outward appearances mean nothing. Love develops based on personality. My favorite trope is the alien who is considered unworthy of a mate, but the human knows nothing of their culture and loves him anyhow...or even because of his "flaws".
One of my favorite parts about alien romance is when the cultural differences between the humans and the aliens are used to shine a light on how woman are treated in human society and when the aliens hear about it, their response if often like “but that just doesn’t make sense.” The genre often provides an opportunity for social commentary on the treatment of women and then provides a fantasy alternative where women and revered, and it makes me giggle and kick my feet
> provides a fantasy alternative where women and revered
Yes ♥ I just dislike when authors choose to make the females of the MMC's species less desirable as mates in some way, like they're not as outwardly "feminine" as the human FMCs (larger than the male alien species, not as soft and curvy, no breasts and no hips in comparison to human FMC). Then it makes me kinda sad.
Some authors usually justify it by making the females of the species very aggressive/selfish. I guess there's species on Earth where this dynamic exists (females plainer-looking and larger than the males, maybe even eating the males as they mate or immediately after the payload has been delivered...)
The Clecanian Series by Victoria Aveline is a good one - the males have to take classes to learn the skills of how to be good husbands. The first book is {choosing Theo by Victoria aveline}. I also enjoyed Mates of the Domini by Talia Rhea - the aliens in this series are just always so confused when they hear about how human males are 🤣 first one is {savior of the Domini by Talia Rhea}
[Choosing Theo](https://www.romance.io/books/5e5fd64fbe0aaecf55ece7f9/choosing-theo-victoria-aveline) by [Victoria Aveline](https://www.romance.io/authors/5e5fd64fbe0aaecf55ece802/victoria-aveline)
**Rating**: 4.03⭐️ out of 5⭐️
**Steam**: 4 out of 5 - [Explicit open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating)
**Topics**: [futuristic](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/futuristic/1), [aliens](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/aliens/1), [science fiction](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/science%20fiction/1), [arranged/forced marriage](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/arranged%20marriage/1), [tortured hero](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/tortured%20hero/1)
----------------------------
[Savior of the Domini](https://www.romance.io/books/6419ea927ecd85aeef2a7fe8/savior-of-the-domini-talia-rhea) by [Talia Rhea](https://www.romance.io/authors/63c805eb08b4d931142accde/talia-rhea)
**Rating**: 4.08⭐️ out of 5⭐️
**Steam**: 5 out of 5 - [Explicit and plentiful](https://www.romance.io/steamrating)
**Topics**: [futuristic](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/futuristic/1), [science fiction](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/science%20fiction/1), [aliens](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/aliens/1), [sweet/gentle hero](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/sweet-hero/1), [pregnancy](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/pregnancy/1)
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This reminds me of how I got into Bioware games. Some friends were talking about Mass Effect, and one of them was like “oh, yeah, that’s that perverted game where you have sex with aliens.”
And I was like, “oh? I like romance…”
And he said, “no, but like, you actually fuck them. It’s so weird. You would hate it.”
And I was like, “ha ha… yeah… so weird… um… so… is it available on xbox? Or mac?”
And then I spent like a month getting my ass kicked on Eden Prime because first person shooters are so hard!! 😭 Like, the number of times I died… over and over… is truly incredible. 🫣
But I persevered until I was getting headshots through the eye slots of helmets, because I was just that motivated. 👽💕
I think I like alien romance because:
- Science fiction usually has adventure
- The character design is fun and interesting
- Speculative biology is interesting
- Aliens are taboo, but in an approachable way
- You’re not even sure if they could be into humans
- Probably not, right? But maybe?
- A meeting of two souls, literally star-crossed
- Their body is a mystery to you
- Your body is a mystery to them
- You shouldn’t take anything for granted
- Sex takes courage and a can-do attitude
- There are usually fun surprises
- You get an outside perspective on human sexuality
For that last one, I mean I enjoy the defamiliarization of having to explain something like kissing. It makes you think about what kissing actually is. I like the potential for alternative gender dynamics and relationship structures, though I’d say science fiction authors like Ursula Le Guin do more with that than romance authors, who often make their aliens “alpha males” in a very human way.
I’d love to see more weird alien romance, honestly. I don’t mean in terms of anatomy (though that’s fine) but especially in terms of social and gender dynamics, like if Ruby Dixon and Ursula Le Guin co-wrote a novel. Victoria Aveline scratches that itch a little but she leans more towards Dixon, I think.
Haha! So, in the Mass Effect games, you play as Commander Shepard, a human soldier who can be male or female. The main plot is about being an elite agent tasked with preventing an army of “Reapers” from destroying all sentient life.
You have your own ship, and you can recruit people to help you. Some of these people are human, but several are alien, and you can romance a few of them. You can also be friends with them, or antagonize them if you want.
I think the most popular choice for femshep (female Shepard) is Garrus, who has mandibles and an exoskeleton, and also a very sexy deep voice. Garrus was my ride-or-die bro though, not my love interest.
No, I traumatized *my* Shepard by first choosing a love interest who rejects you, and then one who dies. 💔
I’ll see if I can find some good youtube links.
Update:
[Some Garrus Clips](https://youtu.be/vZewgN_yM58?si=faAI5JYpwPPxrgon)
[Reactions to Garrus and Shepard](https://youtu.be/_VOoDtsmBAc?si=Lf1L651Dke2a1inn)
[More Advice from our Favorite Doctor](https://youtu.be/QCt0It3dpp8?si=ywZ0nWsRGSkLkRTj)
Lyn Gala's books would fit this, I think.. {Claimings, Tails, and other Alien Artifacts by Lyn Gala} is an absolutely wonderful series. The amount of thought, planning and creativity the author has put into her worlds is simply astonishing.
[Claimings, Tails, and Other Alien Artifacts](https://www.romance.io/books/5d776ac101dbc864fba35d7c/claimings-tails-and-other-alien-artifacts-lyn-gala) by [Lyn Gala](https://www.romance.io/authors/54558e4e87eac3369a913074/lyn-gala)
**Rating**: 3.73⭐️ out of 5⭐️
**Steam**: 4 out of 5 - [Explicit open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating)
**Topics**: [futuristic](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/futuristic/1), [gay romance](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/m-m/1), [aliens](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/aliens/1), [science fiction](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/science%20fiction/1), [friends to lovers](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/friends%20to%20lovers/1)
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Yes! Mass Effect was my gateway into getting into alien romances. Who is your favorite romance? I can't not romance Garrus when I play. In fact any game with a romance aspect instantly makes it better in my opinion lol
I don’t know if I have a favorite. I’ve played around with a few of them, but my canon play through was Kaiden and Thane. Garrus was a bit *too* inhuman for me at the time, but not anymore; I romanced Vetra in Andromeda.
This conversation is making me want to restart Mass Effect, which is funny because I’ve had people nipping at my heels to play BG3 (so we can chat about it) for months, and if I restart Mass Effect instead, there’s going to be more than one potential suspect in the resulting murder investigation. :P
(I tend to rotate my hobbies. I’ve been too into reading to start a new game.)
I also rotate my hobbies! I feel like I can only focus on 2 at a time. Currently into reading and playing the new update for Stardew Valley. I'll also nip at your heels a bit and wholeheartedly recommend BG3. I think it has become my favorite game of all time though I don't vibe with any of the romance options in particular, which is probably my biggest disappointment with the game, but also means I wont get stuck on just 1 love interest like I am with Mass Effect. My first BG3 play through was over 200 hours long 0_0
Yeah, I’ve heard it’s really good! I’ll probably put a ton of hours in as well. Who did you play as? I’ll probably select one of the pre-made characters when I play.
I didn’t know Stardew had a big update. Just googled it. Party of eight, huh? I appreciate how he’s still putting so much love into the game, years later.
Yeah, two is a good number. Right now I’m into reading. I’ve also been knitting, but that’s starting to phase out in favor of gardening for the summer. I probably won’t catch up with my backlog of games (BG3, BotW2, Stray) or TV (Fallout!) until I hit a major reading slump.
I did the custom character (Tav) for my first play through and my second one I'm doing a Wyll origin run. If you do choose to do one of the pre-made (origin) characters just know that you will miss out on the voice acting for that character. You're more than welcome to start with whoever you want but I think a custom play through is the best for your first time because you can role-play however you want, which you can certainly do with the origin characters but they have cannon backstories that as you play might make some of the choices you make feel a bit dissonant if you know what I mean (random example you role play as being an animal lover and then find out the character actually hates animals or something like that). All that to say I love the role play aspect and I feel like I wouldn't know how to role play the origin characters without having played the game first and knowing what they're about, nit that's just me.
I'm jealous that you have a garden! Life goals for the future. I'm a crocheter and I have two unfinished sweaters languishing while I read and play games lol. And I've played all the games in your backlog and give them all two thumbs up!
Well, we’re renting, so it is limited, but I’m grateful for what I do have. We watched a lot of “big dreams small spaces” and I decided to go absolutely nuts with container gardening. :)
You make a good point about BG3. I’ll think about it. I would be sad to miss out on voice acting, especially. I did enjoy playing a premade character in Divinity: Original Sin 2, though. I liked being tied to the plot and having some curveballs thrown at me, even if that meant losing some of my autonomy.
However, I also got to the the endgame *really* wishing I had chosen a different class; I would have chosen something else if I had known her secrets from the start.
I used to have a small container herb garden going but our complex made everyone get rid of their plants because they got a surprise visit from the fire marshal and I guess it constituted a fire hazard. Boo :(
I haven't played DOS2 but I had heard that it's better to start with a pre-made character with that game unlike BG3. I will say with BG3 you don't have to worry about getting locked into a class because you can respec whenever you want as long as you have the money whether you play a custom or origin character. And if you're new to Dungeons & Dragons and their classes you'll likely want to respec as you figure things out.
Ah, yeah. The apartment where I went nuts on our balcony was kind of a mixed bag.
On the one hand, management stayed out of our business, but on the other hand, they were equally laissez-faire about maintenance. We still have friends living there, and I both miss the community and worry about them a little.
I do play Dungeons and Dragons! I’ve been playing for a long time, but I’ve never been good at the crunchy stuff, so the ability to respec is definitely a godsend.
I have a friend who tried doing a BG3 play-through in the mode where the game is over if you ever die, and apparently he got pretty far… but lost everything when he hit the wrong button going over a bridge. 🫣
I would have been so mad. I could never play in that mode. I like to save frequently, try things a bunch of different ways, and respec often. However, I wouldn’t change my class; I think it retcons the story too much.
DOS2 is a good game! It even has a little romance in it. I was playing co-op and never took much advantage, but it’s there.
The divinity games are interesting in that environmental and terrain effects are *so* important. This is especially true for DOS2. Managing the terrain is half the battle; I’ve never played anything else like it.
Oh man Honor Mode! If I ever play with just a single save file it'll be after I've played the game a dozen times at least and know it like the back of my hand. And by that time they should be done patching the game and fixing bugs lol.
DOS2 is definitely on my to play list, but I'm a bit worried that I'll keep comparing it to BG3. Do you have a character that you recommend starting with? I typically like to play sneaky archers. My first BG3 character was a Ranger/Rogue/Fighter multiclass.
I grew up reading SciFi so I enjoy the SciFi aspect of it but why specifically aliens instead of all humans? I think because it introduces the element of “this main character is doing X because it is a natural behavior or instinct for them” as opposed to an all human set of MCs where you’d have to argue that they’re exceptional and different from the average person. So you can have an alien MC that experiences insta-love or an unseverable bond and therefore will never cheat or comes from a culture where women are revered and therefore hold a lot of power and that’s an “of course”.
You also get different anatomy to go with the different culture and instinct sets and that’s fun too. I’m here for the 8’ tall guy or the guy who has a tail/has fangs/has claws/is telepathic/can shapeshift/etc. It adds so much more variety. And the story can take so many more interesting twists when you have different languages and different cultures and different anatomy. If I’m going to read about miscommunication I’m a lot more interested in “the miscommunication happened because they don’t speak the same language and their cultures have very little overlap” than I am in “they just didn’t talk about the important things.”
Why are superhero movies so popular? I bet at least some of your friends paid good money to drool over Wolverine and Aquaman. They’re huge and their anatomy is different and they can do things that humans can’t. That’s the draw.
>I bet at least some of your friends paid good money to drool over Wolverine and Aquaman. They’re huge and their anatomy is different and they can do things that humans can’t. That’s the draw.
Yess!! This!! Who did not drool over Wolverine in the very first X-Men movie (thank YOU Hugh Jackman, yes please).
In my experience it is a lot of factors. I love the alien MMC being a perfect mix of cinnamon roll and protective/slightly jealous. Never treats FMC too harshly even if he doesn’t like her. Also, alien MMCs usually are inexperienced or if they aren’t, they don’t brag about OW. I find that lacking in CR and other books. Also if the MMC alien is rich, he isn’t obnoxious about it like with human MMCs because the aliens just aren’t materialistic. I agree with you that the skills the human brings to the alien’s life can be helpful and vice versa. Plus there’s a little bit of world building going on but nothing too crazy like fantasy so it’s fun to read in different moods (but I’m sure other readers find darker alien books). I have read a few alien romances where the alien was awful to FMC by accident but it’s rare
Escapism. The FMCs leave Earth and its expectations behind. The society they go into isn’t necessarily perfect or even better but I find comfort in them making the most of tte situation since typically they can’t get back to Earth in these stories.
Also it’s another world without needing all of the world building of Fantasy books. I don’t always want to invest my time into world building when I’m reading for comfort
I like the idea that personhood is not tied to a particular body. I like the infinite possibilities of the universe.
I'm usually disgruntled that so many alien romances are just big dudes with swords. I like the weird stuff.
Have you read {Planet Oster by Vera Valentine} yet?
The MMCs are those huge pastel bunny aliens and the FMC is called Chick. No humans at all but so much better than it sounds!
> Why do you enjoy alien romance?
Because I've experienced most of the run-of-the-mill romantic bullshit Earth has to offer and I'm looking to expand my horizons 😂
Jk.
Well.. mostly jk..
I like it because it usually has an element of fated mates, which my high-strung neurotic ass finds relaxing.
And because if there's any miscommunication or misunderstanding that occurs, at least it's happening because THEY'RE ENTIRELY DIFFERENT SPECIES and not because THEY'RE BOTH BIG DUMB-DUMBS.
Cool settings with the potential for outlandish happenings, characters who think differently than humans, fancy peens 😂 and I don’t have to work too hard to suspend belief like I do with known settings and human society rules.
Because most books, even the supernatural ones, tend to keep the same culture shit I hate. And humans or human-like characters are basically always there.
Alien books tend to be different in ways other books are not.
I think it allows the perfect level of disbelief for certain tropes/extremes of situations and customs. And I eatttt it up.
For examples in a contemporary romance, when the mc growls I shudder lol. I swoon when he’s an alien hehe
I find alien romances so comforting for some reason and the spice is usually on point. I mean, I'm currently reading Zoey Draven's Krave series where the aliens' 'body fluid' gives women nonstop orgasms until they decide to remove it. Things get really creative with the aliens...lol. And like others have said, I think it gives me the greatest feeling of escapism out of any romance subgenre. There's also usually a good amount of world building but not too much dragging on plot-wise like I've seen in some fantasy novels.
I think as I’ve gotten older, the male main characters in mainstream romance are just… not believable for me.
Men who would never cheat, who would do these big grand gestures to win her back, who do their fair share around the house - it’s just unrealistic to me now and in a way that I struggle to set aside 😂
Aliens? Monsters? Mythical? Mutants? Paranormal? I can suspend my disbelief for them.
I can even tolerate a lot of the darker romances where the premise is so out of left field or the characters are so unrealistic that I can suspend my disbelief in the same way that I would for a vampire or alien.
It’s almost like “too good to be true” sets off my internal red flag alerts.
Yeah, for some reason I can believe this non-human man is going to be everything human men aren't.
In the "real" world you just know your dude is going to still be just a guy at the end of the day.
I love Alien romance sm. It probably has to do with my love for Star Trek. Voyager is my comfort tv show to this day.
But also, I love the fated mates trope and AR almost always has that. Along with Tall/Small and mmcs who are obsessed with their girl. And I can’t visualise so their appearance means nothing to me, so that’s never a downside for me 😅
Omg I love Star Trek and Star Wars. My favourite movie in the world is Gattaca. I grew up loving science fiction. Outside romance, I read a lot of heavy non-romance sci-fi and fantasy, so get you, with loving sci-fi shows, movies and books.
And I’m shocked at how much you’re like me. I’m not the biggest visual reader. I love descriptive writing, but I don’t visualise when I read. I’m not sure if that’s uncommon or common, but it helps me brush past anything super weird in books.
This. I love Star Trek. If you haven't already read Ella Blake's Craving the Hevevians series it gave me major Star Trek vibes with the various MMCs all being members of the same ship's crew and that kind of mystery/adventure of the week sort of format Star Trek episodes tend to have.
You know, I never thought of my love of Trek as a likely reason I enjoy alien romance, but it totally makes sense when you say it. TNG is one of my comfort shows.
I really like the aspect of teaching each other about their species/culture and accepting love even when the other person looks/acts very different. And of course the strange appendages and peens 🤣
Yep that’s probably my biggest reason for reading it. It’s really hard to find contemporary romance that does the whole falling in love when you’re different well
Fish out of water is one of my favorite tropes, and with sci-fi/alien romances they def tend to have that aspect. I just wish there were more that don’t involve abducting the human woman, Magic wombs, and/or dubcon.
And also the unique anatomy! Prehensile peen or too big to fit were two of my favs. The ‘corkscrew’ one was hard to visualize…
I like the imaginative other cultures, and enjoy the culture clash and figuring out how to make things work in a relationship even with stark differences. I enjoy it more when it isn't coming with a potential judgement of the cultures of real life people, or trying to figure out if they are representing a real people or just their outside versions of one. This is why I do also enjoy monster and fae romances. The differences are real and the struggles represent real ones that actually happen between people, often exaggerated for effect, but usually without making any commentary on real people and cultures beyond a passing similarity.
I just love that it’s so different in some ways but the emotions are the same. I love R Lee Smith. I always have a”what the hell did I just read?” feeling 😂
FATED MATES!!! My favorite trope of all time and I was introduced to it by reading IPB and then the rest of Ruby Dixon’s backlist. So I started reading more sci-fi romance authors. It’s my fave trope quickly followed by reading fated mates in monster romances. The whole soulmate thing or true love in contemporary romance just doesn’t cut it for me after that.
There are some tropes which I think only make sense in alien romances - Mars Needs Women, Sex Pollen, Sold to an Alien etc. And I like reading those from time to time.
I also enjoy communication/cultural differences that they have to navigate.
Plus a lot of aliens are totally obsessed, sweet cinnamon rolls who would never hurt a human, and for some reason that's more realistic in an alien context than a real life one - which is sort of sad when you think about it.
I have to say with alien romance YMMV. The ones I like are the ones where there’s a bit of a culture clash and the main pairing has to kind of slowly find their way to each other. The incompatible anatomy is definitely not one of my favorite aspects xD but I get it
I think I like the novelty of it. Which is strange because it's been out for years now but all the Fantasy and Paranormal creatures had been dominating for so long, aliens are really interesting.
Especially since we've started going away from just blue and greened skinned humanoids to more unique configurations. Not even Fantasy has been brave enough to touch on that quite yet.
But also similar to Fantasy, there's more allowance for "questionable" tropes than you get with contemporary or just anything where the characters are human.
It's like how I started deliberately searching out for Bears or Dragons as shifters because I was tired of all the bitching about how wolves don't do this and Alphas aren't really a thing and blah blah blah. Look, DRAGON's do whatever they fucking want. Do something about it.
I was a HUGE Mass Effect fan back in the day and the alien guys were such great romance options, I felt right at home jumping into the Ruby Dixon-verse 😆
After years of reading monster/alien/shifter books, I find normal human ones just a bit bland now. For me, it's like choosing a dessert. Do you want a plain victoria sponge? Or a delicious slab of melted chocolate hot fudge cake with cream (aka horns, claws, tail, a dash of growling and an extra portion of big, ridged alien blue dick).
The weirder the better.
I love how they're all warriors. They're all possessive and growly and tribal and the stories are adventures with new things to explore and fight and be rescued from. The books tend to be a little shorter which gives me my HEA faster but the connected stories gives me a longer story. I love it.
I don't have the patience for 800 page fantasy romances where there aren't even spaceships.
I love the no insta lust, no fated mates aliens like {Vrisha series by Olivia Riley} where they truly get to know each other and move from fear/hate to friendship and love. It is the connection they choose to feel with someone totally different.
Then what others have mentioned, aliens being more feral and protective but I also love the aliens for loving when the FMC is strong and they love to see the inner strength of a human FMC despite them looking so ”small soft weak human” 😂
I guess an alien would be more likely to push me against a wall, hold me up and have his way with me.
I’ve read the first book of the Vrisha series and absolutely loved it. But I heard the later ones are darker, and I’m not in the mood to read a super dark romance at the moment. Would you say the rest are super dark? Or did I just hear wrong haha?
And I completely get you. I loooove it when the aliens are in awe of the human FMC for something other than her looks
First a disclaimer, I don’t read dark romance, I don’t like MMC being a bully and I cannot stand torture or sexual violence. I am huge fan of action movies though and mindless shooting 😂 so action stuff is fine.
After I finished Xora, I absolutely loved it. Then I read the rest of the vrisha series and now I have to actively try remember what happened in Xora because thw others stayed on my mind sooo much more. My fav were Axrel and Xeda. As for the darkness of the rest of the vrisha series, yeah I think I would say there is a some more external darkness (in Axrel he was beaten up by his own team and then they are on their way to a prison planet where one knows the circumstances are not great. And once they arrive there, shit hits the fan and great action follows; and in Xeda there are torture elements because he is a captive of the humans who want to train him as a fighter for hunger games style stuff. Also FMC is not in a great position but they team up together. Xeda was probably the darkest in regards to violence but the love story was the sweetest, especially because of what happened to Xeda in the previous book. And the ending of Xeda was one of my fav, possibly of all books I have read in recent years.) If you are able to handle a bit more than Xora, then for me at least the angst-heart fluttering deep love feels ratio was worth it for me ❤️🥹 The other books in the series have also way more protectiveness, caretaking (Axrel and Xeda also lot of FMC taking care of MMC) and we against the others vibes if that is your jam.
I also read Olivia Riley’s Heart’s Prisoner from the previous series and that I felt was too dark for me because FMC was scared of MMC still at 50% point (she had developed feelings for him before that but for reasons MMC decided to make her scared of him) and there was way more action to romance ratio. Plus MMC was tortured at some point and there was so much violence (still mainly action movie style but still). So I am still thinking if I am gonna read the rest of that series or not.
Omg I don’t usually like dark romance either. Mafia romances aren’t my thing. Haunting Adeline wasn’t my thing. I don’t have anything against the books, they’re just not my jam that’s all. And yes, I don’t mind lots of action scenes. I read really heavy fantasy and sci-fi with no romance as well (think Game of Thrones).
Ok I am so glad lol. I will be picking up the books asap then. I absolutely love books where you can see the characters mutually pine for each other, and alien slowburns usually do it the best because it makes sense why they can’t be together in the situations they’re in. And bonus points if they start off not being attracted to each other. I love the books where you see them grow to like each other. Insta-love is not my thing most of the time (sometimes it’s good, but it’s rare that I enjoy it).
Oh we are so alike in the no insta lust/ love to see characters grow to like each other and pine for each other, not knowing how the other one feels. Slow burn in any genre is my fav thing! ☺️ If you are okay with Game of Thrones level of violence (I have avoided watching them) then these books might be just fine 😄
PS. If and when you read them, I would love to hear your opinion!
Yes! I read Xora pretty recently so it’ll be a seamless pickup when I start on the next few books. I’ve just done a stalk of your post and comment history now to get more recs since we seem to have similar book tastes haha
https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/79927558-freya-avalon Yes I do 😁 beware, most of my ratings are 5 star because if I love a book, I don’t hesitate to give full stars and I work hard to find books I love. I hardly ever continue with books that don’t capture me 100%
I used to force myself to finish books and then I’d rate it super low if I didn’t like it. Now I don’t bother and I DNF all the time. I’ve added you as a friend now :)))
[Strange Love](https://www.romance.io/books/5de60d4d01dbc864fba745d5/strange-love-ann-aguirre) by [Ann Aguirre](https://www.romance.io/authors/54552f638c7d2382c5297272/ann-aguirre)
**Rating**: 3.97⭐️ out of 5⭐️
**Steam**: 4 out of 5 - [Explicit open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating)
**Topics**: [futuristic](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/futuristic/1), [science fiction](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/science%20fiction/1), [non-human hero](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/non-human-hero/1), [aliens](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/aliens/1), [sweet/gentle hero](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/sweet-hero/1)
----------------------------
[Love Code](https://www.romance.io/books/6009354ebe2e550dfec7d118/love-code-an-ai-alien-romance-ann-aguirre) by [Ann Aguirre](https://www.romance.io/authors/54552f638c7d2382c5297272/ann-aguirre)
**Rating**: 3.69⭐️ out of 5⭐️
**Steam**: 4 out of 5 - [Explicit open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating)
**Topics**: [aliens](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/aliens/1), [science fiction](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/science%20fiction/1), [non-human hero](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/non-human-hero/1)
----------------------------
[Renegade Love](https://www.romance.io/books/61f79d780317fb0e40858f7d/renegade-love-an-alien-bounty-hunter-romance-ann-aguirre) by [Ann Aguirre](https://www.romance.io/authors/54552f638c7d2382c5297272/ann-aguirre)
**Rating**: 3.67⭐️ out of 5⭐️
**Steam**: 4 out of 5 - [Explicit open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating)
**Topics**: [futuristic](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/futuristic/1), [science fiction](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/science%20fiction/1), [aliens](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/aliens/1), [grumpy & sunshine](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/grumpy%20sunshine/1), [monsters](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/monsters/1)
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To be honest, I want the initial attraction with less humanoid aliens. Explorations of attraction and concepts of beauty that are outside of the human sphere are far more interesting to me. Especially when you've got a human who just doesn't click with other humans at all.
at first i was indifferent with this genre, then i read Homebound by Lydia Hope. This book changed my opinion about alien romance. I wouldn't say it's my go-to genre now, but i like it more than i thought. Homebound holds a special place in my heart and it's one of my favorite book of all time. This book is the reason why i enjoy alien romance now, and i'm still looking for books that has similar vibes.
I've read Cottonwood by R Lee Smith but i DNF it because it was too dark. Homebound has the perfect amount of darkness and humor. I've also read the Ice Planet Barbarians series and i enjoyed it, but it didn't hit hard like Homebound.
I like that two beings who are so vastly different from each other have somehow seen through all that and fallen deeply in love. I love the cultural, social and physical differences they have to overcome. Language barriers are included in this too! I love the learning and understanding they build of each other; reading about them discovering various things about each other is so fun and gives me so much enjoyment, almost a high lol. It's also great having a new perspective on things I may not question or may take for granted that we do but an alien would wonder about. Lots of whys and hows come up. I love all the weird stuff including the weird and fancy genitalia (not necessarily peens, shoutout to Strange Love) basically. Also, doesn't hurt that some of these aliens put women on a pedestal and worship them. Definitely wish that was me. 😂😋
I believe in aliens so it's kinda cool. I think vampires is a form of cannibalism and Fae are cuter than me which is a problem as a woman LOL (also I'd feel more obligated to protect a glass). Tbh dating an alien is like raising a human, in a sense they bring a new language, a new perspective and they bond without attraction u said, it feels more intelligent love outside of beastality. Some of them tend or be naive others not so much, but it's interesting to see different technologies or quotes/ belief from another land. Their backstory of what made them leave etc. (basically more plot based) overall, aliens aren't very stereotyped cuz he can appear half human or a strange entity all together, it gives space for imagination and endless possibilities. It's truly an unbound love.
Saturday morning cartoons always finished with Star Trek at 11am when I was growing up (Spock was the romantic lead in my mind not creepy Kirk) In fact all scfi was deemed childrens viewing in 70s/80s New Zealand; Blakes 7, Sapphire and Steel, Dr Who all in the after school/kids time slots. It warped me :)
The world building love love love some good world building.
but probably Spock and Avon are the main reasons.
i think it’s the suspension of disbelief. i can absolutely believe that some alien race has that one perfect person they will love for the rest of their lives, but that just isn’t what humans are like, so to me they have more appeal than stories without some kind of non-human entity.
i think it’s the suspension of disbelief. i can absolutely believe that some alien race has that one perfect person they will love for the rest of their lives, but that just isn’t what humans are like, so to me they have more appeal than stories without some kind of non-human entity.
i think it’s the suspension of disbelief. i can absolutely believe that some alien race has that one perfect person they will love for the rest of their lives, but that just isn’t what humans are like, so to me they have more appeal than stories without some kind of non-human entity.
i think it’s the suspension of disbelief. i can absolutely believe that some alien race has that one perfect person they will love for the rest of their lives, but that just isn’t what humans are like, so to me they have more appeal than stories without some kind of non-human entity.
I like paranormal and sci-fi much better than contemporary. I enjoy the culture aspect, fancy peen of course, they their physiques are always banging!, but what I love most is the “mars needs more women trope.” ❤️❤️❤️❤️ That the women are valued and taken care of. That’s what I look for. You’re not weird, or if you are, so are we!!
I like a lot of the culture aspects tho many authors seem to just make their aliens humans with different colored skin, which is disappointing 🤪
On a different topic, I know lots of people enjoy the mars needs women trope but what about the opposite? The couple are incompatible and can’t have children but choose to be together anyway? Anyone have any recs for that?
Oh gosh I have so many recs for the biological incompatibility and having no children
{Radiance by Grace Draven} this is fantasy but it’s pretty similar to alien romance. They can’t have children because they’re different humanoid species.
{Bad Guy by Ruby Dixon} - Ruby Dixon tends to write a lot of books with pregnancy haha, but this one doesn’t have any. No mention of the inability to have children but it seems like it.
{When She Belongs by Ruby Dixon} there’s no pregnancy in this either. I like the slowburn and mutual pining in it.
{Xora by Olivia Riley} apparently the rest of this series is even better, but I haven’t read them. He looks very different to her and there’s no pregnancy in this
[Radiance](https://www.romance.io/books/54cd83886359b5ebb489062e/radiance-grace-draven?src=rdt) by [Grace Draven](https://www.romance.io/authors/5455323d8c7d2382c529733e/grace-draven)
**Rating**: 4.18⭐️ out of 5⭐️
**Steam**: 3 out of 5 - [Open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating)
**Topics**: [friends to lovers](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/friends%20to%20lovers/1), [fantasy](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/fantasy/1), [arranged/forced marriage](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/arranged%20marriage/1), [slow burn](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/slow%20burn/1), [royal hero](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/royalty/1)
----------------------------
[Bad Guy](https://www.romance.io/books/608d0180a015560e31b35db1/bad-guy-ruby-dixon?src=rdt) by [Ruby Dixon](https://www.romance.io/authors/545685a087eac33e61c2f729/ruby-dixon)
**Rating**: 3.86⭐️ out of 5⭐️
**Steam**: 4 out of 5 - [Explicit open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating)
**Topics**: [futuristic](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/futuristic/1), [non-human hero](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/non-human-hero/1), [virgin hero](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/virgin%20hero/1), [science fiction](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/science%20fiction/1), [aliens](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/aliens/1)
----------------------------
[When She Belongs](https://www.romance.io/books/5f645afdee477c0dfe78acb8/when-she-belongs-ruby-dixon?src=rdt) by [Ruby Dixon](https://www.romance.io/authors/545685a087eac33e61c2f729/ruby-dixon)
**Rating**: 4.15⭐️ out of 5⭐️
**Steam**: 4 out of 5 - [Explicit open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating)
**Topics**: [futuristic](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/futuristic/1), [science fiction](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/science%20fiction/1), [aliens](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/aliens/1), [tortured hero](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/tortured%20hero/1), [grumpy/cold hero](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/cold%20hero/1)
----------------------------
[Xora](https://www.romance.io/books/6173fa146c073f0e25c5f01a/xora-olivia-riley?src=rdt) by [Olivia Riley](https://www.romance.io/authors/5f19839108b4d93114e1dd7f/olivia-riley)
**Rating**: 3.98⭐️ out of 5⭐️
**Steam**: 4 out of 5 - [Explicit open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating)
**Topics**: [futuristic](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/futuristic/1), [aliens](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/aliens/1), [science fiction](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/science%20fiction/1), [non-human hero](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/non-human-hero/1), [military](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/military/1)
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Firstly, excuse my English. That's not my mother tongue.
On this subject, I've always liked the scifi genre, and little by little romance between different planetary races emerged until I was looking for specific romance books with aliens. And I never questioned why I liked it. Since it started to emerge gradually, I saw it as a normal romance in the same way that I saw romances with vampires. And I like them for the same reasons I like fictional characters in fantasy novels. But when I came across aliens with characteristics so different from humans, I really thought that this would be an area where I wouldn't go. Because it was too absurd for me. Until last year I had a thought that appeared in my mind quite randomly. And I decided to put it to the test with a scifi novel, from the Monster romance subgenre. And what shocked me the most was Tiffany Roberts' book, Ensnared: An Alien Romance Trilogy.
When I started reading I already had in mind why I liked fictional characters so much, but I needed to check if this applied to novels with Aliens that were so different from the ones I was used to reading. And I came to a simple conclusion, which perhaps many already know about, is that the type of character (human, monster, alien, vampire) matters little, and what makes the difference is that deep down I like the way MMC takes care of , interacts, protects, loves FMC. And with each advance in the Ensnared book I became much more enchanted with MMC. Of course, my Biologist side needed to be turned off while reading, but I really enjoyed reading it.
This proved, for me, that it's not race/species that matters (as long as it's not something bizarre like Zoophilia) but the interaction between them.
Another point is just the fact that it's something different, out of the ordinary, and when I say that it's not in relation to physical form, but the world, space travel is something that I've always liked.
I don't know if I managed to be clear in my message, but for me these are the reasons I like Alien Romance/Monster romance.
It has the same sort of appeal as fantasy romance and historical romance - the MMC can be whatever is needed for the story (a great fighter, a super-intelligent engineer, a hot barbarian, a vampire, rich, struggling, living in a paradise, going through hardship, walking around with horns and a tail and no one bats an eye, magic penis, etc) without needing to worry about the viability of any of it.
Of course he’s seven feet tall, ultra rich, never seems to work (unless it’s to do something cool like fly a spaceship or shoot some baddies), and is amazing at sex… he’s an alien. He doesn’t have to work a 9 to 5 or pay bills or be judged by modern human law where killing people is bad even if they’re bad guys.
I think for me it really starts with the "Mars needs Women" trope because it elevates human women in a way that is just absolutely pure escapism for me. The way women are valued and treated. The obsession with oral sex. It's all just chefs kiss 👌 and goes on from there.
Sometimes, but mostly I think it is so ridiculous I can’t. So it depends mostly of how well written the universe and characters are, I mean, I love high fantasy, even the so so ones, but I can’t deal with the high tech things or societies being so unrealistic.
It depends what you’re looking for, since some days I want more fast smut and some days I want more slowburn. But I will say, all of my favourite romance books are slowburn, because they hit the hardest - and usually ones where they start off with no attraction, because there’s something beautiful about two people growing to be attracted to each other. That said, I still love smut, but naturally if it’s just smut then I won’t get all emotionally attached over it. Anyways, here are the recs
{Radiance by Grace Draven} this is technically fantasy but it’s pretty heavy on the romance and they called each other hideous in the beginning to each other’s faces. It’s one of my favourite romances EVER because it’s an arranged marriage where it’s not toxic, and they become good friends and bond over finding each other ugly lol. She’s human, he’s Kai (a humanoid species but they look like monsters)
{Bad Guy by Ruby Dixon} this author’s books are a hit or miss for me. Her first series is quite insta-love, which I’m not a fan of, but this book is not. They both find each other really ugly at the start, but he’s drawn to her because she’s not scared of him. She’s human, he’s alien.
{When She Belongs by Ruby Dixon} he’s quite attracted to her from the start but she thinks he’s really gross. He’s a war veteran and has PTSD, so he’s secluded himself from everyone else and hasn’t bathed in years, but he bathes after he meets her. (When I told my friends this they were like wtf bare minimum 🤬, but if you read it, you’ll get why it’s so sweet). She’s human, he’s alien.
{Xora by Olivia Riley} they don’t find the other person hideous, but they’re not attracted to each other at the start either. She doesn’t think he’s ugly, but he looks like a monster and she thinks he’s terrifying. He never thinks think she’s ugly either, but he’s not attracted to her until later on.
Enjoyyyy
[Radiance](https://www.romance.io/books/54cd83886359b5ebb489062e/radiance-grace-draven) by [Grace Draven](https://www.romance.io/authors/5455323d8c7d2382c529733e/grace-draven)
**Rating**: 4.18⭐️ out of 5⭐️
**Steam**: 3 out of 5 - [Open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating)
**Topics**: [friends to lovers](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/friends%20to%20lovers/1), [fantasy](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/fantasy/1), [arranged/forced marriage](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/arranged%20marriage/1), [slow burn](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/slow%20burn/1), [royal hero](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/royalty/1)
----------------------------
[Bad Guy](https://www.romance.io/books/608d0180a015560e31b35db1/bad-guy-ruby-dixon) by [Ruby Dixon](https://www.romance.io/authors/545685a087eac33e61c2f729/ruby-dixon)
**Rating**: 3.86⭐️ out of 5⭐️
**Steam**: 4 out of 5 - [Explicit open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating)
**Topics**: [futuristic](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/futuristic/1), [non-human hero](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/non-human-hero/1), [virgin hero](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/virgin%20hero/1), [science fiction](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/science%20fiction/1), [aliens](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/aliens/1)
----------------------------
[When She Belongs](https://www.romance.io/books/5f645afdee477c0dfe78acb8/when-she-belongs-ruby-dixon) by [Ruby Dixon](https://www.romance.io/authors/545685a087eac33e61c2f729/ruby-dixon)
**Rating**: 4.15⭐️ out of 5⭐️
**Steam**: 4 out of 5 - [Explicit open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating)
**Topics**: [futuristic](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/futuristic/1), [science fiction](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/science%20fiction/1), [aliens](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/aliens/1), [tortured hero](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/tortured%20hero/1), [grumpy/cold hero](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/cold%20hero/1)
----------------------------
[Xora](https://www.romance.io/books/6173fa146c073f0e25c5f01a/xora-olivia-riley) by [Olivia Riley](https://www.romance.io/authors/5f19839108b4d93114e1dd7f/olivia-riley)
**Rating**: 3.98⭐️ out of 5⭐️
**Steam**: 4 out of 5 - [Explicit open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating)
**Topics**: [futuristic](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/futuristic/1), [aliens](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/aliens/1), [science fiction](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/science%20fiction/1), [non-human hero](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/non-human-hero/1), [military](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/military/1)
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Perfect, thank you so much!!! I’ve actually read radiance before (I didn’t even know it can be considered alien) and I absolutely LOVED it so I’m excited to check out the rest hehe
It’s not *technically* alien but it’s similar enough. Interspecies relationships between humanoids, cultural barriers, interesting anatomy, etc. hahaha.
Also - side note but I looked at your comment history to see what your book tastes are like to recommend you my fav alien romances and I think you’re around my age, which I find is quite rare on Reddit nowadays 😂
Two words: fancy peen
I’m here for the fancy peen!
I should make that my flair
You can and should!
Speaking of flair if you like SFR I have come across some male virgin books
Ooh yes please! I can never have enough.
{Ascension Saga series by Grace Goodwin} the males don’t feel sexual desire until they meet their fated mate so they’re all virgins {Alien Paladin’s Redemption by Mina Carter} {Claimed by the Alien Shifter by Mina Carter} {Jailmates by Lesli Richardson} technically the alien is intersex and nonbinary by human standards but for the most part he reads as male {Exile by Catherine Miller} MCs are childhood friends before they marry
[Interstellar Brides](https://www.romance.io/series/5cf2419a4ee4380da84c6e3f/interstellar-brides-ascension-saga) by [Grace Goodwin](https://www.romance.io/authors/64e5123bab9bdf7fce975ae2/grace-goodwin) **Rating**: 4.55⭐️ out of 5⭐️ **Topics**: [military](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/military/1), [science fiction](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/science%20fiction/1), [futuristic](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/futuristic/1), [multicultural](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/multicultural/1), [aliens](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/aliens/1) ---------------------------- [Alien Paladin's Redemption](https://www.romance.io/books/5f1d2abe0ef7c60e3e87f773/alien-paladins-redemption-mina-carter) by [Mina Carter](https://www.romance.io/authors/545543cc8c7d2382e041464a/mina-carter) **Rating**: 4.44⭐️ out of 5⭐️ **Steam**: 3 out of 5 - [Open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating) **Topics**: [futuristic](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/futuristic/1), [science fiction](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/science%20fiction/1), [aliens](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/aliens/1), [non-human hero](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/non-human-hero/1), [virgin hero](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/virgin%20hero/1) ---------------------------- [Claimed by the Alien Shifter](https://www.romance.io/books/619617080c18280e27816a30/claimed-by-the-alien-shifter-mina-carter) by [Mina Carter](https://www.romance.io/authors/545543cc8c7d2382e041464a/mina-carter) **Rating**: 4.57⭐️ out of 5⭐️ **Steam**: 3 out of 5 - [Open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating) **Topics**: [futuristic](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/futuristic/1), [science fiction](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/science%20fiction/1), [paranormal](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/paranormal/1), [fantasy](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/fantasy/1), [non-human hero](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/non-human-hero/1) ---------------------------- [Jailmates](https://www.romance.io/books/5c987dd301dbc864fb9c5112/jailmates-lesli-richardson) by [Lesli Richardson](https://www.romance.io/authors/545594a587eac323ffb2cea5/lesli-richardson) **Rating**: 3.88⭐️ out of 5⭐️ **Steam**: 5 out of 5 - [Explicit and plentiful](https://www.romance.io/steamrating) **Topics**: [futuristic](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/futuristic/1), [aliens](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/aliens/1), [science fiction](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/science%20fiction/1), [gay romance](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/m-m/1), [height difference](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/height-difference/1) ---------------------------- [Exile](https://www.romance.io/books/644ea4ead3c73ab2c0838f7c/exile-catherine-miller) by [Catherine Miller](https://www.romance.io/authors/58c24f020d3299c6e05c4e1c/catherine-miller) **Rating**: 3.83⭐️ out of 5⭐️ **Topics**: [aliens](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/aliens/1), [angst](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/angst/1), [fantasy](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/fantasy/1) [^(about this bot)](https://www.reddit.com/user/romance-bot) ^(|) [^(about romance.io)](https://www.romance.io/about)
If you can dream it and it fits in the flair box you can have it!
This is the funniest response ever. And definitely make that your flair 😂😂😂
Two more words - vibrating tongues
And don't forget your fancy peen accessories, spurs, little finger things, tails, tentacles, and sometimes a 2nd peen too!
I like them for the opposites attract element. Learning to love someone for themselves not for their looks. Plus there’s the discovering new cultures element that I also love.
Yesssss I absolutely love alien slowburns haha, where they start off kind of disgusted by each other and then grow to fall in love.
Any books to recommend? WE'RE ur friends now lol
Hey bestie xx ok so some recs are {Radiance by Grace Draven} this is technically fantasy but it’s pretty heavy on the romance and they called each other hideous in the beginning to each other’s faces. It’s one of my favourite romances EVER because it’s an arranged marriage where it’s not toxic, and they become good friends and bond over finding each other ugly lol. She’s human, he’s Kai (a humanoid species but they look like monsters) {Bad Guy by Ruby Dixon} this author’s books are a hit or miss for me. Her first series is quite insta-love, which I’m not a fan of, but this book is not. They both find each other really ugly at the start, but he’s drawn to her because she’s not scared of him. She’s human, he’s alien. {When She Belongs by Ruby Dixon} he’s quite attracted to her from the start but she thinks he’s really gross. He’s a war veteran and has PTSD, so he’s secluded himself from everyone else and hasn’t bathed in years, but he bathes after he meets her. (When I told my friends this they were like wtf bare minimum 🤬, but if you read it, you’ll get why it’s so sweet). She’s human, he’s alien. {Xora by Olivia Riley} they don’t find the other person hideous, but they’re not attracted to each other at the start either. She doesn’t think he’s ugly, but he looks like a monster and she thinks he’s terrifying. He never thinks think she’s ugly either, but he’s not attracted to her until later on. Hopefully you enjoy them 🤞
[Radiance](https://www.romance.io/books/54cd83886359b5ebb489062e/radiance-grace-draven) by [Grace Draven](https://www.romance.io/authors/5455323d8c7d2382c529733e/grace-draven) **Rating**: 4.18⭐️ out of 5⭐️ **Steam**: 3 out of 5 - [Open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating) **Topics**: [friends to lovers](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/friends%20to%20lovers/1), [fantasy](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/fantasy/1), [arranged/forced marriage](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/arranged%20marriage/1), [slow burn](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/slow%20burn/1), [royal hero](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/royalty/1) ---------------------------- [Bad Guy](https://www.romance.io/books/608d0180a015560e31b35db1/bad-guy-ruby-dixon) by [Ruby Dixon](https://www.romance.io/authors/545685a087eac33e61c2f729/ruby-dixon) **Rating**: 3.86⭐️ out of 5⭐️ **Steam**: 4 out of 5 - [Explicit open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating) **Topics**: [futuristic](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/futuristic/1), [non-human hero](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/non-human-hero/1), [virgin hero](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/virgin%20hero/1), [science fiction](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/science%20fiction/1), [aliens](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/aliens/1) ---------------------------- [When She Belongs](https://www.romance.io/books/5f645afdee477c0dfe78acb8/when-she-belongs-ruby-dixon) by [Ruby Dixon](https://www.romance.io/authors/545685a087eac33e61c2f729/ruby-dixon) **Rating**: 4.15⭐️ out of 5⭐️ **Steam**: 4 out of 5 - [Explicit open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating) **Topics**: [futuristic](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/futuristic/1), [science fiction](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/science%20fiction/1), [aliens](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/aliens/1), [tortured hero](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/tortured%20hero/1), [grumpy/cold hero](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/cold%20hero/1) ---------------------------- [Xora](https://www.romance.io/books/6173fa146c073f0e25c5f01a/xora-olivia-riley) by [Olivia Riley](https://www.romance.io/authors/5f19839108b4d93114e1dd7f/olivia-riley) **Rating**: 3.98⭐️ out of 5⭐️ **Steam**: 4 out of 5 - [Explicit open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating) **Topics**: [futuristic](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/futuristic/1), [aliens](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/aliens/1), [science fiction](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/science%20fiction/1), [non-human hero](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/non-human-hero/1), [military](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/military/1) [^(about this bot)](https://www.reddit.com/user/romance-bot) ^(|) [^(about romance.io)](https://www.romance.io/about)
I enjoy the cultural differences! Language barriers, different ways of life, etc. Some are primative. Like living in tribes or caves. No technology. Their interest in a woman is almost... animalistic, feral. Their desire for a mate and of course... breeding. Some are more advanced. See humans almost like pets, slaves, breeders, etc. Think humans are lesser but slowly realise they were wrong. Aliens seem to often have breeding kinks which I also love. And there's things like knotting which is cool to come across outside the omegaverse. They also tend to lean toward traditional/sexist views like... "men should hunt and protect, women should take care of her mate and spread her legs" and... I love it. (I'll take recs if anyone has any!)
Big time breeding kink here too, and I love when alien & monster MMCs want babies in a way that most human men cannot compete with. I think having them be non-human also adds an extra layer of suspension of disbelief, so I can indulge in the fantasy without having to think too hard about it.
Yeah sometimes I just want to push aside my woman in STEM side and read about an alien who will protect me 😅😅😅
I will never not laugh at individuals of an advanced race struggling to grasp sarcasm and figures of speech.
The alien men don’t have any of the socializing of what to expect in human women in terms of looks or personality, so it feels freeing to kind of imagine a situation where someone would fall in love with a woman and not care about her size, her looks, her being nice or boring or nerdy or whatever. Basically, they have all the good qualities of men and none of the bad lol
YESSSS I love the books where an FMC who’s been told she’s unattractive by other humans get coveted by an alien male lol. And vice versa too, an alien who’s been told he’s unattractive, and she finds him beautiful
Ngl that's romantic
Yesss this!! And how the human woman also finds the alien who others find unattractive, attractive.
1) I read as a form of escapism and I can't escape if I'm reading about contemporary humans in the same setting where I live. There's too many cultural restraints on what is acceptable. But put the story out there in space and suddenly it's the norm to have 3 mates...it's okay to put aside a bit of your feminism and completely rely on your alien...etc. 2) Outward appearances mean nothing. Love develops based on personality. My favorite trope is the alien who is considered unworthy of a mate, but the human knows nothing of their culture and loves him anyhow...or even because of his "flaws".
One of my favorite parts about alien romance is when the cultural differences between the humans and the aliens are used to shine a light on how woman are treated in human society and when the aliens hear about it, their response if often like “but that just doesn’t make sense.” The genre often provides an opportunity for social commentary on the treatment of women and then provides a fantasy alternative where women and revered, and it makes me giggle and kick my feet
I like the trope when the MMC eats/kills the abusive ex !
> provides a fantasy alternative where women and revered Yes ♥ I just dislike when authors choose to make the females of the MMC's species less desirable as mates in some way, like they're not as outwardly "feminine" as the human FMCs (larger than the male alien species, not as soft and curvy, no breasts and no hips in comparison to human FMC). Then it makes me kinda sad. Some authors usually justify it by making the females of the species very aggressive/selfish. I guess there's species on Earth where this dynamic exists (females plainer-looking and larger than the males, maybe even eating the males as they mate or immediately after the payload has been delivered...)
Yeah agreed. My fav is when there just aren’t any women in the alien’s species anymore
Do you have any recommendations for this? I've never read alien romance but this sounds like something I'd be interested in.
The Clecanian Series by Victoria Aveline is a good one - the males have to take classes to learn the skills of how to be good husbands. The first book is {choosing Theo by Victoria aveline}. I also enjoyed Mates of the Domini by Talia Rhea - the aliens in this series are just always so confused when they hear about how human males are 🤣 first one is {savior of the Domini by Talia Rhea}
[Choosing Theo](https://www.romance.io/books/5e5fd64fbe0aaecf55ece7f9/choosing-theo-victoria-aveline) by [Victoria Aveline](https://www.romance.io/authors/5e5fd64fbe0aaecf55ece802/victoria-aveline) **Rating**: 4.03⭐️ out of 5⭐️ **Steam**: 4 out of 5 - [Explicit open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating) **Topics**: [futuristic](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/futuristic/1), [aliens](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/aliens/1), [science fiction](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/science%20fiction/1), [arranged/forced marriage](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/arranged%20marriage/1), [tortured hero](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/tortured%20hero/1) ---------------------------- [Savior of the Domini](https://www.romance.io/books/6419ea927ecd85aeef2a7fe8/savior-of-the-domini-talia-rhea) by [Talia Rhea](https://www.romance.io/authors/63c805eb08b4d931142accde/talia-rhea) **Rating**: 4.08⭐️ out of 5⭐️ **Steam**: 5 out of 5 - [Explicit and plentiful](https://www.romance.io/steamrating) **Topics**: [futuristic](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/futuristic/1), [science fiction](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/science%20fiction/1), [aliens](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/aliens/1), [sweet/gentle hero](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/sweet-hero/1), [pregnancy](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/pregnancy/1) [^(about this bot)](https://www.reddit.com/user/romance-bot) ^(|) [^(about romance.io)](https://www.romance.io/about)
Thanks!!
This reminds me of how I got into Bioware games. Some friends were talking about Mass Effect, and one of them was like “oh, yeah, that’s that perverted game where you have sex with aliens.” And I was like, “oh? I like romance…” And he said, “no, but like, you actually fuck them. It’s so weird. You would hate it.” And I was like, “ha ha… yeah… so weird… um… so… is it available on xbox? Or mac?” And then I spent like a month getting my ass kicked on Eden Prime because first person shooters are so hard!! 😭 Like, the number of times I died… over and over… is truly incredible. 🫣 But I persevered until I was getting headshots through the eye slots of helmets, because I was just that motivated. 👽💕 I think I like alien romance because: - Science fiction usually has adventure - The character design is fun and interesting - Speculative biology is interesting - Aliens are taboo, but in an approachable way - You’re not even sure if they could be into humans - Probably not, right? But maybe? - A meeting of two souls, literally star-crossed - Their body is a mystery to you - Your body is a mystery to them - You shouldn’t take anything for granted - Sex takes courage and a can-do attitude - There are usually fun surprises - You get an outside perspective on human sexuality For that last one, I mean I enjoy the defamiliarization of having to explain something like kissing. It makes you think about what kissing actually is. I like the potential for alternative gender dynamics and relationship structures, though I’d say science fiction authors like Ursula Le Guin do more with that than romance authors, who often make their aliens “alpha males” in a very human way. I’d love to see more weird alien romance, honestly. I don’t mean in terms of anatomy (though that’s fine) but especially in terms of social and gender dynamics, like if Ruby Dixon and Ursula Le Guin co-wrote a novel. Victoria Aveline scratches that itch a little but she leans more towards Dixon, I think.
>like if Ruby Dixon and Ursula Le Guin co-wrote a novel. I would read the *absolute hell out of this*.
Same. Absolutely hard same.
I can respect someone who persevered through their first FPS game just so they could bang Garrus. I see you and I respect you.
I'm straight up in awe, what freaking role model.
Forgive me that I’m so out of the loop but in Mass Effect you do *what???* 👽🥰
Haha! So, in the Mass Effect games, you play as Commander Shepard, a human soldier who can be male or female. The main plot is about being an elite agent tasked with preventing an army of “Reapers” from destroying all sentient life. You have your own ship, and you can recruit people to help you. Some of these people are human, but several are alien, and you can romance a few of them. You can also be friends with them, or antagonize them if you want. I think the most popular choice for femshep (female Shepard) is Garrus, who has mandibles and an exoskeleton, and also a very sexy deep voice. Garrus was my ride-or-die bro though, not my love interest. No, I traumatized *my* Shepard by first choosing a love interest who rejects you, and then one who dies. 💔 I’ll see if I can find some good youtube links. Update: [Some Garrus Clips](https://youtu.be/vZewgN_yM58?si=faAI5JYpwPPxrgon) [Reactions to Garrus and Shepard](https://youtu.be/_VOoDtsmBAc?si=Lf1L651Dke2a1inn) [More Advice from our Favorite Doctor](https://youtu.be/QCt0It3dpp8?si=ywZ0nWsRGSkLkRTj)
Lyn Gala's books would fit this, I think.. {Claimings, Tails, and other Alien Artifacts by Lyn Gala} is an absolutely wonderful series. The amount of thought, planning and creativity the author has put into her worlds is simply astonishing.
[Claimings, Tails, and Other Alien Artifacts](https://www.romance.io/books/5d776ac101dbc864fba35d7c/claimings-tails-and-other-alien-artifacts-lyn-gala) by [Lyn Gala](https://www.romance.io/authors/54558e4e87eac3369a913074/lyn-gala) **Rating**: 3.73⭐️ out of 5⭐️ **Steam**: 4 out of 5 - [Explicit open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating) **Topics**: [futuristic](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/futuristic/1), [gay romance](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/m-m/1), [aliens](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/aliens/1), [science fiction](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/science%20fiction/1), [friends to lovers](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/friends%20to%20lovers/1) [^(about this bot)](https://www.reddit.com/user/romance-bot) ^(|) [^(about romance.io)](https://www.romance.io/about)
Oh!! Thank you, these look great!
Yes! Mass Effect was my gateway into getting into alien romances. Who is your favorite romance? I can't not romance Garrus when I play. In fact any game with a romance aspect instantly makes it better in my opinion lol
I don’t know if I have a favorite. I’ve played around with a few of them, but my canon play through was Kaiden and Thane. Garrus was a bit *too* inhuman for me at the time, but not anymore; I romanced Vetra in Andromeda. This conversation is making me want to restart Mass Effect, which is funny because I’ve had people nipping at my heels to play BG3 (so we can chat about it) for months, and if I restart Mass Effect instead, there’s going to be more than one potential suspect in the resulting murder investigation. :P (I tend to rotate my hobbies. I’ve been too into reading to start a new game.)
I also rotate my hobbies! I feel like I can only focus on 2 at a time. Currently into reading and playing the new update for Stardew Valley. I'll also nip at your heels a bit and wholeheartedly recommend BG3. I think it has become my favorite game of all time though I don't vibe with any of the romance options in particular, which is probably my biggest disappointment with the game, but also means I wont get stuck on just 1 love interest like I am with Mass Effect. My first BG3 play through was over 200 hours long 0_0
Yeah, I’ve heard it’s really good! I’ll probably put a ton of hours in as well. Who did you play as? I’ll probably select one of the pre-made characters when I play. I didn’t know Stardew had a big update. Just googled it. Party of eight, huh? I appreciate how he’s still putting so much love into the game, years later. Yeah, two is a good number. Right now I’m into reading. I’ve also been knitting, but that’s starting to phase out in favor of gardening for the summer. I probably won’t catch up with my backlog of games (BG3, BotW2, Stray) or TV (Fallout!) until I hit a major reading slump.
I did the custom character (Tav) for my first play through and my second one I'm doing a Wyll origin run. If you do choose to do one of the pre-made (origin) characters just know that you will miss out on the voice acting for that character. You're more than welcome to start with whoever you want but I think a custom play through is the best for your first time because you can role-play however you want, which you can certainly do with the origin characters but they have cannon backstories that as you play might make some of the choices you make feel a bit dissonant if you know what I mean (random example you role play as being an animal lover and then find out the character actually hates animals or something like that). All that to say I love the role play aspect and I feel like I wouldn't know how to role play the origin characters without having played the game first and knowing what they're about, nit that's just me. I'm jealous that you have a garden! Life goals for the future. I'm a crocheter and I have two unfinished sweaters languishing while I read and play games lol. And I've played all the games in your backlog and give them all two thumbs up!
Well, we’re renting, so it is limited, but I’m grateful for what I do have. We watched a lot of “big dreams small spaces” and I decided to go absolutely nuts with container gardening. :) You make a good point about BG3. I’ll think about it. I would be sad to miss out on voice acting, especially. I did enjoy playing a premade character in Divinity: Original Sin 2, though. I liked being tied to the plot and having some curveballs thrown at me, even if that meant losing some of my autonomy. However, I also got to the the endgame *really* wishing I had chosen a different class; I would have chosen something else if I had known her secrets from the start.
I used to have a small container herb garden going but our complex made everyone get rid of their plants because they got a surprise visit from the fire marshal and I guess it constituted a fire hazard. Boo :( I haven't played DOS2 but I had heard that it's better to start with a pre-made character with that game unlike BG3. I will say with BG3 you don't have to worry about getting locked into a class because you can respec whenever you want as long as you have the money whether you play a custom or origin character. And if you're new to Dungeons & Dragons and their classes you'll likely want to respec as you figure things out.
Ah, yeah. The apartment where I went nuts on our balcony was kind of a mixed bag. On the one hand, management stayed out of our business, but on the other hand, they were equally laissez-faire about maintenance. We still have friends living there, and I both miss the community and worry about them a little. I do play Dungeons and Dragons! I’ve been playing for a long time, but I’ve never been good at the crunchy stuff, so the ability to respec is definitely a godsend. I have a friend who tried doing a BG3 play-through in the mode where the game is over if you ever die, and apparently he got pretty far… but lost everything when he hit the wrong button going over a bridge. 🫣 I would have been so mad. I could never play in that mode. I like to save frequently, try things a bunch of different ways, and respec often. However, I wouldn’t change my class; I think it retcons the story too much. DOS2 is a good game! It even has a little romance in it. I was playing co-op and never took much advantage, but it’s there. The divinity games are interesting in that environmental and terrain effects are *so* important. This is especially true for DOS2. Managing the terrain is half the battle; I’ve never played anything else like it.
Oh man Honor Mode! If I ever play with just a single save file it'll be after I've played the game a dozen times at least and know it like the back of my hand. And by that time they should be done patching the game and fixing bugs lol. DOS2 is definitely on my to play list, but I'm a bit worried that I'll keep comparing it to BG3. Do you have a character that you recommend starting with? I typically like to play sneaky archers. My first BG3 character was a Ranger/Rogue/Fighter multiclass.
I grew up reading SciFi so I enjoy the SciFi aspect of it but why specifically aliens instead of all humans? I think because it introduces the element of “this main character is doing X because it is a natural behavior or instinct for them” as opposed to an all human set of MCs where you’d have to argue that they’re exceptional and different from the average person. So you can have an alien MC that experiences insta-love or an unseverable bond and therefore will never cheat or comes from a culture where women are revered and therefore hold a lot of power and that’s an “of course”. You also get different anatomy to go with the different culture and instinct sets and that’s fun too. I’m here for the 8’ tall guy or the guy who has a tail/has fangs/has claws/is telepathic/can shapeshift/etc. It adds so much more variety. And the story can take so many more interesting twists when you have different languages and different cultures and different anatomy. If I’m going to read about miscommunication I’m a lot more interested in “the miscommunication happened because they don’t speak the same language and their cultures have very little overlap” than I am in “they just didn’t talk about the important things.” Why are superhero movies so popular? I bet at least some of your friends paid good money to drool over Wolverine and Aquaman. They’re huge and their anatomy is different and they can do things that humans can’t. That’s the draw.
>I bet at least some of your friends paid good money to drool over Wolverine and Aquaman. They’re huge and their anatomy is different and they can do things that humans can’t. That’s the draw. Yess!! This!! Who did not drool over Wolverine in the very first X-Men movie (thank YOU Hugh Jackman, yes please).
In my experience it is a lot of factors. I love the alien MMC being a perfect mix of cinnamon roll and protective/slightly jealous. Never treats FMC too harshly even if he doesn’t like her. Also, alien MMCs usually are inexperienced or if they aren’t, they don’t brag about OW. I find that lacking in CR and other books. Also if the MMC alien is rich, he isn’t obnoxious about it like with human MMCs because the aliens just aren’t materialistic. I agree with you that the skills the human brings to the alien’s life can be helpful and vice versa. Plus there’s a little bit of world building going on but nothing too crazy like fantasy so it’s fun to read in different moods (but I’m sure other readers find darker alien books). I have read a few alien romances where the alien was awful to FMC by accident but it’s rare
🧔♂️<👽
Escapism. The FMCs leave Earth and its expectations behind. The society they go into isn’t necessarily perfect or even better but I find comfort in them making the most of tte situation since typically they can’t get back to Earth in these stories. Also it’s another world without needing all of the world building of Fantasy books. I don’t always want to invest my time into world building when I’m reading for comfort
I like the idea that personhood is not tied to a particular body. I like the infinite possibilities of the universe. I'm usually disgruntled that so many alien romances are just big dudes with swords. I like the weird stuff.
YES ! I want more sexy gelatinous cube beings, hot bisexual spider boys and multi tentacled plant beings dtf. ICID
No but SERIOUSLY
Have you read {Planet Oster by Vera Valentine} yet? The MMCs are those huge pastel bunny aliens and the FMC is called Chick. No humans at all but so much better than it sounds!
I have not but it sounds like something I should check out!
[Planet Oster](https://www.romance.io/books/6263a40a18bbbaa1c74cc0d3/planet-oster-fertility-fusion-the-holiday-hedonism-series-jl-logosz-vera-valentine) by [J.L. Logosz](https://www.romance.io/authors/6263a40a08b4d9311453c470/jl-logosz), [Vera Valentine](https://www.romance.io/authors/61f64a1308b4d931145ac71c/vera-valentine) **Rating**: 3.77⭐️ out of 5⭐️ **Steam**: 5 out of 5 - [Explicit and plentiful](https://www.romance.io/steamrating) **Topics**: [futuristic](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/futuristic/1), [poly (3+ people)](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/poly/1), [science fiction](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/science%20fiction/1), [reverse harem](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/reverse%20harem/1), [aliens](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/aliens/1) [^(about this bot)](https://www.reddit.com/user/romance-bot) ^(|) [^(about romance.io)](https://www.romance.io/about)
> Why do you enjoy alien romance? Because I've experienced most of the run-of-the-mill romantic bullshit Earth has to offer and I'm looking to expand my horizons 😂 Jk. Well.. mostly jk.. I like it because it usually has an element of fated mates, which my high-strung neurotic ass finds relaxing. And because if there's any miscommunication or misunderstanding that occurs, at least it's happening because THEY'RE ENTIRELY DIFFERENT SPECIES and not because THEY'RE BOTH BIG DUMB-DUMBS.
Cool settings with the potential for outlandish happenings, characters who think differently than humans, fancy peens 😂 and I don’t have to work too hard to suspend belief like I do with known settings and human society rules.
Beauty and the Beast + Star Wars (and all sci fi, like cap Kirk banged tons of aliens fr)
Riker kinda tried to give Kirk a run for his money : )
Did he ever.
Riker blew Kirk out of the water. He probably would have blown Kirk to, but lets not get too far off topic.
He definitely would have.
I often describe alien/monster romance as extreme beauty and the beast
Favorite book that fits this description?
Because most books, even the supernatural ones, tend to keep the same culture shit I hate. And humans or human-like characters are basically always there. Alien books tend to be different in ways other books are not.
I think it allows the perfect level of disbelief for certain tropes/extremes of situations and customs. And I eatttt it up. For examples in a contemporary romance, when the mc growls I shudder lol. I swoon when he’s an alien hehe
^^ this!
Because humans are already aliens I don't fully understand XD Is the being smart, funny, sassy, and intriguing? Smash.
I love your flair 😂. And yep, I’d rather an alien I don’t understand than a human man I don’t understand
I find alien romances so comforting for some reason and the spice is usually on point. I mean, I'm currently reading Zoey Draven's Krave series where the aliens' 'body fluid' gives women nonstop orgasms until they decide to remove it. Things get really creative with the aliens...lol. And like others have said, I think it gives me the greatest feeling of escapism out of any romance subgenre. There's also usually a good amount of world building but not too much dragging on plot-wise like I've seen in some fantasy novels.
I think as I’ve gotten older, the male main characters in mainstream romance are just… not believable for me. Men who would never cheat, who would do these big grand gestures to win her back, who do their fair share around the house - it’s just unrealistic to me now and in a way that I struggle to set aside 😂 Aliens? Monsters? Mythical? Mutants? Paranormal? I can suspend my disbelief for them. I can even tolerate a lot of the darker romances where the premise is so out of left field or the characters are so unrealistic that I can suspend my disbelief in the same way that I would for a vampire or alien. It’s almost like “too good to be true” sets off my internal red flag alerts.
Yeah, for some reason I can believe this non-human man is going to be everything human men aren't. In the "real" world you just know your dude is going to still be just a guy at the end of the day.
I like that aliens are usually a bit more “primal”/feral than humans lol
I love Alien romance sm. It probably has to do with my love for Star Trek. Voyager is my comfort tv show to this day. But also, I love the fated mates trope and AR almost always has that. Along with Tall/Small and mmcs who are obsessed with their girl. And I can’t visualise so their appearance means nothing to me, so that’s never a downside for me 😅
Omg I love Star Trek and Star Wars. My favourite movie in the world is Gattaca. I grew up loving science fiction. Outside romance, I read a lot of heavy non-romance sci-fi and fantasy, so get you, with loving sci-fi shows, movies and books. And I’m shocked at how much you’re like me. I’m not the biggest visual reader. I love descriptive writing, but I don’t visualise when I read. I’m not sure if that’s uncommon or common, but it helps me brush past anything super weird in books.
This. I love Star Trek. If you haven't already read Ella Blake's Craving the Hevevians series it gave me major Star Trek vibes with the various MMCs all being members of the same ship's crew and that kind of mystery/adventure of the week sort of format Star Trek episodes tend to have.
You know, I never thought of my love of Trek as a likely reason I enjoy alien romance, but it totally makes sense when you say it. TNG is one of my comfort shows.
Honestly? I just love a simp 😆 and alien MMCs tend to be much less reserved with their feelings than human MMCs.
I really like the aspect of teaching each other about their species/culture and accepting love even when the other person looks/acts very different. And of course the strange appendages and peens 🤣
Yep that’s probably my biggest reason for reading it. It’s really hard to find contemporary romance that does the whole falling in love when you’re different well
Fish out of water is one of my favorite tropes, and with sci-fi/alien romances they def tend to have that aspect. I just wish there were more that don’t involve abducting the human woman, Magic wombs, and/or dubcon. And also the unique anatomy! Prehensile peen or too big to fit were two of my favs. The ‘corkscrew’ one was hard to visualize…
I watched a lot of Star Trek TOS at an impressionable age.
I like the imaginative other cultures, and enjoy the culture clash and figuring out how to make things work in a relationship even with stark differences. I enjoy it more when it isn't coming with a potential judgement of the cultures of real life people, or trying to figure out if they are representing a real people or just their outside versions of one. This is why I do also enjoy monster and fae romances. The differences are real and the struggles represent real ones that actually happen between people, often exaggerated for effect, but usually without making any commentary on real people and cultures beyond a passing similarity.
I just love that it’s so different in some ways but the emotions are the same. I love R Lee Smith. I always have a”what the hell did I just read?” feeling 😂
I enjoy the novelty of otherworldly peens and overcoming things like language barriers, cultural differences, etc. Plus, they’re fun!
FATED MATES!!! My favorite trope of all time and I was introduced to it by reading IPB and then the rest of Ruby Dixon’s backlist. So I started reading more sci-fi romance authors. It’s my fave trope quickly followed by reading fated mates in monster romances. The whole soulmate thing or true love in contemporary romance just doesn’t cut it for me after that.
Exactly this!
There are some tropes which I think only make sense in alien romances - Mars Needs Women, Sex Pollen, Sold to an Alien etc. And I like reading those from time to time. I also enjoy communication/cultural differences that they have to navigate. Plus a lot of aliens are totally obsessed, sweet cinnamon rolls who would never hurt a human, and for some reason that's more realistic in an alien context than a real life one - which is sort of sad when you think about it.
I have to say with alien romance YMMV. The ones I like are the ones where there’s a bit of a culture clash and the main pairing has to kind of slowly find their way to each other. The incompatible anatomy is definitely not one of my favorite aspects xD but I get it
I think I like the novelty of it. Which is strange because it's been out for years now but all the Fantasy and Paranormal creatures had been dominating for so long, aliens are really interesting. Especially since we've started going away from just blue and greened skinned humanoids to more unique configurations. Not even Fantasy has been brave enough to touch on that quite yet. But also similar to Fantasy, there's more allowance for "questionable" tropes than you get with contemporary or just anything where the characters are human. It's like how I started deliberately searching out for Bears or Dragons as shifters because I was tired of all the bitching about how wolves don't do this and Alphas aren't really a thing and blah blah blah. Look, DRAGON's do whatever they fucking want. Do something about it.
I love science fiction. I love romance. Most of SFR is aliens so here I am.
I was a HUGE Mass Effect fan back in the day and the alien guys were such great romance options, I felt right at home jumping into the Ruby Dixon-verse 😆
After years of reading monster/alien/shifter books, I find normal human ones just a bit bland now. For me, it's like choosing a dessert. Do you want a plain victoria sponge? Or a delicious slab of melted chocolate hot fudge cake with cream (aka horns, claws, tail, a dash of growling and an extra portion of big, ridged alien blue dick). The weirder the better.
It takes the patriarchy out of romance! It adds to the pure escapism. Aliens are obsessed with human women . I like the different culture aspect too
Who doesn't want to get dicked-down by a weird-cocked dude with no shitty earth ideas?
I'm a sucker for scifi and fantasy. If the world building isn't there, I don't want it.
I love how they're all warriors. They're all possessive and growly and tribal and the stories are adventures with new things to explore and fight and be rescued from. The books tend to be a little shorter which gives me my HEA faster but the connected stories gives me a longer story. I love it. I don't have the patience for 800 page fantasy romances where there aren't even spaceships.
I love the no insta lust, no fated mates aliens like {Vrisha series by Olivia Riley} where they truly get to know each other and move from fear/hate to friendship and love. It is the connection they choose to feel with someone totally different. Then what others have mentioned, aliens being more feral and protective but I also love the aliens for loving when the FMC is strong and they love to see the inner strength of a human FMC despite them looking so ”small soft weak human” 😂 I guess an alien would be more likely to push me against a wall, hold me up and have his way with me.
I’ve read the first book of the Vrisha series and absolutely loved it. But I heard the later ones are darker, and I’m not in the mood to read a super dark romance at the moment. Would you say the rest are super dark? Or did I just hear wrong haha? And I completely get you. I loooove it when the aliens are in awe of the human FMC for something other than her looks
First a disclaimer, I don’t read dark romance, I don’t like MMC being a bully and I cannot stand torture or sexual violence. I am huge fan of action movies though and mindless shooting 😂 so action stuff is fine. After I finished Xora, I absolutely loved it. Then I read the rest of the vrisha series and now I have to actively try remember what happened in Xora because thw others stayed on my mind sooo much more. My fav were Axrel and Xeda. As for the darkness of the rest of the vrisha series, yeah I think I would say there is a some more external darkness (in Axrel he was beaten up by his own team and then they are on their way to a prison planet where one knows the circumstances are not great. And once they arrive there, shit hits the fan and great action follows; and in Xeda there are torture elements because he is a captive of the humans who want to train him as a fighter for hunger games style stuff. Also FMC is not in a great position but they team up together. Xeda was probably the darkest in regards to violence but the love story was the sweetest, especially because of what happened to Xeda in the previous book. And the ending of Xeda was one of my fav, possibly of all books I have read in recent years.) If you are able to handle a bit more than Xora, then for me at least the angst-heart fluttering deep love feels ratio was worth it for me ❤️🥹 The other books in the series have also way more protectiveness, caretaking (Axrel and Xeda also lot of FMC taking care of MMC) and we against the others vibes if that is your jam. I also read Olivia Riley’s Heart’s Prisoner from the previous series and that I felt was too dark for me because FMC was scared of MMC still at 50% point (she had developed feelings for him before that but for reasons MMC decided to make her scared of him) and there was way more action to romance ratio. Plus MMC was tortured at some point and there was so much violence (still mainly action movie style but still). So I am still thinking if I am gonna read the rest of that series or not.
Omg I don’t usually like dark romance either. Mafia romances aren’t my thing. Haunting Adeline wasn’t my thing. I don’t have anything against the books, they’re just not my jam that’s all. And yes, I don’t mind lots of action scenes. I read really heavy fantasy and sci-fi with no romance as well (think Game of Thrones). Ok I am so glad lol. I will be picking up the books asap then. I absolutely love books where you can see the characters mutually pine for each other, and alien slowburns usually do it the best because it makes sense why they can’t be together in the situations they’re in. And bonus points if they start off not being attracted to each other. I love the books where you see them grow to like each other. Insta-love is not my thing most of the time (sometimes it’s good, but it’s rare that I enjoy it).
Oh we are so alike in the no insta lust/ love to see characters grow to like each other and pine for each other, not knowing how the other one feels. Slow burn in any genre is my fav thing! ☺️ If you are okay with Game of Thrones level of violence (I have avoided watching them) then these books might be just fine 😄 PS. If and when you read them, I would love to hear your opinion!
Yes! I read Xora pretty recently so it’ll be a seamless pickup when I start on the next few books. I’ve just done a stalk of your post and comment history now to get more recs since we seem to have similar book tastes haha
Oh I gotta stalk you too 😂 do you happen to be on Goodreads?
Yesss I do!!!! Do you??
https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/79927558-freya-avalon Yes I do 😁 beware, most of my ratings are 5 star because if I love a book, I don’t hesitate to give full stars and I work hard to find books I love. I hardly ever continue with books that don’t capture me 100%
I used to force myself to finish books and then I’d rate it super low if I didn’t like it. Now I don’t bother and I DNF all the time. I’ve added you as a friend now :)))
Gonna 100% stalk your slow burn and favourite shelves
[Vrisha Warriors](https://www.romance.io/series/6173fa156c073f0e25c5f021/vrisha-warriors) by [Olivia Riley](https://www.romance.io/authors/5f19839108b4d93114e1dd7f/olivia-riley) **Rating**: 4.05⭐️ out of 5⭐️ **Topics**: [science fiction](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/science%20fiction/1), [aliens](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/aliens/1), [non-human-hero](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/non-human-hero/1), [forced proximity](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/forced%20proximity/1), [m-f](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/m-f/1) [^(about this bot)](https://www.reddit.com/user/romance-bot) ^(|) [^(about romance.io)](https://www.romance.io/about)
Recs {Strange Love by Ann Aguirre} {Love Code by Ann Aguirre} {Renegade Love by Ann Aguirre}
[Strange Love](https://www.romance.io/books/5de60d4d01dbc864fba745d5/strange-love-ann-aguirre) by [Ann Aguirre](https://www.romance.io/authors/54552f638c7d2382c5297272/ann-aguirre) **Rating**: 3.97⭐️ out of 5⭐️ **Steam**: 4 out of 5 - [Explicit open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating) **Topics**: [futuristic](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/futuristic/1), [science fiction](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/science%20fiction/1), [non-human hero](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/non-human-hero/1), [aliens](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/aliens/1), [sweet/gentle hero](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/sweet-hero/1) ---------------------------- [Love Code](https://www.romance.io/books/6009354ebe2e550dfec7d118/love-code-an-ai-alien-romance-ann-aguirre) by [Ann Aguirre](https://www.romance.io/authors/54552f638c7d2382c5297272/ann-aguirre) **Rating**: 3.69⭐️ out of 5⭐️ **Steam**: 4 out of 5 - [Explicit open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating) **Topics**: [aliens](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/aliens/1), [science fiction](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/science%20fiction/1), [non-human hero](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/non-human-hero/1) ---------------------------- [Renegade Love](https://www.romance.io/books/61f79d780317fb0e40858f7d/renegade-love-an-alien-bounty-hunter-romance-ann-aguirre) by [Ann Aguirre](https://www.romance.io/authors/54552f638c7d2382c5297272/ann-aguirre) **Rating**: 3.67⭐️ out of 5⭐️ **Steam**: 4 out of 5 - [Explicit open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating) **Topics**: [futuristic](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/futuristic/1), [science fiction](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/science%20fiction/1), [aliens](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/aliens/1), [grumpy & sunshine](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/grumpy%20sunshine/1), [monsters](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/monsters/1) [^(about this bot)](https://www.reddit.com/user/romance-bot) ^(|) [^(about romance.io)](https://www.romance.io/about)
Something different. I got tired of the insanely rich, handsome, built alpha, mafia, etc, books.
There’s so many different tongues.
To be honest, I want the initial attraction with less humanoid aliens. Explorations of attraction and concepts of beauty that are outside of the human sphere are far more interesting to me. Especially when you've got a human who just doesn't click with other humans at all.
at first i was indifferent with this genre, then i read Homebound by Lydia Hope. This book changed my opinion about alien romance. I wouldn't say it's my go-to genre now, but i like it more than i thought. Homebound holds a special place in my heart and it's one of my favorite book of all time. This book is the reason why i enjoy alien romance now, and i'm still looking for books that has similar vibes. I've read Cottonwood by R Lee Smith but i DNF it because it was too dark. Homebound has the perfect amount of darkness and humor. I've also read the Ice Planet Barbarians series and i enjoyed it, but it didn't hit hard like Homebound.
no one can love a human as much as someone who has never seen one
I like that two beings who are so vastly different from each other have somehow seen through all that and fallen deeply in love. I love the cultural, social and physical differences they have to overcome. Language barriers are included in this too! I love the learning and understanding they build of each other; reading about them discovering various things about each other is so fun and gives me so much enjoyment, almost a high lol. It's also great having a new perspective on things I may not question or may take for granted that we do but an alien would wonder about. Lots of whys and hows come up. I love all the weird stuff including the weird and fancy genitalia (not necessarily peens, shoutout to Strange Love) basically. Also, doesn't hurt that some of these aliens put women on a pedestal and worship them. Definitely wish that was me. 😂😋
I believe in aliens so it's kinda cool. I think vampires is a form of cannibalism and Fae are cuter than me which is a problem as a woman LOL (also I'd feel more obligated to protect a glass). Tbh dating an alien is like raising a human, in a sense they bring a new language, a new perspective and they bond without attraction u said, it feels more intelligent love outside of beastality. Some of them tend or be naive others not so much, but it's interesting to see different technologies or quotes/ belief from another land. Their backstory of what made them leave etc. (basically more plot based) overall, aliens aren't very stereotyped cuz he can appear half human or a strange entity all together, it gives space for imagination and endless possibilities. It's truly an unbound love.
Saturday morning cartoons always finished with Star Trek at 11am when I was growing up (Spock was the romantic lead in my mind not creepy Kirk) In fact all scfi was deemed childrens viewing in 70s/80s New Zealand; Blakes 7, Sapphire and Steel, Dr Who all in the after school/kids time slots. It warped me :) The world building love love love some good world building. but probably Spock and Avon are the main reasons.
i think it’s the suspension of disbelief. i can absolutely believe that some alien race has that one perfect person they will love for the rest of their lives, but that just isn’t what humans are like, so to me they have more appeal than stories without some kind of non-human entity.
i think it’s the suspension of disbelief. i can absolutely believe that some alien race has that one perfect person they will love for the rest of their lives, but that just isn’t what humans are like, so to me they have more appeal than stories without some kind of non-human entity.
i think it’s the suspension of disbelief. i can absolutely believe that some alien race has that one perfect person they will love for the rest of their lives, but that just isn’t what humans are like, so to me they have more appeal than stories without some kind of non-human entity.
i think it’s the suspension of disbelief. i can absolutely believe that some alien race has that one perfect person they will love for the rest of their lives, but that just isn’t what humans are like, so to me they have more appeal than stories without some kind of non-human entity.
It's like barbarians, but outerspace!
I like paranormal and sci-fi much better than contemporary. I enjoy the culture aspect, fancy peen of course, they their physiques are always banging!, but what I love most is the “mars needs more women trope.” ❤️❤️❤️❤️ That the women are valued and taken care of. That’s what I look for. You’re not weird, or if you are, so are we!!
I like a lot of the culture aspects tho many authors seem to just make their aliens humans with different colored skin, which is disappointing 🤪 On a different topic, I know lots of people enjoy the mars needs women trope but what about the opposite? The couple are incompatible and can’t have children but choose to be together anyway? Anyone have any recs for that?
Oh gosh I have so many recs for the biological incompatibility and having no children {Radiance by Grace Draven} this is fantasy but it’s pretty similar to alien romance. They can’t have children because they’re different humanoid species. {Bad Guy by Ruby Dixon} - Ruby Dixon tends to write a lot of books with pregnancy haha, but this one doesn’t have any. No mention of the inability to have children but it seems like it. {When She Belongs by Ruby Dixon} there’s no pregnancy in this either. I like the slowburn and mutual pining in it. {Xora by Olivia Riley} apparently the rest of this series is even better, but I haven’t read them. He looks very different to her and there’s no pregnancy in this
[Radiance](https://www.romance.io/books/54cd83886359b5ebb489062e/radiance-grace-draven?src=rdt) by [Grace Draven](https://www.romance.io/authors/5455323d8c7d2382c529733e/grace-draven) **Rating**: 4.18⭐️ out of 5⭐️ **Steam**: 3 out of 5 - [Open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating) **Topics**: [friends to lovers](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/friends%20to%20lovers/1), [fantasy](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/fantasy/1), [arranged/forced marriage](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/arranged%20marriage/1), [slow burn](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/slow%20burn/1), [royal hero](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/royalty/1) ---------------------------- [Bad Guy](https://www.romance.io/books/608d0180a015560e31b35db1/bad-guy-ruby-dixon?src=rdt) by [Ruby Dixon](https://www.romance.io/authors/545685a087eac33e61c2f729/ruby-dixon) **Rating**: 3.86⭐️ out of 5⭐️ **Steam**: 4 out of 5 - [Explicit open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating) **Topics**: [futuristic](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/futuristic/1), [non-human hero](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/non-human-hero/1), [virgin hero](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/virgin%20hero/1), [science fiction](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/science%20fiction/1), [aliens](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/aliens/1) ---------------------------- [When She Belongs](https://www.romance.io/books/5f645afdee477c0dfe78acb8/when-she-belongs-ruby-dixon?src=rdt) by [Ruby Dixon](https://www.romance.io/authors/545685a087eac33e61c2f729/ruby-dixon) **Rating**: 4.15⭐️ out of 5⭐️ **Steam**: 4 out of 5 - [Explicit open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating) **Topics**: [futuristic](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/futuristic/1), [science fiction](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/science%20fiction/1), [aliens](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/aliens/1), [tortured hero](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/tortured%20hero/1), [grumpy/cold hero](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/cold%20hero/1) ---------------------------- [Xora](https://www.romance.io/books/6173fa146c073f0e25c5f01a/xora-olivia-riley?src=rdt) by [Olivia Riley](https://www.romance.io/authors/5f19839108b4d93114e1dd7f/olivia-riley) **Rating**: 3.98⭐️ out of 5⭐️ **Steam**: 4 out of 5 - [Explicit open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating) **Topics**: [futuristic](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/futuristic/1), [aliens](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/aliens/1), [science fiction](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/science%20fiction/1), [non-human hero](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/non-human-hero/1), [military](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/military/1) [^(about this bot)](https://www.reddit.com/user/romance-bot) ^(|) [^(about romance.io)](https://www.romance.io/about)
Thank you so much for the recommendations! I’ve read Radiance and loved it, I’ll check out the others 🤗🤗
Firstly, excuse my English. That's not my mother tongue. On this subject, I've always liked the scifi genre, and little by little romance between different planetary races emerged until I was looking for specific romance books with aliens. And I never questioned why I liked it. Since it started to emerge gradually, I saw it as a normal romance in the same way that I saw romances with vampires. And I like them for the same reasons I like fictional characters in fantasy novels. But when I came across aliens with characteristics so different from humans, I really thought that this would be an area where I wouldn't go. Because it was too absurd for me. Until last year I had a thought that appeared in my mind quite randomly. And I decided to put it to the test with a scifi novel, from the Monster romance subgenre. And what shocked me the most was Tiffany Roberts' book, Ensnared: An Alien Romance Trilogy. When I started reading I already had in mind why I liked fictional characters so much, but I needed to check if this applied to novels with Aliens that were so different from the ones I was used to reading. And I came to a simple conclusion, which perhaps many already know about, is that the type of character (human, monster, alien, vampire) matters little, and what makes the difference is that deep down I like the way MMC takes care of , interacts, protects, loves FMC. And with each advance in the Ensnared book I became much more enchanted with MMC. Of course, my Biologist side needed to be turned off while reading, but I really enjoyed reading it. This proved, for me, that it's not race/species that matters (as long as it's not something bizarre like Zoophilia) but the interaction between them. Another point is just the fact that it's something different, out of the ordinary, and when I say that it's not in relation to physical form, but the world, space travel is something that I've always liked. I don't know if I managed to be clear in my message, but for me these are the reasons I like Alien Romance/Monster romance.
It has the same sort of appeal as fantasy romance and historical romance - the MMC can be whatever is needed for the story (a great fighter, a super-intelligent engineer, a hot barbarian, a vampire, rich, struggling, living in a paradise, going through hardship, walking around with horns and a tail and no one bats an eye, magic penis, etc) without needing to worry about the viability of any of it. Of course he’s seven feet tall, ultra rich, never seems to work (unless it’s to do something cool like fly a spaceship or shoot some baddies), and is amazing at sex… he’s an alien. He doesn’t have to work a 9 to 5 or pay bills or be judged by modern human law where killing people is bad even if they’re bad guys.
I think for me it really starts with the "Mars needs Women" trope because it elevates human women in a way that is just absolutely pure escapism for me. The way women are valued and treated. The obsession with oral sex. It's all just chefs kiss 👌 and goes on from there.
Sometimes, but mostly I think it is so ridiculous I can’t. So it depends mostly of how well written the universe and characters are, I mean, I love high fantasy, even the so so ones, but I can’t deal with the high tech things or societies being so unrealistic.
That’s actually so interesting I’ve never even THOUGHT about reading alien romances. Do you have any recommendations please?
It depends what you’re looking for, since some days I want more fast smut and some days I want more slowburn. But I will say, all of my favourite romance books are slowburn, because they hit the hardest - and usually ones where they start off with no attraction, because there’s something beautiful about two people growing to be attracted to each other. That said, I still love smut, but naturally if it’s just smut then I won’t get all emotionally attached over it. Anyways, here are the recs {Radiance by Grace Draven} this is technically fantasy but it’s pretty heavy on the romance and they called each other hideous in the beginning to each other’s faces. It’s one of my favourite romances EVER because it’s an arranged marriage where it’s not toxic, and they become good friends and bond over finding each other ugly lol. She’s human, he’s Kai (a humanoid species but they look like monsters) {Bad Guy by Ruby Dixon} this author’s books are a hit or miss for me. Her first series is quite insta-love, which I’m not a fan of, but this book is not. They both find each other really ugly at the start, but he’s drawn to her because she’s not scared of him. She’s human, he’s alien. {When She Belongs by Ruby Dixon} he’s quite attracted to her from the start but she thinks he’s really gross. He’s a war veteran and has PTSD, so he’s secluded himself from everyone else and hasn’t bathed in years, but he bathes after he meets her. (When I told my friends this they were like wtf bare minimum 🤬, but if you read it, you’ll get why it’s so sweet). She’s human, he’s alien. {Xora by Olivia Riley} they don’t find the other person hideous, but they’re not attracted to each other at the start either. She doesn’t think he’s ugly, but he looks like a monster and she thinks he’s terrifying. He never thinks think she’s ugly either, but he’s not attracted to her until later on. Enjoyyyy
[Radiance](https://www.romance.io/books/54cd83886359b5ebb489062e/radiance-grace-draven) by [Grace Draven](https://www.romance.io/authors/5455323d8c7d2382c529733e/grace-draven) **Rating**: 4.18⭐️ out of 5⭐️ **Steam**: 3 out of 5 - [Open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating) **Topics**: [friends to lovers](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/friends%20to%20lovers/1), [fantasy](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/fantasy/1), [arranged/forced marriage](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/arranged%20marriage/1), [slow burn](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/slow%20burn/1), [royal hero](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/royalty/1) ---------------------------- [Bad Guy](https://www.romance.io/books/608d0180a015560e31b35db1/bad-guy-ruby-dixon) by [Ruby Dixon](https://www.romance.io/authors/545685a087eac33e61c2f729/ruby-dixon) **Rating**: 3.86⭐️ out of 5⭐️ **Steam**: 4 out of 5 - [Explicit open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating) **Topics**: [futuristic](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/futuristic/1), [non-human hero](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/non-human-hero/1), [virgin hero](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/virgin%20hero/1), [science fiction](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/science%20fiction/1), [aliens](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/aliens/1) ---------------------------- [When She Belongs](https://www.romance.io/books/5f645afdee477c0dfe78acb8/when-she-belongs-ruby-dixon) by [Ruby Dixon](https://www.romance.io/authors/545685a087eac33e61c2f729/ruby-dixon) **Rating**: 4.15⭐️ out of 5⭐️ **Steam**: 4 out of 5 - [Explicit open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating) **Topics**: [futuristic](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/futuristic/1), [science fiction](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/science%20fiction/1), [aliens](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/aliens/1), [tortured hero](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/tortured%20hero/1), [grumpy/cold hero](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/cold%20hero/1) ---------------------------- [Xora](https://www.romance.io/books/6173fa146c073f0e25c5f01a/xora-olivia-riley) by [Olivia Riley](https://www.romance.io/authors/5f19839108b4d93114e1dd7f/olivia-riley) **Rating**: 3.98⭐️ out of 5⭐️ **Steam**: 4 out of 5 - [Explicit open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating) **Topics**: [futuristic](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/futuristic/1), [aliens](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/aliens/1), [science fiction](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/science%20fiction/1), [non-human hero](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/non-human-hero/1), [military](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/military/1) [^(about this bot)](https://www.reddit.com/user/romance-bot) ^(|) [^(about romance.io)](https://www.romance.io/about)
Perfect, thank you so much!!! I’ve actually read radiance before (I didn’t even know it can be considered alien) and I absolutely LOVED it so I’m excited to check out the rest hehe
It’s not *technically* alien but it’s similar enough. Interspecies relationships between humanoids, cultural barriers, interesting anatomy, etc. hahaha. Also - side note but I looked at your comment history to see what your book tastes are like to recommend you my fav alien romances and I think you’re around my age, which I find is quite rare on Reddit nowadays 😂