Welcome to November's LGBTQ+ Fiction blog post! For this month I'm discussing a few science fiction romances as well as some mystery romances. I really enjoyed what I read, and I hope you do too!
Books I've Read Recently
Title/Author: Taking Shield 01 by Anna Butler
Summary: Earth's last known colony, Albion, is fighting an alien enemy. In the first of the Taking Shield series, Shield Captain Bennet is dropped behind the lines to steal priceless intelligence. A dangerous job, and Bennet doesn't need the distractions of challenging relationships with his long-term partner, Joss, or with his father-and with Flynn, the new lover who will turn his world upside-down. He expects to risk his life. He expects the data will alter the course of the war. What he doesn't expect is that it will change his life or that Flynn will be impossible to forget.
Series/Standalone: Taking Shield #1 of 5
Genre/sub-genre: Science Fiction/Romance
Book Format: ebook
Length: 334 pages
LGBTQ+ Orientation: Bisexual
Violence: Some
Well written/Editor Needed: Well written
Would I Recommend?: Yes
Personal thoughts: The last book in this series just came out this year, so now is the perfect time to start reading it from the start. This is, first and foremost, a science fiction story with a minor romance thread that seems to span the entire series. What surprised me about this story was the relationship between Bennett and his father. They take a long time to work through their issues and their reasons for not talking to each other. It’s realistic and well done, and is a prominent plot line, even while there is a war going on. All of the relationships Bennett has, including with his long-term partner and his new lover Flynn, are also relatable and realistic. While this does start off a bit slow, it’s quick to pick up the pace once Bennett has a specific job to do, and the action scenes definitely keep the reader turning pages. Over all, this was a great read that had everything you could want in a story, and I’m looking forward to reading book two!
Title/Author: Object of Desire by Dal Maclean
Summary: Tom Gray is one of the world's top models–an effortless object of desire. Self-contained, elusive and always in control, he's accustomed to living life entirely on his own terms. But when Tom comes under suspicion in the gory death of his employer, his world spirals into chaos. Someone's framing him. Someone's stalking him. And as old secrets come to light, Tom finds his adversary always one step ahead. Will Foster is the only man Tom trusts to help. But Tom brutally burned all bridges between them two years before, and Will paid a bitter price. If he wants to survive, Tom must prove his innocence to Will — and to the world.
Series/Standalone: Standalone
Genre/sub-genre: Mystery/Romance
Book Format: ebook
Length: 396 pages
LGBTQ+ Orientation: gay
Violence: Yes. The action is mostly off page, but some of the gory details are not.
Well written/Editor Needed: Well written
Would I Recommend?: YES
Personal thoughts: This was amazing! I loved Dal Maclean’s first book, Bitter Legacy, so reading this one was a no-brainer. Reading about models, though, is not my thing, but I put my trust in the author and she did not let me down. With a bit of a slow start and a type of character I wasn’t thrilled with, there was a certain point when this book just picked up speed and would not let me put it down. It helped that Tom was also interested in Chemistry and had been studying to work in forensics before he’d been picked up as a model, which gave him depth and made him more interesting. He had a lot to work through, when it came to his personal relationships, but I think it was handled well. Will was my favorite character. You could see he’d been hurt by Tom, and two years later, he still carried that hurt around. Even so, he was there, willing to help Tom in any way he could. This was a murder mystery with thriller aspects, a romance arc, and great characters. What’s not to love?!
Books I’m Looking Forward To
Title/Author: Euphoria by Jayne Lockwood
Summary: It might take the arrival of an alien being to remind an isolated man what it means to be human. With a stressful job, his boss breathing down his neck, and an estranged wife and daughter, scientist Kurt Lomax doesn’t think life can get much harder. Until a non-binary extraterrestrial with an otherworldly beauty, captivating elegance, and a wicked sense of humor inconveniently shows up at his apartment. Vardam watched the destruction of their own world, and they don’t want to see the same thing happen on Earth. They are lonely, and feelings soon develop between them and the supposedly straight scientist—feelings Kurt reciprocates, much to his confusion.
Series/Standalone: Standalone
Genre/Sub-Genre: Science Fiction/Romance
LGBTQ+ Orientation: non-binary alien/straight human male who realizes he's not straight after all
Reasons I’m Excited About It: I admit to being curious about the non-binary alien. Since pretty much all non-binary characters are of interest to me, why not this one? This seems like a sweet, humorous love story, which is a necessity every now and then to escape more serious reading, or life in general. Though, I also admit, I’m not 100% sure about the fact that Vardam has tentacles and there is mpreg in this story, according to some reviews. For those who don’t know, mpreg is where a man gets pregnant, and for me, this has to be done well enough to seem realistic and few writers can pull that off. I’m looking forward to seeing if Jayne Lockwood can, and to enjoying a fun read.
Books Mentioned Above
Title/Author: Bitter Legacy by Dal Maclean
Series/Standalone: Standalone
Genre/Sub-Genre: Mystery/Romance
LGBTQ+ Orientation: Gay
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