The Rec League: Alien Romances

This request comes from Nuria as part of a recent HaBO.

They are specifically looking for alien romance recommendations where the alien character feels truly alien, and not necessarily humans with a different paintjob.

Amanda: Obviously Strange Love by Ann Aguirre.

Someone You Can Build a Nest In by John Wiswell kinda of works. The monster is a shapeshifter and has a humanoid form made out of the remains of her meals, but it’s true form is an amorphous lump. It’s one of the weirdest romances I’ve read and big warnings for body horror.

Sarah: They aren’t aliens so much as different species in a fantasy world, but Radiance by Grace Draven ( A | BN | K | AB | Scribd ) might have the vibe the asker is looking for.

This is a controversial rec as it caused a LOT of discussion when it came out, but The Last Hour of Gann by R. Lee Smith ( A ) would work for sure.

Amanda: I don’t think the hero in Radiance is that much different than a human. If I recall, he’s gray and has sharp teeth and claws. Still very humanoid in terms of body time, IMO!

But part of the romance does deal with the physical differences between the hero and heroine. I still cackle at the scene where he refers to the heroine’s teeth as “horse teeth.”

Sarah: Yeah that’s what I was thinking – he’s humanoid but I remember the scene

He’s not an alien, per se, but they’re very alien to one another.

Amanda: Not necessarily sci-fi or alien, but do want to shout out my boy Sholto from the Merry Gentry series ( A | BN | K | AB ) who is a fae with tentacles coming out of his stomach. Truly ahead of his time.

What books would you recommend? Let us know in the comments!