The best sci-fi romances that you won’t be able to forget

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve read romance since I was teenager, and I’ve written all my professional life, first in journalism, then public relations, finally as an author. Being a sci-fi romance author is my dream job! There is nothing on this planet I’d rather do. I love the freedom and creativity of science fiction romance. There are new worlds to explore and fascinating characters to meet. The best books of any genre are those with “legs.” Years after reading them, you still remember the story. My goal is to send my readers on an unforgettable emotional journey to an exciting new world filled with characters they can’t help but fall in love with.


I wrote...

Blown Away

By Cara Bristol,

Book cover of Blown Away

What is my book about?

Working on a windswept, sand-blasted alien planet isn’t every astrogeologist’s dream job, but for Breeze O’Day it offers a refuge from a dangerous past. And now she’s made a scientific breakthrough that could propel her career into the stratosphere. On the way to complete her research, her hovercraft crashes in a violent dust storm. She’s rescued by Tack Grayson, a surly cyborg, who makes it clear saving her is a huge imposition. As they weather the storm in his remote cabin, mutual animosity turns to passion. But when Tack learns more about Breeze’s research, he realizes they have far more to fear than a sandstorm. 

Shepherd is reader supported. When you buy books, we may earn an affiliate commission.

The books I picked & why

Book cover of The Good, the Bad, and the Cyborg

Cara Bristol Why did I love this book?

What makes The Good, the Bad, and the Cyborg unforgettable is the genre mash-up and the story’s poignancy.

It combines two disparate genres--western historical fiction and futuristic sci-fi romance. Mars is being colonized. Tasked with providing law and order are cyborg rangers riding their sentient robotic horses. While cyborgs play critical roles in the settling of Mars, they are considered less than human and are denied the same rights as regular citizens. When they meet their human heroine and fall in love they rediscover their humanity.

So well written and crafted, this story leaves a lasting impression on the reader.

Book cover of Riley's Journey

Cara Bristol Why did I love this book?

It’s back to the future in Riley’s Journey.

A young woman volunteers for a “research project” unaware she’ll be taking a one-way trip into past—40,000 years. She’s sent to provide companionship for Nathan, a modern man also trapped in the past.

The descriptions of primitive Earth and its dangers were so realistically portrayed the book put me right there with the Neanderthals and Cro-Magnon. I sympathized with Riley’s shock and betrayal and with Nathan’s crushing loneliness and despair.

I’ve recommended this book over and over again.

By P.L. Parker,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Riley's Journey as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The research project was only supposed to be for an "extended period." No one said anything about forever! So Riley's journey begins. Unknowingly sent back 40,000 years to be the mate of a man she had never before met, Riley struggles to understand and adjust. Her journey will take her into a world fraught with dangers - a world made more treacherous by savage beasts, primitive Neanderthals, and the incursion of the aggressive Cro-Magnon man. Surviving alone for five years in this vast wilderness, Nathan, along with his enormous dog, Demon, carve out a life in the perilous environment. Though…


Book cover of Dustwalker

Cara Bristol Why did I love this book?

Dustwalker is a poignant romance involving a sentient robot and a human woman.

Post-apocalyptic Earth has become a bleak wasteland of dust. Ronin wanders the wasteland in search of salvage to exchange for credits. His “life” is empty and meaningless. Then one day he enters a town ruled by warlords and catches a glimpse of a woman dancing.

Lara’s grace and movements make him feel. He offers her a deal. If she’ll dance for him, he promises to find her missing sister. Through the awakening emotions of a robot, the reader explores what it means to be alive.

Dustwalker is a romantic and beautiful story that leaves an indelible impression.

By Tiffany Roberts,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Dustwalker as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A robot searching for purpose. A woman who brings him to life. Can they learn to love in a broken world?

With his core programming lost to time, Ronin has wandered the Dust for nearly two centuries. Out in that unforgiving wasteland, his armored undercasing, advanced optics, and amped-up processors give him an advantage over other scavengers. He’s resigned himself to this unending trek until one night—until one human—makes him question everything.

Lara Brooks and her sister have spent their lives struggling to survive under the tyrannical rule of Cheyenne’s robotic master, Warlord. But when her sister goes missing, Lara…


Book cover of I Married A Naga

Cara Bristol Why did I love this book?

What makes I Married a Naga stand out is the hero. He’s a half-humanoid, half-snake alien. The heroine is human.

I had hesitated to read I Married a Naga because it involved snake people. Snakes?  No thanks! But I kept seeing the book and finally decided to give it a try. Thanks to author Regine Abel’s excellent storytelling, I got accustomed to the idea of a snake-man.

He’ll never be my favorite book boyfriend, but I warmed to him and thoroughly enjoyed the unforgettable characters and world-building.

By Regine Abel,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked I Married A Naga as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

She got more than she bargained for.

When Serena comes to Trangor to participate in the First Hunt, the last thing she expects is to find herself forced to marry an Ordosian… or be executed. She knows nothing of his people, nothing of him, except that he’s got fangs, scales, and a crazy long tail. Serena only has to play the part of being a wife for six months, and then she’ll be free to leave. But Szaro seems to have other plans. He’s big, intimidating, and definitely not human. Yet, how can she remain indifferent when he does everything…


Book cover of Ghost Planet

Cara Bristol Why did I love this book?

I loved Ghost Planet for its fascinating premise delivered with a zinger.

Colonists of a newly discovered planet are being stalked by doppelgängers of dead people they once knew. Psychologist Elizabeth Cole goes to the planet for a job and immediately bonds with her supervisor, the creator of the Ghost Protocol, which forbids acknowledging or interacting with the ghosts (in an attempt to get rid of them).

And then Elizabeth discovers she, too, is a ghost, having died on arrival to the planet when her ship crashed. It’s been seven years since I read this book, and the plot has stayed with me.

By Sharon Lynn Fisher,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Ghost Planet as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Psychologist Elizabeth Cole prepared for the worst when she accepted a job on a newly discovered world--a world where every colonist is tethered to an alien who manifests in the form of a dead loved one. But she never expected she'd struggle with the requirement to shun these "ghosts." She never expected to be so attracted to the charming Irishman assigned as her supervisor. And she certainly never expected to discover she died in a transport crash en route to the planet. 
Reincarnated as a ghost, Elizabeth is symbiotically linked to her supervisor, Murphy--creator of the Ghost Protocol, which forbids…


You might also like...

Return to Hope Creek

By Alyssa J. Montgomery,

Book cover of Return to Hope Creek

Alyssa J. Montgomery Author Of A Spanish Seduction

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m an Australian USA Today bestselling romance author who writes contemporary romance and uses the pen name Alyssa James to write medieval romance. I think the makeover trope resonates with me because although I’m no beauty queen now, I was definitely an ugly duckling in my teens. For reasons best known to him, my father insisted on close-cropped hair, and financial circumstances dictated out-of-style hand-me-down clothing. After university, I found my own style, but it wasn’t until I was accepted as an international flight attendant that I believed that I couldn’t be all that ugly if Qantas employed me!

Alyssa's book list on makeover romances

What is my book about?

Return to Hope Creek is a second-chance rural romance set in Australia.

Stella Simpson's career and engagement are over. She returns to the rural community of Hope Creek to heal, unaware her high school and college sweetheart, Mitchell Scott, has also moved back to town to do some healing of his own.

Mitchell, a former NFL quarterback, doesn't need the complication of encountering Stella again so long after the messy end to their relationship, but as each tries to build a new life, they are drawn together and find their chemistry is just as strong as ever.

Will their love be stronger the second time around?

Return to Hope Creek

By Alyssa J. Montgomery,

What is this book about?

When two old flames come back to their home town, sparks are bound to ignite. A rural romance from USA Today bestselling author Alyssa J. Montgomery.


A horrific car accident ended former world number-one Stella Simpson’s tennis career, and a betrayal ended her relationship with her fiancé/coach. When a family friend offers to sell her half of a property in the rural community where she grew up, it seems like the perfect place to escape, heal and begin the next phase of her life. Until she discovers that the man who broke her heart ten years ago has bought the…


5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in Chivalric romance, robots, and ghost story?

10,000+ authors have recommended their favorite books and what they love about them. Browse their picks for the best books about Chivalric romance, robots, and ghost story.

Chivalric Romance Explore 85 books about Chivalric romance
Robots Explore 95 books about robots
Ghost Story Explore 153 books about ghost story