Genre:
Science Fiction Romance
Themes:
Age Gap
Angsty
Arranged Marriage
Danger / In Peril / On the Run
Dating Disaster
Enemies to Lovers
Fake Relationship / Marriage of Convenience
Fish Out of Water
Forced Proximity / Stranded Together
Found Family
Growing Older
Kidnapping / Disappearance
Loss / Grieving / Widow
Mature Lead 40+
Only One Bed
Return to Hometown
Romance After 50
Second Chance
Self-Discovery
Single Parent
Starting Over
Heat Level:
Medium (sex scenes are included and may use mildly graphic description)
Archetypes:
Criminal / Mafia / Prisoner
Mechanic
Pilot / Ship Captain
Pirate
Seeking New Career
Geographic Location:
Space / Other Planet or Universe
Setting:
Other Planet
Spaceship / Space Station
War Zone / Battlefield
Sexual / Gender Identity:
Bi or Pansexual
Lesbian
Tomboy
Protagonist Identity:
Asian
The Red Scholar’s Wake
The Xuya Universe Romance Series, Book 1
By Aliette de Bodard
There is only one (space)ship.
When tech scavenger Xích Si is captured and imprisoned by the infamous pirates of the Red Banner, she expects to be tortured or killed. Instead, their leader, Rice Fish, makes Xích Si an utterly incredible proposition: an offer of marriage.
Both have their reasons for this arrangement: Xích Si needs protection; Rice Fish, a sentient spaceship, needs a technical expert to investigate the death of her first wife, the Red Scholar. That’s all there is to it.
But as the interstellar war against piracy rages on and their own investigation reaches a dire conclusion, the two of them discover that their arrangement has evolved into something much less business-focused and more personal…and tender. And maybe the best thing that’s ever happened to either of them—but only if they can find a way to survive together.
A rich space opera and an intensely soft romance, from an exceptional SF author.
