Our latest Rec League was sent in by author Maria Vale:
Do you have any recs for romances with enviro/conservation consciousness? Not preachy, just there. There are a lot of niches, but this isn’t one I’ve found and given the current state, I’m kind of surprised.
Sarah: Breathe the Sky by Michelle Hazen ( A | BN | K )
I interviewed them for a podcast episode, though content warnings for an abusive backstory.
Maya: I liked that one too! But also some turtles die.
Elyse: Whiteout by Ariana Anders
Maya: Yes!!!
Sarah: Is one of Pamela Clare’s books about an environmentalist or are they all journalist investigators?
I was sort of right. Extreme Exposure ( A | BN | K | AB ) has a heroine who is trying to expose a company that is polluting by dumping chemicals illegally.
Elyse: Didn’t Kennedy Ryan have one?
Amanda: I thought of the Kingmaker duo but I wasn’t sure if there was an environmental component. I think the hero is an environmental scientist of sorts?
Sarah: You know what’s kind of odd? All these broody emo vampires with immortality and so few if any are environmentalists. You’d think of any hero archetype they’d be worried most about global warming.
Elyse: Yeah but they’re also usually old white men so…
Sarah: Shit yeah forgot about that part.
Shana: I feel like there are three kinds of enviro books: sci-fi where the backdrop is some sort of environmental collapse, like Becky Chambers Wayfarer series, contemporaries where the MCs have an environmental job but it’s not the focus of the plot, like Spoiler Alert by Olivia Dade, or historicals with natural scientists.
Sarah: This is excellent analysis and I agree with your taxonomy!
Which romances would you recommend? Let us know!
The first book that popped into my mind was Kate Canterbary’s THE BELLE AND THE BEARD: the hero is an arborist who monitors trees and other plant growth for signs of environmental stresses. He works outdoors and there are a number of scenes with him showing the heroine what he’s looking for when he walks through woods, forests, groves, etc. Of course, this being a romance, sometimes walking through an isolated forest glade with an attractive partner leads to, um, other things….
I know a lot of the early works by Harlequin author Nikki Logan centered on characters who had careers involving animals and conservation, saving a harbor seal refuge, sea turtles, etc. I can’t speak to her more recent books. These are also “sweet” for people that aren’t into that 😉
Not sure if this counts but there’s a Harlequin Presents I read several years ago where the heroine, an environmental & social justice activist, is protesting on Capitol Hill and ends up getting handcuffed to the hero, who is the son/campaign manager of a senator (I think?). They end up coming to an agreement where she will come work for the campaign to help improve their policies, but of course the hero is falling in love with her while his senator dad is treating it like a publicity stunt.
Just googled and it seems this book is The Power and the Glory by Kimberly Lang. And apparently it’s a Christmas book, although I have no memory of that!
How about CD Reiss’s IRON CROWNE? She’s an environmental lawyer, he’s a developer with a reputation for skirting environmental regulations. It’s a great antagonists-to-lovers romance because the story gives the h&h real reasons to be on opposing sides and they seem baffled by their feelings for each other.
Ruthie Knox’s ROMAN HOLIDAY is a road-trip romance with a developer hero and a heroine trying to save her Florida Keys community. IIRC, there are environmentalist aspects to the story.
PAYOFF PITCH by V.K. Sykes is a sports-hero-goes-home romance with a subplot about the environmental impacts of fracking on a small town. Where I live, fracking causes earthquakes ALL THE TIME, so…I get it. The subplot was too much for some people if you look at the reviews, but it totally worked for me.
Dead Heat by Bronwyn Parry has a heroine who works as a park ranger and has a PhD in something scientifically relevant, but I don’t
think it’s a major part of the plot. Likewise in her contemporary novella The North Wind – Angie does environmental surveys, but it’s not part of the main plot.
Jill Sorenson has written some characters with interests related to conservation. I think Stranded With Her Ex is one?
There’s a bit on ocean conservation in both Private Charter by NR Walker and A Tiny Piece of Something Great by Jude Sierra. It’s not central to the plot in either book but it’s definitely there. The two aren’t otherwise very similar other than both being m/m romances. I really enjoyed both.
Savage Grace by Spencer Spears? M/M, third in a series. In this one, there’s some pretty direct attempts by the shady development company to damage the protected area in order to push forward on a big development. One of the heroes is explicitly there to monitor the protected area. Would lose something without reading the first two, wherein more shenanigans by shady developers appear.
Happy Trail by Daisy Prescott has a park ranger/bird biologist hero, set in Penny Reid’s Smartypants Romance universe. The heroine is hiking the Appalachian Trail—a definite fish-out-of-water to start, but done in a way that didn’t annoy me. She has become obsessed with birds during her hike and the story has a lot of “healing power of nature/minimalism” vibes. I liked the hero, he’s half-Japanese and wrestles with some identity issues that feel authentic and compelling. As someone who used to be a hardcore hiker (damn knees!), he is a version of my “dream guy” that I rarely see captured in fiction.
Ooh, what a great rec league topic! I like Shana’s taxonomy too.
I’ve been hoping for an ecopunk (or solarpunk) romance for awhile now – that is a romance set in an ecologically hopeful future. Does anyone know if such a thing exists yet? I want to read it.
Kristen Ashley “Chasing Serenity”
@Cleo, for solarpunk romance: (it’s been a while since I read it, so I don’t recall many details other than that I enjoyed it.)
The Marann (Tales of Tolari Space #1) by Christie Meierz
The Lamb and the Lion m/m romantic suspense series by Gregory Ashe follows an unlikely pairing between a wildlife vet and a con man – and sinister development companies are very much part of the plot as are vivid descriptions of natural landscapes in Utah! I found the first book really intriguing but dark (with some great humor though).
Re my above comment: TW for sexual violence (not between the two MCs of course, but faced by each of them respectively at different points in their lives)
Jackie Lau has ‘Not Another Family Wedding”, in which the female main character is “a cranky professor of climatology who thinks the world is doomed”. In spite of this, it’s the usual cheerful and not too over the top with the angst Jackie goodness.
Oddly the first thing I thought of was Laura Florand’s Amour et Chocolat series. Environmentalism isn’t a major theme, but it’s definitely woven into a couple of the novels in discussions of responsibly sourced raw materials. I think the Chocolate Touch has an activist heroine and The Chocolate Heart has a similar theme, but less activism. Neither novel centers environmentalism, but it is an element.
Taming the Tycoon by Amy Andrew features a wealthy developer who is determined to tear down a treasured garden and replace it with soulless develpment. He’s opposed by local activists and becomes involved with a woman who handcuffs herself to him in the course of a protest. This book is a favorite on my Comfort Reads list, but again it’s not heavy-handed on the environmentalism.
Kathryn Nolan’s Riptide features a luxury hotel developer heroine with an eye on a pristine stretch of California beach who is opposed by local activists including a laid back local surfer dude. Pretty similar plot device to the Andrews book, but an entirely different feel.To be honest I never finished it. IIRC Tthe heroine was kind of irritating in her single-mindedness. However, if you like Nolan’s work it could be worth a try.
Rocky Mountain Angel by Vivian Arend has a heroine who had some kind of job involving certifying land for organic farming and a hero who is trying to get part of his family’s land appropriately certified. She has to come home and quits that job, which is how she ends up in a fake relationship with the hero. The organic farming issues are really in the background, but were interesting to me, so I remembered them (although I had to go through my kindle to get the book’s title.)
Lorelei James also has a book in her Rough Rider’s series with a heroine who is working for the Wyoming Natural Resource Council. Her career and projects are part of the entire story and actually cause some of the conflict with the hero. It is called Redneck Romeo and the hero’s name is Dalton (surprisingly one of the few heroes in this series that doesn’t have a name starting with K or C.)
This is a great rec league and I hope to add to my TBR list with the recs!
The only vampire series that I have ever come across that features environmental consciousness was written by Dianne Duvall. The heroes and heroines often complain about the quality and eat exclusively organic food, because they can taste the pesticides. They also tended to drive electric cars and such. I also remembered this one because it was set in the Raleigh-Durham area of North Carolina, and there aren’t enough midsize cities in paranormal fiction.
Going Deep (Men of Mobile Book 1)
Brooke Hastings almost won a Pulitzer Prize for her hard-hitting reportage. Now she’s sitting on the story of a lifetime and wants to prove she’s not a one-hit-wonder. But in order to get the world to take notice, she’ll need the help of the one person she loves to hate—Brian Dalton.
Brian Dalton stumbled into celebrity when he landed a show on the Earth Channel. But the hunky marine biologist never forgot the serious, studious boy who left Mobile a decade before. Now back in Alabama, he’s looking for the quiet life he always wanted and hoping for a chance with the girl he always loved. When Brooke asks him to help expose some of the lingering effects of the Gulf oil disaster, Brian jumps at the chance to help preserve the place both call home…
Sally Thorne’s latest book First Impressions has the female lead save turtles (or tortoises?).
Werewolves, or shifters in general strike me as more environmentally aware than vampires, who by definition have to spend all daylight hours inside. I’m trying to remember a book that started with the hero in a limo that drives by the ecologist? activist? heroine splashing her with puddle water. Maybe on KU? Not too useful.
The Rec League is simply awesome! Putting a bunch on my TNR, so thank you.
PRINCESS DECEPTION by Molly Jameson. Phillip (my book boyfriend) is an aspiring MP using the family fortune to develop sustainable building practices. It’s also a slow burn friends to lovers
On the lighter romcom side, America’s Geekheart by Pippa Grant. I think some of her other books have environmentally conscious characters/careers, but this is the one I remember the most.
If you like alien romance at all, I’m reading a new release by Regine Abel called I Married A Naga that would fit this rec league. It’s set on a planet in which the dominant species see themselves as the caretakers of the planet and all of its species. Because they have several brutal predator species that would wipe out everything else on the planet, their society is built around hunting to keep them in check and protect the peaceful ones.
This is a human/ alien romance with a hero with snakelike characteristics (a hood, a tail complete with a rattle, scales, forked tongue, etc), so definitely not recommended if that grosses you out but if you can handle that, it’s a lovely and gentle romance and he’s an total cinnamon roll.