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!
Not aliens, but try the anthropomorphic characters in C.M. Nascosta’s books: SWEET BERRIES has a moth hero; HE LOVES ME NOT where neither hero nor heroine is human; THE MABON FEAST/WHEEL OF THE YEAR has a spider hero. (There are also some other interesting pairings in Nascosta’s various Cambric Creek books.) The books do take into account how humans & non-humans (or non-humans & non-humans) negotiate physical intimacy.
I highly recommend Claimings, Tails, and Other Alien Artifacts by Lyn Gala. Ondry is bipedal but otherwise alien in appearance, physiology, and culture. There are three books in the Claimings series featuring Liam (human) and Ondry as well as a collection of stories; I count them as comfort reads.
The Iriduan Test Subjects series by Susan Trombley. I LOVE American Werewolf in Space by Alisha Sunderland – she’s the werewolf and he’s an alien that’s kind of like the shark guy in Suicide Squad but he’s not dumb. If you’re on Facebook join the Monsters, Demons, and Knotting, Oh My group for plenty of recs
I’d recommend all of Regine Abel’s Prime Mating Agency books. She does a good job with world building for her alien MMCs and they are fully realized non-humans. For example, in the second book, I MARRIED A NAGA, the MMC is kind of human on top, but snakelike on the bottom, and just like our snakes, his people only eat once a month and don’t eliminate waste the way humans do, so they have no bathrooms or kitchens. Obviously, this is a big problem for the human FMC, but he has no idea there’s an issue until she (reluctantly) points it out to him. An added plus with all of the books I’ve read is that the MMCs are very respectful and committed to working out these various differences once they become aware of them.
Of course, I loved STRANGE LOVE (as well as the other two books in that series), but would also recommend Ann Aguierre’s book, I THINK I’M IN LOVE WITH AN ALIEN. The FMC is ace while the MMC is definitely alien, so it’s more of a great friendship book than a romance, which I think confused a lot of romance readers, but I loved it.
Finally, I’d recommend Elizabeth Stephens’ XIVERI MATES series. These are quite sexy and occasionally violent with a fair amount of triggers, but there’s also some really good world building and although they are humanoid, the MMCs do feel like a different species with a different cultural background.
The Argurma Salvager series by SJ Sanders (m/f) and the spinoff are the ones I’d recommend to start with (he’s kind of a predator/cyborg type), but her Darvel Exploratory Systems (m/f and mmf) also fit (bat like snakes that fly, snakes with multiple arms, etc).
I’m Not Your Pet by Fae Quin (m/m) – sharklike alien that has tentacles that can pop out from anywhere on his skin
Planet Oster (why choose) – bunny aliens with a kind of omegaverse setup
Stowaway by Heather Relken (why choose) – various aliens, one is a kind of triangle head with feather antennas, another kind of looks like a jackalope
Virdios by LA Hollaway (m/f) – tree god alien
Urf Oomons series by Bebe Harper (m/f) – various types
Strange love is part of a trilogy. As I recall all 3 books have unique love interests of an alien nature.
Another Lyn Gala recommendation is Earth fathers are weird, between a human and an alien that looks like an octopus and has tentacles. There are 3 on that series with the same couple. Have only read 2 but loved them.
Radiance by Grace Draven is a wonderful romance between a more human-like FMC and an MMC who’s from another species – not so much Earth and alien precisely (they are all on the same planet) but there two species are different enough that it could feel like that.
Not a space alien, but Marie Cardno’s novella HOW TO GET A GIRLFRIEND WHEN YOU’RE A TERRIFYING MONSTER has one protagonist who is “a tiny, breakaway piece of consciousness from the all-devouring Endless”. She changes form throughout the story.
Seconding HOW TO GET A GIRLFRIEND WHEN YOU’RE A TERRIFYING MONSTER by Marie Cardno, with caveats. I loved the first part, set in the other dimension. It’s Lovecraftian romance, but still kind of light; weird and well done. Once the story moves to Earth, the being felt more human and the story lost most of its interest to me. So as a whole the book didn’t satisfy my but it was worth it to read the first part.
I know Last Hour of Gann was already mentioned (that is one intense but stellar book that will stay with you) but Cottonwood by this same author, R.Lee Smith also has an alien insectoid love interest for the FMC. Her books are NOT for the faint of heart.
Lydia Hope wrote a trilogy that might match what you have in mind. The first volume is Homebound. If I recall correctly, these books have a darker tone than Strange Love.