Executive: A Guide to Becoming a Pirate Queen by Jayde Russell is a super long title for a super amazing book that combines two of my favourite genres: fantasy and space opera! Everyone is running from something. Bryce Virra was running from something pretty big and pretty bad, but unfortunately, it appears to have just caught up with her. And running is no longer an option when her captors have her tied up and are preparing to sacrifice her to a devil. Fortunately, her captors aren’t as adept at magic as she is and the summoning goes very wrong. For them. For Bryce, things seem to be looking ..read more

Bluebird by Ciel Pierlot is a rollicking yet poignant space opera that is as entertaining as it is provocative. Ten thousand years ago, a star fell into the galaxy carrying three old beings and humanity. They were engaged in a never-ending war that ultimately destroyed their star. Upon its destruction they scattered out from world to world, spreading their war across the galaxy and sweeping the rest of its denizens into the struggle. The three factions will only stop fighting once a true god is declared and so the battles rage on. The only hope for those swept up into the nightmare are the reb ..read more

The Red Scholar’s Wake by Aliette de Bodard is the latest science fiction story from the author’s Xuya universe. Each story can be read as a standalone however, it helps to have an understanding of the history and the current composition of the universe before jumping in to this book. Xuya is an alternate history inspired universe where Asia rose to Terran dominance and subsequently, Vietnamese and Chinese empires have spread across the galaxy. AI singularity has occurred and mindships are now a thing – that’s right folks, sentient spaceships. These ships usually present themselves via human-e ..read more

The Helion Band by AJ Mason is a sci-fi space opera with a romantic subplot. Rose is on the run. After serving her mistress Queen Penthesilea with kindness, she is given an apparently worthless bracelet in return. But once the Queen realises her mistake, she will do anything to get it back – and that includes killing Rose if need be. Rose begins to see that the bracelet has powers – and it has melded with her. She must hide this secret and keep those around her from the harm the Queen will unleash. But her love for space captain, Vash, forces her to face the choices she must make. Can they be ..read more

Now Will Machines Hollow the Beast by Benjanun Sriduangkaew is another fiery hot, heart pounding installment in Sriduangkaew’s cyberpunk/space opera Machine Mandate series. It can be read as a standalone but is set in the same universe where humanity has spread across the galaxy and the once subservient AIs they created have evolved and established their own civilizations spanning the universe. Admiral Anoushka is a brutal and ruthless commander, responsible for countless deaths across the galaxy. With her devoted wives Numadesi and Xuehjiao by her side, she is an unstoppable destroyer of worl ..read more

Nero by Valden Bush is space opera romance about overcoming the odds, taking control of your destiny, reaching your potential and never giving up on love. Destined for banishment from birth, Stele Hosun has lived her entire life as an outcast awaiting the inevitable day when she will be exiled from her family, her planet, and Ariane, the woman who has stolen her heart. Nero is a black, rocky planet riddled with nests of beautiful and powerful gemstones. Its people have evolved so their eye colour corresponds to these different gems providing them with certain innate aptitudes. When they come o ..read more

Foodies in Spaaaaaaaccceeee! You Sexy Thing by Cat Rambo is a fun space opera with a culinary twist that is layered like marbled rye bread with swirls of sweet, lighter moments wound around dark, heavier themes. Niko Larson, once a free-trader, lost everything, including her lover Petalia, to pirates long ago. Joining the Holy Hive Mind’s Grand Military was her only recourse. Eventually, the infamous former Admiral and her diverse crew discovered a loophole enabling them to escape their military service and open a restaurant. The Last Chance on the remote TwiceFar space station will hopefully ..read more

The Nexus Series by C.A. Farlow will take you on a journey across genres that will keep you transfixed. It is undoubtedly science fiction in part but also has elements of fantasy. It also includes journeys to different worlds across time. Book One: A Quantum Convergence Lauren Beckwith is an environmental scientist and has training as a pediatric oncologist. She has a new project in Mount Zirkel in the Colorado mountains. She stays with her best friends locally before trekking off into the high mountains to set monitoring equipment. Lauren falls into an ice-covered lake and is overcome by a se ..read more

Weird science, faerie magic, terraforming nightmares, and flashy, hella cool (where do I get some?!) futuristic nail polish. From biodiversity to lesbian representational diversity, Distant Gardens edited by J.S. Fields and Heather Tracy is a compilation of works focusing on a vast spectrum of brave lesbian heroines finding love in the most hostile environments. The anthology contains selections from five authors and is comprised of two stories from each; a standalone, and one based in an already established world. There are common themes of exploration, transformation and very ornery vegetati ..read more

Space Unicorn Blues by TJ Berry is a snarky science fantasy complete with spaceships, faeries, aliens, poignant social commentary, and of course, Unicorns! I feel the same about Science Fantasy as I do about peanut butter and chocolate. They are delicious and tantalizing on their own, but when you combine them, you get a whole new level of amazing. This book is a case in point. After rendering the Earth pretty much uninhabitable, humanity packed up what they could and limped out into the universe to try and make a go of it elsewhere. Floundering in space, they encountered the Bala; aliens that ..read more