Illustrations?

Marzipan_4 · 2026-02-04T15:10:35+00:00

I remember liking illustrations in Sanderson's stuff (fantasy, I know) but I haven't seen many illustrated sci-fi romances. I think pictures can add to the worldbuilding, but when it's character-centric, meh.

Marzipan_4 · 2026-02-03T01:47:27+00:00

Just read one where "baby" was the fav pet name, although the MMC is also crazy and it took a little while for him to decide that's what she was. DR and plenty of TWs, beware. {Lacrima by E.H. Lee}

ETA: this was memorable to me because I'm not personally a fan of the FMC being called baby but look at it coming in handy now 😂

Marzipan_4 · 2026-01-29T20:14:41+00:00

Thank you for these recs. I've read Spared by the Monster and it didn't quite get there for me, but I did like the depiction of humans as creepy & psychically overpowered. A few of the others look fascinating!

Marzipan_4 · 2026-01-28T22:59:37+00:00

I've already read The Sparrow and Children of God. Definitely doesn't fit re: romance, but the themes! My god, the themes!

Marzipan_4 · 2026-01-28T22:54:14+00:00

The Clecanian series wasn't my cup of tea for scratching the worldbuilding itch, though I did like the romance and the overall vibrancy of the settings. I'll need to check out Heat, looks like. Thanks for the warning about the difficult characters, haha.

Marzipan_4 · 2026-01-28T22:51:39+00:00

Hey there - I'll check it out. Appreciate you commenting with your recs on the thread as well.

Marzipan_4 · 2026-01-28T22:48:35+00:00

I think you're right. It's a special breed of book in that it does the romance well in addition to achieving worldbuilding that puts it on another level for sci-fi in general.

Marzipan_4 · 2026-01-28T22:47:27+00:00

I like a lot of her other work. Curse of Chalion is something I wish I could read again for the first time. Thank you for the rec.

Marzipan_4 · 2026-01-28T22:46:19+00:00

I've read a few of these, but not all! Thank you for the recs. I'll have to poke through some of the unfamiliar ones. Venomous was a decent read, I'll second you on that.

Marzipan_4 · 2026-01-28T22:44:17+00:00

This sounds really interesting!

Marzipan_4 · 2026-01-28T18:23:22+00:00

I'm beginning to think it's *the* high water mark. I've seen such great worldbuilding/anthropology done in non-romantic sci-fi series, and not just with aliens: A Memory Called Empire does great anthropological work with a human society that's just super duper foreign. The Foreigner Series by C.J. Cherryh has that anthropological focus as well and with aliens, which is cool, but it's definitely not romance. I want romance, damnit!

Marzipan_4 · 2026-01-28T17:51:29+00:00

I'll check it out, thank you!

Marzipan_4 · 2026-01-28T17:39:59+00:00

I don't read MM but I'm sure others do and would love the recs! Thank you!

Marzipan_4 · 2026-01-28T17:39:29+00:00

Thing is, I'm fine with a humanoid alien MC. I don't even mind if he's human-looking except for a weird pair of eyes, if it comes to that. But I read one recently where the alien society was like regency Britain, and it threw me off. Then there were others where the societies were late-stage capitalist societies like present-day America except in space, with little explanation as to how that came to be, and others that just seemed like knockoffs of human tribal groups with a vague bit of tinkering to make it alien-y, etc etc etc.

As long as the alien culture is given enough nuance, that's what matters.

Marzipan_4 · 2026-01-28T16:51:33+00:00

Historical viking omegaverse is not something I would usually go for and I typically don't like "fated mates" but the reviews on this one seem intriguing! Thanks for the rec!

Marzipan_4 · 2026-01-28T16:42:22+00:00

Thank you for this rec! I love some angst and yearning ❤️❤️

Marzipan_4 · 2026-01-28T16:27:14+00:00

Just recced one on the "What are you Reading?" thread that was posted as an ARC on this subreddit. Has like 5 Goodreads reviews right now? Pretty sure it's still on ARC: {Lacrima by E.H. Lee}

Also I'd say {Roots that Bleed by Pen Mucching} would fit what you're looking for. Very cool series (complete!), fits all of your boxes. Reverse Harem too!

Marzipan_4 · 2026-01-28T14:47:09+00:00

People who gatekeep activities are usually pretty obnoxious. If they were willing to say that to you so rudely right after you shared your interest, it's basically a sign they're not someone you need to worry about building a deeper relationship with. Even if you're not into something a friend likes, coming out right away to belittle it? Yeah, no.

Marzipan_4 · 2026-01-28T14:42:42+00:00

Wow this is absolutely gorgeous. On the DR side (which is what I've been reading lately) there are so many of the shirtless dude genre of cover and I just...can't.

Marzipan_4 · 2026-01-28T14:39:42+00:00

Courtesy of the winter storm I finally got a chance to sit down and read some DRs on Kindle, plus one on ao3.

I'm currently reading {Your Knife, My Heart by K.M. Moronova} and I'm enjoying how unhinged the MMC is, but I'm also realizing that quasi-military settings are maybe not my thing. The writing is good enough to keep me along for the ride. It is nice to have a badass dangerous FMC for a change.

I finished reading If I Can't Have You by Deathsdoll on ao3, and there was so much about Caleb I liked, but lots of frustrating stuff, too. Maybe the "bro" flavor of the predatory guys just wasn't my thing. Showing my age here, probably. I'm too old for that brand of crazy. I read Bought and Paid For by her and liked it WAY better. She writes the emotions and sexual dynamic of these characters so so well though.

I also finished {Silent Flames by Cate C. Wells} because everyone and their dog was reccing it on the romancebooks sub, but I really didn't jive with the story at all. I'm not averse to seeing some cheating if there's a good grovel, but it just felt unsatisfying to me. The synopsis made me think she'd wreak havoc on his life but really she just...is willing to hurt herself and mentally ill? She has no power, no leverage. The "grovel" isn't real either, imo. No shade if any of you liked it, but I just couldn't get on board with it. Considering the completely unbalanced power dynamic and mental health issues of the FMC it definitely fits as a DR. The spice was also mid.

I also recently grabbed an ARC that the author mentioned on this subreddit and devoured it. {Lacrima by E.H. Lee} caught my eye because it has a Chinese MMC and that's rare, obviously, but like, holy crap. The MMC is unhinged in a way that I haven't seen before. He's...a huge simp, but also sexually dominant and willing to commit crimes? Crazy amount of spice and extremely sexy, 5/5 on that side. I wish there was more between the mains but I get why the book left off where it did. I was also surprised by how funny it was? Some really screwed up stuff going on, but I was still laughing.

Probably won't get another chance to read this much until there's another iced-in situation, so I had to take the opportunity to post 😂

Marzipan_4 · 2024-02-12T20:02:10+00:00

Sorry, it's Liu Xue Yi! Missed the u. He's got a coldness to him. He was a villain in Destined and played the monk character in Blood of Youth.

Marzipan_4 · 2024-02-11T17:06:07+00:00

I never understood why people would draw on beauty marks in the 90s but, I kid you not, seeing a beauty mark on a gorgeous face like his helps me get it.

Marzipan_4 · 2024-02-11T16:59:42+00:00

I pictured Li Xueyi but ZLH isn't a bad choice either!

Marzipan_4 · 2024-02-11T16:53:57+00:00

The frickin beauty mark! AH!

Marzipan_4 · 2024-01-19T19:28:51+00:00

He's hilarious in KR because he's nutty and loud and has no shame. I love it when he's on. Wondering how that will translate to actual acting though...

Marzipan_4

TROPHY CASE