Tempted by Celestial Bodies: An Alien Romance Anthology
Lisa Edmonds
Fifteen Authors. Fifteen Original Stories. One Out-of-This-World Collection. Fifteen best-selling, award-winning, and debut authors united by their love of romance, adventure, and HEAs present sweet and steamy short stories in this anthology. With spice levels ranging from tender to volcanic and settings including alien civilizations, distant terraformed planets, spaceships full of futuristic technology, a decadent nightclub, and a gangster’s interstellar casino, Tempted by Celestial Bodies offers tales for every taste. This inclusive collection also features LGBTQ and demi representation. Let yourself be tempted by stories of alien warriors, star-crossed lovers, fated mates, and futuristic adventures on this journey across the galaxy and into the vast wonders and passions of the human heart. Includes stories by Aurelie Bell, Charissa Weaks, Elisse Hay, Erin Fulmer, J. E. McDonald, jem zero, Kristin Jacques, Lily Riley, Lisa Edmonds, Lita Grey, Megan Van Dyke, Mindi Briar, S. C. Grayson, S. L. Choi, and Winter Elliott. Edited by Lisa Edmonds.
Publication Year: 2024
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Your rating:
4.25/5. Releases 11/12/24.
Heat Index: 8/10
The Vibes: I mean, it's an alien romance anthology. You know the vibes. You know. YOU KNOW.
The Basics:
A collection of short stories and novelettes about getting down and dangerous with people from outer space!
The Review:
I shall confess: I am rather choosy about my alien romances. I select them sparingly; I am sometimes not in the mood for them, I shall confess. I picked up this ARC because I knew Charissa Weaks was included, and I'm so glad I did. Her contribution was great—but it's not the only story that makes this worth reading.
Standouts—
Weaks's Bound to the Primal Prince gave me everything I wanted and things I did not expect. I discovered Weaks this year, and honestly, I'm obsessed. If you love her work already, you're gonna love this. If you don't, then read this and then go on to her Witch Walker series, because she is legit. This story is an arranged marriage alien romance, in which the arrangement leads our heroine to discover that "primal prince" translates to "fuck alien". OKAY THEN.
At the same time, there's some genuine sweetness and romance and fighting monsters. I was sold on Thane and Adeira. Those crazy kids are gonna make it work. Also, he's kind of like, a fish. But not in a Shape of Water way, in a "he doesn't need to breathe underwater or under pussy" kind of way.
Resonant Drives by Erin Fulmer was another standout to me because like... You know. A girl loves some kidnapping. This does have some light dubcon, but for MEEEE, when I read a human/alien romance I kinda... want that. This is an abduction story, and it's well done.
The Twelfth Ambassador by Mindi Briar... Not to give too much away... He's like... a butterfly... A hot butterfly....
There are 15 stories in all here, however, and I truly think there's something for a lot of readers. They're on the higher end of the heat scale, some of the stories feature very humanoid creatures (like Weaks's) with a few extra appendages, while others have... Very non-human creatures. Which is to say, we're all leaving with something.
And you know what else? I didn't even realize there was ART. Each story comes with accompanying art! How cool! I'm so down for this.
The Sex:
Literally... pick it, and you'll probably find it here.
Like any anthology, you'll get great stories, you'll get good stories, and you might get a couple that aren't quite for you. But with 15 total, from an array of talented authors... This is a deal. And not just for the alien experts. The uninitiated will find something here, too!
Thanks to NetGalley and Storybook House for providing me with a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
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