Sci-Fi/Monster Romance That Isn't Fluffy

Are you looking for your next book club read? We have curated a list of noteworthy monster romance books that aren’t too fluffy.

Monster romance is a genre that explores relationships between human and non-human characters. These books often include elements of monster smut and range from heartwarming to intense.

1. Dark World Mates Series by Olivia Riley

He's not like anything Lana has ever encountered.

Asset X: massive, deadly, a little terrifying to say the least. A devilish warrior. And a killer. Captured on a hellish world after attacking a military campsite and now imprisoned in a state-of-the-art cell inside one of the military’s top bases--Lazris.

And Lana has been assigned to "study" him. To learn his secrets and gain his trust, if he is ever allowed to set foot out of his cell. As a top behaviorist, it is the biggest hurdle of her career.

Asset X--or Xerus as he is called--won't give up his secrets easily. He is difficult, elusive, and--dare she say--unfathomably alluring...despite his seething demeanor and hard, frightening physique.

Something subconsciously draws her to him. Something wildly irresistible. Even if his wicked smile and needful gaze could just be a ploy to win her trust and escape his cell.

She shouldn't think of him like that. He is an alien after all. And possibly their enemy.

For Xerus claims he is on a mission. A mission to destroy. And he cannot afford to fail. If he dares let Lana get close, dares open his cold heart to her, she could compromise everything.

2. The Four Horsemen by Laura Thalassa

They came to earth—Pestilence, War, Famine, Death—four horsemen riding their screaming steeds, racing to the corners of the world.

Four horsemen with the power to destroy all of humanity. They came to earth, and they came to end us all. When Pestilence comes for Sara Burn’s town, one thing is certain: everyone she knows and loves is marked for death. Unless, of course, the angelic-looking horseman is stopped, which is exactly what Sara has in mind when she shoots the unholy beast off his steed. Too bad no one told her Pestilence can’t be killed.

Now the horseman, very much alive and very pissed off, has taken her prisoner, and he’s eager to make her suffer. Only, the longer she’s with him, the more uncertain she is about his true feelings towards her … and hers towards him. And now, well, Sara might still be able to save the world, but in order to do so, she'll have to sacrifice her heart in the process.

3. Not Your Mama's Alien Romance by Alisha Sunderland

On board this spaceship I’m only certain of two things: 1. The movies lied to me. 2. I’m about to mark an alien and take him like the beast I am.

Look, I didn’t believe in aliens either — until I was abducted by them.

Waking up on board a spacecraft among several other naked, terrified women prisoners mostly ruled out my government lab fears. Thank God.

But just in case, I tore our captors limb from limb.

That’s when I discover our fellow prisoner — General At’ens. This alien is different from the others, mostly because he’s about ten times stronger, ten times — ahem —bigger, and... no. He can’t be my mate.

The things I’m imagining us doing are something no shifter should be contemplating with an alien. But if I’m going to hell, I’d rather earn my place...thoroughly.

My desires are about to become the least of my problems however, because like it or not we’re now embroiled in a vicious war of the planets — and that includes Earth.

If I want a home to go back to, I need to focus.

Yep, I’m screwed.

4. The Spider's Mate Series by Tiffany Roberts

He’s spent years as a hunter, but now he’s the one ensnared in a creature’s trap.

Ketahn did not want a mate. Fate has a different plan for him. When the queen he despises declares her intention to claim him, he retreats into the jungle.

What he finds there changes his world.

Small, delicate, and pale skinned, Ivy Foster is nothing like the females Ketahn has known. She’s not of his kind at all. Yet the moment he sees her, he knows the truth in his soul—she is his heartsthread.

And now that he has her, he won’t let anything take her away. Not the jungle, not the gods, not the queen and her warriors.

Whether Ivy agrees or not, their webs are entangled. No one will ever sever those threads.

5. Class Five Series by Michelle Diener

Some secrets carry the weight of the world.

Rose McKenzie may be far from Earth with no way back, but she's made a powerful ally--a fellow prisoner with whom she's formed a strong bond. Sazo's an artificial intelligence. He's saved her from captivity and torture, but he's also put her in the middle of a conflict, leaving Rose with her loyalties divided.

Captain Dav Jallan doesn't know why he and his crew have stumbled across an almost legendary Class 5 battleship, but he's not going to complain. The only problem is, everyone onboard is dead, except for one strange, new alien being.

She calls herself Rose. She seems small and harmless, but less and less about her story is adding up, and Dav has a bad feeling his crew, and maybe even the four planets, are in jeopardy. The Class 5's owners, the Tecran, look set to start a war to get it back and Dav suspects Rose isn't the only alien being who survived what happened on the Class 5. And whatever else is out there is playing its own games.

In this race for the truth, he's going to have to go against his leaders and trust the dark horse.

6. Garrison Earth by V.K. Ludwig

She’s everything I shouldn’t want. I capture her anyway.

What humans hail an invasion we call Garrison Earth: a mission to save our species from extinction. But while my warriors will soon have the stomachs of their new mates swell with daughters, I know this planet holds nothing for me.

Until a fierce, red-haired female points her gun with her eyes blazing fire, and I know I have found my mate. A bullet and a tranquilizer pad later, I carry her in my arms. Against my better judgment. But who argues fate?

With a mission at the brink of failure, I have no time to wait around until Eden is willing to bond. I took her freedom. Might have taken her family. Taking her body is my obligation.

I am a male without conscience. Incapable of love. No one has ever pierced my cold heart. No one ever will. Not even her.

Have you read any of these monster romance books? You might like our limited edition sticker collection inspired by monster romance! Take a look at our monster romance stickers!

Thumbnail and Banner Background Photo by Joe Woods on Unsplash