12 of the Best Romancifi Books to Read When You’re Tired of Romantasy

Prince Kiem and Count Jainan are about to be wed, but it’s not for love. Jainan is the representative of a rebellious planet, and the Emperor is marrying off his grandson Kiem to keep this alliance intact. To make things more complicated for the prince, Jainan is a widower suspected of murdering his first spouse. When a conspiracy is unearthed, they’ll have to find a way to work together. The New York Times Book Review promises this one will have you shouting, “Now kiss!”

What better way to dip your toe into romancifi than with award-winning romance author Alyssa Cole? Trinity is trying to live a peaceful life working from home when her neighbor’s nephew moves into the building. Li Wei is hot, but he also keeps causing mishaps in the apartment building. Soon, Trinity realizes he’s actually cutting-edge AI, and she agrees to help him learn how to be human…and what’s more human than falling in love?

Look, we can’t talk about romancifi without mentioning the sci-fi erotica series that scandalized BookTok: Ice Planet Barbarians. Georgie has been abducted by aliens, but that’s only the start of her troubles. After some spaceship malfunctions, the aliens decide to ditch the humans on an ice planet. Good news: Georgie found an alien, Vektal, on the planet who can help them survive. Bad news: Vektal says Georgie is his mate, and she’s not sure he’ll let her go.

I want to offer a broad range of romancifi for you to choose from, so here’s a quieter, cozy romancifi novella. Sal is a robot built before AI became illegal. Her master had died, and now she lives out her days running their tea shop while slowly breaking down and facing societal stigma. Clara is a traveling AI repair tech who stumbles into the shop. This is a thoughtful asexual F/F romance that’s perfect to enjoy with a hot mug of tea.

Rice Fish is a sentient pirate ship, leader of the fleet. When her wife, the Red Scholar, dies under suspicious circumstances, she’s determined to get revenge. When they board tech expert Xích Si’s ship, Rice Fish makes her a deal. If Xích Si marries Rice Fish, she’ll be under her protection. In exchange, Xích Si will use her technical knowledge to help find Red Scholar’s killer. Their marriage is purely a business arrangement…until it’s not. Meanwhile, an interstellar war rages in this romantic space opera.

Dllenakh is a Sadiri refugee searching for a way to save his culture. Because the Sadiri survivors are mostly male, that means reaching out to the people of the world that has taken them in, looking for compatible cultures. Grace is a government official helping Dllenakh in this effort, but it’s not easy for them to work together: Sadiri are embarrassed by shows of emotion. If you’re looking for a slow-burn, cerebral romancifi, put this one at the top of your TBR.

How about a humor take on romancifi? Francie is a skeptic who is reluctantly attending a friend’s UFO-themed wedding in Roswell…when she is abducted by aliens. Well, doesn’t she feel silly for rolling her eyes. As the alien continues to pick up a ragtag group of people, Francie becomes convinced he’s in trouble and isn’t trying to hurt anyone. But how can she help when she doesn’t even know what the danger is? This promises to be “part alien-abduction adventure, part road trip saga, part romantic comedy.”

The Automae were meant to be the royals’ playthings. But now, they rule over humanity. Ayla is a human servant determined to get revenge for her family’s deaths. She just needs to rise up the ranks until she can get close enough to Lady Crier to kill her. Crier is an Automae who is beginning to question her father, the king. When the two meet, Ayla finds she can’t go through with killing her. But together, they might take down the whole system.

In this YA romancifi story, Ambrose and Kodiak are two teenage boys who have just woken up on a spaceship. Ambrose is missing memories, and it seems like strangers have been onboard the ship, but he’s determined to complete their rescue mission to save his sister. Kodiak barricading himself away isn’t helping, though. They’ll have to find a way to work together to survive.

Joy Abara is a commoner on a lowly planet, but she has a connection to fame: she’s Kindred with Duke Felix Hamdi. They’ve never met, but they have a mental connection. When Felix’s family is murdered — and he’s framed for it — he steals a spaceship, picks up Joy…and accidentally crashes on Earth. Now they’ll have to see if their bond can survive life together on this strange planet.

In a future where body modifications are the norm, Sunati is stunned by the brave woman she sees who isn’t using them. But it turns out Austen isn’t being brave or rebellious: she has Egan’s Syndrome, and she’s allergic to mods. As the two of them get to know each other on dates, they go through miscommunication and missteps, but ultimately accept each other and grow. This is a sweet sapphic graphic novel where the sci-fi elements are more subtle than most of the other romancifi on this list.