9 books like Central Galactic Concordance

What drew me into this story was the leviathans, a local species on a watery moon. I'm a sucker for whales and these beasts reminded me of orcas. The heroine, a marine biologist, is in danger for reasons unknown. A ranger with a connection to the leviathans helps her to escape and that's just the start of a fascinating adventure in a very different environment. Once again, the romance evolves in a natural way and does not overshadow the rest of the plot.

This is another action-packed adventure where a soldier has to rescue a civilian from a planet about to erupt into civil war. What's nice about this one is that the hero needs rescuing as much as the heroine – but in a very different way. The romance is an integral part of the story and evolves in a natural way. I loved the way the stakes ratcheted up until impossible choices were on the table. 

The Star King is one of the first science fiction romances I read. It has everything I want in a space opera – politics, fast-paced action, danger, drama, angst, all mixed up with a great love story. I fell in love with the characters, especially the dishy alien alpha male. And I particularly like that the romance is between two mature people with life experience. 

After a slow start, Hope's Folly is packed with action and intrigue. Everybody seems to be trying to stop the ship from reaching its destination – including someone on board. In Linnea Sinclair's universe the spaceships are not run by all-powerful artificial intelligence. The engine room, weapons systems, and the all-important environment systems all run using computers but with people running the show. Guys get to cut code, hack, and mess about in the systems. The characters are real. They have faults, make mistakes. They're ordinary people forced to cope with extraordinary circumstances in a disintegrating Empire reminiscent of Stalin taking over in the USSR. I loved the romance. There's a big age difference, but Rya is in her thirties and knows what she's doing.

This book is bonkers in the best way.

Beryl is accidentally abducted by Zylar, an alien from the planet Barath, and the two end up competing in a series of deadly trials to win the right to be together.

If you’d told me how invested I would become in the romance between Zylar, a chitin-armored extraterrestrial who’s sweet but a little lacking in confidence, and Beryl, a no-nonsense former childcare worker from Missouri, I wouldn’t have believed you. 

Their journey is both funny (Zylar calls Beryl "Terrible One" after misreading her smile as a threat display) and touching, as they work with each other to explore their differences and find compromises.

Oh, and did I mention there’s a talking dog?

Catalyst (and the sequel, Catacombs) are for anyone who cherishes cats. It’s obvious that McCaffrey and her frequent collaborator Scarborough know cats very well indeed. In this universe, a ship's cat has proven to be as essential a crew member as captain, navigator, or engineer. (I find this totally believable, as one of my cats has decided his job is to notify me when someone has left a package on my porch.) The cats in the story are evolving to be even more valuable to humans, especially when it comes to alien relations and saving a colony's livestock from destruction. Do yourself a favor and read Catacombs, too, to find out what happens when the Barque Cats meet a cat god.

The Pern books spoke to my yearning for deep and unbreakable connections. After all, what teen wouldn’t wish to be chosen by a dragon? But Menolly was a bit like looking in a mirror. Uncomfortable in the surroundings of home and happiest on some path leading away from the expectations of family. Even if that path led to a cave in the wilderness. Actually, for me, especially if that path led to a cave in the wilderness.

The shorelines of Menolly’s world, rocky inlets and coastal cliffs, are not much like the shorelines I’ve explored in Virginia. But the salt marshes? There, every detail is echoed. I’ve read the Pern trilogies multiple times, and this is the book I return to when I’m craving solitude.

This short story collection includes four about ship's cats. Not ordinary cats at all, but genetically superior in every way that's important (or so they'll have you know). In "Skitty", the hero brings his ship's cat to impress the new potential allies...except no one told Skitty not to hunt the local vermin. Oops! In "A Tail of Two SKitties", when a ship's cat is presented as a gift to a planet, a second stowaway ship's cat causes havoc. "SCat" takes up the mystery of origins and identity of the stowaway. In "A Better Mousetrap", ship's kitties are very good at slaughtering vermin, which horrifies the nation that worships and reveres said vermin. The rest of the collection is full of more Lackey sci-fi and fantasy goodness.

Andre Norton, the legendary grande dame of sci-fi and fantasy, wrote more than 100 books. Catseye was one of the first sci-fi books I ever read and is still a favorite. Some books written way back when (okay, 1961) age less gracefully than others. Lucky for us, Norton's books stand the test of time. When desperately poor Troy gets a temp job cleaning an exotic pet shop, he only hopes it'll keep him out of the slums for a few days. Instead, he discovers the shop owner is dealing in highly illegal pets, such as cats and foxes. Furthermore, they’re all telepathic and can connect with Troy. When the shop owner is murdered, it's up to Troy and his animal allies to save each other from a similar fate.