Books like 'Barrayar'
Readers who enjoyed Barrayar by Lois McMaster Bujold also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
futuristic sc-fi romance space action / adventure 20th-century mystery violent-conflict space-opera military
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Obsidio by Amie Kaufman, Jay Kristoff
Rated: 4.46 of 5 stars · 52 ratingsKady, Ezra, Hanna, and Nik narrowly escaped with their lives from the attacks on Heimdall station and now find themselves crammed with 2,000 refugees on the container ship, Mao... -
Gemina by Amie Kaufman, Jay Kristoff
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars · 60 ratingsMoving to a space station at the edge of the galaxy was always going to be the death of Hanna’s social life. Nobody said it might actually get her killed.The sci-fi saga that began with the breakout bestseller Illuminae continues on board the Jump Station Heimdall, where two new characters will confront the next wave of the BeiTech assault... -
Born of Legend by Sherrilyn Kenyon
Rated: 4.55 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsIt is in the darkest hours of a universe’s past that their legends are born and their heroes rise…No one knows exactly how much heart they have until their mettle is put to the hazard and they reach the lowest point of hell. There, they have only two choices. Lie down and die. Or find the strength to push themselves to their feet and fight back with everything they have... -
Age of Deception by T.A. White
Rated: 4.55 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsWar hero and daughter to two Houses, Kira is just beginning to learn how deep the rabbit hole goes. Agreeing to accompany her father’s people back to their homeworld, Kira Forrest prepares for the fight of her life. She’s agreed to undertake the Trial of the Broken, a rite of passage every member of her father’s House must pass... -
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Crossfire by Lindsay Buroker
Rated: 4.56 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsFor the first time in his life, roboticist Casmir Dabrowski is headed to another star system as an advisor for the Kingdom space fleet. He’s being given a chance to prove himself to King Jager by helping find the ancient artifact he inadvertently lost. It’s best not to think about what might happen if he fails..Categorized as:
humor military political-intrigue space-opera space-travel action-adventure adult anti-hero -
Forever Defend by Michael Anderle, Emily Beresford
Rated: 4.52 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsSome forget why she was called the Queen Bitch. Not Anymore. Bethany Anne is going stir crazy after more than a decade of having to be 'The Empress.' Now, her advisors have to deal with an Empress who is determined to be on the front line.The Ixtali's come to the Etheric Empire, hat in hand.Nathan decides that the best way to handle soft intelligence, is to create a new company...Categorized as:
aliens military space-opera space-travel suspense violent-conflict war action-adventure -
Hero Code by Lindsay Buroker
Rated: 4.48 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsCasmir Dabrowski is finally heading back to his home world, determined to gain an audience with the queen and convince her to tell him the secret of his genes. But the terrorists who have been sending robot assassins after him are still there—and still want him dead. As soon as he lands, the trouble starts...Categorized as:
humor military political-intrigue space-opera space-travel action-adventure adult assassins -
Born of Defiance by Sherrilyn Kenyon
Rated: 4.45 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsBorn an Outcast, Talyn Batur has spent the whole of his life fighting against the prejudice of his people. An Andarion without a father is not something anyone wants to be...Categorized as:
aliens female-mc humor military political-intrigue space-opera suspense violent-conflict -
Rules of Redemption by T.A. White
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 33 ratingsThe war everyone thought was over is just beginning. Kira Forrest is a survivor. She’s risen above the pain of her beginnings to become a war hero only to leave it all behind in the pursuit of a simple life. Now a salvager, she makes a living sifting through the wreckage of dead alien ships from a war that nearly brought humanity to its knees... -
A Civil Campaign by Lois McMaster Bujold
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 37 ratingsMiles Vorkosigan has a problem: unrequited love for the beautiful widow Ekaterin Vorsoisson, violently allergic to marriage after her first exposure. If a frontal assault won't do, Miles thinks, try subterfuge. He has a cunning plan... Lord Mark Vorkosigan, Miles' brother, also has a problem: his love has just become unrequited again. But he has a cunning plan..Categorized as:
20th-century female-mc humor military mystery political-intrigue politics space-opera -
End Game by Lindsay Buroker
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsAlisa Marchenko has reunited with her daughter, and even though she hasn’t figured out how to get Jelena to accept Leonidas yet, she dreams of the three of them starting a new life together. They can return the Star Nomad to its original purpose of running freight and staying out of trouble (mostly)... -
Born of Fire by Sherrilyn Kenyon
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 36 ratingsIn a universe where assassins make the law, everyone lives in fear--except for Syn. Born of an illicit scandal that once rocked a dynasty, he always knew how to survive on the bloodthirsty streets. But that was then, and the future is now…Syn was raised as a tech-thief until his livelihood uncovered a truth that could end his life... -
Miles, Mutants, and Microbes by Lois McMaster Bujold
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsContent: Falling free Labyrinth Diplomatic immunity Miles Vorkosigan/Naismith : his life and times.Two complete novels and a short novel in one large volume:Falling Free—The Nebula Award-winning novel. Leo Graf was just your typical efficient engineer: mind your own business and do the job... -
Illuminae by Amie Kaufman, Jay Kristoff
Rated: 4.23 of 5 stars · 70 ratingsThis morning, Kady thought breaking up with Ezra was the hardest thing she’d have to do. This afternoon, her planet was invaded.The year is 2575, and two rival mega-corporations are at war over a planet that’s little more than a speck at the edge of the universe... -
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Cordelia's Honor by Lois McMaster Bujold
Rated: 4.32 of 5 stars · 36 ratingsIn her first trial by fire, Cordelia Naismith captained a throwaway ship of the Betan Expeditionary Force on a mission to destroy an enemy armada... -
Treyvon by M.K. Eidem
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsGeneral Treyvon Rayner is the Supreme Commander of the Kaliszian Defenses. He is the cousin and trusted friend of the Kaliszian Emperor, Emperor Liron Kalinin, in spite of Treyvon’s ancestor being one of the causes of the Great Infection so many centuries ago. It is never far from Treyvon's mind, and he vowed he'd spend his entire life trying to make things right... -
Perilous Hunt by Lindsay Buroker
Rated: 4.35 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsAfter failing to catch up with her daughter Jelena so many times, Alisa's optimism is battered, but her determination has never waned. She, Leonidas, and their eclectic crew are hunting down a Starseer research station in the heart of the Kir Asteroid belt—Jelena's supposed location. Alisa vows that she will find her daughter if she has to search a million asteroids to do so... -
Space Rodeo by Jenny Schwartz
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsOn the galactic frontier, the Federation’s wildest (and most scientific) citizens have gathered to ride in the Space Rodeo. The Navy’s in charge—of the arena. But beyond the naval perimeter, there is only Interstellar Sheriff Max Smith to keep the peace. Fortunately, he has some extraordinary allies. And enemies. And then, there is his girlfriend... -
Captain Vorpatril's Alliance by Lois McMaster Bujold
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsCaptain Ivan Vorpatril is happy with his relatively uneventful bachelor’s life as a staff officer to a Barrayaran admiral. Cousin to imperial troubleshooter Miles Vorkosigan, Ivan is not far down the hereditary list for the emperorship. Thankfully, new heirs have directed that headache elsewhere, leaving Ivan to enjoy his life on Komarr, far from the byzantine court politics of his home system... -
Victoria's Challenge by M.K. Eidem
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsVictoria Lynn Chamberlain… at two, she was abducted by an alien race, the Regulians… at nine, her world literally explodes when the Regulians returned, destroying Earth. She and her Aunt are the only survivors thanks to another alien race, the Carinians. Now she’s eighteen, a new graduate from their top medical school, and is ready to claim her life mate...Categorized as:
aliens military space-opera space-travel violent-conflict war action-adventure adult -
Binary Pair by Michael-Scott Earle
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsWhat do you get when you mix Firefly, Mass Effect, and Shadowrun together? You get Star Justice. The latest action packed series from New York Times and USA Today bestseller Michael-Scott Earle. ***Following the hint given by Persephone, the crew arrives at planet Y-114-a...Categorized as:
aliens military space-opera space-travel violent-conflict war action-adventure adult -
Shattered Silence by Anna Carven
Rated: 4.27 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsEnki Zakanin just wants peace and quiet. He's completed his mission, and on the journey back to the Kordolian Fleet Station, he'd prefer to be left alone so he can manage the literal demon inside his head. Alone. So when a strange distress call breaks the silence, his first instinct is to ignore the signal... -
Knight Protector by Lindsay Buroker
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 22 ratingsA sci-fi romance set in the Star Kingdom universe.The characters from this book will be introduced in book 6 of the series. An arranged marriage she can’t escape. A sexy bodyguard who will protect her at all cost... -
Cassandra's Challenge by M.K. Eidem
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsAlternative cover edition ASIN B00CKXWOM2Cassandra Chamberlain has always stood out. It's hard not to at 6’1” and 165 pounds with jet black hair and sapphire blue eyes. And if that wasn’t enough she is also brilliant, graduating from Harvard at fifteen, teaching at MIT at nineteen and up for the prestigious Magellan Award at twenty five. But she’s never really fit in... -
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Confederation by Michael R. Hicks
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsIn the second book of the In Her Name science fiction & fantasy series, Reza Gard has been banished from the Kreelan Empire and is once again a stranger in a strange land as he returns to the human Confederation. Befriended by a marooned Confederation naval officer leading a desperate fight against the Kreelans on a distant colony world, she reunites Reza with Nicole Carré...Categorized as:
aliens military space-opera space-travel violent-conflict war action-adventure adult -
Silver Shark by Ilona Andrews
Rated: 4.24 of 5 stars · 38 ratingsThe World of KinsmenFamily is everything. Talent is power. And revenge is sweet.In a distant, future world Kinsmen—small powerful groups of genetically and technologically advanced families—control vast financial empires. They are their own country, their own rulers, and their only limits are other Kinsmen. The struggle for power is a bloody, full-contact sport: in business, on the battlefield..Categorized as:
aliens family female-mc military political-intrigue space-opera space-travel violent-conflict -
Bell's Beloved by Hannah Walker
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsBellan ‘Bell’ Nimeri loved Niko Dastria with all his heart. Knowing Niko was his lifemate from the moment he set eyes on him was bittersweet. Surrounded by unknown threats, becoming more than friends wasn't an option. Besides, he didn't think Niko had the same feelings as he did. What’s more, Niko would need to accept both sides of Bell’s shifter personality, as he and his darintha are a team... -
Of A Darker Void by G.S. Jennsen
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsWhen man and machine are one and the same, death is no longer an inevitability. But in the darkest reaches of space, neither is life.Diplomat. Rebel. Fugitive. Nika Tescarav has lived many lives, though she no longer remembers most of them... -
B Free by Cynthia Sax
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsB is the last remaining B Model cyborg. All of his brethren, the beings he trained with, fought with, cared deeply for, have perished.Or so he believes.When he intercepts a communication mentioning the existence of one of his kind, he has to investigate the source. The message could be a trap set by his enemies... -
Aurora Burning by Amie Kaufman, Jay Kristoff
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 42 ratingsOur heroes are back… kind of. From the bestselling co-authors of the Illuminae Files comes the second book in the epic series about a squad of misfits, losers, and discipline cases who just might be the galaxy’s best hope for survival.First, the bad news: an ancient evil—you know, your standard consume-all-life-in-the-galaxy deal—is about to be unleashed... -
Lyel by Ava Ross
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsAn alien warrior seeking redemption meets a captured Earth woman being treated as a pet. Will their love survive in a hostile world?Kidnapped by four-armed, blue skinned aliens, Isabelle "Isi" is sold to the head of the Al'kieern kidnapping operation. Isi has accepted she'll live and die as a songbird pet to the queen. If nothing else, performing for the Al'kieern beats being sold as a breeder... -
Inversion Point by Jenn Burke, Kelly Jensen
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsZander and Felix's relationship has been to the brink and back: the Human-Stin War, imprisonment and an actual death/resurrection. Zander's death, to be specific, and the experience has left him…changed. The mysterious race known as the Guardians chose to revive him and appointed him as their emissary... -
Arkadian Skies by Lindsay Buroker
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsWith the man who kidnapped her daughter imprisoned aboard her ship, Captain Alisa Marchenko is closer than ever to reuniting her family. But her new guest has been in a coma for weeks, with the secret to her daughter's location locked away in his mind. She must find a way to sneak him into a state-of-the-art hospital on Arkadius, a planet in the heart of Alliance territory... -
Komarr by Lois McMaster Bujold
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 37 ratingsKomarr could be a garden with a thousand more years' work, or an uninhabitable wasteland if the terraforming fails. Now, the solar mirror vital to the terraforming of the conquered planet has been shattered by a ship hurtling off course. The Emperor of Barrayar sends his newest imperial auditor, Lord Miles Vorkosigan, to find out why...Categorized as:
20th-century humor military mystery political-intrigue politics single-planet space-opera -
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Defending the Galaxy by Maria V. Snyder
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsYear 2522. Oh. My. Stars.Junior Officer Ara Lawrence here, reporting for duty. Again. It's situation critical for the security team and everyone in the base - including my parents - with a new attack from the looters imminent, a possible galaxy-wide crime conspiracy and an unstoppable alien threat. But this all pales in the face of my mind-blowing discovery about the Q-net... -
Brilliant Starlight by Anna Carven
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsAbbey We're back on Silence, orbiting the Dark Planet while my husband handles unfinished business on Kythia. For some reason, he seems a little bit tense. According to Tarak, Kythian politics can be complicated, especially when the entire Kordolian Empire has just been destroyed. I hope things don't get too complicated, because I don't want to be stuck here for too long... -
Chasing the Shadows by Maria V. Snyder
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsYear 2522. Lyra Daniels is dead.Okay, so I only died for sixty-six seconds. But when I came back to life, I got a brand new name and a snazzy new uniform. Go me! Seriously, though, it's very important that Lyra Daniels stays dead, at least as far as my ex-friend Jarren, the murdering looter, knows.While dying is the scariest thing that's happened to me, it morphed my worming skills...Categorized as:
aliens family mystery space-opera space-travel suspense violent-conflict action-adventure -
Imperator by Anna Hackett
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsSpace station security specialist Sam has done one thing since her abduction by alien slavers… fight to survive. But now one strong alien gladiator stands at her side and Sam knows she is no longer alone. Thrust into a lawless desert arena, Sam Santos has done terrible things in order to stay alive. As the Champion of Zaabha, she’s been fighting to find a way out... -
Final Battle by Michael R. Hicks
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsFollowing Confederation, Final Battle is the last book in the saga of Reza Gard. Reza is caught up in a daring plot to assassinate the Confederation President, even as something goes terribly wrong in the Empire and its warriors lose their will to fight. Reunited with Tesh-Dar, Reza and his friends fight to save the woman he loves, with the fate of the Empire and Humanity hanging in the balance...Categorized as:
aliens military space-opera space-travel violent-conflict war action-adventure adult -
Only Bad Options by Jennifer Estep
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsA WOMAN WHO SEES EVERYTHING . . . Few people know the name Vesper Quill. To most folks, I’m just a lowly lab rat who designs brewmakers and other household appliances in the research and development lab at the powerful Kent Corp. But when I point out a design flaw and a safety hazard in the new line of Kent Corp starcruisers, everyone knows who I am—and wants to eliminate me...Categorized as:
aliens female-mc military political-intrigue space-opera violent-conflict war action-adventure -
Born of Vengeance by Sherrilyn Kenyon
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsA fate worse than death . . .Bastien Cabarro survived the brutal slaughter of his entire family only to have his wife pin their murders on him. Made Ravin by The League, he is now a target for their assassins-in-training to hunt and kill. The average life expectancy for such beings is six weeks... -
Jo's Journey by S.E. Smith
Rated: 4.24 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsJo Strauss was committed to two things in her life – her family and her life as an acrobat/high-wire performer. She takes both very serious. Her life was orderly, in control, and she was finally settling down in one place so she could spend more time with her parents instead of moving all over the world every few weeks...Categorized as:
aliens female-mc humor military space-travel violent-conflict action-adventure adult -
Into the Light by Anna Carven
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsAbbey When your mate is a Kordolian General who's betrayed the most vicious Empire in the Universe, things tend to get a little heavy from time to time. For the last six months, Tarak's had to divide his time between Earth and space, dealing with various... problems. But he's home now, and he tells me he's not going anywhere... -
Lonely Shore by Jenn Burke, Kelly Jensen
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsBook two of Chaos StationAll they can do is live day to day...Felix Ingesson has returned to his duties as the Chaos's engineer with Zander Anatolius, his ex-boyfriend-turned-broken-super-soldier, at his side. Hope means something again. But there's nothing Felix can do to battle the alien poison flowing through Zander's veins, or his imminent mental decline... -
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Astray by Jenny Schwartz
Rated: 4.23 of 5 stars · 23 ratingsNora Devi is a xeno-archaeologist with a complicated past. She has buried more secrets than she’s dug up. Widowed in the recently ended twelve year war between Capitoline and Palantine, she now makes a living as an independent tagger in border space.Captain Liam Kimani could be credited with ending the latest royal war. Instead, he’s blamed for it... -
Alone by Scott Sigler
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsIn the final installment of an exhilarating sci-fi adventure trilogy in the vein of The Hunger Games, Divergent, and Red Rising, Scott Sigler’s unforgettable heroine, Em Savage, must come to grips once and for all with the perilous mysteries of her own existence.“We thought this place was our destiny—not our doom... -
Forged in Shadow by Anna Carven
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsSergeant Arin Varga has a problem on her hands. She's supposed to be in charge of a squad of peacekeepers. That's something she would normally handle with ease, except that now her people are stuck in Earth's orbit on a doomed superfreighter... -
Navigating the Stars by Maria V. Snyder
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratings“The answer is no, Lyra,” my mother utters her favorite—I swear—phrase. No means I have to travel with them to another planet—again. No means leaving all my friends fifty years in the past. Thanks, Einstein. Seventeen-year-old Lyra Daniels can’t truly blame Einstein or her parents for their impending move across the Milky Way Galaxy... -
Winterfair Gifts by Lois McMaster Bujold
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 19 ratingsThis Hugo-nominated novella adds a delightful extra chapter to Bujold's Vorkosigan series, describing the wedding of Miles and Ekaterin and events leading up to it. In the festive season of Winterfair on the planet Barrayar, Lord Miles Vorkosigan is making elaborate preparations for his wedding...Categorized as:
humor military mystery space-opera space-travel suspense 21st-century action-adventure -
Their Fractured Light by Amie Kaufman, Meagan Spooner
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsA year ago, Flynn Cormac and Jubilee Chase made the now infamous Avon Broadcast, calling on the galaxy to witness for their planet, and protect them from destruction. Some say Flynn’s a madman, others whisper about conspiracies. Nobody knows the truth...
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