Books like 'The Barren'
Readers who enjoyed The Barren by Jessie Donovan also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
sc-fi romance action / adventure aliens paranormal warriors space-opera military space-travel exploration
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Compete by Vera Nazarian
Rated: 4.47 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsIt's one thing to Qualify…But do you have what it takes to Compete?With Earth about to be destroyed by an extinction level asteroid, teenage nerd, geek, and awkward smart girl Gwen Lark, and a few of her friends and loved ones, barely Qualified for rescue onboard one of the thousands of ark-ships headed to the ancient colony planet Atlantis...Categorized as:
aliens colonization exploration military space-opera space-travel action-adventure audiobook -
![Stolen Legacy by Lindsay Buroker]()
Stolen Legacy by Lindsay Buroker
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsEven though Captain Jelena Marchenko has Starseer talents, such as telepathy and telekinesis, she has grown up feeling ostracized by the Starseer community. She longs for an opportunity to prove that she deserves a place among them. When an old friend of the family shows up, seeking transportation to the site of an ancient Starseer relic, Jelena believes this may be her chance to prove herself...Categorized as:
aliens exploration humor paranormal space-opera space-travel action-adventure audiobook -
![The Akseli by Dianne Duvall]()
The Akseli by Dianne Duvall
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsSimone has hunted and slain psychotic vampires night after night for hundreds of years and desperately needs a change. When the leader of the Immortal Guardians offers her an opportunity to guard ten mortal women who are venturing to another planet, she dives right in and finds traveling into space and meeting amazing alien races just as exciting as she'd hoped… until an enemy attacks... -
![Tyrant by Richard F. Weyand]()
Tyrant by Richard F. Weyand
Rated: 4.71 of 5 stars · 7 ratingsThe Council Revolt has started. The Council has struck at the Throne.As the Council plots to place their own candidate on the Throne, a single survivor is dragged out of the fires burning in the Imperial Residence.Hoping to take advantage of the capital’s chaos, enemies internal and external move against the Empire... -
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![End Game by Lindsay Buroker]()
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)...Categorized as:
exploration humor military space-fleet space-opera space-travel action-adventure adult -
![Jingle Stars by Jenny Schwartz]()
Jingle Stars by Jenny Schwartz
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsWhen a starship decides to play Santa Claus… Ahab is a mLa’an artificial intelligence embedded in the starship, Orion. The campaign for AIs to be recognized as full citizens of Galaxy Proper is within reach of its extraordinary goal. The only thing that could stop it now is if an AI did something foolish…like take a space station hostage to save seven orphaned children... -
![Cajole by Jenny Schwartz]()
Cajole by Jenny Schwartz
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsIf life on the border was complicated, life on Capitoline is insane. Nora and Liam struggle to reconcile her abilities and his duty, while caught up in the dangerous games of the powerful.Political intrigue, family drama, and ancient alien technology combine in the fourth novel of the Human Sector...Categorized as:
aliens space-opera exploration colonization military space-fleet space-travel romance -
![Going Ballistic by Dorothy Grant]()
Going Ballistic by Dorothy Grant
Rated: 4.67 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsWhen her plane tries to come apart at apogee during a hijack, ballistic airline pilot Michelle Lauden handles the worst day she could imagine. After getting down without losing any passengers or crew, though, she finds her troubles have just begun!The country she's landed in has just declared independence from the Federation... -
![Conqueror by Richard F. Weyand]()
Conqueror by Richard F. Weyand
Rated: 4.57 of 5 stars · 7 ratingsANOTHER INTERSTELLAR WAR!The Empire has won the war against the Alliance. But at the close of that war, an invasion fleet from the Democracy of Planets sought to annex Jasmine. So Jasmine annexed to Sintar, and Sintar destroyed that fleet, causing resentment that is driving the Democracy of Planets to go to war with Sintar.The Democracy of Planets is a much more deadly enemy than the Alliance... -
![Reformer by Richard F. Weyand]()
Reformer by Richard F. Weyand
Rated: 4.57 of 5 stars · 7 ratingsTHE EMPIRE NEEDS A REFORMERThe Sintaran Empire rules three hundred trillion subjects on 150,000 planets. Two trillion of them are government employees. Ruling over this vast bureaucracy is the Imperial Council. It’s only check: The Empress, whose every decree is binding law.The uneasy balance of power between the Council and the Throne is eroding... -
![Usurper by Richard F. Weyand]()
Usurper by Richard F. Weyand
Rated: 4.57 of 5 stars · 7 ratingsTHE REFORMS MUST CONTINUEAt the age of twenty-seven, Deanna Dunham Garrity has become the Empress of Sintar, absolute ruler of 150,000 worlds and their 300 trillion inhabitants. She would continue the reforms of her predecessor, but the Imperial Council stands in her way... -
![The Ceph Sector by Jenny Schwartz]()
The Ceph Sector by Jenny Schwartz
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThe legendary Ceph have been in stasis for forty two millennia. In a century, they’ll wake. History remembers them as an unstoppable force, employing a mysterious power to decimate sentient life on the planets they attacked. Jaya’s first mission as a new Shaman Justice is to lead an expedition into the perilous Ceph Sector...Categorized as:
aliens colonization exploration military paranormal soldiers space-fleet space-opera -
![Perilous Hunt by Lindsay Buroker]()
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...Categorized as:
exploration humor military space-fleet space-opera space-travel action-adventure adult -
![Corsairs: Mathiras by Ruby Dixon]()
Corsairs: Mathiras by Ruby Dixon
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 9 ratingsSomeone is illegally stealing humans from their home world and cloning them.For months, we’ve been hunting this ring of criminals and the end is in sight. I’m separating from my brothers and taking my ship to track down the bad guys.One small problem — Helen insists upon joining me on this dangerous mission.Helen herself is a clone, created to be an object of beauty... -
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![Sublime Target by Anna Carven]()
Sublime Target by Anna Carven
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsJerik Garul wants a mate.As a former High Commander in the Kordolian Imperial Military, he's used to getting his way. Blunt-spoken and gruff, he has a tendency to shoot first and ask questions later.He doesn't know anything about humans and their mating customs. And he's mystified at how several of his battle-brothers—hard, ruthless, and lethal—have succeeded in securing their own females... -
![Angle of Truth by Lindsay Buroker]()
Angle of Truth by Lindsay Buroker
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 21 ratingsWhen Jelena Marchenko learns that her parents have incurred a huge debt due to her previous actions, she’s determined to find a way to pay it off. But running cargo doesn’t pay anything off quickly. She comes up with a scheme to turn herself and her eclectic crewmates into mercenaries, at least for long enough to make some money...Categorized as:
humor military paranormal space-fleet space-opera warriors action-adventure audiobook -
![Transcendence by G.S. Jennsen]()
Transcendence by G.S. Jennsen
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsWhat does it mean to be human? What if the price of saving humanity is giving up your own? The year is 2322, and we stand upon the precipice of extinction. The invading Metigen armada has decimated the eastern third of settled space in a matter of days, leaving tens of millions dead...Categorized as:
aliens colonization exploration military soldiers space-fleet space-opera space-travel -
![Defying Fate by Regine Abel]()
Defying Fate by Regine Abel
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsNo more secrets. No more lies.For the past eight years, Tevek has searched for his missing mother and sister. But as a top technological mind of Guldar, he is closely watched. And as one of the secret leaders of the rebellion, he must tread carefully... -
![His Earth Maiden (Space Lords) by Michelle M. Pillow]()
His Earth Maiden (Space Lords) by Michelle M. Pillow
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsFormer elite Federation soldier, now turned space pirate, Jackson Burke has done his best to turn his life around—for the better. He isn't prepared when fate leaves a woman's safety totally in his hands. Since heroes don't leave a damsel in distress—and despite being outlaw pirates, the crew considers themselves the good guys—Jackson assumes responsibility for the beauty... -
![Relativity by G.S. Jennsen]()
Relativity by G.S. Jennsen
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratings“I’d tell you to be careful, but we wouldn’t be here if you’d ever taken that advice. No reason to start now, right?”For millennia the Anadens have ruled the known universe. They believe they’ve crafted the perfect empire, ordered and impervious to challenge. They believe the fight has been crushed out of the species they subjugate. They are wrong.It’s a suicide mission, without a doubt...Categorized as:
aliens colonization exploration military soldiers space-fleet space-opera space-travel -
![His Metal Maiden by Michelle M. Pillow]()
His Metal Maiden by Michelle M. Pillow
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsA Space Lords Novel Dragon-shifter Lochlann left home to avoid a war he didn’t believe in. Now as Captain of The Conqueror, in charge of a misfit crew, all he wants is to return without the label of coward. He’s been offered one chance at redemption: Find Margot, a noblewoman’s missing sister... -
![Mandrake Company by Ruby Lionsdrake]()
Mandrake Company by Ruby Lionsdrake
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsSeven sizzling science-fiction romance novels!If you loved Star Wars and Firefly, but wanted way more romance, this is the series for you...Categorized as:
military paranormal soldiers space-opera audiobook action-adventure steampunk industrial-era -
![Legacy by Tana Stone]()
Legacy by Tana Stone
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThe Drexian Academy has four schools and four rules. Beware of the Assassins.Don't cross the Blades.Trust the Irons.The Wings go as one.Break them at your peril.Ariana is the first human instructor at the Drexian Academy and the first female to teach flight to cocky cadets. She’s the best Earth has to offer with a lot to prove... -
![Keran's Dawn by Regine Abel]()
Keran's Dawn by Regine Abel
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsFor the people and the crown.When Dawn took over the management of the Braxian hybrid shelter on the sanctuary planet Haven, she never thought its last days would be marked by a series of gruesome murders against its patrons. With local law enforcement failing to capture the murderer, she makes a desperate plea for help to the Braxian Crown Prince, Keran Xeldar... -
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![Hitched to the Alien General by Mina Carter]()
Hitched to the Alien General by Mina Carter
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsHer perfect man is a big, scarred alien war hero. Pity he only see’s her as a warrior, not a woman... Kenna Reynolds loves life in the Imperial Court. The latharian culture fascinates her, and she values the friendships she’s made amongst the sentinel women, most bonded to Latharian males, and a few with babies on the way... -
![Touch of Eon by Anna Hackett]()
Touch of Eon by Anna Hackett
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 23 ratingsShe’ll do anything to free her sister and save the Earth from invasion, even if she’s blackmailed into stealing sacred alien artifacts…and becomes the prey of the dark, deadly warrior sent to hunt her down.Special Forces Space Marine Lara Traynor wants to save her sister and her planet from annihilation by the deadly insectoid Kantos... -
![Relic of Sorrows by Lindsay Buroker]()
Relic of Sorrows by Lindsay Buroker
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsCaptain Alisa Marchenko finally has a lead on finding her daughter, but her passengers want her to take them on their quest instead. Even though the Star Nomad is her ship, they have power she cannot fight, and she finds herself with no choice but to accept another detour. But the ancient relic they seek has the ability to destroy worlds and is coveted by many... -
![Surprise Mates by Grace Goodwin]()
Surprise Mates by Grace Goodwin
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsI'm on Prillon Prime for a surprise party. Me, the unmated Earth girl, a guest of the queen! I want to dress up and have fun. Not trip over my own two feet and fall into the arms of two of the hottest alien warriors I've ever seen. Ever.What happens on Prillon Prime stays on Prillon Prime. Before they touch me I make it clear that I'm not looking for a mate. Or two... -
![Doctor Galaxy by Jenny Schwartz]()
Doctor Galaxy by Jenny Schwartz
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsNew ER doctor Alexi Sur always intended to join an aid agency. She'd just expected to work among humans. But when the Pax Galactica Corps becomes her only option (don't ask - the debts aren't hers, but the family is. Much to her regret), Alexi finds herself traveling the galaxy and learning alien physiology and culture, all while becoming a reality TV star...Categorized as:
aliens colonization exploration military space-opera space-travel action-adventure adult -
![Daylight by Cheree Alsop]()
Daylight by Cheree Alsop
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsLiora Day’s fate entwined with the crew the day she joined the SS Kratos. Fleeing the Coalition in their attempt to destroy the Omne Occasus before it falls into the wrong hands, the captain and crew band together to save not only their ship, but the fate of the Macrocosm against those who would use the machine for harm...Categorized as:
aliens military soldiers space-fleet space-opera space-travel action-adventure adult -
![Arkadian Skies by Lindsay Buroker]()
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...Categorized as:
exploration humor military paranormal space-fleet space-opera space-travel action-adventure -
![Argan by Erin Tate, Celia Kyle]()
Argan by Erin Tate, Celia Kyle
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsCelia Kyle writing as Erin Tate.Argan’s honor as a Preor warrior made him defend her. Liquid Knot’s heart demanded she save him. Liquid Knot—hacker extraordinaire—has made mistakes in her life, but none so big as getting an alien warrior sentenced to death. His head is on the chopping block and the Preor leader is determined to follow the letter of the law... -
![Alien Commander's Mate by Mina Carter]()
Alien Commander's Mate by Mina Carter
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsAlone. Ill. She’ll do anything to find her kids. Both her children taken by the Lathar and her home destroyed in the process, Amanda Kallson is at her wits end and desperate. With nothing left to tie her to Earth, she’ll do anything to track down her daughters… even take an alien warriors crazy deal. It doesn’t hurt that said alien warrior is tall, ripped and as handsome as hell... -
![Cosmos' Promise by S.E. Smith]()
Cosmos' Promise by S.E. Smith
Rated: 4.26 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsCosmos Raines is considered to be one of the most brilliant inventors in the world. A prodigy, he is a self-made billionaire who would rather be in his lab than jet-setting around the world. Things change when his latest experiment literally opens a Gateway into a whole new world... -
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![Recruiting Measures by Viola Grace]()
Recruiting Measures by Viola Grace
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsA life of pain is swapped for a rabid urge to collect experiences. Being a recruiter with an elusive species is just as much fun as it sounds.Kyna was shocked when she got an invitation to the Reset Project. She was even more shocked when she found out that her nephew had found her application from decades earlier and forward it to the Volunteer Project... -
![Ancient Thought by Viola Grace]()
Ancient Thought by Viola Grace
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsIs the end of one life the start of the next? It is if you have been reset.Elizabeth has spent her life exploring the world, visiting strangers, and learning all the customs she could. When the first Volunteer Project began, she had been in her fifties and out of the running. Now, at eighty-two, they offer to tune her up and send her to the stars... -
![Break the Mold by Viola Grace]()
Break the Mold by Viola Grace
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsProgramming nanites isn’t a hobby; it is in her blood. Time to break the mold and see what she can do. Lucky was holding the bomb that blew the staff of Adaptation Base to pieces. Instead of suffering from the blast, the acid in the device consumed her soft tissues... -
![Twisting Sanity by Viola Grace]()
Twisting Sanity by Viola Grace
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsWhen her body isn’t hers to command, Windy has to find ways to defend herself. Windy broke her spine in the attack, and she was taken from Adaptation Station and sold to the Splice. Her destiny was to act as their communication conduit. She hated the idea of destiny. When Alphy sent a hunter to come get her, he is shocked by her condition...Categorized as:
aliens military paranormal space-opera space-travel action-adventure adult apocalyptic -
![Defying the Relic Hunter by Gail Koger]()
Defying the Relic Hunter by Gail Koger
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsKizzy sees dead people, but she’s a thief and talking to dead folks is about as useful as a three-legged horse. The Dragos clan booted her out when her year’s take was a lousy five hundred and sixty credits. The only way back in is to pull off a million-credit heist. Alone... -
![Destiny by Grace Goodwin]()
Destiny by Grace Goodwin
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsDestiny Jones is a princess with a bad attitude. She doesn’t play nice with others, she doesn’t dress up in pretty clothes, and she has absolutely zero interest in behaving like a lady. Especially when she’s so close to catching the people who tried to have her killed. Oh, and kidnapped her mother, queen of the planet Alera... -
![Day's Hunt by Cheree Alsop]()
Day's Hunt by Cheree Alsop
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsConfronted with the truth about her origin, Liora has to make a difficult choice that can change the entire fate of the Macrocosm. Battling loss, Ketulans, and the desires of her own heart, Liora confronts an evil she thought long banished from her life and the cosmos. The fight she faces turns out to be the most difficult of her life in more ways than one... -
![The Warrior's Stone: A Military SciFi Romance by Matthew O. Duncan]()
The Warrior's Stone: A Military SciFi Romance by Matthew O. Duncan
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThe year is 2319. The war with the Serken has finally turned to the favor of the Allied worlds for the first time in over a decade, yet it is far from over. Lt. Commander Roy O’Hara leads his squadron of combat fighters against the enemy’s latest Super Destroyer and is shot down over an unexplored planet... -
![Striking Mars by Cidney Swanson]()
Striking Mars by Cidney Swanson
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsFleeing for their lives, Jess and Pavel make it to the Moon, narrowly avoiding the attack on Space Station 92-AE. They should be safe and happy, but they discover they are not alone on Tranquility Base. The stranger they encounter seems uniquely qualified to leak their presence to Chancellor Lucca Brezhnaya, especially when the Marsians contemplate airing Lucca's political dirty laundry...Categorized as:
aliens colonization exploration space-opera space-travel action-adventure book dystopia -
![Rahim by Kiki Burrelli, Crista Crown]()
Rahim by Kiki Burrelli, Crista Crown
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsA frozen prince calls for a hero. The Fires send him a warrior. For Rahim, life with his warrior brothers couldn’t be better, now that they’re not fighting for their survival on a pirate ship. Free to soar through space, Rahim and his kif are on a mission to explore their way home. When they get a cryptic invitation from a mysterious source, they eagerly answer the call... -
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![Drakan by Luna Hunter]()
Drakan by Luna Hunter
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsCan an alpha alien warrior and a curvy human pilot save the universe? Hannah Kingsley has more than enough on her plate. The full-figured blonde delivers intergalactic packages for a living on her trusty spaceship with her best friend Evelyn, trying to save up enough money to send her little brother to a school for the gifted... -
![Baring Grudge by Cynthia Sax]()
Baring Grudge by Cynthia Sax
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsNo one in the universe is more determined than a cyborg warrior tracking his female.***Grudge, a C Model cyborg, has been assigned a mission – safeguard a Humanoid Alliance space station for his kind. Honor was once all he had, and he is determined to fulfill his duty... -
![Sinful Mate by Trish Heinrich]()
Sinful Mate by Trish Heinrich
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratings“I wanted more. More of her blood. More of her thoughts. More of her touches that set me aflame. More of her flesh under my hands.”KIER’AHNI have never touched another being with desire, nor given in to the pleasures of the flesh. I am, Atavarian after all, and we cage such primal urges with logic, discipline. With one innocent brush of skin, I am overcome by a deadly rutting fever... -
![Rogue by Regine Abel]()
Rogue by Regine Abel
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsShe was lost, until he found her.For years, Shuria was a monster, the ultimate assassin created as a result of countless painful experiments. At the end of the war, she finds refuge on the Kryptid homeworld as an advisor to the Queen. But even here, she doesn’t belong... -
![Dark Universe by Cheree Alsop]()
Dark Universe by Cheree Alsop
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsCaptain Nova Ardis rescued her brother but lost her planet.As a Lady of the Accord Systems, she has to figure out the depths of betrayal before she can go home.˃˃˃ Kovak’s Life has taken a Dangerous Turn.. In helping Nova free her brother and choosing to fight the arena battle in his stead, the gladiator has made some very powerful enemies...Categorized as:
space-opera aliens space-travel space-fleet colonization military sci-fi action-adventure -
![Alien Paladin's Redemption by Mina Carter]()
Alien Paladin's Redemption by Mina Carter
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsShe knew aliens existed. She didn’t expect them to be so damn HOT!Indra has survived the worse human society can throw at her. Being rescued by aliens was the last thing she expected.Now a guest of the latharian empire, she’s looking forward to eating her bodyweight in chocolate cake and creating her very own army out of the ship’s cleaning bots...
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