3. Neon Gods by Katee Robert
Heat Level: Explicit
Love Interest: Hades
NEON GODS is an interesting inclusion for this list, in that it’s probably as soft on the sci-fi side of things as one can get. Despite this, I’m going to make the case that it still belongs as a sci-fi romance book.
Set in a high-tech, glittering, futuresque city, NEON GODS retells the tale of Hades and Persephone in a very explicit fashion. In this story, all inhabitants in the city are ruled over by Thirteen Houses that come with inherited titles. The Thirteenth House, overseen by Hades, is on the other side of the river, dividing the metropolis in half.
When Persephone is sold to Zeus in marriage in order to secure an alliance, she panics; the man is a modern-day Bluebeard, surrounded by a string of dead wives. Persephone knows that if she marries him, she’ll be next, so she runs away. Fleeing across the river, she runs into Hades. There, they strike a bargain to humiliate Zeus.
Extremely hot and heavy, NEON GODS is a recent release and a good starting point for the genre.
Content Warnings: Implied domestic abuse, implied off-page sexual assault, on-page dubious consent involving secondary characters.