The Rec League: Environmentalists

[Artemis Gordon]

http://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/WP/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/recleague.pngOur latest Rec League was sent in by author Maria Vale:

Do you have any recs for romances with enviro/conservation consciousness? Not preachy, just there. There are a lot of niches, but this isn’t one I’ve found and given the current state, I’m kind of surprised.

Sarah: Breathe the Sky by Michelle Hazen ( A | BN | K )

I interviewed them for a podcast episode, though content warnings for an abusive backstory.

Maya: I liked that one too! But also some turtles die.

Elyse: Whiteout by Ariana Anders

Maya: Yes!!!

Sarah: Is one of Pamela Clare’s books about an environmentalist or are they all journalist investigators?

I was sort of right. Extreme Exposure ( A | BN | K | AB ) has a heroine who is trying to expose a company that is polluting by dumping chemicals illegally.

A | BN | K | AB

Elyse: Didn’t Kennedy Ryan have one?

Amanda: I thought of the Kingmaker duo but I wasn’t sure if there was an environmental component. I think the hero is an environmental scientist of sorts?

Sarah: You know what’s kind of odd? All these broody emo vampires with immortality and so few if any are environmentalists. You’d think of any hero archetype they’d be worried most about global warming.

Elyse: Yeah but they’re also usually old white men so…

Sarah: Shit yeah forgot about that part.

Shana: I feel like there are three kinds of enviro books: sci-fi where the backdrop is some sort of environmental collapse, like Becky Chambers Wayfarer series, contemporaries where the MCs have an environmental job but it’s not the focus of the plot, like Spoiler Alert by Olivia Dade, or historicals with natural scientists.

Sarah: This is excellent analysis and I agree with your taxonomy!

Which romances would you recommend? Let us know!

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