Reviewed by Jess
TITLE: A Matter of Choice
AUTHOR: Caitlin Ricci
PUBLISHER: Less Than Three Press
LENGTH: 54 pages
RELEASE DATE: April 10, 2018
BLURB:
Daevor and Vhrain have been good friends since their arranged commitment, and are relatively content with their open marriage. If Daevor sometimes wishes for a lover, for romance, well, he makes do, and he’s certainly happy to have Vhrain as a close friend.
With their ship on its last legs and desperately in need of repair, they opt to go to Earth, where they can get a cheap mechanic by hiring a prisoner.
They wind up with Leon, who agrees to be their mechanic to work off the last two years of his sentence. Daevor is immediately intrigued, but though Vhrain encourages him to approach Leon, Daevor refuses.
Then Leon’s old pirate crew comes to retrieve him…
REVIEW:
This is a very short, dense science fiction romance that I read quickly in one afternoon. I was immediately interested in an alien couple who try to welcome a human lover into their lives, only to discover that their cultures and ideas of sex and family are very different. While I liked this story, it left me wanting a lot more, especially on the romance front. It scratches the surface of a complex romance between complex people without digging deep enough.
You don’t have to be a sci-fi lover to enjoy this, but the sci-fi elements are definitely a highlight in this story. Daevor and Vhrain are from a very different alien culture, one that relies on mandatory breeding to continue, but Vhrain is only attracted to women, leaving them in an unpleasant predicament. However, they don’t deal in human morality—a child is needed, so they make it work, even if it isn’t making them happy. This unique perspective on communication, sexuality, relationships, and even gender (Daevor’s body is supposed to go through a variation of sequential hermaphroditism to carry a child) is supposed to make us uncomfortable, and our discomfort is carried out through Leon, the human character. His reactions are our reactions, which make him a valuable character. It’s also easy to fall for Daevor right along with him—Daevor makes for a sweet, kind, strong love interest who charms us on every page.
I was hoping for more of a complex dynamic among Daevor, Vhrain, and Leon. The blurb makes this story sound like a V-shaped poly romance of sorts with a possible aromantic/asexual relationship between Vhrain and Daevor and a romantic relationship between Daevor and Leon, but about halfway through the story, one character is completely eliminated from the trio, making way for a much more traditional romance. That element definitely disappointed me, because it reduced what could’ve been a complex relationship between three very different people into something much less interesting.
This story also ends very abruptly, though we get the feeling there is much more story to tell and much more conflict to be had. Caitlin Ricci is good at crafting unique stories out of very original ideas, but sometimes, her short-format works (such as this one) leave a lot to be desired.
RATING: 
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