When you’re the third wheel on a tricycle, maybe? Or if you’re the heroine in Kithra by Dani Worth–a ménage romance in a SciFi setting.

Lux (human female) is a ship’s captain and pilot on a mission to the devastated planet of Kithra. The plan is to reopen the mining operations there. Not Lux’s ideal mission as she longs for space and flying. Kol (human male) has been her second in command for several years, but on this mission he has been promoted to be her equal. With this change in their situation, Kol finally feels free to pursue Lux. But the third person on their mission is Egan (male gwinarian), an old friend of Kol’s who wanted to be much more. It turns out the gwinarians had very open ideas on relationships. This story is very much focused on the relationships and struggles with loss. Kol’s wife and Egan where both from Kithra. The wife died in the explosions that devastated the planet while Egan survived, but barely. Going back to the planet is torturous for both Kol and Egan, but having the planet to themselves with Lux is worth the pain.

For this one, I’m going to take a page out of Thomas’ book, over at The Archaeologist’s Guide to the Galaxy. He has a clever rating system, and from that I’d have to give this novella a Δ – “a good, solid read, but only buy it if you like the genre.”

The backdrop, Kithra, is pretty interesting and it is clear that the author is setting this up for a series. It is a place I’d like to get to know better, but this story really didn’t go into much more than Kithra’s terrible past. It is really more about the characters.

Lux is very down to earth, practical woman with a passion for flying.

Kol is sexy and too noble for his own good. I confess, I love this type of hero.

Egan is pure sensual sin overlaying a broken heart.

Primary format: E-book

Publication date: November 2011

Publisher: Samhain

Kithra is available from the Samhain bookstore or on amazon.com.