Their love will either inspire change in the world or tear it apart.
Former starship captain Jason Kim and his lover, Ferran, are starting a life together on Ferran's native planet. The Perel matriarchs reluctantly allowed their marriage in the hopes of securing better diplomatic relations with humanity, even though the decision ignites anger from traditionalists. Ferran's family accepts Jason and the love the two men have found, but other influential families are less accommodating and much less willing to welcome an outsider to their isolated, subterranean world. Some of their enemies are willing to go as far as eliminating Jason permanently. Tensions are quickly building toward a breaking point that might push Perelan into a bloody civil war.
If Jason and Ferran have any hope of surviving the coming conflict, they'll have to rely on their devotion to each other more than ever before. But that won't be easy when a figure from Jason's past reappears to make them question everything.
First Edition of Opening Worlds published by Storm Moon Press, 2011.
First Edition of Changing Worlds published by Storm Moon Press, 2012.
When starship captain Jason Kim first meets Ferran, he decides to avoid the Perel alien who makes him feel things he hasn’t felt for a long time. But Ferran pursues him with determination, and it’s not long before Jason gives in. When the two fall in love, things get complicated because Ferran’s traditional society isn’t likely to accept a human in their midst.
But after Ferran’s powerful family pulls a few strings, Jason’s wish to be with Ferran is fulfilled. However the traditionalist Perels are determined to get rid of Jason. As the situation escalates, Ferran and Jason soon finds themselves fighting for their lives.
I’ve generally enjoyed Cari Z’s sci-fi books, so I jumped on the chance to read this re-released version of one of her earlier publications. ‘Changing Worlds’ consists of two parts - the short story of how Jason and Ferran first met, and then the longer tale of their time on Perelan, Ferran’s home planet.
The beginning of Ferran and Jason’s romance is sweet and sexy. The two meet when Ferran is a passenger on Jason’s ship, and then spend their free time together over the next few weeks. Yes, it’s fairly insta-lovey, but they meshed well together, and Jason just stole my heart. When they were separated, I could feel Jason’s pain, made worse because he had been alone for so long.
I was happy to see Jason and Ferran reunited, and was looking forward to getting to know the two better in the second part of the book.
When Ferran and Jason arrive at Perelan, they have to deal with the Perel matriarchs who oppose their relationship. The MCs rely on each other for support. But as the situation got more tense, Jason and Ferran began drifting apart.
I felt that at a certain point, the relationship was drowned out by everything else that was going on. The political plot took centre-stage, and the romance faded into the background. There was a lot of telling, but I didn’t really get to see why Ferran and Jason loved each other.
Plus, there was a lot of worldbuilding in the second part, which in itself was interesting and obviously took a lot of thought and work, but it overwhelmed the romance. I would have preferred more page time given to Jason and Ferran, who already weren’t spending a lot of time together because of their separate duties. Instead, there were pages of details on the Perel homeland and their customs.
Although I did like the exploration of xenophobia and nationalism. Given the political climate in many countries right now, I could appreciate what the author was trying to convey.
The climactic end was a bit predictable, but I was glad that Jason and Ferran got the happy ever after they deserved. I think the main reason I had trouble connecting to this book is that I’ve read a fair amount of MM sci-fi, and so much of ‘Changing Worlds’ felt too familiar to capture my attention.
Overall, this was an okay read. I liked Jason and Ferran together, but their romance ended up taking a backseat to the plot and worldbuilding. If you’re looking for some MM sci-fi with a lot of plot, this might be the book for you.
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