CYOAs are nostalgic for a big contingent of older Millennials. It’s how we learned to regret our choices before we were old enough to date men who refuse to open a checking account at 25. For most of us, it’s also how we learned that if you don’t like the way things worked out, you can just cheat and rewind time. Still working on the real world application of that lesson, but it’s lodged in my brain anyway. As a kid I had a Super Mario CYOA that turned to dust and blew away because I was obsessed with exploring every nook and cranny of the story. Forbidden Choices doesn’t have too many cul-de-sacs or literary corn mazes, and there are only a few endings to choose from, so it’s definitely not as complex as some of the offerings in this genre. And the randomness of Lilith’s adventures undermined it a little. But it was a fun gimmick that kept me interested through some sex scenes that would otherwise cause me to put down a book and wash my hands with lye.

That wasn’t so bad, was it? Or maybe it was. I feel like the Oomploompa in charge of peeling people off the seats of the acid-trip gondola ride every time I conclude one of these reviews, but honestly I had more fun reading this one than I have in a long time. Forbidden Choices: Choose Your Fantasy is three dollars on Kindle.

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