Note: This review covers the first edition of More Than Two, which is now out of print.
A fully revised second edition by Eve Rickert and Andrea Zanin was published in 2024.

Eve Rickert has released a new edition of More Than Two, co-authored with Andrea Zanin. It’s titled More Than Two, Second Edition: Cultivating Nonmonogamous Relationships with Kindness and Integrity and was published on September 2, 2024, the tenth anniversary of the original.

This version isn’t just an update — it tackles issues with sexism, cisnormativity, heteronormativity, and privilege in the first edition, while adding substantial new content and perspectives.

Many thanks to Eve Rickert for reaching out directly to let me know about the release of More Than Two, Second Edition: Cultivating Nonmonogamous Relationships with Kindness and Integrity, co-authored with Andrea Zanin. I have huge respect for her bravery and determination in not just writing a new version, but in re-examining and reshaping the conversation in ways that better serve our communities. I’ll be buying a copy and reviewing it here shortly.

When More Than Two dropped in 2014, it quickly became the bible of polyamory. At nearly 500 pages, it’s encyclopaedic in its scope and aspirational in tone. Veaux and Rickert set out to write not just a how-to but a philosophical treatise on what polyamory could and should look like when practiced ethically.

What It’s About

More Than Two is structured almost like a guidebook for climbing a very steep mountain. It starts with the fundamentals—autonomy, consent, communication—and gradually scales up into the nuances of living in complex polycules, handling metamour relationships, and creating a life philosophy that’s built on freedom and honesty.

Some of its signature themes include:

• Autonomy as the bedrock. Each person owns themselves and their choices.
• Radical honesty. Don’t just tell the truth—make it a guiding star.
• No one-size-fits-all. Polyamory isn’t about replicating monogamy with more people; it’s about designing your own framework.

The book also dives into thornier issues: jealousy, hierarchy, veto power, and how to deal with conflicts when there are multiple partners involved. It’s heady stuff, but it was groundbreaking for being both philosophical and practical at once.

Strengths

• Comprehensive. It really is “more than two”—this book doesn’t just cover dating one extra partner, it imagines the whole ecosystem.
• Clear philosophy. The emphasis on autonomy and consent as non-negotiables set a tone that resonated with a lot of readers.
• Tool-rich. The scenarios, reflective questions, and decision-making models helped readers translate lofty ideals into day-to-day practices.

Weaknesses

• Author controversies. Franklin Veaux has since been accused by multiple women (including Rickert herself) of abusive and coercive behaviour that directly contradicts the book’s ethos. Rickert has publicly disavowed him and now works to highlight trauma-informed approaches that she feels the book lacked. This has created a fracture: the text remains influential, but its credibility is scarred.
• Rigid idealism. The book sometimes feels like it’s prescribing one “right” way to be poly. That purity of vision inspired some, but left others feeling judged or like they were “bad poly” if they didn’t meet the standard.
• Heavy read. At nearly 500 pages of dense theory and examples, it’s not light bedside reading.

Why It Still Matters

Despite the controversy, More Than Two shaped the language and ethics of modern polyamory in ways that still echo today. For many, it was the first book that said: you can build something deliberate, intentional, and deeply meaningful with multiple partners. At the same time, the gap between the ideals on the page and the lived actions of one of its authors is now part of the book’s legacy—and a cautionary tale.

It’s a book worth reading, but with eyes wide open. Many poly folks now pair it with Eve Rickert’s later writings, which add the trauma-informed, power-conscious layer that More Than Two was missing.

You can learn more about the More Than Two (second edition) here.

See the full More Than Two Essentials Series.