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My Fair Captain by J. L. Langley
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My Fair Captain

by J. L. Langley

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68580,003 (4.11)2
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Showing 5 of 5
All of J.L.Langley's books are guilty pleasures, but this one is one of her best. It has it all, a society based on 18th century England, yet set in the future--3000 yrs in the future--where the "Norm" is Male/Male marriages....It's a mystery and at the heart of the story is a romance and in between the pages, she fills them with some of the hottest sex scenes...the pages are on on fire....it's a fun read, and hope she writes a sequel...her characters are very warm, human and likable. Ms langley is a straight lady, but I don't know how she does it, but she gets the gay sex scenes so right...an enjoyable read. ( )
silversurfer | May 14, 2009 | 1 vote
YIKES is there a lot of sex in this book. Lots. And it's all steamy as hell. NOT recommended for straight men or the squeamish about anal interactions. The Regency-ness of the book is interesting because it's deliberate; that is, this is a society that DELIBERATELY chose to model itself on Regency period England despite the fact that the story takes place 3,000 years after the Regency ended. Yee-haw! Let slip the dawgs of war as our fair Captain meets, woos, and marries the lad of his dreams. Ms. Langley, a straight lady, seems to know a good deal about the world of man-on-man sex and has a pretty damn good grasp (pun optional) of what's likely to excite and titillate her male audience. I have no idea what might be in it for the straight women who would read the book, but then I'm not a straight woman. ( )
richardderus | Aug 14, 2008 |  
I have eagerly purchased all of Langley’s published work, and enjoyed every one. Her M/M romance leans heavily toward erotica, but she always creates well-drawn, likeable characters that make the stories special beyond the hot sex. However, in “My Fair Captain” she has created a rich science fiction novel full of mystery and adventure with a beautiful romance at the heart of it. I was astounded at how good a writer Langley is beyond the romance. Her world-building is intricate and detailed, and the cast of characters full and diverting.

The story is set in the distant future when humans have colonized many worlds and travel between them on starships. Langley has chosen a convention that I have seen before in scifi that works well here – individual worlds based on old-Earth societies set among high technology. Two worlds are at the forefront of this story – Englor and Regelence. Both societies are based on Regency England. So you have dukes, earls, swords, waistcoats and cravats intermingling with spaceships and faser-like weapons. The main difference between the two is that Regelence has become a truly patriarchal society. The aristocracy is male and have been genetically engineered to prefer same-sex unions (whereas on Englor homosexuality is taboo). This was a wonderful twist from Langley, as old conventions are uniquely and humorously applied. Young men are considered minors until they reach majority at age 25, and are expected to remain pure until they are married. They are also expected to attend balls in search of a suitable consorts. This made for a wonderful opening to the novel as the king’s sons outsmart the house computer system in order to sneak out without their chaperones! Later at a formal ball, they come up with clever ideas for disposing of their electronic dance cards. The story is full of little details like this that add humor and make this world seem real to the reader.

At the heart of the story is Nate Hawkins, captain of a ship in the IN fleet. He is the son of an Earl from Englor, but was disowned after killing someone in a duel. But it is because of his familiarity with the customs of regency society that he is selected to go to Regelence to investigate a stolen weapons stash. He takes his adopted son with him to act as his valet and an additional spy. The weapons were stolen from the royal castle, so someone inside must have been in on it. Could it be one of the princes? This causes Nate a problem when he finds himself falling in love with one of them – Aiden. In fact, he comes to like and befriend the entire royal family. The main characters are completely three-dimensional, but Langley also expands upon minor characters. The king and his consort are loving parents to the princes and theirs is a happy family that I quickly came to like. Langley gets readers invested in more than just the main couple. The romance is very slowly built compared to Langley’s previous works. I was quite surprised that nearly a third of the book passed before there was any sex! But, there is plenty of other action (and angst) to keep a reader turning the pages until Nate and Aiden finally get together. After that, the sex scenes are explosive. Langley has added BDSM to the couple’s relationship, but it’s not extreme by any means. Just added a little spice to the romance. The overarching plot is well developed, with several twists and turns. The romance is strong, but does not eclipse the plot. Unfortunately, the story ends with a cliffhanger, but not the kind that has you screaming in frustration. The stolen weapons are part of a greater conspiracy that reaches to other worlds, specifically Englor. Aiden and Nate’s romance gets closure, but a greater adventure is still to come. Highly recommended, and I can hardly wait for the sequel. ( )
jshillingford | Jul 17, 2008 |  
I have eagerly purchased all of Langley’s published work, and enjoyed every one. Her M/M romance leans heavily toward erotica, but she always creates well-drawn, likeable characters that make the stories special beyond the hot sex. However, in “My Fair Captain” she has created a rich science fiction novel full of mystery and adventure with a beautiful romance at the heart of it. I was astounded at how good a writer Langley is beyond the romance. Her world-building is intricate and detailed, and the cast of characters full and diverting.

The story is set in the distant future when humans have colonized many worlds and travel between them on starships. Langley has chosen a convention that I have seen before in scifi that works well here – individual worlds based on old-Earth societies set among high technology. Two worlds are at the forefront of this story – Englor and Regelence. Both societies are based on Regency England. So you have dukes, earls, swords, waistcoats and cravats intermingling with spaceships and faser-like weapons. The main difference between the two is that Regelence has become a truly patriarchal society. The aristocracy is male and have been genetically engineered to prefer same-sex unions (whereas on Englor homosexuality is taboo). This was a wonderful twist from Langley, as old conventions are uniquely and humorously applied. Young men are considered minors until they reach majority at age 25, and are expected to remain pure until they are married. They are also expected to attend balls in search of a suitable consorts. This made for a wonderful opening to the novel as the king’s sons outsmart the house computer system in order to sneak out without their chaperones! Later at a formal ball, they come up with clever ideas for disposing of their electronic dance cards. The story is full of little details like this that add humor and make this world seem real to the reader.

At the heart of the story is Nate Hawkins, captain of a ship in the IN fleet. He is the son of an Earl from Englor, but was disowned after killing someone in a duel. But it is because of his familiarity with the customs of regency society that he is selected to go to Regelence to investigate a stolen weapons stash. He takes his adopted son with him to act as his valet and an additional spy. The weapons were stolen from the royal castle, so someone inside must have been in on it. Could it be one of the princes? This causes Nate a problem when he finds himself falling in love with one of them – Aiden. In fact, he comes to like and befriend the entire royal family. The main characters are completely three-dimensional, but Langley also expands upon minor characters. The king and his consort are loving parents to the princes and theirs is a happy family that I quickly came to like. Langley gets readers invested in more than just the main couple. The romance is very slowly built compared to Langley’s previous works. I was quite surprised that nearly a third of the book passed before there was any sex! But, there is plenty of other action (and angst) to keep a reader turning the pages until Nate and Aiden finally get together. After that, the sex scenes are explosive. Langley has added BDSM to the couple’s relationship, but it’s not extreme by any means. Just added a little spice to the romance. The overarching plot is well developed, with several twists and turns. The romance is strong, but does not eclipse the plot. Unfortunately, the story ends with a cliffhanger, but not the kind that has you screaming in frustration. The stolen weapons are part of a greater conspiracy that reaches to other worlds, specifically Englor. Aiden and Nate’s romance gets closure, but a greater adventure is still to come. Highly recommended, and I can hardly wait for the sequel. ( )
jshillingford | Jul 17, 2008 |  
Another funny and beautiful series by J.L. Langley.

Aiden is a prince of a futuristic planet, Regelence: even if they use the modern technology the kingdon is still led like in the Regengy era with a little twist: the society is all patriarchal and the homosexuality is the norm. Plus, the same sex partners can decide to genetically create a son with both their genes and to alterate his sexual preference in order to make him prefer men. And finally, is common beliefs that the chastity before marriage is a virtue, so men has to remain virgin until their 25 birthday or until the marriage: a man found in a compromising situation with another man is obliged to marry.

So when Nate, the disowened son of a near planet's duke and now captain on the Interstallar Army, is asked to investigate on a weapons theft happened on Regelence, he is hosted by the royal family: Stephen, the king, Raleigh, his consort, and 5 sons, and among them Aiden. For Nate is love at first sight: Aiden is young and innocent, but clever and spirit. He wants to be an artist, he doesn't want to marry some man, and become a consort bonded to family due and striclty cerimonial. But when he sees Nate, he can't deny the sudden and unknown desire he feels and suddenly become Nate's consort is not a so bad idea.

I like very much the plot of the story and the fact that many part of the book is dedicated to explain and close all the open point of Nate's story. The book has an open end, I will bet we will read in the future all the stories of the Aiden's brothers, but in this book you will have plenty of time to enjoy the evolving love story between Aiden and Nate and all its unexpected shifts...

As always J.L. Langley is master in humor, and the Gay Regency Society is a great original idea. The royal family is an happy bunch of brats and they are all well portrayed and all deserve an own book.
elisa.rolle | May 20, 2008 | 2 vote
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