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The Bargain Nexus - My Fair Captain
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List Price: $15.50
Our Price: $9.36
Your Save: $ 6.14 ( 40% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Samhain Publishing
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN: 9781599987613
ISBN: 1599987619
Label: Samhain Publishing
Manufacturer: Samhain Publishing
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 312
Publication Date: 2008-04-01
Publisher: Samhain Publishing
Studio: Samhain Publishing
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: My Fair Captain: Fantastic Genre-Blending and World-Building
Comment: Author J.L. Langley is to be commended for attempting to blend several disparate elements--the Regency period set in the distant reaches of space, historical science-fiction, spy versus spy, male/male romance and no-holds-barred erotica--into one rip-roaring novel of adventure and unlikely love. It's a brilliant concept. Both Englor and Regelence were deftly woven and richly imagined. The author skillfully blended the vagaries of Regelence culture into the narrative and into the character's dialogue. On Regelence, men marrying other men for the same reasons they did in Regency England was quite plausible, and the sons of the ton were expected to stay chaste until marriage. One of the most important elements of well-written science-fiction/fantasy is the ability to make the improbable--probable. Regelence was a male-dominated world where females aren't even needed for procreation.
So why only THREE stars?
Two reasons: It's NOT a Sci-Fi Regency. It's a alternate universe historical with Regency elements. It's not enough to pepper a book with a few sundry details like titles and clothing, the language is vitally important and I think some authors tend to forget that. Reading 'My Fair Captain' was like trying to imagine a hot and sweaty Colin Firth a la Pride and Prejudice, but getting Johnny Rotten instead. Yes, I am particular in this, but I wanted a sexed-up version of Jane Austen, language, warts, and all. It can--and HAS--been done. Linda Berdoll's 'Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife' and Ann Herendeen's 'Phyllida and the Brotherhood of Philander' both do justice to the erotic Regency. Even Dara Joy's futuristic 'Ritual of Proof' was amazingly true to the genre.
The author's reliance on bad gay male stereotypes was the other reason. This wasn't a bodice-ripper, but a cravat-ripper.
Considering the time spent on their backstory, the heroes of 'My Fair Captain' should have been so much more. As it were, both just left me wondering why some gay romance writers feel this need to make at least one of the characters as stereotypically feminine as possible. The naïve innocent and the worldly experienced character have been done and are still beloved archetypes, Frankly, I think it's pretty boring even in straight romance.
As the uber-alpha "daddy", Captain Nathaniel Hawkins scowled a lot and liked dropping the f-bomb quite often. Yes he was strong, silent, and a perfectly-formed specimen of a man with ripped abs and a prodigious piece of equipment packed inside of his trousers. It was like he spent a great deal of the novel in a state of perpetual arousal when not rescuing his starry-eyed paramour. As expected, Nathaniel was sexually experienced and obviously the top man in any relationship, but he seemed so one-dimensional, and I had a hard time seeing him as a man who could fall in love, rather than just be in lust.
Prince Aiden, the King of Regelence's handsome son falls for him--literally--right out of a tree. Aiden doesn't want to have anything to do with politics--his soul belongs to the arts, namely sketching. Again, not a bad thing had there been a core streak of rebelliousness in him. Unfortunately Aiden was male only in anatomy. He was like a typically annoying Barbara Cartland-esque heroine--he swooned and tended to get himself into all sorts of trouble that obviously required he-man Nate to rescue him. I'm not saying that a male hero can't be sensitive and artistic--a lover and not necessarily a fighter--and a balanced foil for the more rugged hero. For example, Alec from Ellen Kushner's 'Swordspoint' was described as being tall, thin, ascetic and far better at picking fights than actually fighting them. However, he was also armed with a razor-sharp tongue that did as much damage to an adversary as Richard St. Vier, his lover, did with a rapier.
On Regelence Aiden lived a very sheltered existence, much like standard Regency heroines, but he really was a male character who's essentially female. I want male/male erotica to feature MEN who may be different in temperament, but equal in the relationship--even if that relationship is Dom/sub, such as this one turns out to be. Because of how distracting the stereotypes were, I really couldn't enjoy the erotic scenes in all their high-definition detail. The one scene where Nate emerges from the shower naked while Aiden hides watching him and getting all tingly at the sight of all that man-flesh kept reminding me in a strange way of Little Red Riding Hood. I was waiting for Aiden to say something like, "But Nathaniel, what a long leg you have."
The uncomfortable realization is that some authors really shouldn't be writing gay male romances if all they are going to do is emasculate the male characters. If I wanted to read about a weak and whining protagonist who always seems to need the "me caveman" hero to rescue them, I'd stick with straight romances (and frankly I've always hated those types of books).
Thankfully a few authors out there DO get it right--Ellen Kushner, Sarah Monette and Elizabeth Bear for starters. They feed my addiction for well-written and hot fantasy featuring strong male characters who love passionately and equally.
Dash it, back to the drawing room!
Customer Rating:
Summary: woman in gay clothing
Comment: It's a good read, but I believe this is actually a man-woman romance, the Prince is a man only as a literary device. The author is proffering false pretenses. It's possible some gay men are like the Prince, but his story persona is very feminine in my view.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Gay Regency in space fun read
Comment: How fun is gay Regency in space? I chuckle every time I say it. Anyone who has read historical romances will recognize the genre here, though it is given such a twist that you can do little but giggle at times.
This is the first book by J.L. Langley I've read and I enjoyed it immensely. Yes, it was predictable, and yes, it reminded me of every (sometimes eye-rollingly bad) historical romance novel I've read, but was is light and fun and a distraction. I read it for enjoyment and often with a smile on my face. I didn't expect much -- the cover alone made me wonder what I was getting into with those in-your-face hairy mantitties -- but I got a fun read that had a decent plot and interesting sex.
It took me a bit to set my head around the concept of early 19th-Century England with high technology and spacecrafts, but it didn't take long. On Regelence, the planet of gay love, it's the men of the Ton that are required to be chaperoned and chaste until their wedding night, or until their majority at age twenty-five, whichever comes first. But there are duels, and layers of clothing (including the dreaded cravat), and balls with (electronic) dance cards and waltzes, and pretty young things giggling amongst themselves over handsome admirers, and betrothals, and stolen kisses away from the chaperone's eyes, and making intentions known, and shotgun weddings after being compromised. All of these things in a het novel may have been like, "been there, done that, ho hum," but with the m/m twist, it was fun.
Apart from the fact that Aiden is a man, he a typical Regency historical romance hero(ine): young, headstrong, wanting a different life than what is being expected of him, always getting into situations where he needs saving. He is nineteen, though he often acts younger, but he is also self-assured and no pushover. It's all about the art for him; no man, no marriage, no politics, no high-society. After he ducks his chaperone and almost gets kidnapped (and possibly raped or worse?) -- and the subsequent lecture from this two daddies -- he muses "Why did everyone think a man needed a consort and children to make him complete?" Sound familiar?
Enter Nate. He's the typical hero for the genre: big, strong, hairy, virile, dashing, domineering in all the right ways. No desire to have a mate, he is married to his work (Intergalactic Naval officer captaining a space frigate) and running from a scandalous past that got him booted of his home planet. Add to that that he already has a rambunctious teenaged adopted son appropriately nicknamed Trouble, what else does he need?
But then Aiden falls into Nate's arms, literally, and everything changes for them. There's instant attraction for both of them, though typically, they try to fight it for the above mentioned reasons (but with a lot less drama than in other books). I liked these two characters. They seem to be good for each other, something that you wouldn't think getting to know them individually. I also liked the secondary characters, though I agree with some other reviewers that I had some trouble keeping everyone straight, as it were.
Chemistry between them is undeniable, and the sex is pretty steamy. The book has a strong, but not over-the-top, D/s and BDSM component. And it works here. Nate and his Prince Albert make innocent Aiden want to do things he never even dreamed, much less thought of, and he easily and happily slips into the sub role, much to Nate's delight. There are quite a few memorable erotic scenes, especially the "show" Nate puts on for hidden Aiden. I reviewed of "Bad Case of Loving You" by Laney Cairo that I felt the sex was tame, especially the fisting scene that everyone was so going on about. In "My Fair Captain," there's a similar scene, and though neither is terribly graphic in description, and in MFC it's not even completed in copy (read, cliffhanger, ya'll), for some reason, MFC's version was tremendously hotter.
Some reviewers mention that the difference in age, which is often apparent in Aiden's behavior, was squicky, even more so when the D/s component was in action. I disagree. In fact, I wonder if those same people have issue with traditional historical romances where there is at least the same age difference that you see here (and usually more). Additionally, some readers had issue with the near non-existent role of women on Regelence. I had no such issue.
Anyway, gay Regency in space; throw in some stolen weapons and bad guys, and you've got yourself a sweet, romantic love story with a little bit o' action that is a fun read with yummy man-on-man hawtness. I'm looking forward to the next in the series (centering another one of the princes), due out next month.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Her weakest novel to date...
Comment: I have to say I was rather disappointed in first foray into space. Her writing as always is very good but the plot was weak and the two main characters (if you could call them that) had zero chemistry. They meet, there is an amazing attraction, they're married via shotgun and realize their in love. That's about it - there is zero conflict between the two. The supporting characters were also hard to follow as there were so many and they all seemed to have two or three names each. It was just too confusing.
The other main issue I had was the nature of the relationship between the captain and the prince. There was very little to make me think the prince was actually of age other than some statements. His behavior was that of a spoiled teenage boy while the captain's was that of an oversexed man interested in very young men. It was a little uncomfortable.
Customer Rating:
Summary: uncomfortable read
Comment: The writnig and plot were good. The concept of a futuristic world in which male virginity is prized was an interesting one, if derivative of Dara Joy's The Ritual of Proof. If Joy's male virgin suffered from the unrealistically-rapid onset of emotional and sexual maturity, the male virgin/bride in My Fair Captain suffered from a continuing and total lack of maturity. Although he was in his mid-twenties, he thought and acted like a tween or young teen -- in fact, he was no different in attitude or behavior than the groom's teen son, with whom he was hanging out. Meanwhile, the groom is a hardened combat veteran and mature man. The disparity in age and behavior was so great and so emphasized by their domination/submission of their bedroom relationship, that it made me somewhat queasy. It honestly felt as though I was reading a taboo story about an older man deflowering a teenager because he has a fetish.
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Editorial Reviews:
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Talk about a compromising situation! A storm of political intrigue, murderous mayhem and sexual hungers is brewing on planet Regelence. Swarthy Intergalactic Navy Captain Nathaniel Hawkins ran from a past he had no intention of ever reliving. But when his Admiral asks him to use his peerage, as an earl and the heir to a dukedom, to investigate a missing weapons stash, hes forced to do just that. As if being undercover on a Regency planet where the young men are supposed to remain pure until marriage isnt bad enough, Nate finds himself attracted to the kings unmarried son. All Prince Aiden Townsend has ever wanted was to be an artist. He has no interest in a marriage of political fortune or becoming a societal paragon. Until he lands in the arms of the mysterious Earl of Deverell. One look at Nates handsome face has Aiden reconsidering his future. Not only does Nate make a virile subject for Aidens art, but the great war hero awakens feelings in Aiden he has never felt, feelings he cant ignore. After a momentous dance at a season ball, Aiden and Nate find themselves exchanging important information and working closely together. They have to fight their growing attraction long enough to find out who stole the weapons and keep themselves from a compromising situation and certain scandal. Warning, this title contains the following: explicit sex, graphic language, violence, hot nekkid man-love.
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