Reviewed by Tori (Vicki)

TITLE: My Fair Captain 

SERIES: Sci-Regency #1

AUTHOR: J.L. Langley

PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press

LENGTH: 244 pages

RELEASE DATE: May 29th, 2018

BLURB:

When Intergalactic Navy Captain Nathaniel Hawkins goes undercover to investigate the theft of an IN weapons stash, the mission raises painful memories from his past. Using a title he fled nearly two decades earlier, Nate once again becomes the Earl of Deverell, heir to the Duke of Hawthorne, in order to navigate the ins and outs of a Regency world. But planet Regelence—where young lords are supposed to remain pure until marriage—has a few surprises for Nate, not least of which is his attraction to Prince Aiden.

A talented artist, Prince Aiden Townsend isn’t interested in politics and the machinations of society gentlemen, and he adamantly rejects the idea of marriage and a consort. Aiden wants the freedom to pursue his art and determine his own future. But the arrival of the dashing and mysterious Deverell awakens feelings of passion and longing the young prince can’t deny.

As Nate uncovers a conspiracy reaching far beyond the stolen weapons, his future is irrevocably altered by the temptations of a life he never thought he could have. Drawn into the web of intrigue, Aiden is in danger of losing his life… and his heart.

First Edition published by Samhain Publishing Ltd., June 2007

REVIEW:

Oh I forgot how much I loved this book! I read it way back in 2009, and fell in love with this world…. or worlds as the case may be! In fact I picked up a copy at GRL at some point.

Aiden and Nate…. where do I start? Aiden lives on the planet of Regelence, which is a pseudo-regency era world, based around the concept of male lovers bonding and fighting for each other in times of war. This lead to the bonding of men outside of the military, and eventually to the preference of same-sex relationships and marriages. And since men aren’t able to carry babies, they develop a way to artificially create children, combining the DNA of both male partners. So. Mostly male dominated society, mostly same-sex relationships, mostly babies made without procreation. Now, instead of the young female offspring of the upper-class being protected and chaperoned, it’s the young males. As is the case with Aiden and his many siblings. Their parents being the king and king-c0nsort.

Nate also comes from a pseudo-regency world, but his home planet is more closely related to our version of regency England, and it’s the young females that are virginal, not the males. Nate gets himself in to some hot water at home, kills a man in a duel, is booted from the family, runs away and joins the Intergalactic Navy. Years later, he is sent to Regelence by the Admiral to determine who stole a bunch of weapons stashed at the home of the ruling family. Which is where he runs in to Aiden…. wellll, more like catches Aiden.

This gets our two lead men together, and the true fun starts. Aiden is a handful, an artist fighting against his parents wishes that he settle down with a consort. Especially after nearly being kidnapped and possibly raped, when he sneaks out of the family castle. Nate is surprised to learn the details of the society, he knows that it’s regency based like his home, but is totally surprised by the same-sex aspect. And is hoping to have a little fun with the locals, especially Aiden, until he learns of the virgin-until-married thing. Then he’s all hands-off! He’s not opposed to a little fun, but as he’s about to head off to a year deployment, he’s not looking for love. Of course this is a romance novel, so you can guess how well the anti-relationship plans work out for both of these men! I don’t think it’s a surprise to anyone that they DO end up as a couple. And they are perfect. There is an age-gap as well as an experience-gap, and I love that. Nate is just on the edge of dominant, Aiden on the edge of submissive, but very feisty. Once the clothing comes off, the sex is seriously hot! But they are clearly emotionally bonded as well. I love them!

The mystery part of the story was as interesting as the romance part. Basically Nate is sent to Regelence to find out who swiped a bunch of weapons when the butler computer was off-line due to the princes high-jinx. This leads to some drama involving Aiden and Trouble, Nate’s adopted son. Trouble, whose real name is Jeremy, plays a big part in this all, partly a big bit of drama at the end, but he has his own issues as well that come out as the story progresses. It was all very exciting! It also sets up more to come in future books as we learn who is behind the theft….

We are also set up for the next books in the series, as far as future couples. Three books have been published and are being re-edited and re-released with Dreamspinner, and I hear there are more books coming out after the re-releases which makes me a happy girl!

The plot is creative, the dialogue quick, there is humor, sex, mystery, and romance. Just what I love! This book is the craziest blend of sci-fi and historical that I have read since reading the various Keltiad books by Patricia Kennealy-Morrison. Those were Celts in space, now we have Regency in space, and it totally works!

I loved this book and I can’t wait for the next ones to come back out!

If you are up for a bit of historical with your sci-fi, I highly recommend this book and this series!

Wow, that’s a lot of exclamation points! 😉

RATING: 

BUY LINKS:

Dreamspinner Press

Amazon