Kathleen (denbroncofan4evr) -
Helpful Score: 1
This is a very good book. The story is well written and the characters are great. It's like you can see the characters and you just know how they're feeling and what going on. I didn't find any part of it that I wanted to 'just skim over' because it was boring. The relationship between Hawk and Trouble is just like you'd picture a father and son to be. I found myself laughing quite a few times. If I hadn't already promised this book in a swap, it would be on my keeper shelf.
Helpful Score: 1
I love this book. Now, I'm a little bias as it's the first, err, more erotic m/m I had ever read. It's a little raunchy and set space. Pure love for me!
Okay so I picked this book for the cover...lol it is the first whole book I've read on male-male erotica. Some disparity in the relationship between the two main characters as one was an older very experienced lover and the other was (although in his twenties) young and inexperieced/naive--if you had changed the names and a few of the sex scene details it would have read like a standard regency romance (albeit on another planet). Some of the references to females are down putting and there is no real male-female relationship featured in the book other than the men having an adopted sister/daughter. I think I would have liked it better if there had been at least some nice references to mixed sex relationships. The final relationship that was started (I assume future book) didn't ring true. Initally the younger man is depicted as experienced, very confident, very verbiose and then he evolves into the love interest of one of the brothers and suddenly the brother (who supposedly is a virgin) is the leader between the two of them and the first guy is bumbling around and clueless. Strange.
I give this two and a half stars. It's a mix of three genres - m/m, sci-fi, and Regency romance. The sci-fi portions were done well without overpowering the story. The planet where the story takes place is a society where among the landed gentry men are genetically engineered to prefer other men. This is a society in which male virginity is prized. Think of Regency England and reverse the expectations for the genders. In this society, men are expected to remain pure before their m/m relationships. Women can be as wild as they like. Captain Nate's motivations and character could have been developed better. I'm not a big believer in love at first sight. Frankly he seemed more like he was in lust than love. There are several very steamy scenes between the two main characters so if that kind of thing bothers you, especially among men, you definitely shouldn't read this book.
This being the third book I've read by this author, I've noticed she tends to make one of the male characters very feminine. I don't know why she does this. In all her books, one of the characters is a naive innocent when it comes to m/m matters and the other one is wildly experienced. This is a cliche in m/f romances as well, and it doesn't work well in that genre either. I wish Langley would move away from that because if I want to read that stereotype, I'll stick with the male/female romances. The younger man in this story was in his mid-twenties, but acted like he was in his teens. The younger male was essentially a woman in this story. That coupled with the Captain's constant references to him during love scenes as "boy" made me cringe. It made those scenes seem inappropriate. I was uncomfortable with the reference because there was already such a disparity in their ages, sexual experience, and maturity. There isn't much romantic development or chemistry between this couple. I found something lacking in their relationship. Overall, not a bad book, but there are far better m/m romances like "Promises" by Marie Sexton. That book has a great m/m romance and neither one is overly submissive or overly dominant.
My Fair Captain has a hot cover. The cover is what drew me to the book. I know..I'm shallow.
This being the third book I've read by this author, I've noticed she tends to make one of the male characters very feminine. I don't know why she does this. In all her books, one of the characters is a naive innocent when it comes to m/m matters and the other one is wildly experienced. This is a cliche in m/f romances as well, and it doesn't work well in that genre either. I wish Langley would move away from that because if I want to read that stereotype, I'll stick with the male/female romances. The younger man in this story was in his mid-twenties, but acted like he was in his teens. The younger male was essentially a woman in this story. That coupled with the Captain's constant references to him during love scenes as "boy" made me cringe. It made those scenes seem inappropriate. I was uncomfortable with the reference because there was already such a disparity in their ages, sexual experience, and maturity. There isn't much romantic development or chemistry between this couple. I found something lacking in their relationship. Overall, not a bad book, but there are far better m/m romances like "Promises" by Marie Sexton. That book has a great m/m romance and neither one is overly submissive or overly dominant.
My Fair Captain has a hot cover. The cover is what drew me to the book. I know..I'm shallow.
I fell in love with this book from the beginning. Its one of those books that you start reading and you think that this will be a 5, my highest rating. I liked the characters, the science fiction setting and the use of regency/royal families. The book kept me engaged and for the most part entertained. Several pieces of the book jarred me so much that I am rating it a two instead of a five.
This book has great characters and some excellent plot elements, but when you put it all together, some things took away from others.
Possible Spoilers:
Nate was well developed, from the beginning, but he turned into a Neanderthal. Nate did show a lot of love for Aiden, but not much respect. From my reading, Nate was treating Aiden as a woman or a wife character that just happened to be male. I would have strongly preferred that Nate had treated Aiden as a man, because he is.
(In reading some of the Nate as a Neanderthal sections, I kept thinking that these sections could have been at home in a straight bodice ripping novel.)
Aiden was a very loveable character; I wish that he had been treated as a gay male, rather than as a girl. (For those that may be confused, in a gay male relationship, the two men dont mirror a heterosexual relationship where one takes on the man role and the other the wife role. Most gay marriages have two husbands; the roles are more nuanced and less typical.
Jeremy was an afterthought character. A book could/should have been written about him.
Rexley/Jeremy relationship was a nice addition, but it bloomed way before its time. Others have suggested, and I agree, that it could and should be a separate book.
Steven and Raleigh were well written, and they had great dynamics between themselves and between their kids.
The two valets that were thieving should have been developed more, especially since the plot sort of revolved around their mischief.
In the plot
The Nate/Aiden relationship was good, and even the awkward marriage worked well. I hated that Nate turns into a gay daddy and calls Aiden boy. I felt it was disrespectful in the context of this novel. Aiden is prince, as well as Nates spouse. Aiden deserves respect (and I think he has earned it), when Nate engraved the sword and called him boy in the engraving, I cringed. Nate should not be into humiliating his spouse to everyone that sees the sword (Swords are the weapons of defense on this planet), all gentlemen carry one.
The sexual tension was awesome. New love does cause things to pop up at all the wrong times, and Im glad that the author wove that into the story. I liked the sex, and it was written well enough that you could have been in the room. As mentioned above, Nate calling Aiden boy sort of ruined the moment.
Drug use by Sir Braxton was weakly written and a jerky plot device. Aiden recognized the symptoms, but did not know the cause. Nate recognized the symptoms, but didnt discuss them with anyone until after it was all said and done. Why bother with this plot device.
Initially I thought the book was brilliant. As I kept reading it became less so. In the end Im giving it two stars which means to me someone may like it, but I didnt. I feel bad for down grading it so much, but its because the more I think about it, the more I feel let down.
I really wanted the book to improve, and it did not. This book is more about what it could be rather than what it is.
This book has great characters and some excellent plot elements, but when you put it all together, some things took away from others.
Possible Spoilers:
Nate was well developed, from the beginning, but he turned into a Neanderthal. Nate did show a lot of love for Aiden, but not much respect. From my reading, Nate was treating Aiden as a woman or a wife character that just happened to be male. I would have strongly preferred that Nate had treated Aiden as a man, because he is.
(In reading some of the Nate as a Neanderthal sections, I kept thinking that these sections could have been at home in a straight bodice ripping novel.)
Aiden was a very loveable character; I wish that he had been treated as a gay male, rather than as a girl. (For those that may be confused, in a gay male relationship, the two men dont mirror a heterosexual relationship where one takes on the man role and the other the wife role. Most gay marriages have two husbands; the roles are more nuanced and less typical.
Jeremy was an afterthought character. A book could/should have been written about him.
Rexley/Jeremy relationship was a nice addition, but it bloomed way before its time. Others have suggested, and I agree, that it could and should be a separate book.
Steven and Raleigh were well written, and they had great dynamics between themselves and between their kids.
The two valets that were thieving should have been developed more, especially since the plot sort of revolved around their mischief.
In the plot
The Nate/Aiden relationship was good, and even the awkward marriage worked well. I hated that Nate turns into a gay daddy and calls Aiden boy. I felt it was disrespectful in the context of this novel. Aiden is prince, as well as Nates spouse. Aiden deserves respect (and I think he has earned it), when Nate engraved the sword and called him boy in the engraving, I cringed. Nate should not be into humiliating his spouse to everyone that sees the sword (Swords are the weapons of defense on this planet), all gentlemen carry one.
The sexual tension was awesome. New love does cause things to pop up at all the wrong times, and Im glad that the author wove that into the story. I liked the sex, and it was written well enough that you could have been in the room. As mentioned above, Nate calling Aiden boy sort of ruined the moment.
Drug use by Sir Braxton was weakly written and a jerky plot device. Aiden recognized the symptoms, but did not know the cause. Nate recognized the symptoms, but didnt discuss them with anyone until after it was all said and done. Why bother with this plot device.
Initially I thought the book was brilliant. As I kept reading it became less so. In the end Im giving it two stars which means to me someone may like it, but I didnt. I feel bad for down grading it so much, but its because the more I think about it, the more I feel let down.
I really wanted the book to improve, and it did not. This book is more about what it could be rather than what it is.
