This month has been so busy, I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to do a review for the DIK 2010 Reading Challenge. Somehow, I managed to squeak it in! I’m reviewing J.L. Langley’s My Fair Captain. This is the first book in her Sci-Fi/Regency series, and it’s a great intro.

In the future, there are at least two planets whose social structure and culture are based on the Regency period from Earth. One is traditional and the other, Regelence, is patriarchal to the extent that the ruling classes are genetically chosen to be male and to be interested in same sex pairings. Nate was born on Englor, the traditional one, but flees to the Intergalactic Navy when his relationship with another man is the root cause of a scandal.

Several years later, when he’s asked to investigate a theft of weapons, he ends up on Regelence, a planet with customs that are familiar and yet vastly different. He meets Prince Aiden, and finds he needs to decide if he’s willing to give up his life as a navy captain for an innocent, untried man who is so obsessed with his art he often fails to see to his own safety. The problem is that Aiden is more alluring than Nate would ever expect a virgin to be, especially since giving in to the temptation would require him to marry the prince. Aiden is equally fascinated with Nate, and they fall in love. However, the thief could spoil their happily ever after when Aiden gets in his way.

This book was so much fun. It combines the rules and tradition of a typical Regency romance with a spicy futuristic twist. Nate and Aiden are very different from each other, but they’re both compelling characters who you can’t help but cheer on, hoping they get what they want. The sex was hot and the love story was beautiful (I could probably say this for all of J.L.’s books, actually). I highly recommend this book, not the least of which because the sequel, featuring one of Aiden’s brothers, is an awesome follow-up.