C2’s review of With Abandon (With or Without Series, Book 4) by J.L. Langley
Paranormal Romance published by Samhain Publishing, 22 Mar 11

Matt Mahihkan has never lived anywhere except the Southwest, so when he gets a scholarship to a college in Georgia, he has to leave behind his family, his friends, and his pack.  Did I mention Matt is a werewolf – an adorable, klutzy, color-blind werewolf?  Because he is. His friend Keaton, who happens to be from Georgia, arranges for Matt to spend full moons with his former pack.  While getting ready to move, Matt texts Keaton’s brother Aubrey to introduce himself and ask some questions about his new home.  He and Aubrey continued to text each other and develop a friendship of sorts – so much so that Aubrey offers to let Matt stay in his condo.

Aubrey Reynolds takes his responsibilities very seriously.  He recently has taken over management of his family’s chain of hotels and is high up in the structure of his pack, as well.  Aubrey grew up knowing he’s expected to take over for his father and maintain the family’s place in society – both human and wolf.  And growing up in the conservative South, expectations are very, very high.  So anything unusual has to be carefully concealed – his human business connections can’t know he is a werewolf and no one, human or wolf, can know he is gay.  So when he meets Matt in person and discovers Matt is his mate, Aubrey sees all sorts of problems looming on the horizon. Aubrey initially tells Matt he doesn’t have room in his life for a mate.  But they have such instant rapport and Matt is so sweet and temptingly close-by…

As Matt settles into college, dealing with classes and homework and making new friends, Aubrey deals with problems at work. The board of directors doesn’t want to listen to a youngster, one of the board is blackmailing an employee, and the potential scandal if anyone finds out about his and Matt’s relationship weigh on his mind.

Deciding what to do about his relationship with Matt is hard for Aubrey – he isn’t just battling the opinion of others, he is battling with himself.  It is hard to completely change the way you look at your life when you have had a clear plan for so long.  Aubrey is suddenly forced to address new possibilities and is tempted to put himself ahead of the people depending on him, but he wants so much to live up to all the expectations of others. Along the way Aubrey and Matt learn the enemy isn’t always who you think it is and friends aren’t always what they seem.

The relationship between Aubrey and Matt is so sweet and fun.  Being with Matt lets Aubrey play and de-stress and being with Aubrey gives Matt someone to take care of and gives him some grown-up responsibilities. Even though they come together with different ideas – Matt doesn’t want a relationship anything like the one his parents have and Aubrey wants to continue his family’s legacy – they balance each other.  With Abandon can stand alone, but I recommend the whole series…the world keeps expanding and getting richer and the friendships continue to deepen and strengthen.

Grade: A-

Summary:

Love was never part of his plan…until it pounced.

As heir to an old and proud heritage, Aubrey Reynolds works and lives for his family, his employees and his pack. Agreeing to watch after a visiting werewolf is no big deal—until he discovers the newcomer is his mate. His very male mate…which is a very big deal, indeed. Revealing his sexuality was never part of Aubrey’s well-ordered life plan.

Much as he loved caring for his eight younger brothers, Matt Mahihkan knows it’s time to grab the opportunity to attend college in Atlanta. Realizing Aubrey is his mate should have been a delightful experience…except Aubrey treats him more like a dirty little secret than a lover. Yet Matt is a patient man. Aubrey can’t stay in the closet forever. Can he?

In time, they settle into a comfortable, if complicated, routine. Until a rogue werewolf with an axe to grind forces Aubrey to add to the wedge of secrets driving him and Matt apart, leaving Matt exposed to danger…and Aubrey forced to choose between love and duty.

Warning: Contains color abuse with a really bad sense of fashion, a southern accent from hell, sex on antique furniture, a pouncing playful werewolf, obnoxious siblings, liberal use of a color identifier and impatient sex. No lightning bugs were harmed in the making of this book.

Read an excerpt.

Other books in the series:

Are you tired of reading 2008 wrap-up lists yet?? Too bad! Read on, suckers gentle readers.

My top 10 books I read in 2008 (in no particular order): 

	Heart Fate (Celta’s HeartMates, Book 7) by Robin D. Owens Fantasy romance released by Berkley Trade Sep 2008 A series that just keeps getting better and better!
	Flat-out Sexy by Erin McCarthy Contemporary romance released by Berkley Sensation Nov 2008 Sweet, sexy, fun read! The internet buzz sucked me in and I’m glad. )
	Innocent In Death by J.D. Robb Futuristic romantic suspense released by Berkley Aug 2007I purposely keep myself behind in this series but I’m catching up – oh noes! I must pace myself better.
	Pleasure Unbound (Demonica, Book 1) by Larissa Ione Paranormal romance released by Forever Jun 2008 An excellent start to a new series! With a looonnngggg wait between books one and two. However, books two and three will be out back-to-back. Yay!
	Gabriel’s Ghost by Linnea Sinclair Sci-Fi romance released by Bantam Oct 2005  Sully! Does anything else need to be said? I didn’t think so.
	Grimspace by Ann Aguirre Sci-fi romance released by Ace Feb 2008
	A Lady’s Secret by Jo Beverley Historical romance released by Signet Apr 2008 I love the Mallorens and this was one secret I was glad to see revealed.
	At the Bride Hunt Ball by Olivia Parker Historical romance released by Avon May 2008An excellent Avon debut! Ms. Parker’s website says she is working on the sequel.
	Just the Sexiest Man Alive by Julie James Contemporary romance released by Berkley Oct 2008 More online buzz I couldn’t ignore and another excellent debut.
	With Every Breath by Lynn Kurland Fantasy time-travel romance released by Jove May 2008One of my very favorite authors! She doesn’t get the attention she deserves, says me.

A side note – I have got to change my rating system, dang it all. I suppose I’ll go back to numbers. I always have too many books with the same rating and then I can’t sort them properly.

Honorable Mention:

	Josh Lanyon’s Adrien English Mysteries – yup, I read them all in 08…I can haz moar, plzkthx?
	J.L. Langley’s Englor Series – just so fab!

C2‘s review of The Englor Affair (Sci-Regency Series, Book 2) by J.L. Langley
Gay Erotic Sci-Fi Romance eBook released by Samhain Publishing 11 Nov 08 (print release Fall 2009)

The Englor Affair picks up just after the end of My Fair Captain, J.L. Langley’s first story in her Sci-Fi Regency series.  The blurb makes it sound like his brother is still missing but that isn’t true.  He was rescued in the first book.  Most of the major world-building and the Admiral’s decision to return to Englor to see what he can discover about the kidnapping plot is found in MFC, too. 

To catch new readers up to speed: This series is set in the far future.  The planets Regelence and Englor both have societies based on the English Regency period.  This gives the books a familiar feel for Historical Regency readers – we see members of the aristocracy going to balls and the opera and discussing matters in Parliament.  At the same time, there are elements familiar to sci-fi readers – starships, computers of all sorts (including AI butlers!), fragger guns and more.  While some might think the two genres wouldn’t play well together, Ms. Langley makes everything fit together in a surprisingly seamless way.

Regelence society is patriarchal – so patriarchal that male-male relationships are the norm for the aristocracy.  This not the case for Englorian society.  Englor is a more literal interpretation of England’s Regency era.  Homosexuality is frowned upon and, at the beginning of The Englor Affair, there are rumblings of having it declared punishable by death.  Awkward if you’re the Crown Prince and gay… just ask Simon.

As we begin, Prince Payton of Regelence has been asked by his new brother-in-law, Nate, an Intergalactic Navy Admiral, to hack into an Englorian computer system.  They are trying to find out why Payton’s brother, Aiden, and Nate’s son were kidnapped by an Englorian spy.  To carry out his mission, Payton is disguised as a member of Nate’s starship crew.

After arriving on Englor, Payton continues his attempts to decipher coded messages and break into the Englor Marines computer system.  At the same time, he tries to find out all he can about Simon Hollister, a colonel in the Englor Marines and heir to the Englorian throne.  Simon may have a connection to the coded messages.  One evening, during a visit to the base gym, Payton meets an extremely handsome redhead (guess who).  Even after he learns the identity of his redhead, Payton ignores Nate’s earlier warnings to stay away from Simon.

While trying to unravel mystery behind Aiden’s kidnapping and its connection to Englor, Simon and Payton also must deal with Englorian society’s view of same-sex relationships and how it affects them and their future – especially after they are caught in a compromising situation.  After Simon learns that Payton is really a Regelen prince, it becomes clear that the only option is marriage.  One does not compromise a prince and just walk away like nothing happened, after all.

Since things were accelerated a bit, Simon and Payton must figure out the dynamics of their relationship at the same time they are trying to solve the mystery.  Payton is quite young (19!) and still trying to establish his independence, especially since in Regelence young men are chaperoned until age 25 or marriage, whichever comes first.  Simon is older and, as a Englorian Marine and royal heir, used to being in command.  It isn’t surprising that they clash a bit.

It was a good decision by Ms. Langley to not show Englorians magically accepting the relationship between Simon and Payton, since that would have rung false in a Regency-based society.  However, she didn’t dwell on the negative view and showed several other same-sex couples stepping forward in support so it isn’t difficult to see changes and, hopefully, a larger acceptance coming along as the series continues.

If you like Regencies, sci-fi, and M/M stories, give this series a try.  I do recommend starting with the first book since it sets up some major plot points (and it’s just really good, too).  For those who have never read M/M and are interested, I say this is a good series to start with.  The Regency-like setting allows for familiar elements and I enjoy the notion that the young men of Regelence are protected and guarded just like their female Earth-bound Regency era counterparts (and we all know how things usually turn out for those young ladies).  For those who have been anxiously awaiting this sequel, you won’t be disappointed.

Grade: A-

Summary:

In hiding who he was, Payton found himself…and the man he would grow to love.

After his brother is kidnapped, Prince Payton Townsend masquerades as an Admiral’s assistant in order to track the culprits through the tangled mysteries of the planet Englor. He finds way more than he bargained for in the form of Marine Colonel Simon Hollister.

Simon is no ordinary soldier. He’s heir to Englor and his life is mapped out for him: throne, bride, and eventually an heir. He never expected a dalliance with Payton to blossom into love, or that the organization that taught him to lead would threaten that love—and their lives.

Danger and intrigue abound as they learn more about their shared enemy, and about each other. What they learn could help them rise above to an enduring love—or pull them apart.

Read an excerpt.

Other books in the series: