Click on a thumbnail to go to Google Books.
|
Loading... A Suitable Captiveby R. Cooper
None No current Talk conversations about this book.  JaneBuehler | Feb 21, 2024 |  no reviews | add a review
Belongs to SeriesSuitable 'Verse (3)
The mysterious figure known as the Wild Dog has risen up to crush and humiliate the Earls who control the North. Fen, son of a powerful Earl, has been sent to form an alliance to benefit his father's plans against the bold rebel. There are many kinds of alliances in the world of nobles, but political alliances often grow to include the intimacy of lovers or even marriage, and Fen has been ordered to use his famed beauty seduce his intended, regardless of what he feels. But Fen has no love for his cruel father or in forming any kind of alliance with a noble his father prefers. He takes his first chance to run, only to end up lost and hungry in vast wilderness… where he is found by the Wild Dog himself. Lan, called Wild Dog by furious Earls who don't like to be challenged, looms over Fen and most others, and yet carries Fen when Fen is too weak to walk any longer. He allows his friends to tease him and ensures his people are fed before he sits for his own meals. Fen, who has rarely known kindness, is captivated. But Fen is also an Earl's cub, and if the Wild Dog can change rules that have always existed, then so can Fen. Without his father's say he offers an alliance of his own, promising to use his knowledge of the nobles to help the Wild Dog achieve his aims. No seduction is required, although for the first time in his life, Fen considers it. Each time Lan listens to him, or pulls him close to share warmth as they sleep, or shows that he trusts Fen, Fen wants him in a way he barely understands. But Fen is more powerful than he realizes or that his nickname of "Flower" would suggest. He sees destiny at work when he looks at Lan. The Wild Dog is something greater than a mere Earl, and fate, or the fae, have placed Fen in his path. Now it's time for Fen-the-flower to decide if his agreement with Lan might become more-an alliance, or marriage, for the ages. No library descriptions found. |
Current DiscussionsNonePopular covers
 Google Books — Loading...RatingAverage: (4.33)
Is this you?Become a LibraryThing Author. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Wikipedia in English
4
I had the strangest experience with this book because about half the time, I didn’t understand what was going on, but I was still totally hooked by the relationship, which is filled with sexual tension and longing.
The story is basically that Fen is the pretty, inexperienced son of an evil Earl (one of many in this world) who runs away into the woods and is rescued by Lan, a Robin Hood–esque character who is taking down the system one Earl at a time. Fen has a huge crush on Lan; Lan wants Fen but is determined not to take advantage of his innocence. There are many conversations about alliances and Lan’s role in reshaping society, and this was where I felt lost; but I sort of felt like I was reading about an unfamiliar culture and could accept their unfamiliar rules (sort of like when you read your first Victorian novel and think, “So they’re alone in the garden. Why is this a big deal?”). Also, Fen is narrating and his inexperience with the world affects the narration.
Technically there is some amount of Fen’s hands being tied up in this book, but it was always done in the most highly consensual way. I kept thinking, “I love how much consent is in this book, and every time it comes up, it seems to add to the sexiness of the scene.”
Also, while there is a background of battles and evil Earls, we don’t actually see any of that in the book, which is why I thought it counted as a cozy romantasy. The story starts with Lan finding Fen and stays with Fen at the rebels’ camp and home base, with the war happening off-page. So, the most stressful it gets is worrying about people making it home safely (which, given that it is a romance novel, I did not find too worrying). (