The Care and Breeding of Princes

by Arden Lake

As a trained royal consort, Prince Aiden thought he was prepared for anything. He was wrong.

Aiden wasn't prepared for Wolf Prince Lanthe, a callous shifter with wolfish yellow eyes and a disdain for humans. He wasn't prepared to be publicly claimed as the prince's mate on their first meeting. And he certainly wasn't prepared to bear Lanthe's pups. Much too late, Aiden learns this isn't a political marriage, it's a breeding contract. He must submit to his monstrous new mate if he wants to keep his kingdom safe.

Lanthe despises humans almost as much as the magical heat that compels him to breed. He's determined to keep his new human mate out of sight and away from the throne, but Aiden refuses to be relegated to the shadows as a powerless breed-mate. He is a prince, and he intends to secure power by whatever means necessary.

Genres: Fantasy, Shapeshifters, M M Romance

210 pages, ebook

First published October 19, 2022

About the author

Queer romances featuring strong personalities and supernatural complications, with unique worldbuilding and steamy-and-sweet romances that shine a light in dark places.

Reviews

[alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The Care and Breeding of Princes" by Arden Lake is a captivating book that blends elements of the supernatural and LGBT themes. From the moment I discovered this hidden gem in my recommended reads, I was drawn into a world where emotions are intense and conflicted by individuals' complicated familial ties and histories.

What truly stood out for me was the author's incredible ability to create detailed descriptions. I'm so used to books like these being straightforward and lacking in depth, Arden Lake's work left me longing for more.

The interactions between Aiden and Lanthe had me foaming at the mouth, as they always kept me on edge due to their unpredictability. This is undoubtedly one of the best Enemies to Lovers stories I have come across this year.

I hope that Arden Lake comes back to this supernatural storyline because I would love more of it.

[Human Person · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. This was a random find so I had no expectations going in. I was pleasantly surprised to find good writing and serious engagement with issues of non-consent between the MCs. It's not perfect, and the degree of dub-con made me genuinely uncomfortable, but it's actually addressed in the text (not implicitly excused).

My main complaints are that the world building is a bit watery, leaving some unanswered questions about wolf society, and I wish there was a bit more time spent on the grovel/forgiveness. I'm not unhappy with how it turned out, I just want more detail.

[Cabert A · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

CW: dubcon/noncon, shifted sex, mpreg

I think I was only about 30% into this book when I kept thinking, "What the hell is this, and how do I get more of it?"

Arranged marriage stories are my krypronite, so I've read my fair share. This one still did something new I didn't expect in playing with the concept of consent. Consent is often a hard no for me despite multiple attempts, but this one balanced the knife edge between dubcon and noncon really well. By the end, it pulls the thread completely.

There were also a few new concepts here with shifters, where the wolf nation has some individuals that can stay wolves, partially shift (wolfmen), or completely shift to humans. Also, like omegaverse, there are only a few individuals who can breed. There are heats, but for humans, they are inspired by a bite rather than regularly occurring. It's kind of like the author threw some common tropes into a blender. They are there, but not in their original form.

This book is also very high spice, so I have it tagged as erotica, although the emotional development is also quite important to the story.

My quibble is that I am still angry at Lanthe. I think Aiden handled the situation as pragmatically as possible, but I wanted Lanthe to suffer more.

Overall, I recommend this book, with caution for the trigger warnings above.

[Magnafeana · Rating 3 out of 5]

RTC, but to be brief, this was an okay book about the care and breeding of princes. So I'll jot my thoughts:
* I do like how the team work came together between Aiden and Lanthe
* I think I wasn't in the right mood to appreciate Aiden and his tenacity. I found myself a bit annoyed at the execution, but in theory and concept, I like it. I think there should have been more of an effort to display how Aiden's ostracization and isolation from wolf society affected him in a diverse set of ways.
* The epilogue cock and sheathe worship from Aiden to Lanthe? Yaaaaaaaasuuuuuuh
* For as smart as Aiden alleges he is, that all gets nerfed when he follows Jacen. I know some will understand, since Jacen says “It's about Lanthe”. Aiden justifies it with the whole “Yeah, this is a trap, but when else am I going to get this information?”. And I just... If you're smart, you'd play to your strengths and gently fish information from those around you. Deciding to trust a person who you actively are on alert for? Mkay…
* Jacen being that antagonist was so-so. Wasn't impressed really.
* “Then men saw what Aiden had with Lanthe and wanted it for themselves”. So, in this book, there are men who were forced to take multiple werewolf bites and be gangbanged to slake the horrendous heat inside them. They're exploited. So, at the end, that sentence is said, and I…don't love it. It's not that I don't think they can't desire a romance with a wolf. And Rowan and Oliver seemed working on a way to allieviate symptoms. But it was such a thrown in line that I went "Wuht?". And then the follow-up scene was even more WTF when (1) these men are still bottom-rung and are a vulnerable group, and (2) they've been abused to the point where they don't even want agency anymore. I guess I was hoping for more rehabilitation than "Congrats! Now you'll get your own wolf in a kingdom that already finds you exploitable, and any talk of you gaining agency just vanished".
* The world building could use a bit more work. It wasn't as robust as I thought it would be, given the conflict happening. We were given some characters where it felt they were probably introduced in a different book, but they arrive as side characters in this one.

A 3-star read for sure. For a 250-page book, it did what it set out to do. I have my complaints, but I have my compliments too.

I'm more interested in Rowan, who just kinda showed up. As weird as it sounds, his situation sounds like it could flesh out the world more and bring me in closer with the wolf society than Aiden can.

[❇️Bora❇️ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.3 stars

If my status updates were anything to go by, I highly enjoyed reading this. It was actually entertaining to read. There was so much chemistry between Aiden and Lanthe and I loved their dynamic. I had a wonderful time seeing Aiden stand up for himself and slowly break down Lanthe's walls.

The writing in this was great. The backdrop, side characters, political plotting were written so well I could see everything vividly in my head. The book was also written in one PoV, Aiden's, but I really would have liked two PoVs, though we end up getting this in the Epilogue.

Sex wise, it was medium to high steam and intense for me. It's a very dub-con book with forced breeding and wolf shifted sex. There is one triggering scene that was so hard to watch but aside from that everything else was good.

I wasn't completely satisfied with the ending because it felt there were some unanswered items - what exactly came of the research wrt mixed markings? Leaves a sour taste in my mouth to think that Aiden still has even a bit of Jance's mark on him; do the wolf packs come to accept Aiden as Lanthe's husband? I wish we got to see him somehow gaining everyones trust and getting the respect from the wolf packs; does Aiden ever confront his shit father? Yeah, just wanted for us to be placed in a room (scene) with Aiden's dad so I could curse the living shit out of him.

Overall, it was a really enjoyable read that kept me laughing out loud and fighting off sleep so I could finish the read in one sitting!

[Shelba · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love a good arranged marriage, and the more reluctant the parties, the better. And these two are both reluctant.

I do wish that the isolation that Aiden was faced with was more evident on page, as he rolled with the punches quite well. I wanted him to be a little more sad, a little more lonely.

Also annoyed that sheath play became a favourite activity but there was hardly any on page. Is sheath docking a thing? Could we have had sheath docking?

There was one moment I was confused, in Chapter 12, when Aiden goes to see Rowan and Oliver in the kennels and discuss their research… because they had never been mentioned before. I don’t know if there was a scene removed or if it was just overlooked that they were never introduced? But, yeah, I was confused.

Also just slightly unsure how the issue with the multiple claimings was resolved. Like, it was resolved… but I’m not sure how? Just, like… ✨feelings?

Also don’t think I’m crazy over wishy washy Lanthe.

So, while I really enjoyed the arranged marriage, forced claiming, rejected mates, knotting, knotting, mild court intrigue, Delu, shifted sex and the sheath play… the issues noted above just kept it from being a 5 star read.

[juriassence · Rating 4 out of 5]

Salí de mi zona de comfort para leer este libro y si bien me sentía medio incómoda con algunas escenas.... me gustó la historia.

Amé a Aiden, me gustó mucho su personalidad y como se defendía así mismo pq el sabía su valor, capacidades y belleza sin ser arrogante. Lanthe is OK, i didn't fuck with him that much.

Como dije el non-con no es de mi agrado, siempre intento evitar este tipo de libros. En esta ocasión SI me sentí incómoda pero la forma en la que está escrito me hizo ENTENDER la situación de una perspectiva diferente. No lo justifico pero lo entiendo.

Otro aspecto positivo fue el elemento del mixed-heat y la simbolización de estar 'arruinado', amé como se resolvió ese elemento, sin necesidad de magia. Me gustó el mensaje y las acciones que tomó Aiden. Genuinamente mi MC favorito.

[Joyffree · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this as I was randomly scrolling through and am glad I one-clicked.

The opposing personalities of our main characters - fire and ice - made the chemistry between them scorching

I can not tell you how many times I wanted to wrap Aiden up and tell him everything would be okay

As for his family = sea + cement

Overall, an enjoyable read
There were some times I would have enjoyed more details?
Some scenes/events felt like random ideas tossed in
I also wish the ending had been a bit longer.
It felt like he capitulated too quickly when there definitely should have been more groveling and apologies :)

It does have some darker elements (non/dub con), so if you have triggers and all

[L · Rating 5 out of 5]

An arranged marriage story with highly unique lore shifter-verse that is revealed a little bit at a time. This feels natural and any confusion ties into the difficulty the main character is experiencing within his new world.
This book worked. The tropes and the characters and the world building meshed together to make a story that was complex and yet easy to read and understand.
I really liked the strength of Aiden’s character, his determination to fulfill the role he was born to play. And the confusion and aggression as well as the immaturity and ultimately acceptance of Aiden that Lanthe’s character showed. It made both characters interesting especially when clashing heads.

[Rana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was pleasantly surprised by how much this book entertained me (maybe because I judged it by its cover?). It was well written, the plot was very interesting with nice world building, the main couple developed an actual relationship and the sex was hot (though you should definitely heed the warnings). I only wish there had been more showing instead of telling, but I also imagine the author didn't want to write a longer novel, unfortunately

[Kris-10 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Actual Rating: 2.5/5 stars

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was pleasantly surprised by this book!

[Midori · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank reddit i found this gem

[Ashe Hale · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was not expecting the level of politicking this ended up having.

[Theresa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Weak wolf MC. Poor relationship development. Weird shifter world building. Spastic plot. Plot holes.