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The Queer Principles of Kit Webb

I confess, I have read almost all of Cat Sebastian’s books. There are so few left that I haven’t read, I’m savouring them and trying to make them last. So when I received an ARC of this book, I was just about ready to plotz. Saying that I went into this book with high expectations would be an understatement. Usually, this doesn’t end well for me, but, dear Bitchery, that is not the case this time around! I loved this book! I delighted in this book! I ravished this book!

Kit Webb used to be a highwayman, but after an injury that left him with a severe limp, he decides to run a coffeehouse instead. This being 1751, coffeehouses are relatively democratic spaces and this setting leads me to one of the things I love most about this book: it’s progressive agenda. Kit is clear that eating the rich is the only moral choice and it made me DREAM about more progressive tax systems and government spending. Not something I anticipated thinking about while reading a romance novel, but something that made my little social welfare heart very happy.

Who does Kit fall in in love with?

Edward Percy AKA Lord Holland is heir to the Duke of Clare. The current Duke is a Horrible Man and Terrible Landlord. The relationship between the two has always been strained, but is about to become much worse. Percy has had a bomb dropped on him: he is illegitimate due to his father’s bigamy. This means the estate and all the money will go to someone else. He finds this out through a blackmailer who revealed the truth to him. Percy is not sure if he will tell the world of his illegitimacy and face the consequences or keep trying to buy off the blackmailer, but he does know that he wants some sort of revenge on his father and the best way to do that is to steal (and possibly ransom) a little book of his mothers that his father always carries with him.

What Percy needs is a highwayman, which leads him right to the door of Kit’s coffeehouse.

And BAM! FIREWORKS! I give Percy 10/10 for banter. Percy’s wit, in particular how he teases Kit, is adorable. Kit’s grumbled responses are more tender than anything and they made my oversized heart squee. Between Percy’s humour and Kit’s reluctant gentleness, I was in love with the pair of them.

The plot is a twisty pretzel that kept me engaged and curious, and their story from meeting to HEA is so original, I am hesitant to give anything away. While there is a secondary plot that isn’t fully resolved, I hold out some hope for a sequel so I can enjoy that HEA as well.

I loved the conflict, the banter, the contrasts and the larger issues Kit and Percy must confront. I enjoyed so much about this book to the point where I don’t want to spoil any of the discoveries for future readers. It was such a richly rewarding read. At a time when I didn’t have a lot of energy, I was gifted with pounds of joy, laughter, intrigue, and suspense. The Queer Principles of Kit Webb was a fresh approach to historical romance that made me fall in love with the genre again.

– Lara

Critically acclaimed author Cat Sebastian makes her trade paperback debut in a stunning historical romance about a reluctantly reformed highwayman and the aristocrat who threatens to steal his heart.

Kit Webb has left his stand-and-deliver days behind him. But dreary days at his coffee shop have begun to make him pine for the heady rush of thievery. When a handsome yet arrogant aristocrat storms into his shop, Kit quickly realizes he may be unable to deny whatever this highborn man desires.

In order to save himself and a beloved friend, Percy, Lord Holland must go against every gentlemanly behavior he holds dear to gain what he needs most: a book that once belonged to his mother, a book his father never lets out of his sight and could be Percy’s savior. More comfortable in silk-filled ballrooms than coffee shops frequented by criminals, his attempts to hire the roughly hewn highwayman, formerly known as Gladhand Jack, proves equal parts frustrating and electrifying.

Kit refuses to participate in the robbery but agrees to teach Percy how to do the deed. Percy knows he has little choice but to submit and as the lessons in thievery begin, he discovers thievery isn’t the only crime he’s desperate to commit with Kit.

But when their careful plan goes dangerously wrong and shocking revelations threaten to tear them apart, can these stolen hearts withstand the impediments in their path?