Cat Sebastian

A Novel

The Queer Principles of Kit Webb

Critically acclaimed author Cat Sebastian pens 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 overcome the impediments in their path?

Cat Sebastian is at her most Cat Sebastian and I am OBSESSED

Sam Sontag

fris🐝

i stand by what some others are saying. kit is definitely aspec and i truly love that for him.

ash (smokedshelves)

Erzse Reed

** spoiler alert **
           That final sex scene was just too shocking emotionally. Why.

Jantien 

This is my first romance/LGBTQ book that isn’t set in the present. Quite a change!

Connor 

Kristi Brockelsby

Kit is a semi-reformed Highwayman just trying to run his coffeehouse. Percy is the son of a Duke with an axe to grind. They come together to defeat a common foe. As the plan starts to come together, so do their feelings for one another.

I loved this book. It was fun, sweet, and the central plot was enough to keep me guessing. I haven't read much set in the mid-1700s and it was really interesting that Cat Sebastian didn't ignore the fact that it was illegal and taboo for two men to be in love at that time. The fact that this was always in the back of their minds kept their complicated feelings for one another grounded. It was not stated in the text, but I recognized some asexual traits in Kit. It was nice to see those traits as just fact in the story and not some huge character failing.

This was my first Cat Sebastian but certainly not my last. Thank you Avon and Netgalley for the ARC!

Eliana Mor

This was such a fun book to read. I really enjoyed seeing Kit and Percy interacting with each other and with other people. I think the characters were well developed and the plot was very cool. I was a bit confused about where the plot was going at certain times, but I think that might have been the point.

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 overcome the impediments in their path?

Brianna

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

The Queer Principles of Kit Webb is a dream of a concept. Retired highwayman given a last hurrah in the form of revenge against a count who also happens to be the father of the gentleman (who is perhaps a little to handsome for this to end well) that hires him for the task. It also doubles as the gay historical fiction equivalent of a coffee shop AU which is amazing on it’s own.
The relationship is done about as well as Cat Sebastian’s others; not too shallow, not too slow, perhaps a tad fast to be realistic but it mostly works. The plot is where this one falls through for me. It’s simple, taken a little too seriously, and becomes overcomplicated and convoluted in the end. One two many threads were attempted to be woven in but it didn’t quite all come together and significant loose ends were more or less ignored. I was left utterly perplexed as to why those elements/characters needed to be added if nothing certain came of it. There is also one part where the two main characters ignore the fact someone probably broke into the house and have sexy time before investigating. Umm, no?
Overall it’s a fun, sorta campy read and what you’d expect from Cat Sebastian.

Megan BV

I thought this was a very sweet book. It was a fun storyline and a cute romance. They help each other and it’s adorable. 

Marisa S. Pan 

It was a overall good book and I really enjoyed the characters and the plot. It was fun but in the end something was missing

Not in the romance part but in the plot of the story... It tried to be 2 things at the same time and unfortunately it was not executed in the best way 

Gabriel Noel 

ARC given by NetGalley for Honest Review

I really enjoyed this book! I've only read one other of Cat Sebastian's book but "The Queer Principles of Kit Webb" came through and really entertained me! I found that it was an easier read than her other titles, mostly because the dialogue and banter was so charming and effortless. 

I did, however, guess the big twist and surprise barely halfway through the book. It was somewhat predictable but I don't think it ruined my enjoyment of the story. Percy's character development played wonderfully off of Kit's and I was happy to see that Kit's core morals didn't change even as he fell more in love with Percy.

I'm VERY curious about Rob and Marian and hope that there will be a sequel or spin-off of some sort.

Natalie Sypeck 

I've read the Turner Series by this author a couple years ago and found them enjoyable, but nothing too special. I felt the same way about this book. I really liked the idea of a crippled retired highwayman and a feisty sword-wielding gentleman, it just didn't give me the thrill I though it would. I wish I could say what was missing, but I can't quite think of why I didn't connect with the relationship. While I thought they were sweet together, I didn't find myself and the edge of my seat waiting for them to kiss and the steamy scenes didn't leave me overly swoony. I don't know if I'll read the next book since I didn't really like those characters while they were on the page and so I have little to no interest in their romance (especially since its a F/M, so it doesn't even have the queer romance to give me the diverse romances I often crave). If I'm desperate for a regency romance I'm sure I'll pick up some of this authors other works, but I've read 4 books by them and they have all been middle of the road so not a must read author for me.

Linda Quintanilla

I really tried my best. I read the whole book even though I was not into it. I was confused for a while. I did not know where this book was going or what was going on. I just could not stay focused whatsoever. I need more details or directions. I did not get it until halfway to the end. What a disappointing feeling. I was really excited to read this book. It's historically romance with LGBTQIA representation book. At least, I tried.

Taylor McNeely

I’ve read other Cat Sebastian historical romances but this book is definitely different from her other books. It revolves around a retired highwayman and an aristocrat trying to hire him to steal from his father. 
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The chemistry between Percy and Kit was AMAZING! Sebastian is so good at giving her main characters such great banter and sexual tension. Also, let’s not forget about the awesome side characters that made this book even more funny and interesting. 
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I love that there are small conflicts between the main couple throughout the book but they talk it out like mature adults and there’s none of that nonsense about miscommunication. I devoured this book in two days and I just really need Sebastian to release another book already! COMES OUT JUNE 8TH!

*Thank you to @netgalley, @Avonbooks & @HarperVoyagerUS for my free advanced copy. All opinions are my own.*

Karli P

*I received an eARC from Netgalley and Avon and Harper Voyager in exchange for an honest review*

This was a delightful read that very good at being both exciting and extremely sweet. 

Watching Kit and Percy slowly fall in love with their perspectives from their vastly different lives was lovely. All the stolen glances and flirtation in the coffee shop and while sparring just built up the excitement in wondering when they were finally going to admit their feelings to each other. I have only read one other book by Cat Sebastian (The Lawrence Browne Affair), but it's clear that she's wonderful in building up tension in a way that makes a wonderful romance. 

I found the plot of this book exciting, and was invested in finding out who was blackmailing Percy. I thought the eventual reveal was excellently done and really weaved the story together. 

I was also very interested in Marian as a character. I really wanted to know what she got up to when she was able to sneak away, and I hope there is a continuation of the story because she was just such an interesting character that I want to know more about. There also seemed to be some loose ends that weren't really tied up at the end of the book so I hope that is pointing to a sequel of some kind. 

Overall this was a very sweet and romantic book and I loved reading about Kit and Percy falling in love, but there are also so many side characters I am very interested in the lives of.

Sarah Williams

I was so excited for this one but it just wasn’t it for me. It took too long for the story to get started, and then even when it did start to get somewhat interesting, it dragged on. I think this maybe just wasn’t for me but there were still some charming moments, so I think I’d still like to try another Cat Sebastian novel.

The Queer Principles of Kit Webb A Novel

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