Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE: The Queer Principles of Kit Webb
AUTHOR: Cat Sebastian
NARRATOR: Joel Leslie
PUBLISHER: Harper Audio
LENGTH: 9 hours and 12 minutes
RELEASE DATE: June 8, 2021
BLURB:
“The Queer Principles of Kit Webb kept me up all night! I simply couldn’t put it down.” (Tessa Dare, New York Times best-selling author)
“Sharp, smart, and oh-so-swoony, The Queer Principles of Kit Webb reminds me that Cat Sebastian is an author at the absolute top of her game.” (Rachel Hawkins, New York Times best-selling author)
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?
REVIEW:
Kit Webb, former highwayman who has suffered an injury that makes his previous profession a bit untenable, now runs a modest coffee house. While admittedly a bit boring, it’s certainly safer. But when Percy, Lord Holland, the future Duke of Clare, comes looking for help in robbing a mark, Kit can’t help but be intrigued. And while admitting that he cannot do so the deed is difficult, he agrees to teach Percy to instead commit the robbery 🙂 And thus a bargain is made.
In parallel, Percy is working with his best friend/stepmother, Marion, as well. His father had married her while Percy was abroad and when Percy returned, he discovered he had a new half sister and that Marion was being blackmailed. Marion and Percy have hatched the plot to turn the tables on the current Duke – Percy’s terrible father and Marion’s less than satisfactory husband. With the possibility of ruin, they have to find a way to salvage things for themselves.
As Kit pursues training Percy to rob the stagecoach, their relationship takes on a completely different tenor. It’s pretty obvious that each man fancies the other. Percy doesn’t appreciate Kit’s training methods and he let’s Kit know so in unequivocal terms. But needs must, so Percy listens to Kit, but also pursues his own avenues – particularly with anonymous sword fighting (providing some fabulous comic relief in this story). As time goes on, Percy has to confess to Kit who he is going to rob (not that Kit hasn’t already guessed) and eventually shares the why. This admission along with other things going wrong, lead to both men being brutally honest with each other. And that honest will either cement or destroy what they seem to be building.
Well isn’t this embarrassing that after eleven or so years reading this genre that this is the first Cat Sebastian book I’ve read/listened to. Obviously I need to rectify this oversight 🙂 I’ve already gotten Hither, Page to listen to as well. What an absolute delight this book was! Percy and Marion are such amazing and fun characters – although their predicament is anything but fun. I doubt blackmail can every be considered fun. The twist and turns in the story kept me listening and wanting to find out just how all the convoluted machinations would turn out. The peek into the Georgian society and the disdain for which the aristocracy held those who were tenants on their land and complete lack of care for anyone not of their class. As Kit and Percy grew closer, I just knew there would be a sad story in Kit’s past that would explain why he was happy to help Percy in taking down his father. Just how that might work out and who all might be affected by their efforts were cleverly revealed at just the right time. I loved Kit and his friends and Percy, his valet Collins (I bet he has a LOT of stories to tell) and of course Marion and her moxie also made for a deftly realized plot that kept me guessing until the last few chapters. Honestly, for a book about blackmail and highway robbery with the potential for any one of a number of characters ending up dead, this was a really good time 😀
Joel Leslie did a fantastic job narrating this novel. There are a lot of characters and a lot of accents – which is right in his wheelhouse. The snark and humor and sadness and pathos all shone through. Drunk Percy might be my favorite 😉 Kit with his gruff exterior hiding a marshmallow heart was probably my second favorite – but truly the entire cast was terribly well done. So enjoyable – and I highly recommend it!
RATING: 
BUY LINKS:
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