I liked but not loved this one. The romance is sweet and gentle as are the characters. One the one hand I really enjoyed how the story isn’t all the complicated. The plot manages to filter out drama. One the other hand i think as a result of that it also felt a bit lacking. I think if there had been just a touch more drama this would have been a much better read for me.

**ARC kindly provided by Netgalley for an honest review.

Cat Sebastian doe a well written Regency romance. The twist is that the romance is between to men who have been friends since childhood although they are from very different backgrounds. They reunite as adults, as one comes to nurse the other through illness. They slowly become aware of a physical attraction and hesitantly admit it. There is gentleness and tenderness between the two men that blossoms into romace.

Lean hint towards 4.5 stars?

This may be the SWEETEST romance I have ever read!!! Martin and Will were so freaking cute together, and everything from their bickering to their infinite devotion to one another made me so happy while reading this.

I HIGHLY recommend this if you enjoy m/m romances and/or historical romances, but I also recommend this if you don’t like a lot of smut in your romances. This had the perfect amount of love scenes and they weren’t graphic or explicit.

My first Cat Sebastian definitely didn’t disappoint, and I can’t wait to read more from her!

**Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing an e-arc in exchange for an honest review**

Cat Sebastian is always a must-read for me, and TWO ROGUES MAKE A RIGHT is a brilliant new entry to her Seducing the Sedgwicks series. Truly one of the best friends to lovers romances I've read in years, and comes with Sebastian's trademark wit, heart, and searingly hot sex.

I love the Seducing the Sedgewicks series, and this last installment didn't disappoint. The romance between Will and Martin felt so sweet and so natural. It made me sad when the book was over because I wanted to spend as much time as I could in their world.

Will Sedgwick and Martin Easterbrook are lifelong friends. When they grow up, Will goes off to sea while Martin spends much of his time in convalescence from consumption. When Will returns, he takes up a search for Martin, whose gone missing. Will finds him living in a damp and squalid conditions which trigger a consumptive episode. To save him, Will is constrained to kidnap him and install him in an abandoned gamekeeper’s cottage to tend his fever and make him well again.

This period of recuperation gives the two friends an opportunity to get to know each other again. Here, feelings that have long lain dormant under the guise of friendship bloom, leading to one of the gentlest love stories I've read this year.

Will is earnest, carrying his share of trauma from his time at sea, while Martin is deliciously acerbic - his biting wit provides some of the most humorous moments in the novel. Tropes abound - one bed, friends to lovers, opposites attract - and that cocktail yields a tender, slow burn filled with so much emotion, I found my self sighing often or smiling like a big dummy as I read.

In addition, there is excellent disability rep. Martin suffers from a chronic condition and it contributes to his bracing wit and apparent lack of sentimentality (apparent because the reader soon sees that Will can unlock all the tenderest feelings in Martin). But it is refreshing to see chronic illness so realistically and well treated in a romance.

I haven't read the previous books, so it means I certainly missed something in the way of secondary or supporting characters, but Two Rogues Make a Right worked well as a standalone.

I recently read Sebastian's "Tommy Cabot Was Here" in the He's Come Undone Romance Anthology and it was brilliantly written. Her wit seems to be a signature of her writing and makes me want to explore her back list. I look forward to reading more by her.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Originally posted www.serataino.com/book-shelf-two-rogues-make-a-right-seducing-the-sedgewicks-by-cat-sebastian

Two Rogues Make a Right is a tender, slow burn childhood friends-to-lovers historical romance. The story follows Sir Martin Easterbook, who is chronically ill and finds himself impoverished after his tyrannical father passes, and William Sedgwick, a former navy officer then sailor who struggles with trauma and addiction. Will and Martin have been friends since they were young, and as adults they continually turn to each other for support and care. When Martin falls extremely ill, Will takes Martin to the countryside - where the two men must face that their love goes beyond friendship. This story is sweet and loving, featuring an incredibly tender and adoring relationship that helps these men become their best selves.

If you like mutual pining, this book is for you. I wasn't necessarily in the mood for a mutual pining situation when I picked it up and I will admit that the first third of the book felt a little tortured for my tastes, but with very good reason. And once we got past the first third, for me, the book took a turn and I was desperately in love with these characters by the end of it.

Martin and Will have been friends since childhood. Martin grew up titled and privileged, but also ill and mistreated by his father. Unfortunately, his father did not limit his mistreatment of people to his son and also sexually abused Will's brother. That mistreatment definitely plays a role in how Martin views himself and his attraction to his best friend. Will, for his part, has his own trauma stemming from an incident during his time in the Royal Navy and also in the aftermath of said incident, found himself addicted to opium. The two are absolutely magnificent friends that anyone would be so privileged to have. From Martin rescuing Will from various opium dens (not seen on page, but discussed) to Will essentially kidnapping Martin and nursing him back to health. They are utterly devoted to one another even before realizing the depth of their feelings.

I wouldn't say that this book is very plot driven because, if we're being honest, there's not much to the plot. Rather, this is a very quiet book and it is really, really good at emotions. Cat Sebastian excels at making you really understand her characters and these characters are certainly not an exception. I am anxious to read so much more of her work after finishing this one.

Although I was granted an advanced copy, I read the majority of this in my kindle copy that I'd preordered and then finished it up on audio on a long drive. Regardless, I am grateful for the receipt of the ARC from Avon and Netgalley.

Cat Sebastian has written another memorable LGBTQ romance. This book is a historical friends to lovers title that adds in themes of chronic illness, addiction, and trauma while handling them in a sweet slow-burn romance that had me rooting for this couple to get a HEA. It was quite a unique read with all of the combined topics explored and I would definitely recommend it to anyone interested in them as I found to be beautifully written. Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for the ARC of this book. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

The Sedgwick’s have had a much rougher time of it then the couples in the Turner series so I was expecting this book to be heavy as well especially given what we knew about Martin and Will from previous books. But instead we got a very lovely, sweet love story. Yes both men had suffered but they weren’t so far gone that they couldn’t recognize the comfort and love that they could give each other when together.

I was expecting a bit more plot wise from the story though and that is the reason I couldn't give this a full 5 stars. I love the hurt/comfort theme but that felt like it took up a little too much of the book and I needed something else to get excited about. And normally Cat gives us at least 2 or 3 side plots and this time all it really was was the illness and the play and the relationships with the neighbors and Martin's aunt.

I of course loved the mentions of characters from previous books, Hartley really is the best, and I was happy to see him and Sam thriving.

And the ending was incredibly sweet, the tattoos totally had me in tears.

Overall this is an enjoyable book and nice to see these two characters get a happy ending, it's just not quite as exciting as some of the author's previous books.

4.25 stars

I'm going to reread the series, then this again now when the audiobook is out (yaaaaay). I may or may not do a better review but basically:

✅ omg, I loved Martin and Will so much, Martin for the grumpy raincloud/hot mess exterior, I-will-kill-you-and-your-grandmother-for-Will marshmallow interior and Will with his more subtle Slytherin side ways.

✅ Me during the entire book:

[.gif from Tangled of guy pushing two little unicorn figurines together to kiss, then smiling.]


✅/±: So, the plot is basically the weak part by far—it's a pumped up h/c fic with a side of angst, rain clouds, and rainbows. But I liked Martin and Will enough that I didn't care.


✅/±: This book would probably hold more of an impact if you've read Books #1 and #2 versus coming in as a standalone? But I think Sebastian explains it well enough that you won't be confused either, possibly just a little left out (or just intrigued enough to want to read the other books).

✅: Also, I loved the themes of family in general, including family of choice and the surprising subplot I didn't see coming with (spoiler on Goodreads).

tl;dr: See .gif


P.S. Thanks, publisher and Edelweiss and Netgalley, for the ARC in exchange for this (obviously) unpaid, non-coerced review. <3

Thanks to NetGalley and Avon Impulse for this eARC!

This was very sweet, and for anyone who likes friends-to-lovers, only one bed (!), and very little plot, this is your book. Most of this one is spent in a country cottage, just recovering from various things. Very soothing in these times.

3.5 Stars

A novella of childhood love rekindled.

Martin Easterbrook has been kidnapped, by his best friend, Will Sedgwick, who is bound and determined to get Martin healthy. Friends since childhood and separated by Martin’s fiendish father, this pair secluding themselves not far from London not only gives them a chance to heal themselves but rekindle something even more precious.

I thought this would be quick breezy read, but it was more emotional than I expected. Also, for not quite a full-length book this is slower burn than some of Sebastian’s stories, which made it even better. The way the heroes tiptoe around their feelings ratcheted up my interest and I was eager to see how these two would make something long term work.

Martin is our grumpy hero. He grew up sickly and now has consumption. Besides wondering how long he has to live constantly; he hates being fussed over and isn’t so great at showcasing emotions. An only child, Martin’s father is a dead villain lingering on our hero’s conscience so much so that he attempts to push Will away more than once. But thankfully, Will is having none of it.

Will is like if a beta and an alpha had a baby. If that makes any sense? He suffers from personal demons involving addiction, which Sebastian handles with a deft hand. While Will has a flair for the dramatic and is more emotionally expressive than Martin, I enjoyed how he was the more knowledgeable of the two heroes in terms of sexual aspect of the relationship.

How Will coaxed, taught, and allowed Martin to take the lead played out with a fabulous amount of consent with every sexual interaction they shared. Nothing is ever taken for granted or accepted a second time just because it happened once, that to me displayed a level of control and care I have neither experienced, but I believe should be expected. Graphic wise, the encounters are written without coarse words and flow similar to the rest of the book, with grace and appreciation.

Honestly, I haven’t come across a book by Cat Sebastian that I haven’t enjoyed. With storylines that are serious, yet often without high angst, I find the tales invigorating. I also love how with each book contains LGBTQ characters who are accepted as gay, without shame or insult. Secondary characters don’t dismiss or downplay the fact and show tolerance, repeatedly.

My only hiccup with the story is that often descriptors and introspection would go on longer than I liked, and I found myself skimming, looking for the next piece of interaction. Though for readers who love detailed internal and deep point of view this may be perfectly suitable.

For those who enjoy KJ Charles or Sherry Thomas.

~ Landra

Before I get into the review for this book I want to point out that it's important to read this series in order. This book doesn't work well as a standalone. There's quite a bit introduced in the previous books that helps you to understand Will and Martin as characters and how they got to where they are in this book. I originally started it without having read the second book in the series and was confused within the first couple chapters. I put it down and read the second book first and it helped immensely. That being said, this review will most definite have spoilers for the previous books in it.

Now let me tell you some of my thoughts about Two Rogues Make a Right. I have a lot of them but I'm only going to talk about a few of them because I think this is one of those books that you should go into kind of blind after reading the previous books. And I'm not even going to be sorry that this is going to be rambly.

I thought this book was adorable! I wasn't sure about how this story would go since they quite literally found one of the main characters deathly ill hiding in the attic at the end of the last book. I loved the romance between Will and Martin! Y'all! It's a slow burn friends-to-lovers romance. And my dear reader! There's only one bed! I was all in! Plus, the banter was truly brilliant in that way that comes from two characters knowing each other for years.

This book is a bit different from the previous books in the series. This was pretty light on the plot side of things and was mostly character driven. It read like the best kind of slice-of-life fanfiction where you watch two characters who have very obviously loved each other for years come to realize that they really do love each other. It's also part hurt/comfort fic with a nice helping of the nursing your love back to health trope. And they read so many stories to one another! It was a sweet and highly intimate romance that involved lots of time spent together with no one else disturbing them in the countryside. This book is seriously one of my forms of book catnip. It was lovely!

There are so many great things about this book I adored but I loved all of the diverse rep it contained! One of the leads is bisexual (and possibly pan) and the other main character read to me as being demisexual or on the ace spectrum which was awesome! I really want to see more demi/ace rep in romance. One of the main characters has a chronic illness (consumption) and the other is still recovering from being an opium addict and has severe PTSD and both have been subjected to abuse at some point in their lives.

The main characters are messy and have clearly been dealt a crappy hand in life but those things are part of what makes their romance so great. And I loved that the fact that they were a same sex couple in Victorian England was just a side note in the drama. I was rooting for them to be together. Also, I loved that we got a romance where the main character doesn't magically get cured of his disease but still got a Happily Ever After. Martin's illness impacted their relationship and it was refreshing to see that impact portrayed in their romance. And I seriously loved how Will didn't shy away from it. We need to see more of that in fiction.

The story is a bit slow but that added to its charm in my opinion. I loved watching both Will and Martin (especially Martin) realize they loved each other. The two idiots really were adorable. I loved watching them learn how to live in the country and found it hilarious when they messed up and their neighbors criticized their "farm work". They were exceedingly terrible at so many things. Also, their interactions with Daisy and Mrs. Tanner were amazing! I seriously loved the banter between surly Martin and Daisy as well as the banter between Daisy and Will who is a legit softie.

Cat Sebastian has quickly become one of my favorite authors and I find myself rereading her books when I need a comfort read. If you're looking for a sweet queer historical fiction novel, then Two Rogues Make a Right is the book for you. Actually, the whole series fits that description. I'd highly recommend reading It Takes Two to Tumble and A Gentleman Never Keeps Score before picking this one up though.

ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley

Heat Factor: I’m waffling between “the door’s ajar” and “snuggled under a pile of blankets”
Character Chemistry: These two clearly adore each other
Plot: IDK, love is hard?
Overall: Character-driven, low-key, friends-to-lovers M/M snuggles

On the surface, if I were reading Two Rogues Make a Right only for myself, I’d say, “Well! That was a comfortable read with adorable friends-to-lovers joy.”

But I was not reading this book only for myself, so now I have to think, and I am having many thoughts.

Here’s the deal:
Martin is a penniless baronet with a lung ailment who was abused by his father and feels like he’s never had any choices in his whole life. Will is a disrated former naval officer with an opium addiction after being in the situation that resulted in his leaving the navy. Martin and Will are childhood besties who have been there for each other in one way or another for their whole lives.

When the book begins, Will is the one rescuing a nearly dead Martin from a gross attic where he’s dying because he’s got no money and no idea how to actually take care of himself. But Martin made his own choice for once SO THERE. They wind up in a one-room cottage on one of Martin’s entailed properties.

Y’all, there’s only one bed in this little cottage where Will took Martin to get well, and they’ve been low-key in love with each other for years but it’s Georgian England and there are just a lot of feelings happening.

Here’s where we get to thought one: I think the feelings these two have for each other, or their interpretations of what those feelings mean, could have been tidier. At one point, for example, Martin thinks that Will would follow him to the ends of the earth just because Martin wants it, and at another he’s freaking out at Will because he feels like Will hasn’t committed to love. I grant you, It’s totally possible for humans to be complex and confusing and generally self-contradictory, but it’s not ideal for me, the reader, to be wondering if the problem is that Will is going to take this relationship too seriously or not take it seriously enough. At another point it seems like Martin is having a similar flip-flop.

Then there’s this whole they’ve loved each other forever thing, and now they’re in love. I read Martin as demisexual, although it’s possible he’s just never had the opportunity to meet people or have sex after his dad made him a shut-in (so Martin is a virgin hero, FYI). For his part, Will is bi- or pansexual. I thought the friends to lovers trope was great. It was clear that Martin and Will adored each other unconditionally, and the forced proximity after being mostly separated since their teens was the jolt they needed to realize that that treasured friendship meant something more.

It’s just that, here’s where we get to thought two (and three...and possibly four): These guys both have a huge amount of trauma in their lives, from both of them having pretty terrible childhoods to Martin’s poverty and illness to Will’s abuse in the navy and subsequent addiction. But the tone of the book does not dwell on the depth of that trauma at all. It’s mentioned, of course, or I wouldn’t know about it, but “angsty” is definitely not a word I’d use to describe this read. It was a little strange for these traumas to be shaping these characters and also be treated somewhat lightly.

Then, too, this series is Seducing the Sedgwicks, and there are five brothers, and so far three of five men are in M/M relationships, so what is that saying about Will’s childhood and sexuality? We at The Smut Report had a little conversation about the Sedgwicks, and agree that a token straight brother would go a long way in making it feel less like this family’s childhood traumas were directly related to them all being in M/M relationships. Because “queer as a consequence of childhood trauma” is problematic, to say the least.

This is a character-driven romance, and much of the drama stems from a lack of communication. In some ways this absolutely makes sense. Who wants to ruin a lifelong friendship by making an unwanted advance? Who wants to assume that the other man is interested when they both know that the relationship that would result is illegal? But in some ways it’s obnoxious. Martin in particular makes decisions and assumptions based on what would be best for Will, or what their relationship should be like, without talking to Will, and this, as we know, takes away Will’s agency. On the other hand, Martin is an uncommunicative mess, so “doing the right thing” regardless of the consequences is totally in character for him.

I also haven’t read the other books in the series, although I’m familiar with them, and there were several points at which I felt like I was maybe missing something. This is supposed to be a stand alone novel in the series, but it felt like I should have known some backstory.

When all is said and done, if you’re looking for a warm fuzzies read with protagonists who love unconditionally, even if not openly (at first anyway), you might pick this one. Just don’t overthink it.

I voluntarily read and reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. We disclose this in accordance with 16 CFR §255.

This review is also available at The Smut Report.

Do you need to be perfect to be loved? Cat Sebastian answers that question with a firm no as she pairs up a former navvy who is a hopeful playwright with an impoverished baron who suffers from terminal consumption. The men struggle to love and be loved in return before settling into domesticity with the full knowledge of sympathetic family members. A loving and affectionate novella with crusty curmudgeons at the core.

I went into this book expecting it to be 100% romantic soft fluff. I was not disappointed. But it may be more accurate to say it’s 85% softness and 15% healing but not being healed. Will & Martin have both been through A LOT, and while I trusted Cat, I was still nervous there would be an element of “love heals all.” Thankfully, there is none of that. Will & Martin make each other so happy and they made this reader SO happy, but within the limitations and realities of their lives. I loved reading about these chaotic idiots and how they find their way to each other. If you’re looking for an angsty, twisty book, look elsewhere. But if you want love that hides in edges of smiles, ‘idiot’ as an endearment, mumbled nonsense, and lots of hair petting, then you’ve come to the right place. As Martin (and Hartley) would say, it’s disgustingly emotional.

[It’s also a perfect culmination to the Sedgwick series, even if I wanted a tiny bit more Ben.]

**Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.**

Two Rogues Make a Right is a tender, emotionally honest romance. Cat Sebastian doesn’t deliver sweeping drama, but rather quiet moments that have a hefty emotional impact.

Friends-to-lovers is a trope I adore when done well and Ms. Sebastian does it exceptionally well. Will and Martin are lifelong best friends and neither will hesitate to drop everything to come to the other’s aid. At the beginning of this story it’s Martin, who suffers from chronic illness made worse by the poor London air, who is nearly on death’s door. Will sweeps him off to the country to heal and close quarters becomes the catalyst for them to take a chance on becoming something more than friends.

Martin is a grumpy hero with a hidden soft side. His father was a monster whose actions have had a strong impact on Martin. After his father’s death, Martin lost everything and when combined with his chronic illness he often feels helpless and it’s understandably frustrating. He doesn’t want to be dependent on others but the life he was raised in left him ill-equipped to survive. I loved watching Martin evolve over the course of the story, to learn what he can do and to accept that it’s ok to ask for help. He carries deep guilt that drags him down and I loved to watch him learn, heal, and grow. Most of all, I wanted him to get his happily ever after with Will.

And oh, Will. The middle Sedgwick is sweetness to the core and wears his heart on his sleeve. He cares deeply, especially when it comes to Martin. Will was raised by a neglectful father and suffers PTSD from his time in the navy. Will is a recovering addict with issues of his own but he’s finding his way. The obstacles in the way of the romance are mostly internal, but nevertheless I was sucked into Will and Martin’s story. Every bump in the road to happily ever after felt organic to these heroes and their histories. I also love that this story features a bisexual (Will) and demisexual (Martin) hero and that consent and dialogue were key parts to the love scenes. Every aspect of this romance worked for me and thinking about the book a day after I finished it, I realized how much the small gestures in this story – a touch here, fixing an article of clothing there – made such a big impact and really make Two Rogues Make a Right stand out from the crowd.

Two Rogues Make a Right is the third book in the Seducing the Sedgwicks series. Since I haven’t yet read the first two books I did feel like I was missing a bit of background information, but not so much that the story was impacted. All in all, I loved Martin and Will’s story. It’s a romance with heart featuring well-drawn characters whose needs and desires are complex and interesting. I cannot wait to catch up on the Seducing the Sedgwicks series as well as Ms. Sebastian’s other works.

I loved this story so much. I have read all of the other books in the series, and I've liked them as well, but I wasn't sure if I would like this one, because a grumpy protagonist isn't my favorite trope, but this one was pulled off very well. I wish there had been slightly more info about Will's predicament in the navy, but perhaps there was more info in the previous books in the series that I just didn't recall. I do read a lot. Martin was a little bit trickier for my to like as a protagonist, because he was the grumpy one, but by the end I really liked his character. I liked how it was so obviously that they loved and cared for each other, even before the characters admitted it to themselves, and to the readers. I can't wait for the next books that Cat Sebastian writes.

What a delight! I get a happy cry, you get a happy cry, everybody gets a happy cry. I could string positive adjectives together but I'll settle for a bad joke and hurry back to reread my favorite passages. Here we go: Will and Martin's story is so touching, heartwarming, and sweet that a toothache advisory should come with it. I'll stop there and urge everyone to get a copy of their own. This is my humble opinion.