I went into this book knowing very little about it. I wasn't expecting to be absolutely blown away by it! It has become one of my top 5 favorite books and is my favorite I've read this year. I've been recommending it to everyone lately and will likely continue to do so for a long time!

Kit has retired from his time as a highway robber after getting shot and thrown into prison. Now he runs a coffeehouse and stays out of trouble. Mostly. Percy is rich and wants to steal a book from his father, who is evil and possibly destroyed Kit's family and entire life. Of course that means Percy wants Kit's help to do it. When that turns into training Percy into becoming a robber himself, sparks fly and two men of very different social classes begin to see each other as equals.

I wanted to connect with this book so badly, and I just couldn't. I don't know if it's the historical period it's set in and all the talk of powdered wigs and fake moles, but I couldn't get behind the romance, the relationships, or really the heist at all. It started off feeling a bit like shrinkyclinks historical AU fan fiction (if you know, you know). Even still, I couldn't really get into the flouncy Percy or feel like Kit was really a grump. The sexy parts didn't feel all that sexy. Nothing about this really clicked with me, which is very disappointing.

This was a cute m/m romance. The banter is super good, and Cat Sebastian does a good job of setting the scene for this romance.

I liked most of the dialogue between Kit and Percy, but I found it hard to connect to the story (I don't usually enjoy M/M romances anyway) and I thought some of the novel was uninteresting. Might be just personal preference though, or the mood I was in while reading this. Read for POPSUGAR Reading Challenge and Pride Month 2022.

So queer and fun! I love Cat Sebastian’s work and this was no exception. Fun, flirty, and historical!

If anyone is looking for a book to convince non-romance readers to give romance, especially historical romance, a try, then look no further than "The Queer Principles of Kit Webb." Cat Sebastian is a master of creating characters you cannot help but adore, and delightfully embodies the motto, "Be Gay, Do Crime." Woven into this adorable, heartfelt romance between a highwayman and a duke's heir is a cutting and much-needed critique of inherited wealth and capitalism. Which is one of its many, many highlights. Don't miss this one.

I really loved Cat's writing. This book totally delivered. I loved the grumpy sunshine tension, the former highwaymen. I can't wait to read the next book in the series. Cat was a guest of the podcast where she promoted this book.

What a cozy little historical, full of fun and representation. A LGBTQIA+ love story! I adored it and I can't wait to read more from this author.

I absolutely loved Kit and Percy. Their banter was sweet and funny, both of them complex characters. The story was entertaining and though a bit meandering at times, never slow. And there was some good steam, too! I thoroughly enjoyed this and can’t wait to read the sequel.

Thank you NetGalley, author and publisher for the arc in exchange for an honest review. Al opinions are my own.

(Mini-Review) 3.5 Stars (Rounded) - I finally got around to reading Cat Sebastian's trade paperback debut & I thought it was so cute! I really enjoyed seeing how Kit & Percy came together, it was a lot of fun following their journey throughout. Sebastian's writing was great, the story flowed easily & she really brought all of these characters to life! The book did fall a bit short for me, but that's definitely a me problem & doesn't have to do with the book itself. I think I've finally just realized historical/regency romances aren't for me, I have issues with the way they're paced & find myself bored more often than not. Out of all the ones I've tried picking up throughout the past year, though, this was definitely the best one - I'd recommend this for those looking to dip their toes in the genre. Thank you so much Cat Sebastian, NetGalley, & Avon for providing an ARC in exchange for a honest review!

Well this was just a delight.

A heist. A cozy coffee shop. A sarcastic aristocrat with a softy grumpy grump.

What more do you need in a historical romance?

Oh yeah, it’s gay af and has a disabled MC. Representation say whaaaat.

This did start a bit slow for me but by the halfway mark, I was hooked.

The ending was soft and sweet and perfect, while also setting up a doorway to a second book about Rob and Marian, which I think will be feisty and fun too.

This was my first book by this author and when I saw this was a queer historical romance, I immediately wanted to try it out when I saw it on Netgalley. Overall, I think this was an entertaining read however, I had a hard time getting into the story and I found the second part/the ending more interesting to me than the beginning. I wasn't immersed in the plot but I was more interested by the romance between Kit and Percy and the character development. This was an okay read for me but perhaps this will be a new favorite for some of you!

(Thank you for letting me read and review via Netgalley)

This book is absolutely fabulous I could really see that Cat had a lot of fun writing this than with some of her other books. I really love the departure to a different century of English history. Definitely one of my favs .

however, my struggles with the book have been with the romance and the ending motion sequences of the plotline, each of which felt underdeveloped. The romance was a difficult one because there has been a whole lot of flirting and espresso ingesting and staring at each other. however, I still had a difficult time picturing those two collectively and had a tough time with the softer, squishier parts of the tale. It just wished more time to marinate so all the elements of the romance ought to come together. The sexual chemistry and banter became there, but there has been only a little some thing lacking that i have a tough time placing my finger on.

My far larger problem, although, become with the way the thriller/action went down. components regarded incredibly anti-climactic and irritatingly unfulfilling, elements regarded completely convoluted, and nevertheless we get a type of cliffhanger finishing. pointless to mention, I didn't enjoy the ending of the tale like I wanted to, and i stored gazing my Kindle questioning, "this may't be the stop."

i've to say the ebook takes its time in the beginning, but don’t surrender. the second half is complete of fun. i am so excited to see that is a chain due to the fact I’d love to study more about kit and Percy and hopefully a number of the other endearing cast of characters will get a highlight, too!

Thief-turned-barista? Kit Webb encounters infuriating aristocrat Percy in his shop asking for a favor: stealing a book that belonged to his mother. Kit is insistent that his new, better life is where he needs to stay, refuses, deciding to show Percy the ropes of thievery instead. But nothing really goes as planned in this historical romance.

I loved the witty banter and dialogue between our two main characters even if the story did have a slow start. The cast of characters were really fun to get to know. The character development was honestly really detailed overall and I was so happy the author included representations such as chronic pain.

The story was the perfect mix of dashing historical romance, heist-like-book vibes, unlikely pairings, and fun adventure scenes! Like I said, my biggest complaint was the drawn out start and overall being left with some questions regarding the ending (although I now know this is a series!). I would give it 3.5 stars in the end and I'm sure many types of readers can find something to love about the story.

When Lord Holland (known as Percy) and a childhood friend are blackmailed, Percy will do anything to obtain his mother’s book of secrets, which has been confiscated by his father. That includes hiring former highwayman Kit Webb (a.k.a. Gladhand Jack) to steal the book back. After a close friend’s death and his own injury by gunshot, Kit contents himself with dull days running his coffee shop. Then Percy upends his world and tries to recruit him for theft by revealing that he knows Kit used to be Gladhand Jack. Kit refuses to rob anyone, but grudgingly agrees to help Percy plan the robbery. The closer the two get, the more they fall for each other. However, Kit’s long-held hatred of the aristocracy, and shocking truths from both of their pasts, threaten their fragile bond. Sebastian (Two Rogues Make a Right) excels at detailing the vulnerabilities and endearing characteristics of the two heroes.

VERDICT Despite some pacing issues (a rather slow beginning and a hurried, action-packed end), readers will still enjoy the tussles between the high-class Percy and the Robin Hood–like Kit.

Heist heist baby! But seriously: if you like heists and/or witty, class-conscious historical romance, give this one a try. Looking forward to Marian's book next!

I always enjoy Cat Sebastian and this book was no different. I loved how slowburn this was, though I was wishing for even more time with the happy couple!

My favorite aspect of this book was the disability rep. My mother walks with a cane and has no internalized ableism about it. "I have much bigger problems to worry about Han somebody perceiving me as disabled" she says. I loved getting to see a character who also walks with a cane take that same journey to decrease his internalized ableism and accept his cane as a part of himself.

I love the romance in this--so lowborn, so much chemistry, so well written! Of course, I do wish the book was longer again, because I just loved it so much! All of the plots were neatly tied up, though I do wish the book was a bit longer so they could be just a bit more fully fleshed out.

Cat Sebastians writing style is one of my favorites, and reading this book was a treat. Thank you so much!!

I received an ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

THE QUEER PRINCIPLES OF KIT WEBB is truly a masterpiece. This book had witty dialogue, a swoon-worthy romance, and a cast of characters you'll adore. I am very excited to read more of Cat Sebastian's works!

Dislikes: I do wish this had characters of color, as I am so tired of the "I can't add People Of Color in my historical fiction" discourse. We, POC, have been around since the beginning of time. There truly is no reason to exclude us from your pieces. ESPECIALLY fictional pieces! I also wish the robbery was a tad longer. We spent the entirety of the novel planning for this big event and it lasted two seconds.

Likes: This book is hilarious! The romance was perfectly executed. Watching Kit and Percy find their rhythm and grow to deeply love one another was utterly romantic. I was obsessed with the disability rep in this; Kit needs to use a cane to walk and seeing him slowly come to realize his disability is just a part of himself was so nice. Internalized ableism is very real and it's difficult to unlearn those biases.

Overall, 4.5!! I would recommend this to loads of people (queer people, romance readers, historical fiction lovers, etc).

TWs/CWs: Gun violence, death of a child (past tense), death of a parent/death of a parent to cancer (past tense), sexual content, alcohol consumption, ableism, etc.

The Queer Principles of Kit Webb was good, but slow. I listened to this book on 2.5x speed and felt like I kept waiting for things to happen because the pace just wasn't working for me. I had tried to read it with my eyeballs several times and struggled to get into it. Once things picked up though, I rather enjoyed the dynamic between Percy and Kit. Percy has this persona that's almost untouchable in a way, like no one can get through to him, but at the same time, you know from his perspective that actually he feels a lot of things. And Kit could be so grumpy, but the way he cares about people is so deep and wonderful. I wished their backstories would have unfolded just a little quicker because I felt like once I knew more about Kit, I really understood him in a way that I wished I had the whole book. But also, there's something that happens toward the latter half of the book and it was like a bombshell that just... fizzled out? Which was weird. So basically, the middle of the book was pretty lovely and well-paced but both the beginning and the end were a little lackluster. All in all, not my favorite Cat Sebastian, but not one I would necessarily steer anyone away from either.