I loved The Queer Principles of Kit Webb but this book was actual perfection.

And this review is just gonna be a confusing rant because I have Feelings.

First of all, our MCs are two of the biggest disaster Bis I've ever seen. Second of all, MARSHMALLOW BOYS AND RAZORBLADE GIRLS HAVE MY HEART.

Marian Hayes is on the run after shooting her dastardly duke husband and on the way she's picked up her blackmailer, highwayman Rob Brooks. After exchanging letters for months (ya know... for the blackmail obviously) Rob feels like the only safe person Marian can turn to after she commits a possible murder.

This book. THIS BOOK. If you see any of my reviews on here, you know I read a LOT of historical romance but this is definitely my favorite of the year. Cat Sebastian writes queer histroms that also have heart. The author never lets us forget that like generational wealth isn't Good no matter how much we love to read about lords and ladies falling in love in ballrooms.

This book is hilarious and so so soft. The characters are obsessed with each other and I am obsessed with them.

Tropes You May Enjoy While Reading:
1. Sunshine/Grumpy - but also more like mean goth gf/golden retriever bf
2. Forced proximity (except you can't force these two)
3. Oh no, there's only one bed
4. Epistolary sections (I adore letter writing in books as a means of storytelling)
5. bi woman who prefers women and bi men who prefers men ends up together (like Howl/Sophie vibes, you can't tell me I'm wrong on either count)
6. HE HAS A PRAISE KINK AND SHE IS IN CHARGE

One thing I extra loved about this book was how the smut was handled. Cat Sebastian did not give us two queer characters for them to not switch it up. Marian experienced past trauma and didn't want certain things in the bedroom but Rob made sure she got to enjoy herself without fear that he would hurt her anymore (this made me feel really seen and I loved it so much with my little broken heart).

Anyway, I don't know. It's perfect. I think everyone should read it. I will be picking up Cat's whole backlist immediately.

Thank you to Avon and NetGalley for my ARC!

Thanks to Avon for an advanced copy of this book!

The Perfect Crimes of Marian Hayes was such a fun blend of romance and action. After killing her husband, Marian "kidnaps" her blackmailer, Rob, and disappears. With Rob's help, Marian seeks protection for her family and herself, and the two begin to fall in love in the process. Marian and Rob had big grump/sunshine energy, with Marian being the grump (a twist on the trope that I adored.) They had great chemistry and the banter was top-notch. I definitely recommend reading The Queer Principles of Kit Webb before beginning this one as the stories are closely tied together. Overall, a fun historical romance!

I will preface this review by stating that I did not read the previous book in this series before jumping into this story. This caused some confusion but so much so that I was lost.
This is my first time reading Cat Sebastian after hearing about her work for so many years. I knew I had to pick this book up though because blackmailers, murder and road trip! All of these things made this book sound really promising to me.
This is very much a character driven story. The plot happens very early on and doesn't get too exciting (despite the murder). But I will say Marian and Rob are OTP. They were so perfect for each other. Their letters in the beginning were filled with so much banter I knew I was in for a treat. I liked seeing their sunshine/grump relationship blossom. Both characters are also bisexual, so yay for representation!
The writing is witty and fun. I shall have to read more of Sebastian's backlist.

This book is my everything. I am having a hard time finding the words to explain why and how much I love this book. We meet Marian in the first book in this series, The Queer Principles of Kit Webb, but we get so much more of who she is and her motivations in this book. And of course I fell immediately in love with Rob, who is basically the ultimate cinnamon roll wrapped in a sexy, charming thief package. SWOON. He's just so *good* and so cheerful and zany and skilled.

I love Cat Sebastian. Her books always somehow have this core of comfort somehow, and The Perfect Crimes of Marian Hayes is no exception. How can a book focused around blackmail, murder, kidnapping, thievery, and other assorted crime have a cozy, comforting vibe, you ask? I have no idea, but Cat Sebastian somehow manages all that plus witty banter, steamy sexual tension, and break-your-heart levels of mutual pining. I can't even with this book, I just want to read it all over again right now.

This is the second book in The Queer Principles of Kit Webb series and is essentially a companion novel to the first book. For maximum impact, they should be read in order (and there are major spoilers for The Queer Principles of Kit Webbb in this book.)

Marian is being blackmailed, her husband is the worst kind of scoundrel, the kind with a title and the only good thing in her life is her baby girl. She has a plan, a great plan even, or at least it would have been. Somehow everything went wrong and now she’s on the run with her blackmailer, her husband shot by her own hand. What's that saying? The best laid plans of mice and men. Sometimes though, when something goes wrong, it’s actually gone just the way it was supposed to.

I am going to be 100% with you, I went into this book knowing nothing about it. My singular reason for requesting the arc was the cover. I mean look at it, how fun does this look? My guess based off the cover was that it was a regency romance possibly M/M or female who pretended to be a male.
One of the first K-Dramas I ever saw was one called Coffee Prince. It starred Gong Yoo 🤤 and Yoon Eun Hye. Eun Hye plays an employee of a Coffee shop who looks convincingly like a boy and who winds up falling for her best friend (Gong Yoo) who also develops feelings for her but is left confused because he has no idea Eun Hye is a girl. Based on the book cover, I assumed the story would go something like this. I was wrong but in the very best way.

This is the second book in the Kit Webb series, which I will now have to go read the first because this book is everything! Okay, not everything. I really don’t like it when romance characters go into a relationship with one of them having a huge possibly relationship ruining secret they are keeping from the other. It’s honestly the trope I have the hardest with. Thankfully Cat Sebastian knew how to help push me through my dislike of that trope. We as readers know the secret from the very start, and get to watch as this mismatched couple finds steady ground to walk on together.

If you are looking for a fantastically queer regency romance read, grab yourself a copy of The Perfect Crimes of Marian Hayes.

Huge thanks for Netgally, Avon, and Cat Sebastian for an advanced copy of this book.

I had no idea this was part of a series 😅 BUT thank goodness this can be read as a complete standalone.

I adored this one. This would actually make a great beach read because of the banter and chemistry between Rob & Marian. They are a great couple and probably one of my new favorites. They just made this book so much fun to read.

Despite being a lighter read, there are moments of disquiet. Marian hasn't had it easy and neither has Rob. I think that's what brings them together and makes them such a great pair. They have pain in their lives, fears they hold inside and indecisiveness about love and their future.

The author blends all this well and mixed with the premise and the romance, made for a quick and enjoyable read. I sincerely appreciate the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a review copy. All opinions expressed herein are mine and mine alone.

I absolutely devoured this book. Right from the beginning I was drawn to Rob and Marian and their chemistry! The narrative is equal parts tender and hilarious. I also loved the short chapters and dual POV. This book definitely picks up where Kit Webb left off, so I’d definitely recommend reading them in order.

Content warnings: references to difficult pregnancies and childbirth, parent struggling with dementia

Thanks to Avon and NetGalley for the gifted copy. All opinions are my own.

This book was a lot of fun to read. The banter between Rob and Marian was fun and witty. I LOVED their letters to each other when Rob is blackmailing Marian. I laughed so much reading them. They have such opposite personalities, but the relationship works so well. I liked that we got a heroine in a historical romance that has very liberal views on sex, and is actually the dominant in their sexual relationship. Without giving any spoilers, there are aspects of their sexual relationship that I don’t think I have ever seen before in a romance novel, which I found quite interesting.

So with book you get:
☀️ grumpy/sunshine
🥷🏼 morally grey characters
🏳️‍🌈 bi/pan MCs
🐈 hero with a penchant for saving animals
🏡 found family

I do wish we had seen more action on page. The action we see at the end felt a bit anticlimactic because of this.

I also really enjoyed seeing Kit and Percy again. I actually wished we had seen more of them in this book because their interaction with Rob and Marian were pretty funny. This book is a standalone, but I do think you have to read The Queer Principles of Kit Webb before this one. It helps to understand the events of this book better.

I revived an ARC for an honest review.

#begaydocrimes is one of the best tropes and this book by Cat Sebastian is just a wonderful warm hug of a romance. I loved Kit Webb and was so excited to read about Rob and Marian in this book. It was absolutely everything I had hoped for! Cat Sebastian characters are just so real and they feel their feelings even when those feelings aren’t popular or comfortable. This book was fun to read, the quips, the snarky letters and the relationships are just fantastic. Rob knows what he doesn’t want while Marian knows what she wants and I loved reading about them coming together.

Two women taking down the aristocracy? This is absolutely everything I have ever wanted, and more, in a historical romance. This was a perfect follow up to The Queer Principles of Kit Webb. I loved the bi babies & we even got a one bed trop. FIVE MILLION STARS.

I loved Cat Sebastian’s other books but this one didn’t leave me as breathless as her past ones. I wish there were less exposition and more banter between the couple (that’s what I feel she does well). It hasn’t ruined Cat Sebastian for me though - I’ll definitely continue to read her work!

This book was an utter delight, from the banter-via-letter at the beginning to the cozy criminal domesticity of the epilogue. It was funny, heartfelt, sweet, sexy, queer, and with a healthy dose of smashing the patriarchy. Marian is a difficult person to take on as a romantic partner, both because she has a lot of trauma and because of how given a choice, she'd put everyone else first while neglecting herself. (I think many of us can probably relate!) She needed so much to have someone who could both hug her and make her feel safe (and feel safe accepting help!) Rob was her perfect foil. He was infinitely patient with her, but also able to push her just enough to get her reaching for her own happiness. He is the gooiest of cinnamon roll heroes and utterly lovable from the moment we meet him. He and Marian are absolutely adorable together and so good for one another. This is an easy book to get lost in and just read in one sitting, but also worth revisiting to savor.

For my first book of Pride month I chose to read Cat Sebastian’s novel featuring the disaster bi’s which is the perfect way to describe both Marian and Rob. This is the followup book to the Queen Principles of Kit Webb and the climax for that book is the inciting incident for this book. In it we find Rob and Marian on a madcap run from London after Marian shot and killed her husband the Duke. The pair grow close as they travel visiting inns and country estates while they wait for things to blow over in London. If it wasn’t obvious from the names Rob and Marian, this is a Robin Hood retailing and the pair are very true to their inspiration.

I really liked both Marian and Rob. Rob’s anti-capitalist nature was just wonderful to read in a historical romance where the standard is usually wealth and luxury. I loved Marian’s chaotic energy. I also found her disconnect from motherhood and her daughter to be something that many will find relatable, and again it is not a perspective that we’re used to seeing in a historical romance. I did find the pacing of the story a bit uneven but the banter was always wonderful and Cat’s writing style kept me entertained. I absolutely loved seeing both Kit and Percy again and was happy that they became more present toward the end of the novel. I am excited to see if there is a third in the series or if Cat will switch to something else (I know that the third Cabot book is coming out in the Fall but I want more).

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved Kit and Percy’s story and this follow-up did not disappoint! Cat Sebastian writes strong, flawed, loyal characters you can’t help but love. Their journeys are fraught with danger, misdemeanors, humor and love. I cannot get enough! I hope this series gets another sequel, but in the meantime I may have to check out some of Sebastian’s other works.

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

The Perfect Crimes of Marian Hayes is the second book in Cat Sebastian's The Queer Principles of Kit Webb. I absolutely LOVED that book. Loved it! One of my all-time favorites. Can you read this one without reading the first one? Well, you could, but I highly recommend you read the first book before this one, as the story immediately follows Kit Webb. You will probably be lost otherwise. But still, it's worth reading anyway for the wonderful characters. If you love wit along with your romance, this one is for you.

Marian Hayes, the Duchess of Clare, just shot her husband the Duke. Yes, he definitely deserved it. But now Marian must run to the countryside to wait and see if she is suspected of the deadly deed. She does need some assistance, however, and the only person she can ask for help is the man who is blackmailing her for 500 pounds. The same man she left tied up in a seedy inn a little while ago. Rob Brooks, her blackmailer, is a highwayman and con artist...he's also the most cheerful man you would ever meet. He didn't mean to fall for Marian, but when she shows up in a dress splattered with the Duke's blood, he just can't say no. As they head across the country they pick pockets, drink a great amount and rescue a cat. They are happier than they've been in ages. But what happens when Rob's past catches up with him?

This was a fun, witty story, but it was the wonderful characters that made this book such a delight. Marian Hayes was not a beautiful woman, nor was she a warm and fuzzy person. No, she was quite abrasive and rather snarky. She was the mother of adorable little Eliza. Marian was very sick when she was pregnant and almost died giving birth. She didn't act particularly maternal like a happy mother, but you could see she loved the child. I believe it was a complicated relationship after the trauma she endured. Her husband was a horrid person, so she didn't mourn for him. When she needed help fleeing to the country, it was Rob she turned to; yes, her blackmailer. But he was a cheerful criminal. Truly, Rob was one of the nicest people ever, despite his life of crime. He's one of my all-time favorite heroes now. He was so charismatic and could charm anyone. Everyone liked him and became his friend. Marian was just astonished how he drew people to him. One of my favorite parts of the story concerned the letters that Rob and Marian sent to each other while the blackmail was occurring. They were very clever and funny, and you learned a lot about their personalities. Now let's talk about their intimate relationship. It was different, to say the least. But oh my, the steam was lovely! Both Marian and Rob were bisexual; that really didn't make a difference in the story. They just were. Marian feared getting pregnant - she knew it could very well kill her, so they didn't have relations as usually occurs in romances. No, they were creative. Rob loved when Marian was commanding and took the lead. Really, I can't describe it; it was just hot. They were perfect together, our cheerful hero and grumpy heroine. We were treated to appearances by Kit and Percy, the heroes of the first book. It was a treat to see them again. I don't know if there will be another book in the series. If not, I shall miss these characters. I loved them all!

I received an ARC of this book courtesy of the publisher and NetGalley. I received no compensation for my review, and all thoughts and opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Picking up right where we left off at the end of The Queer Principles of Kitt Webb, this second book in Cat Sebastian's hist-rom series gives us a rather fun trope, that of blackmail-to-lovers. We get two loveable bisexual disasters in Marian and Rob (best friends of Kitt and Percy from book one), as they plan to take down the aristocracy one felony at a time. Marian has recently shot and killed her husband, the Duke of Clare, and Rob is a highwayman who is the sunshine to Marian's grumpiness.

Aside from the delightful banter (seriously, it's some of the best) and the numerous hilarious hijinks that these two get up to, I mostly loved the way Sebastian treats her leads in the bedroom. While you'll find an emphasis on consent in many books, this one had something unique. Marian has survived an abusive marriage and a traumatic pregnancy that nearly took her life. She is understandably wary of the possibility of getting pregnant again, as she has been told that there is no chance she would survive it a second time. And Rob handles this situation with love and tenderness, and never forces her into something she's not willing to do. His insistence on making her feel comfortable and loved makes him positively swoony. I also love and appreciate the fact that the author recognizes and normalizes the idea that not all mothers immediately bond with their babies. This is something that the world at large needs to acknowledge, to let women be okay with needing emotional support in the time of new motherhood.

I definitely recommend this series if you're a fan of the queer hist-rom genre, though I strongly recommend starting with book one so that you have all the background needed for this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Why should you read this book?: 1) disaster bisexual leads, and 2) a healthy dose of eating the rich. Truly, what more could you ask for?

The Perfect Crimes of Marian Hayes is an absolute joyride of a novel. This story follows Marian Hayes, the Duchess of Clare, and Rob Brooks, Kit’s best friend and fellow highwayman. The story starts with Marian hiding and running away with Rob after she shoots and kills her husband, the Duke, after his attempted assassination of Percy, her best friend.

I would like to preface this review by saying that this isn’t a standalone. The story picks up immediately following the events of The Queer Principles of Kit Webb and doesn’t slow down from there. If you haven’t read Kit and Percy’s story (which you ABSOLUTELY should), you’ll likely be extremely confused for a bit. Typically, this would throw me off, especially with a romance, but I really appreciated that this was more of a continuation than its own story. It just builds upon what we already know about the characters and made me cherish them even more.

That said, I adored this story! It’s a fast paced, atypical romance and I couldn’t get enough. The first section recaps Marian and Rob’s, increasingly fond, correspondences and it just runs from there. Whether they’re on horseback in the countryside or plotting to steal from the wealthy, they’re just fun characters to be around. They have top-notch chemistry and fantastic relationship progression throughout the entire story and are written so sympathetically that you can’t help but fall for them both - to care deeply about their struggles and their journey together.

Cat Sebastian’s writing is truly something to behold. Not only is it stunningly beautiful, the banter is just incredible. Marian is brutal with Rob at times and it’s just fantastic. Rob wears his heart on his sleeve the whole time - he cares SO much about the people that he loves - and it’s no wonder that he fell first. And Sebastian’s characterization of Marian and her trauma was great and harrowing. I loved how open-minded their relationship was, especially with Marian’s traumatic experiences with pregnancy and marriage. Everything was fully consensual at all times and that constant checking in was one of my favorite parts.

Sebastian’s continued disdain and criticism of capitalism and wealth was a breath of fresh air and I loved the eat the rich mentality that this brought. This is just a fantastic histrom story and I cannot wait to dive deeper into Cat Sebastian’s backlog to see more.

Thank you so much to HarperCollins for the advanced copy!

Clearly, this book just wasn't for me, given the number of wonderful reviews, but I really didn't like it, so here goes...

I picked up this book and was really engrossed in it-for the first 10 pages-then I closed it and put it away because it is quite obviously only the second half of a story. I will repeat this: you cannot read this without having read the previous book.

I then read book 1 and discovered that it's worse than that, the previous book ends without any plot resolution. It isn't even a cliffhanger-it's like the denouement doesn't even happen. Ok, I had book 2, surely it will happen in book 2, right? No, the plot from book 1 was shoved aside for most of book 2 leading me to become more and more incensed the further I read. Basically, these two books should be considered as one book where the pacing is a complete mess. I feel like there was a good book in there somewhere, but you'd have to literally re-order large sections and rewrite half of it to find it.

However, as I said, clearly I'm missing something as lots of other people loved this, so take my opinion with a grain of salt.

“Nothing could have mattered less; if Marian loved him, then that was precisely the sort of love he wanted.”

This book. THIS BOOK!! Marian Hayes is the new love of my life and I absolutely adored Rob. As a certified Bisexual Disaster myself, this was the perfect book to start our pride month with.

We start out with Rob blackmailing Marian, threatening to disrupt her life by exposing her husband’s bigamy. From their very first letter exchange Marian and Rob have some *excellent* banter that keeps up throughout the book. They had me laughing several times.

The way that Rob just does what he can to care for her?? He pays so much attention to the things she might need and is more than willing to do what he can for her. And he just accepts Marian as she is. There’s a lot of discussion on consent, boundaries, their feelings and how a relationship might work for them.

Rob and Marian are two people who feel they just don’t fit in to their world, but they find love and safety in each other and I just *screeches* when I read the quote I have posted above, I teared up I just love them.

The Perfect Crimes of Marian Hayes comes out on Tuesday! If you like: grumpy/sunshine, bi squared romances, forced proximity, #BeGayDoCrime, only one bed, and found family then you should definitely pick this up!!

In 1751, Rob Brooks is a charming criminal who wishes he wasn’t the legitimate son of a duke. If only he could bribe his way out of this one. He starts with the Duke of Clare’s much younger third—and actually illegitimate—wife.

Marian Hayes is furious to learn her husband is a lying bigamist. So she kidnaps Rob to keep him out of the way while she concocts a plan that ends up going wrong.

This a romp and the voice is great. Both characters have a lot of intelligence and humor. They’re decisive, take charge people, and their banter back and forth was entertaining. She’s cold and he’s charming and it just works. Their relationship builds from their blackmail letters through their forced proximity while on the run. It was good fun until the pacing slowed in the middle and the rest never engaged me as much as the beginning did. The stakes dropped significantly and I lost interest.

Typically, historical romance series books can stand alone. You don’t need to read them in order and can get caught up with the side characters and relationships quickly enough. This is the second and I struggled a little with this. Everything with Lord Holland, Kitt, and the book was mentioned as though I was supposed to know what was happening. Since these relationships and actions heavily impact the plot, I wouldn’t read this one unless you’ve read the first book.

3.5 rounded up