The Queer Principles of Kit Webb by Cat Sebastian
June 8, 2021 by Avon
Historical Romance

Reviewed by Kate

The Queer Principles of Kit Webb was somehow both what I expected and nothing like I expected. I typically love Cat Sebastian’s books, and I really did enjoy The Queer Principles of Kit Webb, but it had darker themes than I would expect based on my experience with her books in the past. 

This doesn’t mean that it isn’t still a sweet romance, but the main storyline is pretty serious – Percy is being blackmailed based on some information about his (pretty evil) father, and needs to retrieve a book that his father never lets out of his sight. Obviously the solution is to hold up his carriage, and Percy attempts to hire Kit, a former highwayman, to do that. But Kit was injured in his last job, over a year ago, and so decides instead of doing the job, he’ll teach Percy how to do the hold up himself. There’s a lot of sexy “learning to fight” scenes, and Percy hanging around in Kit’s coffee shop making eyes at Kit. 

Percy and Kit are delightful, and the first 75% or so of the book is them being very adorable together. One thing that I typically enjoy about Cat Sebastian books is that I feel like she keeps me guessing as to how the characters can end up together and it’s always very satisfying when the resolution comes about. The same held true with The Queer Principles – I wasn’t sure how exactly Percy and Kit would make it work, but the way that it ended up happening was so sweet. There are some plot threads that are left hanging, but I wonder if that is also a set-up for a sequel. 

I think my biggest complaint about The Queer Principles is that the secondary characters are clearly important, and as a reader, I kept trying to puzzle out the relationships but kept getting confused. I felt like I was supposed to be picking up on something, but just kind of felt like it was going over my head. (Honestly, it’s possible this is a me problem and everybody else who reads this book will be fine.) Eventually all is revealed, but I do think there are some very convenient relationships, because some things just work out perfectly. 

Percy is a bit of a spoiled aristocrat, not having known anything else in his life. But he grows up a lot during the course of the book. Kit is grumpy but just can’t maintain his grump in the face of Percy’s sheer ridiculousness. Kit’s history is entangled with Percy’s family in a very serious way, and the way that is resolved is well done. The love the two have for each other by the end is very clear, and their interactions are so tender and sweet and gave me warm fuzzies inside as I was reading. 

Overall, I just felt so good after reading The Queer Principles of Kit Webb. It is such a satisfying read. Though it is dark at times, I feel like those parts are handled well and I was, as a whole, emotionally satisfied at the end. 

Content warnings: Before the events of the book, death of a child and wife, as well as death of a mother. During the events of the book, blackmail and gun violence. Author’s content notes

Grade: A

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