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lizziaha's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
delightful
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism
Moderate: Child death, Gun violence, Blood, and Grief
Minor: Alcoholism and Homophobia
ruthlessreads's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I read this book for one of my book clubs but it's been on my TBR for a while so I was pretty excited to finally get to it.
I enjoyed the writing style, though I found the plot to be rather unwieldly. It felt as if there should either have been more plot details to make it make more sense or there should have been less plot and more focus on the romance. It felt unbalanced and made the reading a little jarring at times. Also, the background characters felt like paper dolls, with the exception of Betty, Kit's employee, and Percy's valet, Collins. They were both a delight and added a lot to the book. None of the other background characters were fully fleshed out, even people who were supposed to be important to the plot or to the MCs. While this isn't always an issue, I think the plot of this book could have used the support of some of the other characters, even if it made it a little bit longer.
That said, I loved the development of the romance between Kit and Percy. I'm a sucker for a grumpy/sunshine pairing and this was no exception. I loved Kit particularly, no surprise there. I think the author did a great job representing his disability and his acclimation to it, as well, since it's a recent development for him. As someone who is recently disabled and uses a cane everyday, it felt really good to see him as a romantic figure and to have a love interest for that disabled man who was so attentive and accommodating toward him. Percy was also delightful, of course. Be prepared for decadent descriptions of his clothing--it matters a lot to him! But I can definitely see how it might be boring and/or annoying for some readers.
Overall, I liked this book and will definitely read more Cat Sebastian. I think the romance & historical aspects were fun! There's another book out in the series, The Perfect Crimes of Marian Hayes, and I think try to read it this year.
I enjoyed the writing style, though I found the plot to be rather unwieldly. It felt as if there should either have been more plot details to make it make more sense or there should have been less plot and more focus on the romance. It felt unbalanced and made the reading a little jarring at times. Also, the background characters felt like paper dolls, with the exception of Betty, Kit's employee, and Percy's valet, Collins. They were both a delight and added a lot to the book. None of the other background characters were fully fleshed out, even people who were supposed to be important to the plot or to the MCs. While this isn't always an issue, I think the plot of this book could have used the support of some of the other characters, even if it made it a little bit longer.
That said, I loved the development of the romance between Kit and Percy. I'm a sucker for a grumpy/sunshine pairing and this was no exception. I loved Kit particularly, no surprise there. I think the author did a great job representing his disability and his acclimation to it, as well, since it's a recent development for him. As someone who is recently disabled and uses a cane everyday, it felt really good to see him as a romantic figure and to have a love interest for that disabled man who was so attentive and accommodating toward him. Percy was also delightful, of course. Be prepared for decadent descriptions of his clothing--it matters a lot to him! But I can definitely see how it might be boring and/or annoying for some readers.
Overall, I liked this book and will definitely read more Cat Sebastian. I think the romance & historical aspects were fun! There's another book out in the series, The Perfect Crimes of Marian Hayes, and I think try to read it this year.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Gun violence and Abandonment
Minor: Child abuse
sxndaze's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
sweet and delightful to read!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Gun violence, Violence, Blood, and Death of parent
Minor: Murder
jess_justmaybeperfect's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
A Georgian set (wigs, powder, beauty marks, etc) romance between Kit, a highwayman/coffee shop proprietor who takes care of everyone and Percy, the determined son of a Very Bad Dad™️ (also a very powerful/wealthy Duke) with a big secret.
Kit and Percy meet when Percy comes looking for help dealing with said big secret.
As they plot, they talk family, politics, friends, secrets, discover their shared trauma, have gorgeously romantic firsts together, grow fond, get cross, admit power imbalances, and fall in love.
Plus you get a few choice eat the rich, i.e. “no such thing as a good landlord… surely you know the cost of all this” moments.
Kit and Percy meet when Percy comes looking for help dealing with said big secret.
As they plot, they talk family, politics, friends, secrets, discover their shared trauma, have gorgeously romantic firsts together, grow fond, get cross, admit power imbalances, and fall in love.
Plus you get a few choice eat the rich, i.e. “no such thing as a good landlord… surely you know the cost of all this” moments.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Minor: Alcoholism, Child death, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Sexism, Slavery, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
thereadinghammock's review
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I feel like I fell in love with Percy as accidentally as Kit did as the story progressed. He started as such a prat, really living up to the life of privilege he clearly grew up in. But as his attitude toward his predicament, and his deeper direct involvement with the scheme to steal from his father to blackmail him (to pay the other blackmailer), he really grew on me as a character.
We had to earn the fantastic ending through watching Percy grow as a person and watch Percy help bring Kit out of the doldrums living he'd been shuffling through in the year since the accident that forced him to leave his life of highway robbery behind. It was lovely to see Kit's gruff demeanor thaw and soften toward Percy as they planned their heist, and the honesty of Kitt's "I've never done this with a man, but I know this is real and good and right." was lovely and felt so pure.
We had to earn the fantastic ending through watching Percy grow as a person and watch Percy help bring Kit out of the doldrums living he'd been shuffling through in the year since the accident that forced him to leave his life of highway robbery behind. It was lovely to see Kit's gruff demeanor thaw and soften toward Percy as they planned their heist, and the honesty of Kitt's "I've never done this with a man, but I know this is real and good and right." was lovely and felt so pure.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Sexual content, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Child death, Gun violence, Homophobia, Blood, Death of parent, and Alcohol
amy_in_the_city's review
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child death, Blood, Alcohol, and Classism
Minor: Homophobia, Forced institutionalization, and Colonisation
jourdanicus's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Be gay, do crimes, but make it Regency era!
I really enjoyed this book; tried reading a physical copy a while back and temporarily DNFed it. I'm glad I picked it back up on audio! I'm usually not into romances from this time period but if there's an LGBTQ+ focus, I'll at least try it.
Especially compared to a book I read just previously, I felt like the topics of grief and loss were handled gently and with nuance, while still keeping the lighthearted tone of the rest of the book. I think that's what I appreciated most. The descriptions of Kit and Percy looking at each other longingly, and of how their love developed, were enjoyable to read and felt naturally paced. The main plot aside from the romance of it all was well thought out and made sense, didn't feel forced like the plots of some romance.
Overall, a fun read and I'd like to check out more by this author!
I really enjoyed this book; tried reading a physical copy a while back and temporarily DNFed it. I'm glad I picked it back up on audio! I'm usually not into romances from this time period but if there's an LGBTQ+ focus, I'll at least try it.
Especially compared to a book I read just previously, I felt like the topics of grief and loss were handled gently and with nuance, while still keeping the lighthearted tone of the rest of the book. I think that's what I appreciated most. The descriptions of Kit and Percy looking at each other longingly, and of how their love developed, were enjoyable to read and felt naturally paced. The main plot aside from the romance of it all was well thought out and made sense, didn't feel forced like the plots of some romance.
Overall, a fun read and I'd like to check out more by this author!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Gun violence, Infidelity, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child death, Death, Grief, and Death of parent
alisoun's review against another edition
4.5
Kit and Percy
Set in an interesting time (1750s,!). I adored the political discourse - what hero says to another that he needs to pull his head in and acknowledge his wealth was built on the backs of people including enslaved people in the West Indies. That was hard hitting but necessary.
Lovely lads. Who love each other 🥰. So much found family vibes.
Kit is demi.
Set in an interesting time (1750s,!). I adored the political discourse - what hero says to another that he needs to pull his head in and acknowledge his wealth was built on the backs of people including enslaved people in the West Indies. That was hard hitting but necessary.
Lovely lads. Who love each other 🥰. So much found family vibes.
Kit is demi.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Grief
Moderate: Child death, Gun violence, Blood, and Death of parent
bree_h_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
This was such a delightful romance, I really enjoyed listening to it.
This book did such a good job on selling me on the romance. You can tell as their dynamic starts they aren’t fond of each other, but there’s a level of interest there. And as they get to know each other more that curiosity and interest develops into attraction. And it’s so well done, it feels slow and subtle and it makes sense for the characters. And when they finally kiss it feels EARNED which can be hard to say for some romances.
Characters also felt very real and like they developed and changed in realistic ways. Especially Percy, who started as very unaware of the world and didn’t think very highly of the lower classes. And he grows and changes his opinions, not because of a romance between him and a person of the lower class, but because he gained experience in what the world is actually like and befriended people from the lower class. It felt like he actually changed and grew instead of “oh my love interest is POOR so I suddenly care about POOR PEOPLE” which is a very infuriating trope for me.
Also the foreshadowing in this book was AMAZING! I would always piece together exactly what was about to be revealed from the crumbs and hint dropped throughout the plot. It all feels so subtle and I was also so excited when I realised what the book was getting at.
My ONLY issue was that it didn’t feel like the book made the transition from slow burn romance and the planning to the actual action of the book. It felt a bit rushed, but still enjoyable!
Overall great read, great gay romance, excellent book. I highly recommend.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Gun violence, Infidelity, Sexual content, Violence, and Abandonment
Minor: Homophobia, Misogyny, and Sexism
thepictureofromance's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This was a really delightful book!!
I loved how complex both Kit and Percy’s characters are.
The way that Percy was so focused on Marion and his sister was really endearing.
But it was watching Kit slowly but dramatically fall in love with Percy while also adjusting to life as a disabled person was what really sold the story for me.
It was a fantastic adventurous and swoon-worthy book. My only issue was that there was slightly too many characters and that let to the main plot being a little difficult to keep track of.
I loved how complex both Kit and Percy’s characters are.
The way that Percy was so focused on Marion and his sister was really endearing.
But it was watching Kit slowly but dramatically fall in love with Percy while also adjusting to life as a disabled person was what really sold the story for me.
It was a fantastic adventurous and swoon-worthy book. My only issue was that there was slightly too many characters and that let to the main plot being a little difficult to keep track of.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Sexual content, and Blood
Moderate: Child death, Grief, and Death of parent