A review by mariel_redwall
It Takes Two to Tumble by Cat Sebastian

emotional hopeful reflective relaxing medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

This novel follows the developing love of Ben Sedgewick and Phillip Dacre. It’s the first in the Seducing the Sedgewicks series. Ben is a country vicar, Phillip a successful, disciplined naval officer. They meet because Ben has been caring for Phillip’s children (their mother died several years ago) and the children have run off a number of tutors and other caregivers. Sebastian describes it as a “Sound of Music” plot and it very much is that kind of dynamic. Ben wants a comfortable life raising a family and caring for his community, Phillip wants to return to his ship where he is comfortable with being in control and knowing the routines. They fall in love, which explodes all of their plans - Ben realizes that he cannot marry his best friend/fiancée Alice because he really is not attracted to her, Phillip develops a relationship with his children that’s not based on bossing them around. Like most of Sebastian’s books that I’ve read, this one does not have a huge number of plot points and is more focused on the character’s inner emotional experience and growth, which suits me perfectly. 

Sexiness quotient: I’d say medium steam? I’m still pretty new to this, so I’m not sure my steam levels are well calibrated (this has a variety of sexual acts, fairly well detailed). 

CW: Author’s content warnings on this are very thorough: “past parental neglect, MC who deals with internalized shame of his dyslexia, explicit sex, secondary character with an illness similar to MS, period typical ableist attitudes regarding a disabled woman’s marriageability.” I would add that a secondary character alludes to previous sexual abuse, and a homophobic culture. 

I love the way Ben explores his relationship with his vocation as a vicar in light of both his free-thinking father’s disapproval and the homophobia of the Church of England, and how he connects with his faith outside of what the Church says. I love when religion is important to characters but they actually wrestle with what it means for them personally, think about why it’s important to them, and find ways to be at peace both with themselves and with their beliefs. I also am a huge fan of quiet stories that focus mostly on people spending time together, lovely side characters, personal growth, etc. The inclusion of discussion of neurodiversity + learning disability with Phillip’s children and Phillip’s own dyslexia was great as well, really well done I thought. I really loved this book! Bonus: The audiobook with Joel Leslie’s narration was excellent. 

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