The Queer Principles of Kit Webb

The Queer Principles of Kit Webb (2021) Cat Sebastian

Set in England in 1751.

After a carriage hold up that cost him the full use of his leg as well as his best friend, Kit Webb decided to take over the running of his coffee shop. There might be some planning and deals and fencing going on in the back room, but Kit himself is now a law abiding citizen.

And bored.

Percy, Lord Holland has discovered his life is not what he thought. A blackmail note leaves him and his father’s wife trying to scramble enough cash to live after they will lose the wealth and social standing at the end of the year.

The first letter had arrived a month ago, relating the bare facts of Percy’s father’s bigamy and demanding five hundred pounds before the first of January. Now they were left with a scant two months to come up with a plan.

So Percy hopes that getting hold of his mother’s book–now held by his father–will help them achieve enough money to survive. The problem is getting the book.

“I’ve already told you what I think. Paying the blackmailer is letting your father get away with it. I want to make him suffer,” Marian added with a degree of relish Percy found entirely understandable.

Couple of notes. Pretty sure Kit is demi.

“I seldom go to bed with people because I seldom meet anyone I really want to go to bed with.

There were a couple places that took me out of the story. Scenes that felt like they referred to a passage that had been edited out, and they forgot to change the reference. It wasn’t a huge deal, but it did make me stop and try to remember if I’d actually read the conversation referred to earlier.

But I liked both Kit and Percy, so it wasn’t a game changer.

Percy was somehow still young or naive enough to think that there was any difference between being strong and acting strong.

Plus there were some lovely and thoughtful passages.

Including the bit with the spider.

This time part of the web caught in Kit’s hair— which, given the state of Kit’s hair, was hardly surprising— and Kit carefully disentangled it. Then he murmured something that looked awfully like “beg pardon” to the spider.

There is obviously going to be another book, following Marian, but the story ended cleanly, which is always good.

Publisher: Avon
Rating: 8/10

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