Sparks fly between an aristocrat and the highwayman he recruits for a plot against his father in The Queer Principles of Kit Webb, a delightful 18th-century romance from Cat Sebastian (Two Rogues Make a Right).
Percy, Lord Holland and his childhood friend Marian (who has recently become his stepmother) need leverage against his father. A certain book that he keeps on his person at all times and which belonged to Percy's mother is their best hope. Percy approaches Kit Webb, a legendary highwayman now retired to run a coffee shop, to hire him to hold up his father's carriage. Kit is unwilling to carry it out himself but agrees to teach Percy how to do the deed. As the two meet for lessons and to plan the crime, they discover an attraction that defies Kit's hatred for the aristocracy and crosses the boundaries of the worlds they live in.
As always, Sebastian's dialogue sparkles. The differences in Kit's and Percy's social standing are both recognized in the time that it takes for trust to build between them and settled in a way that makes their happy ending believable. The twists and turns of the robbery scheme are every bit as exciting as the romance, with even Kit and Percy themselves in suspense about the actions of some of their compatriots. Readers will be thoroughly charmed and eager to see more books set in this world. --Kristen Allen-Vogel, information services librarian at Dayton Metro Library