The Queer Principles of Kit Webb Books in Order

This linked pair of novels is set in 1750s England, where people fall in love while lying, stealing, blackmailing, and generally making a complete mess of things. They are historical romances with a caper streak, and that mix of warmth and criminal nonsense is a big part of their charm.

Crime is part of the courtship here.

The Queer Principles of Kit Webb starts with Kit, a former highwayman who now runs a coffeehouse, and Percy, an aristocrat who needs a dangerous book and has no idea how to move through Kit's world. One is practical and wary. The other is fussy, privileged, and unexpectedly brave. Their plan to steal from Percy's father gives the book its momentum, but the real pleasure comes from watching two men from very different classes learn how to meet in the middle.

The Perfect Crimes of Marian Hayes widens that world through Marian and Rob. Marian is sharp, angry, and entirely justified in being so. Rob is a cheerful criminal with a disastrous heart. Their story begins with blackmail letters and turns into a road trip full of felonies, hiding, and unexpected tenderness. Characters from the first book circle back in a way that makes the whole project feel like a small, unruly community rather than a neat, sealed-off duet.

Setting matters a lot in these books. Sebastian uses coffeehouses, inns, country roads, and Georgian London to keep everything lively and a little grubby around the edges. This is not a polished ballroom version of history. The series cares about class, money, reputation, and who gets called respectable, but it keeps the tone witty and emotionally generous.

If you like romance with banter, heists, and people who are trying very hard not to admit how much they care, this is an easy series to love. The stakes are higher than in Sebastian's cozier books, yet the heart of it is still familiar: damaged or difficult people finding somebody who understands them and does not ask them to become simpler than they are.