Finally, a fun romance!

After reading a slew of less-than-great romance novels, I’m glad that at least I can count on Cat Sebastian. 

Marian Hayes is on the run. She’s shot her husband (understandably and deservedly), but now she’s running for her life, hoping to escape her home life. She runs to the only person she can think of for help; con artist Rob Brooks, a man she has a very intimate and close history. The two have really fun banter and great chemistry, which makes this a pretty easy read. I enjoyed both as characters and was rooting for them, especially because they share a sordid past and secrets. This is also an interesting book in that it’s a hetero couple, but there’s a lot of queerness going on, which I absolutely adored. 

This is a great romance for fans of romantic comedies and historical fiction. Cat Sebastian is a talented writer who does a great job writing banter and quick wits, which is one of my favorite parts of any novel. On top of that, Sebastian writes really compelling sex scenes that (spoiler alert!) include elements of sexual intercourse without penetrative penis-to-vagina sex! There’s fingering, but after a good talk about consent and what the couple is interested in, they decide to try other forms of sexual intimacy and sex that don’t involve a dude ramming his dick into a woman repeatedly.  I enjoyed that Sebastian added this in to give the characters some depth, while other authors usually involve lots of sex for the sake of making it a ~spicy~ romance rather than adding to who the characters are. While these sexual positions aren’t things I am interested in sexually, I enjoyed reading about it and will hopefully open the eyes of many readers.  

Title: The Perfect Crimes of Marian Hayes
Author: Cat Sebastian
Format: Paperback
Pages: 352
ISBN: 9780063026254

Three Descriptors: Sex-Positive, Witty, A Romp

Read Alikes:
A Lady For A Duke by Alexis Hall
Phyllida and the Brotherhood of Philander by Ann Herendeen
Slightly Shady by Amanda Quick
My One and Only Duke by Grace Burrowes
A Rogue to Remember by Emily Sullivan
Bombshell by Sarah MacLean