Ranking Every Cat Sebastian Book

2021 was the year of the vaccine, the year of the belated Olympics, the year of Olivia Rodrigo’s driver’s license and much more. But for me, it was the year of the gay historical romance novel. I read 20 (you heard me, 20!) books that fit that specific bill, 14 of which were by the illustrious Cat Sebastian. As her twitter bio states, she writes ”Marxist tracts with boning” and to that I said, “I’m sold.” She specializes in mutual pining, eating the rich, and utilizing genre tropes to their full potential. Her books are feel-good, character-driven, and unapologetically sexy. I could not get enough. 

 

After spending the last six months reading everything of hers I could get my hands on, I wanted to reflect on what I’d read and perhaps provide a guide for entering the Sebastian-verse or historical romance in general. I’ve taken descriptions of each book from her website, which you can find here, and added my own where needed. Many of her books are part of a series, indicated in parentheses, but most you can read as standalones regardless (though it would probably be more enjoyable to read them in order). Operating on no official rubric, only vibes, here is every Cat Sebastian book (as of December 2021) ranked!

 

 

14. A Delicate Deception (Regency Imposters #3)

“a reclusive novelist who’s just doing her best + a stern, bearded engineer who does not know how he landed in this farce + two dogs, a cat, a French urchin, a duke who happens to be the engineer’s ex-boyfriend, and several beleaguered servants”

 

What I really respect about Cat Sebastian is that even the books that look deceptively straight, have LGBTQ+ main characters. Though the books in this series center on m/f relationships, almost every person involved is casually queer. The duke ex-boyfriend was my favorite character in this one, I honestly wish this book was more about him. I liked Amelia and Sydney fine, but their story seemed more suited to a novella than a full-blown book. I feel like I was over them by about halfway through which made the story kind of drag. But if quaint walks in the country interspersed with fucking against the collapsed wall of a ruin is your vibe, then this is the book for you. 

 

13. Unmasked by the Marquess (Regency Imposters #2)

“a servant who dresses as a man to impersonate her employer, realizes she doesn’t identify as a woman anymore, and accidentally falls in love with a prickly bisexual aristocrat”

 

If you like a long con, then might I introduce you to Robin. This is the most imposter-y of the regency imposters series as the main character is legitimately living a stolen identity, at least at first. She begins to make an identity all her own, which is something I cannot say I’ve read before of anyone living in 1819. Mad respect. One of my favorite things Cat Sebastian does in her books is have the characters flirt over books. That is literally the most attractive thing a person could possibly do in my eyes, so I think that’s very sexy of her. These two engage in some light literary foreplay and it was probably the aspect of their relationship I enjoyed the most. If I’m being honest, I enjoyed the social/family drama of this book, I just did not love Alistair, the male lead, which really brought the book down as a whole. 

 

12. A Little Light Mischief (The Turners #3.5)

“pickpocket turned lady’s maid Molly Wilkins teams up with her employer’s companion to right wrongs and steal things” 

 

This novella is our first foray into my new favorite subgenre: be gay do crimes. I don’t remember much from this story except that I liked these two prickly girls learning not to judge each other’s books by their covers. I also recall some top-notch corset-unlacing action. 

 

11. Hither Page 

“a jaded spy and a shell-shocked country doctor team up to solve a murder in postwar England” 

 

I really wanted to like this one more than I did. It was more murder mystery than romance, which for some people might be a real plus, but to me it came at the cost of character development. I just wasn’t sold on the relationship between these two even though the pacing suggests a slow-burn eventual get-together. I loved the setting of postwar English village, which Cat took full advantage of, introducing us to all its quaint inhabitants. It felt very Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society but with more murder. 

 

10. A Duke in Disguise (Regency Imposters #1)

“the tale of a radical bookseller, an illustrator who is extremely annoyed to discover he’s the heir to a dukedom, and a dirty book about Perkin Warbeck. Oops I’m in love with my best friend + hey, let’s eat the rich” 

 

You’re probably noticing a trend here. No, the Regency Imposters series was not my favorite, but this book included the male lead I liked the most. Ash was a delight and you know I’m a sucker for anyone in love with their childhood best friend. I absolutely adored the premise of two people trying desperately not to act on their out of control attraction to each other choosing to work together on publishing and illustrating a sexy romance novel. All the while, one of them inherits a dukedom in a pretty dramatic fashion which is really inconveniencing his plans to seduce his best friend with naughty engravings and cheese. You read that right. 

 

9. It Take Two to Tumble (Seducing the Sedgwicks #1)

“free spirited vicar + grumpy sea captain. It’s basically gay, regency Sound of Music with far fewer children and no musical numbers”

 

The Sound of Music comparison is very apt and probably the aspect of this book I liked the most. I love reading about children learning good emotional communication and Ben Sedgwick is the best teacher, impromptu babysitter, and pseudo-step dad these chaos children could ask for. I am not as sold on Captain Phillip as a character, which is why this book ranks lower than the rest of the Sedgwick series. This book had some really nice bits about growing up with a learning disability and leaving behind institutions that have personally benefitted you but are ultimately corrupt. Also dilfs if you’re into that. 

 

8. Tommy Cabot was Here (The Cabots #1)

quiet librarian + broken ex-golden boy who fooled around in high school reconnect as adults and cry a lot about it in 1950 something

 

There were some subtle dark academia vibes to this, which I very much appreciated. I really liked the flashbacks to their teen years; I almost wish this was a YA book about that time instead. Major props for the healthy, amicable divorce depicted here with bonus points for both parties finding new queer relationships. This is a perfect little Thanksgiving break novella, especially if you, like me, appreciate a grown man who’s not afraid to cry.  

 

7. The Soldier’s Scoundrel (The Turners #1)

a scoundrel who lives in the shadows and a soldier untarnished by vice fall in love while engaging in some light vigilante justice

 

This one wins the worst cover award, jesus fucking christ. It has to be addressed before I move on. Let’s ignore the ridiculous abs for a second and acknowledge that I don’t think these two men have ever been in the same room as each other. I could probably photoshop something better in MS Paint. These two were not my absolute favorites but I do respect them a lot. Jack for making a career out of getting rid of men who make problems for women and Oliver for deciding to be a part of vigilante justice because he got bored. One relates. 

 

6. The Lawrence Browne Affair (The Turners #2)

“the story of a reclusive scientist who falls in love with the confidence artist posing as his secretary” 

 

If that one line of synopsis doesn’t sell you on the premise of this, I don’t know what will. The characters have a sort of gay Beauty and the Beast energy with the hulking bearded man and a pretty twink living in a dilapidated manor. Georgie was a great morally gray character at the beginning but its hard to fault him anything once he goes full on HGTV on this disaster house to make sure a little boy has a nice Christmas. I think this book does a much better job tackling debilitating social anxiety than A Delicate Deception, but maybe I’m just weak for an emotional support dog. 

 

5. Peter Cabot Gets Lost (The Cabots #2)

“it’s a road trip/opposites attract romance between two new college graduates in the summer of 1960. Featuring: roadside diners, pancakes, and motel rooms that may or may not have only one bed”

 

At one point, one of the main characters describes the trip as cross-country gay sex bootcamp, which is true but in the most precious way possible. Peter and Caleb are the epitome of the grumpy one is soft for the sunshine one trope and I was here for every minute of it. I wish this novella was 300 pages longer so I could read more of these two arguing about maps, eating in diners, and boning in very on-brand 60s motel rooms. Interestingly, I feel like these two had to more directly deal with societal homophobia in 1960s America than the rest of these books set in sodomy law-era England. 

 

4. A Gentleman Never Keeps Score (Seducing the Sedgwicks #2)

“the story of an unlikely pair of men who join forces to steal some dirty paintings. Hartley Sedgwick is vain, idle, and a bit self-centered. Sam Fox is a cinnamon roll who keeps a pub. Together they do crime.”

 

Gonna be real, the crime aspect is really not what stands out to me about this book. If you want criminal action, go back to the Turner series. What this book excels at is a pretty raw exploration of struggling with physical intimacy after trauma. It hit me hard. There were a couple of scenes in particular that really struck me with the realization that there are a lot of ways to have sex, and some of them may not necessarily look the way you expect. That is a concept that queer people and those that struggle with physical intimacy should engage with more, and this book does both. Plus, I will instantly fall in love with any character that accidentally adopts teenagers off the street. 

 

3. The Ruin of a Rake (The Turners #3)

Uptight social climber (and secret master manipulator) is tasked with repairing the reputation of an infamous scoundrel who’s turned over a new leaf. 

 

These two are one of my absolute favorite combinations of characters because by all accounts they should not work, but they do. Julian is uptight, repressed, more than a little mean, and desperately bored. Courtenay is a hedonistic himbo. Even though Julian spends most of the book pulling at societal puppet strings to repair Courtenay’s reputation, the ultimate message of the book is fuck acceptance from society, you have to love yourself. One of the things I loved about this book is that instead of grand declarations, these two simply say “You’re my favorite person and I want to spend all my time with you” and it means more than any I love you. 

 

2. Two Rogues Make a Right (Seducing the Sedgwicks #3)

“Will Sedgwick carts his best friend, Martin Easterbrook, off to the country so he has a chance to recover from consumption. Then they spend two hundred pages reading books, drinking tea, and raising piglets.” 

 

This one wins best title, hands down. Where vigilante justice, taking on street gangs, and fake-shooting your boyfriend are peak Turners, this book is peak Sedgwick: building a quiet domestic life to heal from trauma. Bonus points for adorable piglets. I’m not going to lie, I have probably read this book at least 3 times since I read it for the first time over the summer. I just love it so much. There’s childhood best friends to lovers, more literary foreplay, and tuberculosis for the drama! Plus a relationship built on exchanging letters which just makes me dissolve into a little gay puddle. There is nothing more comforting to me than cottagecore gays learning to take care of each other, and more importantly, to let themselves be cared for. 

 

1. The Queer Principles of Kit Webb

“Fussy, spoiled aristocrat + grumpy, retired highwayman. Some crime, some swords, and a bit of angst in 1750s London”

 

How do I even put into words how much I adore Kit and Percy. We’ve stepped away from the Regency era for this one, so get ready for lots of stockings and powdered wings. This is the ultimate be gay, do crimes book, and despite the high stakes adventures at hand, the main characters manage to communicate effectively at every turn. There are a lot of things I love about this book from the sexy training montage to every iconic opening line of Percy’s chapters, but possibly my favorite thing is the commitment to having difficult conversations and listening to each other. On more than one occasion, one character sincerely apologizes to the other, draws clear boundaries, or changes their behavior based on something the other said. There are so many lines from this book that live in my head rent-free. 

 

 

This year, I decided that I no longer believe in guilty pleasures. People should be allowed to like what they like and skip the shame. We live in harsh world, and if two regency twinks boning in a country cottage is what gets you through the hard times, then not only should you be allowed that, you should celebrate it. Shout it from the rooftops. I fucking love trashy gay romance novels. Every horrible cover and salacious title just makes me dig my heels in more. I may have finished Cat Sebastian’s current repertoire but she’s not stopping, and neither am I. If any of these sounded appealing to you, I beg you to check them out and fuck what anyone else thinks.