I picked up "The Perfect Crimes of Marian Hayes" after looking at it in a bookstore window for weeks, and when I went in to pick it up I realized it was a 2nd book in the set. However, since that is what I had been looking at, I went ahead and got it. Once I started the book I got about halfway through and figured I should go back to the first book "The Queer Principals of Kit Webb" so I had a better understanding of references that were being made. It turns out that these two books actually overlap, so starting the Kit Webb in the middle of this story actually made a lot of sense...

The basis for these stories is concerning a horrible Duke whose (third) wife, Marian, discovers he is a bigamist and not only her baby daughter, but the Duke's son, Percy, by his (second) wife, who is also Marian's best friend, is actually illegitimate. Unfortunately for all this is discovered when Marian receives a blackmail note.

This story involved Rob, a former highwayman at loose ends due to a revelation told to him by his mother, who then decides to blackmail Marian with the Duke's secret. He's a nice enough guy who does tend to make some bad choices. Marian is just as messed up and when the two team up it is rather a debacle in the making.

In comparison with Percy and Kit, I didn't really like these two quite as much. Marian is kind of a meanie and has no compunction about murder. Although the one person she does murder had probably been the murder of many others, I just get the feeling from her that she could just do it again if slightly wronged in any way. Rob, likewise, doesn't seem to mind murder (or any other sort of crimes) as long as he feels he has the right justification. Also, Rob's infatuation with Marian over the course of the book becomes a little overwhelming. Overall, I liked the book and these two books together make a pretty good story. This one would have been much better had we found out what ultimately happened to these characters, say about a year later, and I really would have liked to know the fate of the cat Rob "saved". ( )

Perfect crimes of Marion Hayes?
More like perfect crimes of proletarian gays, amiright?

( )

I read the NetGalley ARC of this novel. My review: I meant to finish this sooner, but I didn't want to leave. I have no higher compliment for a story. Rob was fun to meet in book 1, and a delight as a point of view character. Marian was intriguing in book 1, and she did not disappoint. They're perfect for each other but it takes time to figure that out.

There is a kindness for people who break stereotypes in this novel. It's a love song to every person who doesn't fit society, but does their thing anyway and finds happiness regardless. The trauma representation is understated but intrinsic, and basic human kindness is the core of the friendships.

Marian is a woman learning that she can feel, and be loved, and Rob is a man who via his intense attraction comes to realize that his running away days need to end. Neither is very good at these lessons, but they get there eventually. I enjoyed the epilogue immensely. ( )

Delightful, lighthearted fast paced caper romance. With highwaymen. And a strong not-particularly maternal but particularly wonderful heroine. Love the lgbtq positive aspects. Love the romance by insulting letters. Altogether satisfying and frothy. ( )

The premise sounded like quite a bit of a stretch, but the way it played out was more believable. It's a reverse grumpy/sunshine, I found the hero absolutely charming. The heroine was considerably less delightful, but overall still likable. The road trip element was fun, and it had the Opposites Attract trope as well. I enjoyed it. ( )