Two Rogues Make a Right: An MM Historical Romance of Mental Health and Lifelong Love – A Tender Friends-to-Lovers Story (Seducing the Sedgwicks Book 3)

I have been waiting for this book ever since hints were dropped at the end of A Gentleman Never Keeps Score almost two years, but I can assure you that it was 100% worth the wait. Will Sedgwick and Martin Easterbrook have been friends for their entire lives. Their paths diverged at some point, but as the story begins, Will has essentially kidnapped Martin and brought him to recuperate in an abandoned gamekeeper’s cottage. At first, Martin is quite ill, but Will manages to bring him back to good—well, decent—health. So, there they are, living together in a small cottage. There is plenty of time to reacquaint themselves with the men they have become, and of course, to acknowledge the feelings that have always been there. Did I mention that there’s only one bed? I have loved all of Cat Sebastian’s books, but this one is my favorite. It could be subtitled Two Idiots in Love because Will and Martin are both such lovesick fools. There’s very little actual conflict in the book, aside from the mutual awareness of the difficulties surrounding a long-term relationship between two men. But aside from that looming specter, this book is light in tone. It’s sweet and tender and full of feelings. It’s also a bit of a slow burn, as both men are afraid to make the first move because neither wants to ruin their friendship. Once they do take that step, it’s at a languid pace, and Will is so gentle and patient with Martin. The two protagonists are supported by a strong cast of secondary…

Overall rating: 4.5/5 Spice: 2/5 Narrator: 2/5 Cliffhanger: 0/5 Age: 15+ I found out where all the angst I was looking for in the first two books went, the author saved it all for this book. Don’t let the title fool you, there are no rogues here and it is not lighthearted. It is filled with pining and longing. It’s heartbreakingly romantic in a way that would have made the Bronte sisters weep. Will Segwick has endured years of torture on board a navy ship, multiple subsequent court martial trials, and an opium addiction, but nothing hurts him more deeply than finding his childhood best friend poverty stricken and dying from consumption. He drags Martin off to the countryside to nurse him back to health, praying he’ll live long enough to give him a piece of his mind. Sir Martin has always been sickly, lonely, and sad. His mother is dead, his father is a monster, and the only bright light in his life was his neighbors, the Segwick boys. When his father died, he leaves Martin with no money, a pile of debt, and the guilt that his love for Will got him sent to the Royal Navy. When he gets consumption, dying from that seems a whole lot better than his aunt’s plan to marry him off. When he wakes up in the game cottage of his country estate with the man he loves tenderly nursing him, he has no idea what to do. If you love a broody hero, this book is for you. You get two, though Will has nothing on Sir Martin, who puts Mr. Rochester and Mr. Darcy to shame. They are…

Some romance is full of angst and pain and hardship before a happily ever after. And some romance is full of all of those things in the lightest and fluffiest way possible, making every page a joy to read. Sebastian nails the latter with this conclusion to her Seducing the Sedgwicks series. (I would argue, however, that it’s the Sedgwicks who seem to do most of the seducing in these three books.) I adore the trope of two characters moving from lifelong friendship to realizing that adding romantic love strengthens their bond rather than weakening it. Will and Martin have the usual historical romance barriers in their way: their shared gender/biological sex and their differences in social status being the primary. Sebastian ups the ante here by including chronic illness and post-traumatic stress disorder to the mix. Instead, those conflicts almost drive the pair closer. After all, those issues had already proven time and again how much each man meant to each other. And neither should ever be a reason that a person cannot find their own happily ever after. On the surface, Sebastian’s amusing descriptions of this book on social media (Two idiots discovering feelings! Only one bed!) are entirely accurate. However, she moves beyond the surface-level issues of these tropes to craft a unique and solid love story. I already look forward to re-reading this book in the future when I need a dose of those fuzzy feelings for myself once again.

Star crossed lover characters with tormented histories in a fairly interesting plot. I enjoyed the side characters and settings a lot. I've started binge reading all of CS's books and while I want to love them, I feel they have an execution problem. All of the plots have interesting elements and the characters are unique with compelling stories, but the writing needs stronger editing and emotional depth. This charming book has many touching elements, I bought it because I'm sure I will reread it, but so far, it's the only one. I look forward to this author's next books.

Not much to shout about, but the story was nice. Will and Martin's relationship, based on a long-time friendship blossomed into a forbidden love. I really like Martin's personality, wittiness and charm. He was sickly and seemed self-absorbed but loved Will. Nice story.