Reviews with content warning for Rape - The Perfect Crimes of Marian Hayes

Ahhh, the Robin Hood references! I grew up about half an hour from Sherwood Forest and it’s always been one of my favourite legends, so I’m delighted to see the parallels in this story.

Rob’s blackmail letters to Marian soon turn into love letters, and his infatuation with her grows after she drugs him and ties him up only to ask for his help when she accidentally murders her husband. I just loved their dynamic; Rob’s laidback golden retriever nature versus Marian’s mean and prickly personality. He basically follows her around with heart eyes for the whole book (although briefly distracted by adorable kittens). Both Rob and Marian are bisexual disasters, and their interactions and relationship feel realistically queer.

The sex scenes were so well-done. Marian’s dislike of penetration isn’t treated as something to ‘fix’, or as though something is wrong with her. Instead they just work around it and find other sexy things to do together! It’s such a rare thing to see portrayed neutrally in a romance novel.

There were some great nuanced conversations about ethics in this — about having money, about stealing money, about murder, about motherhood — but they didn’t feel intrusive or unnatural to the narrative. The dialogue is as witty and clever as it was in Kit Webb.

I will admit I was a bit weirded out at Rob being the half-brother of Marian’s daughter and the son of her deceased husband, especially since he kept that info from her for longer than he really should have. But it didn’t bother me enough to impact my enjoyment of the story!

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allthingsnerdy's review against another edition

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adventurous lighthearted reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Gotta love a crime duo! It was a little repetitive, but a pretty cozy romance, and love the bi representation for both main characters. I'm not sure I would read it again just because I feel like I got enough out of it the first time, but I would love a book that follows the lives of everyone following the Epilogue. I also like that its a historic novel showing queer characters! There's hinting at historic homophobia, but in general it's not considered an issue, so i appreciate putting queer joy in a historic context.

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andatherrin's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

noellelovesbooks's review

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fast-paced

5.0

I received an ARC, ahead of the June release, from Avon Publishing in exchange for an honest review.

Content Warnings: Detailed sex scenes, murder, violence, blood/gore, confinement, gun violence, and loved one with dementia. Mention of: a difficult and life-threatening pregnancy, bigamy, implied marital rape, and emotional abuse.

When I first read the summary of this book I knew I needed to read it, so when I found out I could get an ARC through Avon, for being part of their influencer program, I jumped at the chance. Having read THE QUEER PRINCIPLES OF KIT WEBB right before I was excited to see Rob and Marian’s journey unfold.

From a young age, Marian has done what it takes to protect those closest to her, no matter the cost, even if it means potentially living a life on the run…if anyone were to reveal that she, not a highway robber, was the one to shoot her husband. Never having committed such a crime before Marian is unsure of what to do so she elicits the help of the highwayman that’s been blackmailing her, really it’s the least he could do.

Having been gone a year, letting his closest friends and family believe him dead, Rob found himself looking forward to each and every correspondence with Marian, though it started as blackmail he feels a connection to Marian even before meeting her face to face. Normally a Robin Hoodesque highway robber Rob feels a lot of guilt for blackmailing Marian so when she appears, covered in her husband’s blood, Rob is determined to help her in any way he can.

I absolutely adored both of these characters so much. Between their inner thoughts and dialogue with each other, I found myself laughing so much. The way Rob pays so much attention to Marian’s body language, whether to alleviate her stress by changing the subject of their conversation or to ensure she feels safe and comfortable during more intimate moments…I just loved how much he genuinely cared about her feelings.

Marian is able to see how much Rob missed his friends and family, by reading between the lines of his letters and urges him to return to them before Marian even met him. She’s in awe of how easy it is for Rob to turn strangers into friends as fast as he does and how happy he seems to be no matter what he’s doing. Marian hasn’t trusted anyone, aside from Percy, in a very long time but the more she gets to know Rob she realizes maybe she can add one more person to the list.

Between the sweet romance developing between Marian and Rob and the shenanigans, they get themselves into over the course of the book, I absolutely adored every second! This couple will definitely be one that stays with me for a long time. I’m not sure if Cat plans on writing more books within this universe but I desperately hope that she does.

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