The Soldier's Scoundrel

Reread October 2023
It strikes me as funny that I have this shorthand of how I mentally refer to Sebastian's books. Like, there's the one with the slightly mad scientist, or the one with the female thief, or the one with the male thief, or, one of my favorites, the one with the adults adulting. (ect) It amuses me to no end that I don't really have that for this book - except in the loosest sense. This was my first Sebastian read and is forevermore referred to in my mind like that. Because that has absolutely nothing to do with the romance or the main characters, I tend to forget just how well this (moderately trope free) romance words for me, as well as Jack and Oliver. (Who I adore.) And I deeply love how feminist this book is. (Definitely one of my Sebastian favorites.)

Edited February 2020
I think by the third read of a book, I really no longer need to write a review. In short, everything I said previously is still true. Adore this book.

Edited February 2018
Another reread because I'm not feeling well enough to actually pay attention to anything new. Anyway, because of how awesome the guys in the two sequels are, I tend to forget about how great these two are together. (Because there are certain aspects of their relationship that I just love and adore, possibly more than the other two.) And, I am pleased to say, the strong women still hold up. Sadly, it's difficult to find historical fiction where the women are as strong as these ladies are.

Original ‘review'

It's not often that a romance novel (much less one between two guys) is as flat-out feminist as this one is. There are so many strong, capable women in this book that don't tear each other down and it's amazing to see. (And the guys are awesome together, so, yay!)