The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue (Montague Siblings, #1) in Trysts and Testosterone

Feb 25, 2018 Daphne rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: readathon18

#readathon18 Ένα young adult βιβλίο που εκδόθηκε από το 2012 και μετά

Finally a satisfying YA book! I really liked this one. I have to remember that I am not the intended audience for these books when I find myself frustrated by the teen characters flailing and not being able to communicate with each other and getting into all sorts of pickles. But teen me would have loved this I think, so I'm holding on to that thought. The characters were adorable, even though I found the protagonist annoying ...more

3 likes · Like · see review

Jun 28, 2017 Maureen Lubitz rated it it was amazing

Originally posted on You Have Your Hands Full

I have been looking forward to The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue for several months. I had it preordered on Amazon, and I was very excited to finally read it. I read the whole book yesterday, alternating between the Kindle version and the Audible version- thank you, Whispersync for allowing me to “read” and fold laundry at the same time.

The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue is a YA novel written by Mackenzi Lee. Its protagonist is Henry Mon Originally posted on You Have Your Hands Full

I have been looking forward to The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue for several months. I had it preordered on Amazon, and I was very excited to finally read it. I read the whole book yesterday, alternating between the Kindle version and the Audible version- thank you, Whispersync for allowing me to “read” and fold laundry at the same time.

The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue is a YA novel written by Mackenzi Lee. Its protagonist is Henry Montague, a young 18th century aristocrat who is generally perceived to be a rake and a wastrel. As the story begins, Monty is about to embark on his Grand Tour, accompanied by his best friend Percy and his annoying younger sister Felicity. Monty is looking forward to a year of debauchery, but his hopes are dashed when he finds out that this is strictly an educational experience. Monty’s father also issues a clear warning that Monty will be cut off if he doesn’t stop cavorting with other boys. The biggest problem with this sword of Damocles is that Monty is desperately and unequivocally in love with Percy.

The Grand Tour starts out well enough, but things quickly go awry, and Monty, Percy, and Felicity finds themselves on the run from bandits who are intent on recovering a stolen treasure. Suddenly, the boring educational trip becomes a Grand Adventure as the trio attempts to discover the truth about the mysterious item in their possession.

Monty is such a fascinating narrator; at first, he appears to be very superficial and not concerned about much more than his own pleasure. He is cavalier by nature, but the trip provides him with an opportunity for introspection and growth; he shows a more vulnerable side when he is forced to confront his own fears and insecurities. The story unfolds via Monty’s first person narration, but Percy and Felicity are thoughtfully rendered characters with fears of their own. I think that all three of these main characters had preconceived notions about each other, and they all realize that perception is different from reality.

I would absolutely recommend The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue. At first glance, this is a fun book with a rollicking adventure. However, Lee presents a rather frank look at 18th century culture, tackling topics such as race, sexuality, and health and these elements give the book an element of depth. I am looking forward to reading more from Mackenzi Lee in the future!

...more

1 like · Like · see review

Jun 27, 2017 Ariel rated it it was amazing

Shelves: romance, young-adult, historical, m-m, own-paperback-or-hardback, made-me-cry-or-tear-up, have-audiobook, reviewed, own-kindle

"The great tragic love story of Percy and me is neither great nor truly a love story, and is tragic only for its single-sidedness. It is also not an epic monolith that has plagued me since boyhood, as might be expected. Rather, it is simply the tale of how two people can be important to each other their whole lives, and then, one morning, quite without meaning to, one of them wakes to find that importance has been magnified into a sudden and intense desire to put his tongue in the other’

"The great tragic love story of Percy and me is neither great nor truly a love story, and is tragic only for its single-sidedness. It is also not an epic monolith that has plagued me since boyhood, as might be expected. Rather, it is simply the tale of how two people can be important to each other their whole lives, and then, one morning, quite without meaning to, one of them wakes to find that importance has been magnified into a sudden and intense desire to put his tongue in the other’s mouth."

I absolutely LOVED this! You've got one MC who's bi, another who's biracial, and another who's ace. So much inclusion and diversity! Yay!

This story is such a fun, romp of an adventure but it goes deeper than that at times. It deals with real problems like racism, abuse, illness and disabilities, and gender politics. Color me surprised when I was expecting to read an YA, campy adventure story and got so much more than that.

Henry Montague (Monty) was such a great narrator because he's so human. He's spoiled, egotistical, selfish, and self-centered. Yet he's also naive, doubtful, kind, scared, compassionate, and has low self-esteem. His low self-esteem is what really got to me because he seems so outgoing and flamboyant, and you wonder how such a flirt of a boy can still have thoughts such as:

"I am doing the wrong thing, I think. I am doing the wrong thing and I am going to do the wrong thing and I am never going to be what he needs."

He's a jumble of emotions and contradictions just like all human beings are. I was annoyed with him when he was immature, my heart broke for him when he was upset or scared, and I loved every second of it.

Percy and Felicity were also amazing characters and I kind of wish we could have gotten a bit of their point of view as well. Felicity alone deserves her own book because she's so awesome!

I highly recommend the audiobook, narrated by Christian Coulson. Coulson did a fabulous job narrating and made Monty's POV that much more enjoyable to experience.

5 Stars ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Sep 01, 2017 Alicia rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

4 1/2 - I can see why so many people have been recommending this! But the things about modern language that annoyed me at the beginning continued to irk a bit.

Like · see review