The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee

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

by Mackenzi Lee

A hilarious and swashbuckling stand-alone teen historical fiction novel, named one of summer's 20 must-read books by Enternatinment Weekly! A young bisexual British lord embarks on an unforgettable Grand Tour of Europe with his best friend/secret crush. An 18th-century romantic adventure for the modern age written by This Monstrous Thing author Mackenzi Lee-Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda meets the 1700s. Henry "Monty" Montague doesn't care that his roguish passions are far from suitable for the gentleman he was born to be. But as Monty embarks on his grand tour of Europe, his quests for pleasure and vice are in danger of coming to an end. Not only does his father expect him to take over the family's estate upon his return, but Monty is also nursing an impossible crush on his best friend and traveling companion, Percy. So Monty vows to make this yearlong escapade one last hedonistic hurrah and flirt with Percy from Paris to Rome. But when one of Monty's reckless decisions turns their trip abroad into a harrowing manhunt, it calls into question everything he knows, including his relationship with the boy he adores.
Witty, dazzling, and intriguing at every turn, The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue is an irresistible romp that explores the undeniably fine lines between friendship and love.

Reviewed by bumblingbookworm on

3 of 5 stars

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This review was originally posted on The Bumbling Bookworm

Actual rating - 3.5 stars

I really wanted to like this, and I'm really bummed that I didn't enjoy it as much as I'd hoped I would.  I'd wanted to read this since it came out and all I've seen are gushing reviews of how brilliant this book is - I think my expectations were too high and I've been let down a bit by the hype monster.  I struggled to get into this book at first; for the first 150-odd pages it felt quite slow and I was a bit bored by it.  Eventually it picked up and the pacing of it was quite quick, and I started to get into it and enjoy it a bit more.

Don't get me wrong, there were things I really liked about this book - the characters were so precious and I love them all so much, even Monty who pissed me off a lot of the time.  I particularly adored Felicity and I'm super keen to read The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy (Guide #2) when it's released in 2018.  The diversity was phenomenal, with a bisexual narrator, a m/m romance, mental health issues, racial diversity and neurological disability, just to name a few.  The adventure elements were fantastic and the dialogue was brilliant - the sass!  While I struggled to get into it, this ended up being a good read - 3.5 stars.
Check out the rest of my review here!

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 21 November, 2017: Finished reading
  • 21 November, 2017: Reviewed