Book Review: The Gentleman’s Guide To Vice And Virtue

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

My Rating:🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Henry “Monty” Montague was born and bred to be a gentleman, but he was never one to be tamed. The finest boarding schools in England and the constant disapproval of his father haven’t been able to curb any of his roguish passions—not for gambling halls, late nights spent with a bottle of spirits or waking up in the arms of women or men.

But as Monty embarks on his Grand Tour of Europe, his quest for a life filled with pleasure and vice is 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.

Still, it isn’t in Monty’s nature to give up. Even with his younger sister, Felicity, in tow, he 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 that spans across Europe, it calls into question everything he knows, including his relationship with the boy he adores.

My Thoughts

It is probably one of those reviews where I won’t be able to do justice to the book. I’ve had a copy of this book for a while now and I can’t believe I’d had put off reading it for so long. I’m cursing myself out for not having the words to gush about it and write an eloquent review. I’m possibly being dramatic but I do think it’s gonna be the book I read on my deathbed. Okay, I’m definitely being dramatic but I think I’m gonna tell my priest to read it to me instead of prayers for my last rites. This is also gonna be the book that I take with me to heaven– even though I don’t believe in the existence of heaven.

An eighteenth-century love-story featuring a white protagonist who falls in love with his brown guy best-friend and goes on a Continental Tour with him and his sassy sister? Not only was I up for reading it, but I was also très excited!

Since I am a history enthusiast I HAD to read this book (umm, I was an enthusiast even though I barely passed my classes).

This book was way better than I had expected. A Continental Tour was never gonna be easy for two guys who realize they are in love with each other in a society that considers homosexuality a sin, and for a girl who is ambitious and intelligent and is expected to go to finishing school but she instead wants to be a doctor. This book is not a fun read even though everybody says it is…for some reason? It touches upon important subjects like addiction, homophobia, child abuse and epilepsy in eighteenth-century Europe. It was quite important and powerful, though.

I loved the three main characters and a few secondary characters. Monty, who is the narrator of the book is a flawed human, and I really liked him. I didn’t care one bit about his assholery and I just fell in love with him, instantly. I hated his abusive father and I wish I could enter the book and make sure that bastard ended up in a slammer for giving pain to his son.

My favorite character was Percy, who suffers from epilepsy and the way people treated him for being dark-skinned and having epilepsy was so harsh. Those jerks need to be thrown to some distant planet where dinosaurs are not vegetarian.

I felt so bad that he had to go through all that shit! I shipped the duo from the very first page. I also liked the smart and sassy Felicity and I think I would love to be girlfriends with her. She would be badass and I would be boring. Such a great duo.

I loved the beautiful writing and I think I’m a fan of Mackenzi Lee now even though this is the only book I’ve read written by her.

I really loved this book and I think I’m gonna read it again sometime. It is a lot more than a “sweet love story”. If you like books with pirates and manhunt and villains who die a dramatic death, just go for it, I’m sure you won’t regret it!

(I had published this review months ago but I took it down. I have made some changes to my review now –basically fixed some typos and added certain things.) 

 

Have you guys read this book yet? Did you think it was ” a fun read”?

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