The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue By Mackenzi Lee [Review]

 RELEASE DATE: June 20th 2017
AUTHOR: Mackenzi Lee
GENRE: Young-Adult, GLBT, Historical, Adventure, Romance.  
PUBLISHER: Katherine Tegen Books
SUMMARY: 

An unforgettable tale of two friends on their Grand Tour of 18th-century Europe who stumble upon a magical artifact that leads them from Paris to Venice in a dangerous manhunt, fighting pirates, highwaymen, and their feelings for each other along the way.

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.

This book was totally refreshing and fun to read. At first, I didn’t gave much attention to this book but recently, I’ve been hearing great things about it so I thought why not give it a try. Now I’m so glad that I picked it up. I’ve read so many YA historical books and this was definitely a unique read. I loved the 18th century Europe setting, the intriguing characters and the fun plot. The whole book is quite an adventurous ride filled with fighting pirates, escaping highway men and gay love between two young English man. This is my first book by the author and I’ll definitely look forward to more books from her.

Henry Monty Montague is a eighteen year old English man and also son of an earl. Since young he was bred to become a gentleman but he was never tamed. Even though his father disapproves of his roguish behavior, he spends most of his time on gambling, spirits aka booze and sleeping around with women or men. After he gets expelled from his last boarding school, his father decides to send him on a grand tour to Paris where he must mingle with the other gentlemen and upon his return, he needs to run the estate. Henry is pretty excited for the tour because he was finally going to have a fun time with his best friend Percy who’s not aware of his feelings for him but unfortunately,  his father sends Mr. Lockwood along with him to watch over him making sure he doesn’t make any scandal.  His bookworm sister Felicity also comes along with them who is supposed to join a boarding school along the way. In a party, Henry reverts to his fun reckless self which ends with stealing an artifact from a Duke without knowing the consequences. The next day, highway men stops their carriage who’s looking for the very thing that Henry has stolen and from then on, they’re on the run from them. Because of Henry’s reckless act their grand tour turns into a adventurous run from escaping highwaymen, being hostages to pirates to travelling to Venice and dealing with alchemy.

The characters are pretty enjoyable to read especially Henry. He is totally fun, hilarious and adorable but he’s not my favorite character in this book. Even though I liked him, he isn’t my ideal protagonist. He would be my favorite if he wasn’t so stupid, reckless and mostly damsel in distress. His reckless acts always gets him and others in trouble and 80% of the time he was saved by either Percy or Felicity. He always thinks about himself first and doesn’t care about how his actions might effect others. I felt sad for him after learning about his abusive father but it doesn’t make an excuse for his behavior. I loved Percy! He’s complete opposite to Henry. He’s an English man but also a negro who doesn’t have same privileges like Percy. Being a childhood best friend of Percy, he’s always aware of his rakish behavior. They know about each other very well but Percy is harboring a secret that Henry ins’t aware of. Felicity is only fifteen year old but a total badass in this book. She’s my favorite character besides Percy. She’s a bookworm who wants to study medicine which woman are forbidden in that time. She’s the brain of the trio and knows how to handle difficult situations. I enjoyed the growing sibling relationship between Henry and Felicity because before the grand tour they don’t know much about each other. The slow burning romance between Percy and Henry is totally swoon worthy. I enjoyed the relationship between them and I’m glad their romance didn’t overshadowed the story. The secondary characters are also good but they’re not interesting enough to describe.

The plot is very engaging and adventurous. It wasn’t a total perfection but I loved it. I was hooked to the story from the start till the end. I loved the concept and also the diverse aspect in the book where our main character Henry is bi-sexual. I liked the writing. The book is told from only Henry’s POV but I think I would’ve loved it more if it was also told in Percy’s and Felicity’s POV because they’re really great characters and I wanted to know more about them. I quite enjoyed the 18th century that the author has created and she described it so vividly that I actually felt like I was actually living in it.

Overall, I loved it! It was a fun read filled with adventure, humor, romance and fun. This book also deals with racism, ableism, homophobia, feminism, and parental abuse.

Recommend it?
Yes!

I highly recommend this book to everyone who’s looking for a fun adventurous YA read.

MY RATING: [4/5 Stars]

So, What do you think of this book? Have you read this yet? Do you like to read this book?

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