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


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

Published by: Katherine Tegen Books

Date of Publication: June 27th 2017

Genres: Historical YA/LGBTQIA+

Pages: 528

Format: eGalley

Rating:★★★★★ 5 Stars

*HUGE thanks to Katherine Tegen Books/Harpercollins, Edelweiss & Mackenzi Lee for the eGalley copy of The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue, all opinions are my own.

 

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.

What was supposed to be a tour of Europe in which our main protagonist Henry Montague is to be cultured & introduced to many prominent figures, turns out to be the adventure of a life time. When we first meet Henry he is drunk and used to waking up mid-afternoon with little to no recollection of his dalliances with women & men during his night time excursions. His dad who is already a very strict man with no tolerance for Henry, decides that he is going to give Henry one last shot to prove himself a worthy heir. He arranges for Henry to tour Europe with a chaperone, his younger sister (to be dropped of at a school for manners), and his best friend Percy (to be dropped off at law school). Henry however, sees this as an opportunity to tour Europe with Percy drinking and sleeping with whomever along the way. The opportunity also seems appealing since he’s been harboring some secret non-platonic feelings for his BFF Percy. Henry quickly realizes that his idea of fun is a no-go now that he is being chaperoned & groomed to meet with certain political figures along the way. As a matter of fact, the whole trip is being controlled by his father & the rules squash any of his plans for debauchery. It isn’t until their caravan is raided & they are separated from their chaperone that their real adventure begins. Henry’s penchant for bad decision making leads them from one crazy situation to the next ultimately preparing him to make some grown up decisions of his own 😉

The characters in The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue have easily become faves for me for all their imperfections. Make no mistake, they are flawed & have prejudices they themselves aren’t aware of until life happens. Starting with our main protagonist Henry who honestly reminds me a bit of Damon Salvatore from The Vampire Diaries circa first being bitten (meaning somewhere around the 1700’s).

Who I envision Henry as…Bahhha!

Henry loves his liquor, guys, gals, and Percy. Henry is funny and loves to have a good time. He’s also been dealt a bad hand when it comes to his dad who doesn’t accept Henry’s bi-sexuality and thinks he can lay hands on him whenever he is disappointed in Henry’s choices. Their relationship is one made of fear & acquiescence (safe to say the dad was my most loathed character). Henry as a person does have a lot of growing up to do especially when it comes to his love interest since Percy is a person of color. I loved Percy for many reason but especially for the unconditional love he shows for those he cares about. He’s known Henry since they were kids and has stood by watching Henry make many mistakes without judgment. Percy was taken in by his aunt & uncle who are wealthy but is often looked down upon by others for the color of his skin. There are many scenes that left me livid with how he was being treated & yet it is an accurate portrayal of how POC were treated during that time period. Henry who is attached to the hip to Percy doesn’t fully grasp what Percy feels when certain things are said about him being a POC. Seeing these two characters grow & the veil of many prejudices being lifted from Henry’s eyes leaving only understanding felt like a small victory. We also get to meet Henry’s sister Felicity who was my FAVORITE character (next to Henry of course) in the entire book!!! Here we have a young woman who knows exactly what she wants from life & is very aware of the obstacles standing in her way. She knows her gender all but limits her to studying her area of interest & that she will have to use her intelligence to work around that. Felicity is STRONG & INTELLIGENT with no patience for weakness. She is very observant of her surroundings and refuses to accept the future laid out by her father. Felicity isn’t without prejudices and we get to see her make the effort to understand Henry’s bi-sexuality & accept him for who he is. In many ways Felicity & Henry are rebel souls but Felicity is discreet & stealthy where Henry is a train wreck you can’t stop watching smh lol. This cast of characters provided me with hours of non-stop laughter & cheering ❤ ❤ ❤

I LOVE historical Fiction & seeing it in YA has been so much fun. When I first stumbled across the cover to The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue I knew that we’d be going waaaaaaaay back just based on Henry’s clothing. When I looked into this book & saw that it was set in 18th Century Europe I nearly jumped out of my chair to request for review. I wasn’t sure what to expect but when I realized how much history I was getting alongside this story, I was pleasantly transported. Everything from the clothes to race relations was covered in this book. There were many times I was vexed by the fathers homophobic treatment of Henry & the racist remarks made by others towards Percy & I had to remind myself that this is a accurate portrayal of those times. I loved seeing the growth of these characters set against such a difficult time period in history for people of color & people on the LGBTQIA+ spectrum. I look forward to reading more from Mackenzi Lee in the future now that I’ve read & loved The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue 🙂

Have any of you readers picked up The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue? if so, did you love it? who’s your fave character?

Author: LairOfBooks

"I didn't choose the Book Life, the Book Life chose me"

40 thoughts on “Review: The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee”

    1. Aww, thank you Lourdes! I’m saving your video for tomorrow when I go back to work & can actually hear my videos (my tiny humans 😩) lol. & yea the main protog def reminds me of Ian Allllll the way! ❤️ him. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did 😉

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      1. Thank you! I can’t wait to pick it up, I did met Ian last year and Omg he’s sooooo dreamy with those blue eyes he’s more gorgeous in person than on tv no lie and so nice too oh and his wife was there too she’s pretty (: LOL

        Liked by 1 person

  2. Awe! Great review! I’m reading this right now and I’m loving it! The Damon/Monty comparison is so fitting! I can’t wait to keep reading!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  3. Wonderful review, my friend! So happy to see those five stars! The characters in this book are incredible like you said. It’s so hard to choose a favorite. For me its a toss up between Monty and Felicity but for such entirely different reasons. I can see your Damon vibes too. LOL.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Thank you! LOVE Monty & Felicity! & like you said, for entirely different reasons lol. I couldn’t choose a fave this time around, I even liked the Privateer who acted like an unconvincing Pirate Captain 😂 so much humor in this one! Damon = ❤️ & it was easy to p/u on the similarities btwn the two since I spent too much time loving Damon smh 🤦🏻‍♀️

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  7. Great review! With this book, it’s like every review is a domino that gets placed, and one of these days, one of those dominoes will be the last, and then all of them will tumble and I’ll have to buy the book 😀 your review certainly got me excited about this one.
    Also. WHY am I not following you??? :0 I must fix this at once!!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Bahhhhhha! LOVE IT! & I really do hope you pick this one up soon. It’s the perfect summer read & just so much fun to read. & eeeeK! so glad we’re following each other now 🙂 ❤ ❤ ❤

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  8. I haven’t read this book yet and it’s one I want to go into blind so I skimmed most of your review Lilly but I am so glad to see you loved this one. Also what you described of it in your conclusion; 18th century Europe, people of colour and people on the LGBT+ spectrum, just makes me want to get started on it even sooner! I hope I enjoy this as much as you did. 😀 ❤

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  9. Great Review! I’ve been seeing this book everywhere in the blogosphere! I haven’t read this yet but I’m so glad you loved it! I love Damon Salvatore and now I really can’t wait to check it out. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  10. Awesome review! I can’t believe you fancasted my bae Damian as Henry lol!!
    This book just sounds fantastic, from the laughter to the serious topics that are handled. I am really interested in know what the ending is lol so I might just have to pick up the book and find out for myself.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  11. Yaaaaaay! Great review Lilly! And I’m so happy that you loved it as much as I did. Was also quite happy to relive the book through your post hehe. We should buddy read a book sometime! 😀

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Aw thanks Flavia ☺️ & I love reading reviews for books that I LOVED, it is totally getting to relive the book all over again 😆🙌🏼 omygosh I’d be down for a buddy read anytime. I was contemplating posting a WWW today but couldn’t decide what to read next. Currently reading Library of Fates & may just read The Last Magician next 🤔

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  12. Lovely review! I absolutely loved this book! It was hilarious, adventurous, and even heartbreaking. Monty and the crew were a fantastic trio of characters with very definitive characteristics I came to love by the end. The plot went in a completely unexpected direction but I enjoyed it regardless. The homophobia and discriminatory behaviors by the other characters was maddening but it definitely added some depth to both the characters and storyline. I really liked this one and I can’t wait to read Mackenzie Lee’s next book! 😀 Really happy you enjoyed this one, too! ❤

    Like

    Reply

  13. Thanks for the visual aid ❤ Cannot complain about that 😉 This is what I have been waiting for! I honestly think I am head over heels for Henry just with your description. I love everything that he is. I am not sure what you are doing to me (slow conversion therapy haha) but this is going on Amazon list ASAP! I need it in my life. Some of my favorite fictional characters are the flawed, lovable males!

    Like

    Reply

  16. Yay for YA historical fiction! Definitely a genre within YA that I want to see more of. Bonus points for the diverse characters included. I’ve been a little out of the loop but have been seeing this cover around, but had not read a review for it yet. I’m very intrigued now 🙂 Great review Lilly!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

Gravatar
WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Cancel

Connecting to %s

%d bloggers like this: