roseybot's review against another edition
5.0
Loved this, loved the characters, loved the story, just EVERYTHING.
But the thing that really got me was... you know how with rep it can sometimes be weird when a character is your rep, but it feels all wrong and weird? I felt this way about Every Heart a Doorway, where the ace rep felt really off to me because it was not my experience of being ace (and felt kind of problematic for me). That is not the case in this book.
Felicity was EXACTLY like me in terms of being ace and it made me feel SO SEEN and that was deeply comforting. I don't know -- other people will probably disagree about the rep, but I found it to be very important and good for me personally.
Days between when I added this to read and when I read it: 496.
| 1/14/19 7,640 ratings (3212 5*, 3138 4*, 1077 3*, 176 2*, 37 1*) 1,892 reviews / added by 57321 people, 45186 to-reads
But the thing that really got me was... you know how with rep it can sometimes be weird when a character is your rep, but it feels all wrong and weird? I felt this way about Every Heart a Doorway, where the ace rep felt really off to me because it was not my experience of being ace (and felt kind of problematic for me). That is not the case in this book.
Felicity was EXACTLY like me in terms of being ace and it made me feel SO SEEN and that was deeply comforting. I don't know -- other people will probably disagree about the rep, but I found it to be very important and good for me personally.
Days between when I added this to read and when I read it: 496.
| 1/14/19 7,640 ratings (3212 5*, 3138 4*, 1077 3*, 176 2*, 37 1*) 1,892 reviews / added by 57321 people, 45186 to-reads
topaziumm's review against another edition
5.0
I am not quite sure what stalled me from finishing this book back when I bought it after it had just come out, but even years after I read the first installment of the Montague siblings’ adventures I found myself deeply moved by this one. It’s just as lively and creative as any of Makenzi Lee’s other works, but it does highlight different aspects of her writing by having our narrator and protagonist be a woman. While I love the way she writes in general, there are new and fascinating facets to her meticulous characterizations when she is writing for fictional women.
So okay, full disclosure, I personally often find the way that headstrong women are written in fiction to be quite… annoying. I know I’m a feminist traitor for admitting so, but so many times I find myself thinking women are written to be rude and apathetic in order to be made powerful but I felt no such way with the women in the Lady’s Guide.
Certainly, Felicity, Johanna and Sim are all flawed and often frustratingly unprepared for the situations they put themselves in, but that verisimilitude is exactly what made them so endearing to me. Powerful women come in all shapes and sizes, and personalities! Though all three of them have been through a lot before the novel begins, they still feel very young and experiencing growing pains when their adventure together starts. Watching them mature and evolve within the novel was extremely fulfilling and frankly, satisfying. We love complex women.
Mostly, I loved that they’re just a trio of girls, who are also academics in their own fields of study, who are adventurers and all romantics in their own way. I loved that the ending is not a clean, clear-cut ending, but an open path to the myriad of ways they can still grow and evolve further.
But maybe what I liked the most was that though there is certainly strong ties to the previous novel and Monty’s adventure, Felicity’s story is very much her own and their stories are not competing in scope or execution. The Lady’s guide is able to stand on its own as an expansion of the fantastically real world the Montague siblings find themselves in. Needless to say, I can’t wait to read the last installment!
So okay, full disclosure, I personally often find the way that headstrong women are written in fiction to be quite… annoying. I know I’m a feminist traitor for admitting so, but so many times I find myself thinking women are written to be rude and apathetic in order to be made powerful but I felt no such way with the women in the Lady’s Guide.
Certainly, Felicity, Johanna and Sim are all flawed and often frustratingly unprepared for the situations they put themselves in, but that verisimilitude is exactly what made them so endearing to me. Powerful women come in all shapes and sizes, and personalities! Though all three of them have been through a lot before the novel begins, they still feel very young and experiencing growing pains when their adventure together starts. Watching them mature and evolve within the novel was extremely fulfilling and frankly, satisfying. We love complex women.
Mostly, I loved that they’re just a trio of girls, who are also academics in their own fields of study, who are adventurers and all romantics in their own way. I loved that the ending is not a clean, clear-cut ending, but an open path to the myriad of ways they can still grow and evolve further.
But maybe what I liked the most was that though there is certainly strong ties to the previous novel and Monty’s adventure, Felicity’s story is very much her own and their stories are not competing in scope or execution. The Lady’s guide is able to stand on its own as an expansion of the fantastically real world the Montague siblings find themselves in. Needless to say, I can’t wait to read the last installment!
books_nyx's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Took me longer than I wanted to finally finish this book, but what can you do when your job gets in the way 🤷🏽♀️
Anyone, this one wasn’t interesting as the first book. Which is disappointing since I really like Felicity’s character in the first book! She was smart and sassy and didn’t let the patriarchy put her down 💪🏽
That Felicity was nowhere to be found…and she was so judgemental of other women. She had the whole, ‘I’m not like other girls’ thing going on 🙄 fortunately she had some character development at the end ig.
And the whole dragon thing at the end was kinda lame, like you’re going to tell me that two women that just found out about dragons in less than a few days are going to be more knowledgeable than the pirates that have been hiding them for generations🥴
Hoping for the best with the last book ✌🏽
Anyone, this one wasn’t interesting as the first book. Which is disappointing since I really like Felicity’s character in the first book! She was smart and sassy and didn’t let the patriarchy put her down 💪🏽
That Felicity was nowhere to be found…and she was so judgemental of other women. She had the whole, ‘I’m not like other girls’ thing going on 🙄 fortunately she had some character development at the end ig.
And the whole dragon thing at the end was kinda lame, like you’re going to tell me that two women that just found out about dragons in less than a few days are going to be more knowledgeable than the pirates that have been hiding them for generations🥴
Hoping for the best with the last book ✌🏽
sarahc_98's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
tishreads's review against another edition
4.0
While not QUITE as good as Vice and Virtue, there was plenty of adventure to keep me hooked.
atra's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
alissiachs3's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0