Reviews tagging 'Chronic illness'

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

65 reviews

not_another_ana's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

I've always been of the mind that subtlety is a waste of time. Fortune favors the flirtatious.

Henry “Monty” Montague is a rake and a disappointment to his family. He drinks, he gambles, he shirks his responsabilities, and is promiscuos with partners of all sexes. His father gives him an ultimatum right before he goes on his Grand Tour of Europe: conform to the norms or be disinherited from the family fortune. Knowing this is the last time he'll be able to let loose, Monty heads off to Europe with his younger sister and Percy, his best friend and hopeless crush. But the Tour doesn't turn out quite the way he hoped after a reckless decision turns everything upside down.

This is the kind of book that either charms you and drags you into it's own quirky internal logic or completely loses you, sadly I happen to be in the second camp. The plot isn't heavy in the historical accuracy, it's more of a fantasy or a Bridgertonesque alternate universe and I could have looked past that if the characters had grabbed my attention or if the plot was good. Monty is the narrator of this book and I just never liked him. He never got over himself or showed any signs of positive growth nor was he, at least, interesting. Coupled with that is the mess that was the plot. I like to think about this as everything AND the kitchen sink. This book had everything (derogatory). It had aristocrats, robbery, multiple countries, a conspiracy, alchemy, PIRATES, you name it you have it. There was never any space to breathe, to connect with the characters and their actions.

The author should have focused more on the romance. I never cared for Monty and Percy together, in fact I don't think they're good for each other. Too much of their story happened before the book, and what I saw in the plot wasn't romantic. It also rested heavily on the miscommunication trope which is one of my most hated tropes.

Spoiler

For me the moment that made me go yeah no was when Monty basically told biracial Percy to go act like the slaves at Versailles and how that was never really adressed. Like YIKES, that's the love interest??? In general the way race and racism was handled, or not handled tbh, in this book was questionable.

Felicity was fine as a character, even if she came across as a 21st century feminist and not an actual girl in that time period, however I have zero interest in continuing with this series.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Biphobia, Chronic illness, Sexism, Classism, Racism, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, and Homophobia

elspethmigliore's review

adventurous emotional sad tense slow-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? Yes

4.0

i really enjoyed this! i’ve read this book around 5 times now because it’s so unique and interesting, and it never fails to impress me. like i was actually obsessed with this book 4 years ago. i will say that the most recent time i’ve read it, i found it to be very difficult to get through and kind of boring, but i think that’s because i know the story so well. 

all of the characters are hilarious and unique and i very much appreciate monty’s growth. i’m excited to finally read the rest of their stories. 

definitely reread material ✅

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Vomit, Chronic illness, Medical content, Gore, Sexual harassment, Gun violence, Blood, Violence, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Homophobia, Emotional abuse, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Child abuse and Slavery

Minor: Abandonment and Panic attacks/disorders

hollowhallow13'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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Child abuse, Alcoholism, Violence, Physical abuse, Addiction, Chronic illness, Gun violence, Homophobia, Medical content, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, and Racism

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Classism, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, and Suicidal thoughts

eidal's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful tense fast-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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, and Blood

Moderate: Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Physical abuse, Homophobia, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Classism, Racial slurs, Gore, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Sexism, and Racism

Minor: Ableism, Colonisation, Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, Murder, Cursing, Drug use, and Slavery

komiification's review

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Racism

Moderate: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Slavery, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Chronic illness, Death, Death of parent, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, and Kidnapping

Minor: Drug use and Homophobia

marsh_mall0w's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny 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? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Racism, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Alcohol, Classism, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Death of parent, Grief, Slavery, Homophobia, Gun violence, and Medical trauma

Minor: Infertility, Sexism, Self harm, and Racial slurs

mickij's review

adventurous emotional hopeful 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? Yes

5.0

Ooo! A book got 5 whole stars! Usually, that means it did something extraordinary, and it did exactly that! I have never been so sure I wanted to buy a book in my life!

Beyond that, I suppose I should talk about the book. This book is utterly fascinating for a variety of reasons. For one, it's grounded in history but it's not bleak for the characters of color. Slavery is mentioned, as it somewhat has to be for a book set in the 18th century, it's not weighing heavily on the narrative. A second thing is that 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Alcohol, Body horror, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Police brutality, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Child abuse, Chronic illness, Deadnaming, Racism, and Vomit

Minor: Alcoholism, Forced institutionalization, Religious bigotry, and Sexism

joyfulfoodie's review

adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious fast-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? Yes

5.0

I really enjoyed these characters and the historical depiction of both race issues and lgbtqia issues. It was less jarring to hear some of the arguments against being gay out of historical mouths than when you see them in modern social media posts. You can forgive their ignorance here, at a time when sexuality wasn’t really a thing and it was perceived as a sinful Choice instead of a piece of who you are. 

The characters are lovable and evolve nicely through the book.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Biphobia, Child abuse, Classism, Colonisation, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Homophobia, and Racism

Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Vomit, Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, Slavery, and Suicidal thoughts

adalinemccormick's review

adventurous emotional funny mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Alcohol, Classism, Homophobia, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Racism, and Sexism

Moderate: Chronic illness, Classism, Colonisation, Forced institutionalization, Outing, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence

kes_'s review

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring tense 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Alcohol, Child abuse, Alcoholism, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Violence, and Chronic illness

Minor: Biphobia, Medical content, Self harm, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, and Suicidal thoughts