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

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.
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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