Tag: the gentleman’s guide to vice and virtue

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

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

The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue is an enjoyable coming-of-age tale about a young gentleman who loves his best friend and how the two of them, with his annoyingly competent sister, manage to have an extraordinary adventure on their Grand Tour.

Henry “Monty” Montague is easy to love and flashes his dimples at men and women, indiscriminately. He is also fond of heavy drinking and gambling, neither of which makes his father proud of him.

We must have drunk an extraordinary amount last night if it’s hanging this heavily over me. And here I was starting to feel rather smug about my ability to get foxed out of my mind most nights and then be a functioning human by the next afternoon, provided that the afternoon in question is a late one. pg 13, ebook.

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But, secretly, Monty has loved Percy Newton, his closest friend, for years. That’s troublesome because Monty’s father expects him to knuckle down, get married (to a woman) and run the estate after his Grand Tour. Plus, Monty’s not at all certain that Percy reciprocates the feeling.

“When you and I next see each other,” he continues, “I expect you to be sober and stable and… discreet, at the very least.” pg 26, ebook.

It all leads to some of the cutest relationship moments I’ve ever read in a young adult book. I kept saying “awwwww” as I read, which was rather out of character for me to the point where my husband became amused and was teasing me about it. But seriously. I bet if you read it, you’ll have the same reaction.

Please do keep in mind that this is a young adult historical fiction, meant for that audience. I get that the plot is ridiculous and meandering, but I loved it anyway. I think the character of Monty, the narrator, is what made this book so appealing. He’s a hot mess, who knows he’s a hot mess, and I was cheering for him to get his act together the whole book.

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“Aren’t you tired of this— aren’t you tired of being this person? You look like a drunken ass all the time, all the bloody time, and it’s getting…” “It’s getting what, Percy?” He’s not going to say it, so I offer the word up for him. “Embarrassing? Are you embarrassed of me?” pg 87, ebook.

He’s funny, borderline alcoholic and hopeless at sharing his feelings. Plus, he has some great internal monologue.

I understand less than half the words in that sentence, but God bless the book people for their boundless knowledge absorbed from having words instead of friends. pg 219, ebook.

That’s right, God bless the book people. And may we all have the courage to tell the people we love that we love them. No matter their gender or our abysmal timing or our level of inebriation.

Recommended for young adult readers and fans of meandering historical fiction.

If you’re looking for more young adult fiction with LGBTQ characters or themes, you may want to pick up Every Heart a Doorway (Wayward Children #1) by Seanan McGuire

Thanks for reading!