Skip to main content

The Gentleman’s Guide To Vice And Virtue by Mackenzie Lee (Historical Fiction) book review


Rating: 5 /5 stars

Read from: December 4, 2017- March 11th, 2018.

Summary from Goodreads

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.


Personal thoughts going in

This book was so hyped, and I went in knowing this about this book. I got this book in November so I was a bit late to the game of reading this book. I love a good historical novel, as a fan of history and learning more about history.  This takes a historical novel is a new take on historical fiction, and I really loved that about this book. Going in my expectations were high, and so I knew what I was in for when I got into this book.
Thoughts on the character,plot, and writing style under the cut
Characters
Henry “Monty” Montague
Percy
Felicity Montague
Dante
Helena

Plot

The plot of this novel was very well done. Going in I had read the back cover, and so I knew a bit about the plot of the book and even I was surprised by the plot. These characters are great, and they are flawed, but that is what makes them great to me! I love them, and the plot really helps you get to know these characters in a unique way.  This book started as just as a way to get to know the characters that you would be reading about.

The real mystery about the Larsrus Key is not really relevant until about halfway through the book. You know that Monty, Felicity, and Percy are followed but you are not sure why you just know that Monty has taken something, but you don’t know about the significance of it. The plot of the book thickens when you meet the children of a man who was an alchemist, he is presumed dead but he is really imprisoned. This was one of the things that I loved about this book, the mystery aspect of it and the fact that you could not really tell where the book was going to go from here.

Writing

I loved the writing tile in this book! I love historical fiction, and the style of writing in this novel was just so well done. I loved the different way that each character was written; each of them had a unique personality and a unique voice to them. From the notes in the back of the book, it is clear that Mackenzi Lee did research for this, it was like as if the events could have happened even though it was a story that she was writing. The writing was one of the things that kept me reading the book until the end, and if I could have I would have read this book every day. I enjoyed the witty banter between the characters I loved every second of it.   

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Top Ten Tuesday- characters that remind me of myself

Welcome back to Top Ten Tuesday! This is a weekly meme where readers discuss ten or whatever number you would like to have based on a prompt. Our host is Jana at  thatartsyreadergirl . Our topic this week is Characters Like Myself. I am going to take a two words that each character has in in my opinion,  and discuss how that relates to me  as well. 1- Cather Avery from Fangirl Writer- At her core, Cath is a writer, and she loves her stories. I am a writer of both Fan Fiction and original stories like Cath so this was an automatic in for this. Both of us love our work and we tend to through ourselves whole hardheartedly into our work. Sisters- I might have mentioned this on the blog before but I have a younger sister and we’re only roughly 18 months a part. Cath and her twin sister Wren are polar  opposites and this is me and my sister. My younger sister is an extrovert and into science. I on the other hand,  am an introverted creative bookworm.  2- Miriam Kendrick from C

Top Ten Tuesday books/ series I would recommend to someone who says don’t like to read.

  Hi! Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by Jana @ thatartsyreadergirl . This weekly meme was born out of a love of lists and bringing the book blogging community together. Each week, Jana will post a topic, and we will all make a list based on that topic. This week, the topic is Books Written Before I Was Born ( These can be books you’ve read or want to read! ) ( submitted by Davida Chazan @ The Chocolate Lady’s Book Review Blog ). I wasn’t feeling this, and so I went through and found a post from The Broke & the Bookish, and I did that. The original post can  be found here . I thought I would recommend some books from some of my favorite genres.   The Classics 1- Pride & Prejudice This is one of my favorite classics, and when making my list this week, I knew I needed to include it. The reason is that I think this is one of the best books by Jane Austen, and we use the story in a lot of modern media. 2- To Kill A Mocking Bird I was so surprised by how much I loved this

Top Ten Tuesday-Books I want to reread

Hi! Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by  Jana@thatartsyreadergirl . This meme was born out of a love of lists and brings the book blogging community together. Each week Jana posts a topic, and we book bloggers write a response. This week, it's books I want to reread.  1- Pride & Prejudice   This is a classic I’ve read twice, I think? At least once, anyway, I love this novel so much. My favorite character in the book is Lizzie. I also miss the story. Maybe in 2021? Anyway, I miss this book and I want to reread it. 2- Foolish Hearts   I read this book in the summer of 2019. I had been in a bit of a slump at the time, so this pulled me out of it. I read the novel in about two weeks, and I just loved it so much. My favorite character is Claudia, and I want to revisit the book. That this involves theatre is another reason I need to reread this book ASAP. 3- After Anatevka   I know I talk about this book so much on the blog. I read this a few years ago now, and I want to revisit the charact