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The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue (Montague Siblings, #1)

Mackenzi Lee

Start date: April 1, 2020

Finish date: April 30, 2020

Discussion: Book of the Month

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What Members Thought

May 30, 2018 Kate rated it it was amazing

This was a fun and delightful read! Henry “Monty” Montague, the protagonist, could best be described as a witty rascal. He sets off on his European tour with his best friend (and his secret love), Percy, and his sister, Felicity. This book is the story of their adventurous European Tour that turned out to be nothing at all like they expected!

18 likes · Like · see review

Sep 13, 2018 Ashleigh rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: diverse-reads, series-books, romance

The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue follows Henry 'Monty' Montague, the son of a Lord, who is about to embark on The Grand Tour (no, not the tv show starring Jeremy Clarkson) which will see him touring around Europe, before taking over his father's estate. Joining him on the tour is life-long best friend (and secret crush) Percy and sister Felicity (who they will be dropping off at finishing school in France, much to her disapproval). Monty is hoping for non-stop partying and debauchery The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue follows Henry 'Monty' Montague, the son of a Lord, who is about to embark on The Grand Tour (no, not the tv show starring Jeremy Clarkson) which will see him touring around Europe, before taking over his father's estate. Joining him on the tour is life-long best friend (and secret crush) Percy and sister Felicity (who they will be dropping off at finishing school in France, much to her disapproval). Monty is hoping for non-stop partying and debauchery whilst away, but he's soon disappointed when his father, who disapproves greatly of his son's bisexuality, informs him that they're be joined on the tour by Lockwood, who will ensure the boys are well behaved and stay away from alcohol.

Despite Lockwood's presence, the boys still manage to sneak out and get drunk. But when Monty goes too far at a party in Versailles and upsets the Duke of Bourbon, he finds himself, along with Percy and Felicity, stranded, with no money and being hunted by the Duke's men. A hunt which will take place across Europe, and will have Monty questioning everything he thought he knew.

Heard nothing but great things about this book, and they were not wrong! I loved loved loved this book, and especially my babies Monty and Percy. They are just my faves and my ultimate OTP, and I will ship them until my dying day. I can't remember the last time I smiled so hard whilst reading the ending to a book. It just made me so happy, and I just love them.

Monty could be at times a tad annoying. In the beginning, he was an ass, and I wanted to shake him and say 'Stahppp! Get ahold of yourself man!', and I think there was a clear change in his behaviour once they were taken out of their comfort zone. Also, I didn't actually realise until the party in Versailles, that he was bisexual. We were told very clearly up to that point that he had a thing for men, and then this woman (can't for the life of me remember her name) shows up, and he's a stereotypical red-blooded man who can only think about boobs and sex. Wut? He was just a little misogynistic and I hated it. Ugh.

Controversial opinion (please don't hate me!): Felicity was not my favourite character. A lot of people who read this book absolutely love Felicity and many prefer her to Monty and Percy, but I just didn't connect with her. Also the scene where she talks to Monty about his sexuality and is very judgemental about it rubbed me up the wrong way. I understand they have a complicated relationship and are not portrayed as many other siblings in fiction, but I hated that she couldn't accept her brother and his sexuality.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and can't wait to read the next book in the series. Hopefully I'll grow to love Felicity even more! ...more

6 likes · Like · see review

Sep 30, 2020 Diana rated it it was amazing

This was definitely different for me because I'd never read a young adult book with a gay main character. I'm glad that I did because I absolutely loved this book. I actually managed to read the whole thing in one sitting. There was so much humor throughout the book that I couldn't help but laugh out loud. Plus, the author was able to address some really serious issues, such as homophobia, child abuse, and trauma. At first, I thought the main character was a big jerk, but he definitely grew on m ...more

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May 21, 2017 Krysti rated it it was amazing

The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue is an action-packed romp through 18th century Europe. Filled with debauchery, revelry, self-discovery, and even a bit of alchemy, this book is everything I hoped for and so much more!

After falling in love with This Monstrous Thing when I read it last summer, and then hearing about the premise for The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue, this book skyrocketed to the top of my most anticipated list of 2017, and I am so grateful that I got to read an early The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue is an action-packed romp through 18th century Europe. Filled with debauchery, revelry, self-discovery, and even a bit of alchemy, this book is everything I hoped for and so much more!

After falling in love with This Monstrous Thing when I read it last summer, and then hearing about the premise for The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue, this book skyrocketed to the top of my most anticipated list of 2017, and I am so grateful that I got to read an early copy, because it was absolutely wonderful.

Mackenzi's wit shines throughout this book, particularly in the personalities of the unforgettable characters that she has created. Her knack for combining fantasy with reality has created a plot that kept me glued to the pages.

Henry "Monty" Montague is a character that you will not soon forget. He is brilliantly flawed and yet utterly lovable. He is the very definition of an 18th century rake, and when he sets off for his grand tour of the continent with his bookish sister Felicity and swoony best friend Percy, his proclivity for causing trouble propels them all on a harrowing adventure they never expected.

The romance in this book is lovely. I fell in head over heels for Monty and Percy from the very first page, and kept rooting for them through each dilemma they encountered and right through the very end. There are so many obstacles in their way from Monty's rakish behavior to the expectations of their families and society. The odds are certainly not in favor of these two star-crossed lovers.

Between all the trouble Monty lands them in, the familial drama, and romantic angst, the plot of this book is already incredibly entertaining, but when Mackenzi mixes in a dash of magic, the stakes get even higher, and the book even more unputdownable.

I'm in love with Victorian-era books as it is, but none have ever transported me into that setting to quite the degree that A Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue has. And it's not even so much in the physical setting as in the way that Mackenzi has created this incredible characters and delivered their dialogue. I want to live inside these pages! This is certainly a book that I will be reading over and over again! ...more

5 likes · Like · see review

Apr 09, 2020 Kelly rated it really liked it

Even after seeing how popular this book was, I didn't have high expectations when I started listening to this book. I'm glad to report that like most people, I loved it. It was more fun than I expected and right from the start, I was shipping Monty & Percy. They were so cute together and I was waiting for the moment where they realized that they loved each other for so long without saying anything. I also didn't expect these characters and Monty's sister to go on this adventure. I didn't really ...more

5 likes · Like · see review

Jan 31, 2019 ❤ Aly ❤ rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2019, tome

I enjoyed the author's writing style and the characters in this book. The characters are all different from each other but each compliment each other and have a nice part to the story. I also enjoyed the rep for epilepsy (this coming from someone who has it).

(view spoiler) ...more

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Feb 26, 2020 Cindee rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: pick-me-a-winner, book-dares-for-nov-2017, february-2018-tbr, march-2018-tbr, pick-me-a-winner-jan2019, february-2020-tbr, february-2023-tbr

This book has everything that I like in it pirates an adventure a wonderful romance and so much heart I loved it so very much. I loved the characters especially Monty,Percy and Felicity I loved the pacing of the romance between Monty and Percy the ending made all of the missteps worth it. I loved Monty for his wit his love for Percy he was such a well written character an damaged person but above all else he is someone with so much heart especially when it comes to Percy. I loved Percy for his b ...more

4 likes · Like · see review

Nov 19, 2017 Laura (acquariusgb) rated it really liked it

Shelves: young-adult, historical, books-read-in-2017

At the end I really enjoyed this book. 4 1/2 stars!

At the beginning I wasn't so convinced because I really didn't like Monty and I thought "Oh, this book is all in his POV and I really don't like him. how can enjoy the book?" ù

Fortunately the book is all about redemption and Monty had a enormous character growth during their adventure. So I went from wanting to slap the guy to actually root for him and wishing him a happy ending.

My favourite character still remains Felicity, Monty's sister, a yo ...more

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Sep 10, 2018 Heather rated it it was amazing

Words can't describe how much I absolutely loved this novel! What an amazing way to represent epilepsy from someone who was diagnosed at 3. I couldn't get enough of Percy and Henry. All the characters were well written and I enjoyed the fact that they were all treated the same and all ended up with something wrong with them in the end. I will definitely be continuing her work. ...more

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Oct 07, 2018 Rebecca rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2018, kindle-books-i-own

This was a pretty good historical adventure book. It deals with some very serious issues with equality that people of the time dealt with while posing as a cross country adventure story.

The main character is Henry “Monty” Montague, a gentleman who has been given a last chance by his father after his antics have proven to be challenging to his fathers reputation. His last chance involves a European tour with his sister and best friend / crush Percy. While in Europe Monty gets into a few scrapes ...more

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