The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy [Aug 17, 2019]

[Jenna, I'd be free if not for Temper & Edgewalker]

The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy - Mackenzi Lee

August 17, 2019.
Requested by Kathrine and Angela Jr.

[Kathrine]

I started today, and listened to 17% of the audiobook (my app doesn't show chapters :c ). My first thought is that the narrator is excellent! Her name is Moira Quirk, and she really brings Felicity's character to life. I love it!

Spoilers up to 17%: (view spoiler)[I really like the story so far! Felicity is a great character: she's self-assured (maybe bordering on cocky) but I find it endearing! It's nice to read a YA leading female character that isn't insecure about herself or her place in the world. Especially the sentence where she says that she deserves a place in this world full of men (I can't remember the exact phrasing) really got to me – I'm not sure I've read that in a YA novel before and I think it's so inspiring!

Monty and Percy are adorable and I'm so glad we got to see them. Monty is still a bit... much... but he's fun and I like him. He has his heart in the right place. Percy is, as always, amazing. (hide spoiler)]

[Angela Jr.]

Kathrine wrote: "I started today, and listened to 17% of the audiobook (my app doesn't show chapters :c ). My first thought is that the narrator is excellent! Her name is Moira Quirk, and she really brings Felicity..."

I'm a bit farther along than you and definitely agree - felicity is a great protagonist. In the previous book, she could be quite annoying at times, but i really like her as a main character.

Spoilers up to 17%
(view spoiler)[the bickering between monty and felicity never fails to amuse me. i really like percy as a character, he balances out monty's personality quite nicely.

It must have been hard for women in that time period who were similar to felicity... I certainly couldn't imagine having to live like that - hiding books and being forbidden to learn anything other than manners at finishing school.
Some of her problems with how women are treated still apply today, though to a far lesser degree of course.
I especially liked how she responded to the comment about how she would distract the male students. (hide spoiler)]

[Angela Jr.]

Chapter 13 / 61%
(view spoiler)[things certainly took a drastic turn..

I'm really enjoying felicity and johanna's friendship. I'm glad they patched things up after all this time.
Sim's (i can't help thinking of the sims game every time i hear her name lol) insistance that the drawings/documents belong to her family makes me wonder whether or rather how sim and johanna are related.

Alexander's motives are quite despicable... Though johanna's aren't much better, just wanting to marry him so she can get her mother's things back. (hide spoiler)]

[Nicholas]

Starting this one today; though I haven't read the first book, hope it won't leave me too lost.

[Angela Jr.]

Welcome to the buddy read, nicholas :)

Finished yesterday
(view spoiler)[i liked the book well enough until they discovered the sea creatures. From that point on, the story kind of took a nosedive for me...
It was still enjoyable, but became rather average in my opinion. The ending was also a bit confusing. Not the story in itself, but rather how felicity and johanna arrived at the decision to stay on the island. (hide spoiler)]

[Kathrine]

66%: (view spoiler)[I'm sad to say that I'm having a hard time staying focused on this story :( I love Felicity but the plot doesn't really interest me... (hide spoiler)]

[Kathrine]

Angela Jr. wrote: "Chapter 13 / 61%"

Yes, I'm also (view spoiler)[wondering about those papers and what they mean for Sim and Joanna – I could definitely see Sim being right in some twisty way (hide spoiler)]

[Nicholas]

Angela Jr. wrote: "Welcome to the buddy read, nicholas :)

Finished yesterday
..."

Thanks Angela, yeah this is my first buddy read!

Spoiler for everything (view spoiler)[
I've got to agree with what you say about the end of the book, and the dragons; felt like it came out the blue and a bit unnecessary. And yeah, it's a little weird that the best plan they could come up with was; refuse to move, and survive on an island like castaway -- a little too petulant for the self-possessed women they want to be.
But, luckily a far better plan is dropped in their lap by Sim. That's sort of the problem I have with the story, it felt like Felicity and Johanna took a roller-coaster; reacting to whatever the writer threw at them, as opposed to dictating the course.
Yes, Felicity and Johanna both had that moment, deciding to take the leap to begin there journey. That covers up to Zurich and stealing Glass's things. From there though, it's all reactionary; go to Algiers because Sim says so; go to the beached dragon, they wanted this, but in the end it’s because Sim said they must; get captured; finally a moment where things get exciting again, they come up with a plan, embroider the map, have ideas of there own; that's all for nothing though. Johanna is forced to marry, but, sneakily it's what the author needs for the planned ending; but, they get rescued, Monty shows up out of nowhere like the bloody eagles from LOTR. Then it’s the naval fight, and some moments where they make a difference, leading up to the next exciting bit, they give the needed advice to turn the dragons on the Brits. Finally the island and again no decision, except to accept what’s proposed to them.
(hide spoiler)]

I could not help but compare this to Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik, it follows a similar story; three women trying to find there way in a world set against them. But, Novik manages to weave the story so nothing is handed to them, they need to take it through their actions.

That said, I still liked it, it's a fun romp through 17th(?) century Europe with likeable characters that have good chemistry.