BOTM 2 - May 2022 - The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue

[Susan]

Discussion thread for the second BOTM for May 2022. Please remember to use the spoiler tags when necessary! (Please see 'some html is ok' for instructions.)

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

Synopsis:

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.
 

[Maureen]

I ordered this book in early from the Library. I have a hardcover edition, beautiful. This Is a YA novel with M/M Romance ( kissing only) adventure traveling on the Grand Tour with some plot twists and intrigue along the way. It is the first in a trilogy of three sharing tall tales of romance of the Montague siblings. In the back the author shares some historical tidbits about: Grand Tour, Politics in France during the eighteenth century, epilepsy, homosexuality, piracy, highwaymen.
I gave this a four ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating. I hope you have fun reading this book. Happy reading.

[Ida]

I listend to the audiobook for this one sometime before Christmas and

[Ida]

and it was so good! There where some very strange things in the end, but it really did not matter much because I was so invested in Monty and Percy. I will do a relisening of the book and hopefully you will like it as much as I do. I read the following two books as well, and they where good as well, but not as good as this one.

[Maureen]

Thanks for sharing Ida. I am sure the audio version is good too. I wasn’t a huge fan of Monty at the beginning of the book. He just seemed so jaded and entitled. His character grew in the end as he started to truly understand love and who he was.

[Susan]

Thanks for your comments Maureen and Ida - I nominated this book, but had not read it, so I am glad it has been enjoyed by both of you. I look forward to reading it soon!

[Ida]

I must agree with you Maureen, that Monty is not a very likeable person in the beginning- but a very entertaining one :) And as you say, he grows throughout the book and we see why he might end up the way he is.

[T.]

I started this today and I'm loving it. I was immersed after page one.

[Susan]

I have read up to Chapter 6. I am loving the Georgian setting - I think it is my favorite period. Those descriptions of the fashions are very funny and it really lends itself to humour. I have had some laugh out loud moments. At this stage Monty is really very annoying, so I am hoping he redeems himself; and I want more of Felicity.

Not our usual HR novel - but a refreshing change.

[T.]

I finished this today (yesterday?) Loved it! Fun, smart, and sweet.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I'll check in as others read and comment.

[Susan]

Well that was epic!! After chapter 5 things really take a left hand turn and the adventure gets underway. It was a mad romp - naked escapes, pirates, highway robbery, explosions, alchemy, prison escapades and more. Plus humor.

I thought that the characters were really well drawn. There was a depth to them which is often missing from the more traditional HR. I loved Monty, Percy and Felicity.

I am not drawn to books about LGBTQ+ and prefer a hetero romance but I am so glad I read this. The romance was just lovely, heart warming and not always rosy.

[Ida]

I'm so pleased to see that you like this book as much as I do <3 Book two is about Filicity and book three about The goblin. I would not call the other two books romances, more YA historical fiction with some fantasy elements :) They where good as well but not as heart warming as this one. There is a novella called the gentleman's guide to getting lucky which happens right after book 1, and HBO is planning to make an adaptation of it!!

[Ida]

The ook, not the novella :)

[T.]

Ida wrote: "I'm so pleased to see that you like this book as much as I do <3 Book two is about Filicity and book three about The goblin. I would not call the other two books romances, more YA historical fictio..."

That interesting about the HBO adaptation. I’ll be interested in their take on the story. I enjoyed this so much and I’m usually disappointed in adaptations.

I’m curious about the sequels to Vice/Virtue, While not absolutely necessary, I like to see at least a little bit of romance. We’ll see how it goes.

[T.]

Susan wrote: "Well that was epic!! After chapter 5 things really take a left hand turn and the adventure gets underway. It was a mad romp - naked escapes, pirates, highway robbery, explosions, alchemy, prison es..."

Like you, Susan, I don’t read m/m romances, but it’s usually only in adult stories. I’ve read a number of them in YA and enjoyed them. I think it’s the sexual content that I avoid more than anything. In Vice/Virtue there was just enough tenderness and playfulness without crossing into anything uncomfortable for me. I really loved how Monty and Percy’s romance played out.

[Susan]

T. wrote: "Susan wrote: "Well that was epic!! After chapter 5 things really take a left hand turn and the adventure gets underway. It was a mad romp - naked escapes, pirates, highway robbery, explosions, alch..."

I agree with you regarding the sexual content. Also one of the things I like about belonging to book clubs is that sometimes you are forced read something outside of your normal picks...like this one...and are pleasantly surprised.

[T.]

Susan wrote: "T. wrote: "Susan wrote: "Well that was epic!! After chapter 5 things really take a left hand turn and the adventure gets underway. It was a mad romp - naked escapes, pirates, highway robbery, explo..."

Oh, I didn’t feel “forced.” I only read the BOTM picks that I want to read and I wanted to read this one. It was my number one vote.

[Susan]

T. wrote: "Susan wrote: "T. wrote: "Susan wrote: "Well that was epic!! After chapter 5 things really take a left hand turn and the adventure gets underway. It was a mad romp - naked escapes, pirates, highway ..."

Sorry, I used the wrong word!! I would not normally have picked this book up if the HR bookclub hadn't been doing LGBTQ+

[Jan]

I don't normally enjoy YA books, as I prefer my MCs to be adults with mature thoughts and ideas. However the positive comments here have encouraged me and I have picked this one up. Read the first two chapters today and so far enjoying the fresh voice of the writer. It's certainly not a cliche HR. I like the Georgian setting and the idea of going on the Grand Tour is interesting. (I also liked the inexpensive kindle price ;)

In regards to comments by T and Susan, I have some similar feelings. I have read a few MM books - both HR and contemporary. Although they often tell quite moving love stories, I'm usually not too keen on the explicit scenes, and I can relate to some of your thoughts.

As a related thought, one of our other BOTMs this month, Unmasked by the Marquess, is possibly a less 'confronting' read in this sense, as it's a romance between a man and a woman. Yes the man is bisexual and the woman prefers to dress as a man, but there are none of those explicit MM sex scenes that some find a bit too much. So for anyone considering trying another one of the BOTMs this month but feeling unsure, it's one you could consider trying.

[T.]

Jan wrote: "I don't normally enjoy YA books, as I prefer my MCs to be adults with mature thoughts and ideas. However the positive comments here have encouraged me and I have picked this one up. Read the first ..."

Thanks for that info, Jan. I didn't look too deeply into the other books since I was most excited about this one. I'm also interested in Cat Sebastian's upcoming release, The Perfect Crimes of Marian Hayes. The H/h are both bi, but it's an m/f romance.

Vice/Virtue becomes a bit fantastical, but I really enjoyed it. I guess the next two books have a bit more fantasy-type elements in them. Or so I've heard.

[Jan]

I'm up to Chapter 12. Liking it OK but not really loving it so far. The adventure story type of trope isn't usually my fav. But I will continue and see where it goes.

Chapter 7 (view spoiler)[ It's so sad how Monty's father tries to 'beat the gay out of him'. Nineteenth century England was a pretty nasty place to be if you were gay. Ugh. (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 9 (view spoiler)[ I was surprised to learn that Percy is epileptic. The horrifying treatments he has put up with! And he is being sent to a hospital for the insane. How sad. Ignorance I suppose. People didn't understand the condition and must have been terrified by grand mal fits, and just assumed the person must be insane. (hide spoiler)]

[Sandra]

Ohhh, finally I'm going to read a book about the Grand tour itself!! :)

[Jan]

I finished this today but it ended up not really being my cup of tea. I admit I did some skimming in the last third or so.

The romance aspect was quite nicely done, and there were some lovely sections of the book that caught my interest, but on the whole the madcap, zany adventure and the YA nature of the book just wasn't really for me. I like trying new-to-me authors, but I don't think I'll read any more in this series. 2.5 stars.

[Missy]

In case anyone is interested in the audiobook for this book, it is currently on sale for $6.99 on Chirp Books. The sale ends in 5 days. It's free to sign up for a Chirp account.

https://www.chirpbooks.com/audiobooks...