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abbypenn2003's review against another edition
5.0
Okay…but this is now my favorite book of aaaall time?!?
harmoni_hazel's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
orangecasio's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Selfish drunken slut meets gorgeous violinist.
a_reader_obsessed's review against another edition
4.0
4 Stars
Solid score for high adventure!
Admittedly, I’m sorta kinda the odd man out as I didn’t love this hard like most, and I didn’t find it all that funny. Monty drove me bonkers with his self absorbed attitude, his womanizing and manizing alike, the excess drinking, flagrant partying, and flippant attitude toward any responsibility at the ripe old age of 18. However, Monty has good reason. He’s been told his whole life he’s a fuck up so why even attempt to change such perceptions?
As per the blurb, this starts out with Monty and his bff Percy, who are on their year long tour before things must get serious - Monty to start training to take over the responsibilities of running his father’s estate, Percy to go off to law school in another country. Things go awry when Monty, in a flight of fancy, steals a priceless box and embroils himself, Percy, and his sister Felicity, in a run for their lives across Europe. Ensue terrifying chase after chase, all the while trying to hide one's feelings for their bff.
So again, all the points go toward this trio’s shenanigans as I was never bored. It doesn’t hurt that the underlying UST and pining love that Monty has for Percy were pitch perfect and with just the right amount of swoon. This kept me on my toes and for that, I look forward to another adventure that’s sure to be present in the sequel!
Audio highly recommended
Solid score for high adventure!
Admittedly, I’m sorta kinda the odd man out as I didn’t love this hard like most, and I didn’t find it all that funny. Monty drove me bonkers with his self absorbed attitude, his womanizing and manizing alike, the excess drinking, flagrant partying, and flippant attitude toward any responsibility at the ripe old age of 18. However, Monty has good reason. He’s been told his whole life he’s a fuck up so why even attempt to change such perceptions?
As per the blurb, this starts out with Monty and his bff Percy, who are on their year long tour before things must get serious - Monty to start training to take over the responsibilities of running his father’s estate, Percy to go off to law school in another country. Things go awry when Monty, in a flight of fancy, steals a priceless box and embroils himself, Percy, and his sister Felicity, in a run for their lives across Europe. Ensue terrifying chase after chase, all the while trying to hide one's feelings for their bff.
So again, all the points go toward this trio’s shenanigans as I was never bored. It doesn’t hurt that the underlying UST and pining love that Monty has for Percy were pitch perfect and with just the right amount of swoon. This kept me on my toes and for that, I look forward to another adventure that’s sure to be present in the sequel!
Audio highly recommended
geenag90's review against another edition
4.0
A really enjoyable read, which despite being quite long, the pace and story never dropped, I also really enjoyed the author’s note at the end of the book which was very informative and a bit different from the typical author’s note.
melanysocorro's review against another edition
5.0
There is nothing I love more in a book than a hot bisexual disaster of a main character. Monty Montague checks all of these boxes and many, many more. In all honesty, friends-to-lover is rarely my cup of tea but I drank this book up like it was my last. Monty and Percy are such phenomenal three dimensional characters that embody the full range of emotions associated with falling in love, acknowledging self-destructive coping mechanisms, and being an outlier of society.
Monty and Percy’s relationship dynamics, the gloriously painted plot, and the brilliant Felicity Montague strung this novel into one of my favorite books to dates.
Monty and Percy’s relationship dynamics, the gloriously painted plot, and the brilliant Felicity Montague strung this novel into one of my favorite books to dates.
astheplotthickens24's review against another edition
5.0
I love this book so much, it hurts to even breathe!
First of all, can we just talk about the actual gentleman on the cover? I mean, look at that gorgeous face, it will put the golden ratio to shame and take down Leonardo Da Vinci’s divine proportion with it!
*insert Taylor Swift’s Gorgeous track here*
I swear to Zeus, you could literally see me vomiting sunshine, rainbows and unicorns while listening to the audio of this book. The narrator’s voice was just plain awesome, he really brought Monty to life and I could tell you guys that not many human beings could do that. I think my body even emitted glitters and flowers while I’m at it. I believe Christian Coulson is the name of the story teller on this one and he did a hell of a job animating it inside the reader’s mind.
CHARACTERS
Henry “Monty” Montague
- is like the Sun, he thinks that everything revolves around him, that the world would stop if he was feeling upset. He was pompous, arrogant and sometimes an idiot, but he also provides warmth, he can make someone feel special by just talking to that particular person; the same thing that the sun could make us feel better by providing light to each and everyone of us regardless of who are. He may not be someone that close minded people would deemed to be a worthy main character but this story would be useless without him. The same way that the solar system would be worthless without the sun.
Percy Newton
- this guy is like the Earth, he’s like a magnetic field that keeps everyone intact and he provides a common ground when there’s an argument going on. He’s got this unfathomable calmness when it comes to panicky ordeals and I love him for that. HE IS A GEM!
Felicity Montague
- god forbid me, I love this girl! The closest thing that comes into my mind when I think of her is Venus. All the planets in the solar system revolves the same direction as the Earth except for Venus and Felicity is exactly like that; she refuses to take the route that everyone was keen of her to go and I admire the shit out of her. Her will is as strong as the Jupiter's gravitational pull (which could crush a human into pulp in seconds) and she’s so badass! Henry and Percy would have been long dead without her. Lol
First of all, can we just talk about the actual gentleman on the cover? I mean, look at that gorgeous face, it will put the golden ratio to shame and take down Leonardo Da Vinci’s divine proportion with it!
*insert Taylor Swift’s Gorgeous track here*
I swear to Zeus, you could literally see me vomiting sunshine, rainbows and unicorns while listening to the audio of this book. The narrator’s voice was just plain awesome, he really brought Monty to life and I could tell you guys that not many human beings could do that. I think my body even emitted glitters and flowers while I’m at it. I believe Christian Coulson is the name of the story teller on this one and he did a hell of a job animating it inside the reader’s mind.
CHARACTERS
Henry “Monty” Montague
- is like the Sun, he thinks that everything revolves around him, that the world would stop if he was feeling upset. He was pompous, arrogant and sometimes an idiot, but he also provides warmth, he can make someone feel special by just talking to that particular person; the same thing that the sun could make us feel better by providing light to each and everyone of us regardless of who are. He may not be someone that close minded people would deemed to be a worthy main character but this story would be useless without him. The same way that the solar system would be worthless without the sun.
Percy Newton
- this guy is like the Earth, he’s like a magnetic field that keeps everyone intact and he provides a common ground when there’s an argument going on. He’s got this unfathomable calmness when it comes to panicky ordeals and I love him for that. HE IS A GEM!
Felicity Montague
- god forbid me, I love this girl! The closest thing that comes into my mind when I think of her is Venus. All the planets in the solar system revolves the same direction as the Earth except for Venus and Felicity is exactly like that; she refuses to take the route that everyone was keen of her to go and I admire the shit out of her. Her will is as strong as the Jupiter's gravitational pull (which could crush a human into pulp in seconds) and she’s so badass! Henry and Percy would have been long dead without her. Lol
smartinez9's review against another edition
2.0
2.5? 3.5? You tell me.
I honestly have no idea what to rate this. On the one hand, I love the idea of a Lord Byron-esque debauched jaunt across Europe by an adorable queer couple and a caustic, aspiring surgeon of a little sister—on the other hand, Henry is the poster child for white male mediocrity. His sheer self-centeredness and inability to take other people’s feelings into account was mind-blowing. Maybe it would have been more understandable (given that his father certainly wasn’t fostering emotional maturity or healthy relationships) had he not continually refused to learn from his mistakes. Every time he realized he’d hurt Percy or Felicity, he doubled down and stormed off, somehow making his misbehavior their fault. Even when he seemed self-aware of his actions and his privilege, he continued to act like a child having a tantrum. While claiming to be in love Percy, Henry was careless with his emotions, playing around with his feelings and willfully misunderstanding Percy’s complicated position as an epileptic person of color in the British Empire. How he managed to make Percy’s seizures about himself remains a mystery to me, and his numerous insensitive comments to his BEST FRIEND (telling Percy to go serve drinks, asking him why he doesn’t just strike out on his own AS A BLACK MAN IN ACTUAL 18th CENTURY ENGLAND) were unbelievably grating. I hate miscommunication as a plot device in most cases, but the fact that most of the tension in Henry and Percy’s relationship was just due to Henry pouting and pushing him away made it even more unbearable. Why Felicity and Percy just kept forgiving him without any change is beyond me.
My second major point of contention was Henry’s alcohol consumption. I honestly can’t remember a time when the use of alcohol really bothered me in a book, but this took it waaaay over the line for me. I just don’t think it’s productive to depict a teen protagonist whose only tool for dealing with emotional conflict is to get completely trashed? Every time Henry has a negative thought about himself or hits any kind of roadblock in his relationships, his immediate reaction is to run away and drink until he forgets. His dependence on alcohol goes almost entirely unchallenged. His father and Mr. Lockwood are the only two who really try to get Henry to slow down, but since they’re intolerant assholes and their concern is over the family image, not Henry’s health, it doesn’t go very far. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with drinking in itself, but I think normalizing it as a solution for emotional distress instead of showing characters learning to talk out their feelings/reflect on and sit with their actions is not helpful, or healthy, especially for LQBTQ+ teenagers having a hard time. Given that Henry admits to serious suicidal ideation, which is already common for a lot of queer youth and strongly triggered by alcohol, I feel like his reliance on it should have been addressed, even just briefly by Felicity or Percy. He needs a safe place to process his trauma and tools to communicate, not more cognac.
Also, random plot hole: if they were locked in a storage hole for three days, how did they use the bathroom? I needed this addressed
All that aside, I enjoyed the book? I think? The switch between genres (period piece, swashbuckler, romance, fantasy) was jarring but kept me entertained, though I’m not sure if the inclusion of the supernatural was necessary or logical (...a naked woman in suspended animation stitched up like the creature in Frankenstein? Um. Okay?). I adored Percy and Felicity, the only two characters with common sense, and am interested in giving her next book a try.
I honestly have no idea what to rate this. On the one hand, I love the idea of a Lord Byron-esque debauched jaunt across Europe by an adorable queer couple and a caustic, aspiring surgeon of a little sister—on the other hand, Henry is the poster child for white male mediocrity. His sheer self-centeredness and inability to take other people’s feelings into account was mind-blowing. Maybe it would have been more understandable (given that his father certainly wasn’t fostering emotional maturity or healthy relationships) had he not continually refused to learn from his mistakes. Every time he realized he’d hurt Percy or Felicity, he doubled down and stormed off, somehow making his misbehavior their fault. Even when he seemed self-aware of his actions and his privilege, he continued to act like a child having a tantrum. While claiming to be in love Percy, Henry was careless with his emotions, playing around with his feelings and willfully misunderstanding Percy’s complicated position as an epileptic person of color in the British Empire. How he managed to make Percy’s seizures about himself remains a mystery to me, and his numerous insensitive comments to his BEST FRIEND (telling Percy to go serve drinks, asking him why he doesn’t just strike out on his own AS A BLACK MAN IN ACTUAL 18th CENTURY ENGLAND) were unbelievably grating. I hate miscommunication as a plot device in most cases, but the fact that most of the tension in Henry and Percy’s relationship was just due to Henry pouting and pushing him away made it even more unbearable. Why Felicity and Percy just kept forgiving him without any change is beyond me.
My second major point of contention was Henry’s alcohol consumption. I honestly can’t remember a time when the use of alcohol really bothered me in a book, but this took it waaaay over the line for me. I just don’t think it’s productive to depict a teen protagonist whose only tool for dealing with emotional conflict is to get completely trashed? Every time Henry has a negative thought about himself or hits any kind of roadblock in his relationships, his immediate reaction is to run away and drink until he forgets. His dependence on alcohol goes almost entirely unchallenged. His father and Mr. Lockwood are the only two who really try to get Henry to slow down, but since they’re intolerant assholes and their concern is over the family image, not Henry’s health, it doesn’t go very far. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with drinking in itself, but I think normalizing it as a solution for emotional distress instead of showing characters learning to talk out their feelings/reflect on and sit with their actions is not helpful, or healthy, especially for LQBTQ+ teenagers having a hard time. Given that Henry admits to serious suicidal ideation, which is already common for a lot of queer youth and strongly triggered by alcohol, I feel like his reliance on it should have been addressed, even just briefly by Felicity or Percy. He needs a safe place to process his trauma and tools to communicate, not more cognac.
Also, random plot hole: if they were locked in a storage hole for three days, how did they use the bathroom? I needed this addressed
All that aside, I enjoyed the book? I think? The switch between genres (period piece, swashbuckler, romance, fantasy) was jarring but kept me entertained, though I’m not sure if the inclusion of the supernatural was necessary or logical (...a naked woman in suspended animation stitched up like the creature in Frankenstein? Um. Okay?). I adored Percy and Felicity, the only two characters with common sense, and am interested in giving her next book a try.
jana_of_the_wind's review against another edition
3.0
3,75/5 ⭐️
Creative story with likeable characters. Loved the historical, aristocratic vibes.
I don‘t know why in my many attempts to read this book I never finished it until now. It’s quite lovely. Also props for the title. you can really draw parallels between it and the story. Also side note: Monty and Percy are great.
Creative story with likeable characters. Loved the historical, aristocratic vibes.
I don‘t know why in my many attempts to read this book I never finished it until now. It’s quite lovely. Also props for the title. you can really draw parallels between it and the story. Also side note: Monty and Percy are great.