Reviews tagging 'Suicidal thoughts'

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

79 reviews

lou_loo's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny inspiring lighthearted reflective tense 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? It's complicated

4.5

It was a re-read for me. I had first read it 3-4 years ago. I decided to re-read it for the nostalgia since I loved it so much when I was younger. What I didn't expect was to enjoy it just as much, if not more. The characters are great, well-written and fun, Monty has a serious character development and seeing him evolve was so cool. The plot of the story is captivating, and it's quite an adventure. Our trio makes such a nice team and seeing them together, with their differences and relationships is amazing. 
Overall super cool book, I would recommend it to anyone interested in a fun adventurous story occurring in XVIIIth century Europe, with some stakes (but not too high). It's an overall lighthearted read which can be read fast but will still touch your heart because of the characters and their personalities.

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nutmegandselkie's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny lighthearted 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

4.5


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anntharai's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

So much more than a romp accross Europe with forbidden love the goal. I loved this book start ro finish. It's ridiculous and awkward and it ends perfectly. 

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andyourstruly's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

GGtVaV is a very indulgent queer adventure story.  Though the main cast all struggle with their own hardships, external and internal, the reader always knows they'll overcome to get their happy ending, and in that way, despite themes of racism, sexism, ableism, homophobia, and physical/emotional abuse, it feels very light.

The author studied history in university, so a lot of the historical details of events and cultural norms are more accurate than your average YA novel, but there are still glaring blind spots, like the author not being well-versed in clothing culture or that almost every educated person would have been fluent in French in the early 1700s, particularly if they had a French parent.

My biggest takeaway with it was that, as fantastical as so many elements were, it seems strange that the author didn't just ... write an adventure where people happened to be queer or black or women.  It felt like a strange decision to hand-wave away a lot of actual problems they may have encountered but to really spend a lot of time projecting modern-day feminism onto a character from the era and bringing up homophobia and racism that wasn't even always period-accurate.  Fun book, may read the sequels, not so invested that I'm prioritizing it.

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theultimatebooknerd's review against another edition

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adventurous funny tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I just thought this book was a fun read with a flawed main character. I have a deeper analysis on the book which actually goes hand in hand with extra stuff the author put at the very end of the book. 

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mikki_madison's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny fast-paced
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


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klbreyfogle's review against another edition

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adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A fun read (in a good way)! It’s set in the 1700s but doesn’t always read that way. The main character has a decent character arch but is pretty conceited in the beginning, which is understandable because he’s like 18 and has an abusive father. Love the queer narrative, adventure, and sibling banter. Lack of communication trope is a little frustrating at times but it sets up some angsty moments and a sweet resolution. 

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mixmousereads's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional reflective medium-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

4.0


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voidature's review against another edition

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slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.5

i don’t know how to start this review tbh. there’s a lot to say and none of it is very good. i only gave it two stars because the writing itself is good, but she as a white woman had no business writing this kind of story with the amount of racial slurs used and the general theme, and i spent the entire time while reading it beside myself with mixed feelings.

it’s disgusting to ship percy with monty and it’s gross that they still get together at the end given how monty treats him throughout the novel but especially in the beginning—because this is the monty percy would have been exposed to since they were boys. a monty who will say racist things to him when he gets upset, percy who is supposedly his best friend, and even despite that percy is so patient with him and has to *teach* him about racism even when monty barely makes an effort to understand or accept that he has a white savior complex.

monty went through a huge character growth arc, but percy didn’t have the same kind of growth, and monty went through that growth at the expense of percy’s dignity, being written with an illness, who was used as a prop for him. not to mention scipio’s crew, who were also used as props to help monty grow.

i have no idea how or why this book is so highly rated given the contents of it and how the author chooses to write her characters. and after reading the reviews and finding out she’s transphobic as well, i’m unsurprised to find that my gut feeling about this book reading the way it does is correct.

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hollowhallow13's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny lighthearted 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

4.25


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