Reviews tagging 'Biphobia'

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

53 reviews

katie0528's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted fast-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

5.0

A fun adventure following Monty, the rakeish bisexual son of a lord, his younger sister Felicity, who wishes to become a physician, and Percy, Monty's Black best friend who he is desperately in love with. The trio set out on a Grand Tour of Europe but it doesn't take Monty to make an enemy of one of the most powerful men in France who chases them across the continent. There are touches of magic in this novel which I didn't expect at first.

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olive_ia's review against another edition

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

5.0


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sunflower7skull's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful reflective sad 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

4.5

this book was so well written. usually i don't like historical dramas bit this ripped my heart out (burned it) and put it back in again. simply beautiful

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madicana's review against another edition

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adventurous 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

4.0


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deetabz's review against another edition

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

4.25


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stayontrackbooks's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious
  • 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

5.0


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imskylow's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny 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? Yes

4.0

Okay this was actually really adorable. I didn’t know what to expect with a historical yet bi/gay romance but it was handled very well and they even used the strange terminology they would have used back then. I loved the characters and the adventure and the forbidden love. Monty  is a laugh. Percy is an absolute cinnamon roll. And, Felicity is so fierce. I just wish that for all the talk of sex, they could have had a moment. Either talk about it and do it or don’t wave the idea in our faces so much 🤣

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not_another_ana's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

I've always been of the mind that subtlety is a waste of time. Fortune favors the flirtatious.

Henry “Monty” Montague is a rake and a disappointment to his family. He drinks, he gambles, he shirks his responsabilities, and is promiscuos with partners of all sexes. His father gives him an ultimatum right before he goes on his Grand Tour of Europe: conform to the norms or be disinherited from the family fortune. Knowing this is the last time he'll be able to let loose, Monty heads off to Europe with his younger sister and Percy, his best friend and hopeless crush. But the Tour doesn't turn out quite the way he hoped after a reckless decision turns everything upside down.

This is the kind of book that either charms you and drags you into it's own quirky internal logic or completely loses you, sadly I happen to be in the second camp. The plot isn't heavy in the historical accuracy, it's more of a fantasy or a Bridgertonesque alternate universe and I could have looked past that if the characters had grabbed my attention or if the plot was good. Monty is the narrator of this book and I just never liked him. He never got over himself or showed any signs of positive growth nor was he, at least, interesting. Coupled with that is the mess that was the plot. I like to think about this as everything AND the kitchen sink. This book had everything (derogatory). It had aristocrats, robbery, multiple countries, a conspiracy, alchemy, PIRATES, you name it you have it. There was never any space to breathe, to connect with the characters and their actions.

The author should have focused more on the romance. I never cared for Monty and Percy together, in fact I don't think they're good for each other. Too much of their story happened before the book, and what I saw in the plot wasn't romantic. It also rested heavily on the miscommunication trope which is one of my most hated tropes.
For me the moment that made me go yeah no was when Monty basically told biracial Percy to go act like the slaves at Versailles and how that was never really adressed. Like YIKES, that's the love interest??? In general the way race and racism was handled, or not handled tbh, in this book was questionable.
Felicity was fine as a character, even if she came across as a 21st century feminist and not an actual girl in that time period, however I have zero interest in continuing with this series.

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ekfaltesek's review against another edition

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

4.0

Enjoyable story of love and friendship 

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joyfulfoodie's review against another edition

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adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious 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

5.0

I really enjoyed these characters and the historical depiction of both race issues and lgbtqia issues. It was less jarring to hear some of the arguments against being gay out of historical mouths than when you see them in modern social media posts. You can forgive their ignorance here, at a time when sexuality wasn’t really a thing and it was perceived as a sinful Choice instead of a piece of who you are. 

The characters are lovable and evolve nicely through the book.  

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