Reviews with content warning for Chronic illness - The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue

Ooo! A book got 5 whole stars! Usually, that means it did something extraordinary, and it did exactly that! I have never been so sure I wanted to buy a book in my life!

Beyond that, I suppose I should talk about the book. This book is utterly fascinating for a variety of reasons. For one, it's grounded in history but it's not bleak for the characters of color. Slavery is mentioned, as it somewhat has to be for a book set in the 18th century, it's not weighing heavily on the narrative. A second thing is that

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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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adalinemccormick's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny mysterious 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

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kes_'s review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring tense 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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percys_panda_pillow_pet's review against another edition

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adventurous funny hopeful informative lighthearted mysterious tense medium-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

4.75

*slaps cover of book* Finally! A historically accurate depiction of pirates and privateers that also isn't boring! This makes me so happy as someone with not only a moderate interest in pirate history but also someone who wants to write their own pirate-themed novel one day. (If you're curious, I already have quite a bit planned and written out, but that isn't relevant to this review haha).

In all seriousness, though, I was very glad to see such dedication within a book to make things historically accurate, including language, but also be such a fun book to read with both interesting characters and plotlines. I especially enjoyed the characters as they were all so carefully constructed and developed. I enjoyed the balance of the main character Monty's own issues, with his privilege as a white male aristocrat. It never felt overly self-flagellating in any direction, and he genuinely grew as a character as their journey went on.

I also really liked the balance of humor and seriousness. There were plenty of serious situations our group of characters found themselves in, however, there was also a lightheartedness that gave their adventure a sense of wonder. It felt true to how life can really be sometimes. I think my favorite bit of humor was when Monty accidentally flashed a great deal of upper society. I laughed so hard, I almost cried.

I have high hopes for the sequel, The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy, and hope Mackenzi Lee continues what great work she's done in The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue.

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psliz's review against another edition

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adventurous 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

4.25

friends-to-lovers is all i needed. romantic angst is the cherry on top. part of the plot wasn't my favorite but like i said, friends-to-lovers with romantic angst!

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annabella's review against another edition

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adventurous funny medium-paced

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

4.25

Monty’s annoying traits through his reckless behaviour did get a bit repetitive at the end although it was fleshed out well and I don’t think the perception of disability was really resolved or depicted as well, but overall was very sweet and exciting to listen to, easy to follow along. Really funny and heartwarming

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purrson's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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

4.25

Extremely cute, adventurous, and does well with general historical accuracy—with a surprising fantasy aspect that didn’t detract from the plot in the least.

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