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akookieforyou's review against another edition
5.0
“We are not broken things, neither of us. We are cracked pottery mended with lacquer and flakes of gold, whole as we are, complete unto each other. Complete and worthy and so very loved.”
The characters made this story what it was, and that's absolutely fantastic. I found the story to be so much fun, and very exciting. The romance was the cutest thing I had read in a long while and it made me smile so much throughout. This was also my very first audiobook, and that was also very well done. I highly recommend this.
The characters made this story what it was, and that's absolutely fantastic. I found the story to be so much fun, and very exciting. The romance was the cutest thing I had read in a long while and it made me smile so much throughout. This was also my very first audiobook, and that was also very well done. I highly recommend this.
gillianw's review against another edition
3.0
3 stars
This could have been a pretty great story if Monty was able to redeem himself to Percy in some way. If he'd apologized and tried to make up for being an asshole, I would have bought his redemption. As it stands, Percy deserved better and should have demanded better. Felicity was great, though, and I would love to read a future story about her adventures on the high seas as a ship's medic. She was, by far, the most interesting character. It's unfortunate the narrator had her sounding like a shrew rather than a 15 year old.
This could have been a pretty great story if Monty was able to redeem himself to Percy in some way. If he'd apologized and tried to make up for being an asshole, I would have bought his redemption. As it stands, Percy deserved better and should have demanded better. Felicity was great, though, and I would love to read a future story about her adventures on the high seas as a ship's medic. She was, by far, the most interesting character. It's unfortunate the narrator had her sounding like a shrew rather than a 15 year old.
storydragon's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
latariaana's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
derekgoad's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
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
5.0
jaybaylittle's review against another edition
4.0
Took a little bit to get on board with the story. The writing is a bit scatterbrained…which makes sense given the character you’re experiencing the story through. Towards the end I was fully on board, but the last two chapters seem like the writer had a timeline to stick to and ended it abruptly…which was a bit frustrating.
bibliobrandie's review against another edition
3.0
Pretty good. I think the main character, Monty, was a bit annoying but I loved the queer romance.
aceinit's review against another edition
5.0
I'm not saying this book gave me life, I'm just saying I've been in such a reading slump and everything has been so boring and awful lately, and this book has completely revived me. It's a beautiful combination of well-written and completely fun and angsty, and it has everything I needed to remember why I love reading.
The only disappointment was.
But, gods, I loved this book.
The only disappointment was
Spoiler
Monty needing to discover his father was an even bigger scumbag of a human being than he originally knew in order to start to realize he really could live his own life outside of his father's shadow. It would have been nice to see him come to this decision without the added bombshellsBut, gods, I loved this book.
emmyslovelylibrary's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
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
5.0
kaikai1618's review against another edition
5.0
Would I recommend this book? Of course I would this book is AMAZING. So I read The Gentlemen’s Guide to Vice and Virtue. I picked it up at strand because it had glowing reviews and I was excited to read it for reasons that were not designated by the cover. Now what was great about this book was that I don’t usually like historical fiction. I tend to not pick it up or enjoy it. But this book was kind of a historical fiction gateway. I guess I never really thought about it before but certain narrators will make the experience of the book so much better. Anyway this book was about Henry “Monte” Montague, a gentleman who embarks on a ship with his best friend Percy and his sister Felicity. He tends to drink or gamble, and is constantly disapproved by his father who wants him to run the estate. But what Monte wants is freedom from his responsibilities. He’s excited to get away from home, not only because he doesn’t want his father’s disapproving ambiance around him, but also because he has a massive crush on his best friend Percy. So Monte plans on trying to spend as much time with Percy as he can, but when his reckless decisions make an interesting detour, Monte, Percy and Felicity get caught up in a lot more than they thought they would be getting into.
Okay where do I even start with how good this book was. The characters were so distinct in personality and I loved the trio. Monte was always all talk, but he didn’t have to keep up pretences or masculinity. He would be scared, and he would scream. It was hilarious. The thing about Monte is that he was a character who seemed reckless and sometimes brash and selfish, but he had so much more depth to him. He had a temper--Not the scary-angry type--and would argue with people or make mistakes when he was trying to do something right. Ultimately the question brought to light was “Are you really doing this for me? Or is it for you?” I don’t want to say what that’s about though because spoilers. But anyway Monte holds his own secrets and truths that he’s reluctant to share, and they show how he’s not just an impulsive talker or a reckless person. He’s so much more. Now on to Percy. Percy is so sweet. He’s the calmness to and the thoughtful presence to Monte’s reckless behavior. He’s an African American gentlemen from England, but people are racist and assuming throughout the book. This book was really amazing with representation from Monte being a bisexual character, to showing the difficulty of being colored or a woman (i’ll get to that part) in this time period. I personally couldn’t help but love Percy. He was a good person and friend to Monte and to Felicity, but he spoke up for what he thought and his beliefs. He was strong and stuck to his morals. He would explain things to Monte that someone privileged may need to learn about, and the book was so well written that I didn’t even realize how well written it was until after I finished. It felt like I left another world since I could visualize everything so clearly. Any time anything racist came up I would feel what was going on and experience it with the character. On to Felicity. Felicity was a girl who could kick ass. She’s younger than the boys by three years but she’s the one who doesn’t shy away from adventure. She wants to be a doctor and she was always reading books about doctoring without her parent’s knowledge. As a woman she can’t be a doctor, and originally was on the ship with her brother to be sent to school. She wanted to go to school, just not one on how to be proper and submit her will into the hands of men. I can’t imagine that even happening. She would never shy away from blood or having to stitch a wound. “Babies” she would say when the boys screamed or shied away from a wound. And I loved that about this book. Felicity would put in how she felt her brother was lucky since he could do so much she couldn’t and he didn’t even know it. Through the book these characters grew together, and it was never boring. There were modern ideas implemented into the text, and the voice was constantly prevalent. The language in the narration was from the era, but it was understandable while still sounding sophisticated. Everything was just like watching and experiencing a movie but 10x better and it could make me feel happy and laugh to instantly hitting me with something and making me want to cry.
Okay where do I even start with how good this book was. The characters were so distinct in personality and I loved the trio. Monte was always all talk, but he didn’t have to keep up pretences or masculinity. He would be scared, and he would scream. It was hilarious. The thing about Monte is that he was a character who seemed reckless and sometimes brash and selfish, but he had so much more depth to him. He had a temper--Not the scary-angry type--and would argue with people or make mistakes when he was trying to do something right. Ultimately the question brought to light was “Are you really doing this for me? Or is it for you?” I don’t want to say what that’s about though because spoilers. But anyway Monte holds his own secrets and truths that he’s reluctant to share, and they show how he’s not just an impulsive talker or a reckless person. He’s so much more. Now on to Percy. Percy is so sweet. He’s the calmness to and the thoughtful presence to Monte’s reckless behavior. He’s an African American gentlemen from England, but people are racist and assuming throughout the book. This book was really amazing with representation from Monte being a bisexual character, to showing the difficulty of being colored or a woman (i’ll get to that part) in this time period. I personally couldn’t help but love Percy. He was a good person and friend to Monte and to Felicity, but he spoke up for what he thought and his beliefs. He was strong and stuck to his morals. He would explain things to Monte that someone privileged may need to learn about, and the book was so well written that I didn’t even realize how well written it was until after I finished. It felt like I left another world since I could visualize everything so clearly. Any time anything racist came up I would feel what was going on and experience it with the character. On to Felicity. Felicity was a girl who could kick ass. She’s younger than the boys by three years but she’s the one who doesn’t shy away from adventure. She wants to be a doctor and she was always reading books about doctoring without her parent’s knowledge. As a woman she can’t be a doctor, and originally was on the ship with her brother to be sent to school. She wanted to go to school, just not one on how to be proper and submit her will into the hands of men. I can’t imagine that even happening. She would never shy away from blood or having to stitch a wound. “Babies” she would say when the boys screamed or shied away from a wound. And I loved that about this book. Felicity would put in how she felt her brother was lucky since he could do so much she couldn’t and he didn’t even know it. Through the book these characters grew together, and it was never boring. There were modern ideas implemented into the text, and the voice was constantly prevalent. The language in the narration was from the era, but it was understandable while still sounding sophisticated. Everything was just like watching and experiencing a movie but 10x better and it could make me feel happy and laugh to instantly hitting me with something and making me want to cry.