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4.05 AVERAGE
4.05 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
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
adventurous
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
This book was one of my all-time favourites! Beautiful writing, humourous and adorable characters and an outstanding plot! I loved pretty much everything about this book- the romance was believable and lovely without being too much and it didn't completely take over the story, just complimented it as a whole. The only complaint I can think of is that it should've been longer because it was so good!
But yeah, I'd definitely recommend this read- just be prepared for quite an emotional rollercoaster.
But yeah, I'd definitely recommend this read- just be prepared for quite an emotional rollercoaster.
This book was amazing... just flat out awesome. It's one of my favorite books I've read this year, which is saying a lot. I had a great time reading it and read through a family Father's Day dinner and finished it at almost 1 am. I was so hooked. There were so many things I liked about this book and I loved it even more because it was a historical fiction. One thing that made this book so incredible was the representation. The book touched on gender, abuse, sexuality, disability, and race, all topics that are relevant today, but the story was also amusing. The author wrote fantastic characters that I just fell in love with and I just loved seeing them and all the different relationships (not all romantic) develop and change over the course of their tour. It was a very well rounded book and it left me wanting more. I can't wait to read Felicity's book!
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Upon moving into my new apartment, I realized I only had Toni Morrison's Paradise to read, and, telling my friend this and saying "I cannot handle that right now with all the stress I have, even though I really want to read it," they gave me this to read, saying it was absolutely a nothing book. Thanks, Bea!
This is one of those books that reeks of mid-2010s YA gay literature, that is, being that it hints at the gayness throughout but only allows itself to fully embrace it at the very end. There are a few scenes before that where they almost fuck and then end up fighting, which doesn't seem to be great for their prospects as a romantic couple. Another reason I can carbon-date this book is that it really feels like the author read some "how to write a [blank] character" guides and ran with it — she takes pains not to be Problematic that it feels a bit like a nothingburger book.
This book feels strange with regards to disability. It has the "friend tries to cure disabled person, disabled person never wants to be cured, friend becomes disabled himself" trope (if the last part is a trope, but I don't know), and it feels like Monty becomes disabled in order to teach him a lesson, in a way. It's said he's beautiful even with the scarring, etc. etc., but it feels somewhat objectifying and using disability as a punishment, even while the characters are trying their damndest to refute it. Having characters say "Nooo this doesn't fit that trope!" doesn't make the trope not there. I'm sure someone else could have a better analysis of this, but these are my surface-level thoughts about it.
Can't stand Monty. For a character who is supposed to be charming and lovely, he just felt very bland to me. I appreciated that his inner monologue was entirely different from the way he presented himself, but the way he presented himself still didn't feel as overly charming and dramatic as everyone described it. Felicity was good, I enjoyed having her there. She didn't fulfill the trope of "women who cannot move beyond their station but want to be doctors, etc. but have no personality beyond that." Percy was kind of flat for me.The whole point of the book was getting a cure for his epilepsy (see above) but he did still feel a bit like a vehicle for Monty's own development, which is a real shame given he's the only major POC besides Scipio in the book.
Didn't know what this book was going into it, making the twist pretty effective. The prose was okay, but sometimes I just had no idea where we were and it skipped around setting-wise. The pacing was extremely fast. I kept wondering if this book was just a way to write off a European vacation for tax purposes.
This is one of those books that reeks of mid-2010s YA gay literature, that is, being that it hints at the gayness throughout but only allows itself to fully embrace it at the very end. There are a few scenes before that where they almost fuck and then end up fighting, which doesn't seem to be great for their prospects as a romantic couple. Another reason I can carbon-date this book is that it really feels like the author read some "how to write a [blank] character" guides and ran with it — she takes pains not to be Problematic that it feels a bit like a nothingburger book.
This book feels strange with regards to disability. It has the
Can't stand Monty. For a character who is supposed to be charming and lovely, he just felt very bland to me. I appreciated that his inner monologue was entirely different from the way he presented himself, but the way he presented himself still didn't feel as overly charming and dramatic as everyone described it. Felicity was good, I enjoyed having her there. She didn't fulfill the trope of "women who cannot move beyond their station but want to be doctors, etc. but have no personality beyond that." Percy was kind of flat for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Racism, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Sexism, Death of parent, Classism
Minor: Gun violence, Infidelity, Sexual content, Vomit
man couldn't just step into someones else's shoes, no no, that's absurd. He had to forcefully glue the soles to his bare feet before he could finally see reason.
I don’t even have words for how much I loved this.
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
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
Reread.
Wow. Just wow. When I first picked this up in 2023, I thought it was going to be another queer romance book; just with a disaster bi in a period setting, but this book is so much more.
The bittersweet pining of childhood friends to deep, romantic, but unspoken feelings for each other only lays a background of tension for what is a fast paced adventure story. Mystery, fight scenes, and a race against time to a sinking island - oh my! This story is on par with The Mummy, with Indiana Jones, with Pirates of the Carribean, with highly renowned adventure stories. I would love to see this in film. I have yet to find another queer adventure story on par with this.
Wow. Just wow. When I first picked this up in 2023, I thought it was going to be another queer romance book; just with a disaster bi in a period setting, but this book is so much more.
The bittersweet pining of childhood friends to deep, romantic, but unspoken feelings for each other only lays a background of tension for what is a fast paced adventure story. Mystery, fight scenes, and a race against time to a sinking island - oh my! This story is on par with The Mummy, with Indiana Jones, with Pirates of the Carribean, with highly renowned adventure stories. I would love to see this in film. I have yet to find another queer adventure story on par with this.
Monty is a vibrant and delightable protagonist, largely because he’s not always likeable. He’s selfish, he makes mistakes, he constantly puts his foot in it. He comes from privilege, and that shows in his actions, though he starts to grow awareness as the novel progresses.
Addresses issues of the time - his father’s abuse for his attraction to men, how Percy is viewed as lesser because of his skin colour, and threatened with an asylum due to his epilepsy, how Felicity is not allowed to pursue her passion for medicine because she is a girl - but doesn’t get bogged down in too much angst, and the characters find workarounds for their issues. Felicity gets work upon a ship of privateer’s, who appreciate her work rather than holding her to the standard of societal expectations. Percy gives up his inheritance to escape his father, and he and Percy flee together so he doesn’t have to be sectioned. It doesn’t make everything okay - they still have to live as bachelors, and there’s no claim that moving ends the racism that Percy faces - but there’s hope. There’s the glorious sunset at the end of the tale - literally, Monty ending with a letter to his father, written on the beach in the arms of Percy.
This was just an absolute delight to read. It was so much more than I expected, and I didn’t want to put it down.
adventurous
emotional
informative
tense
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
This book was fun. It took me to places I didn't expect, but I enjoyed the ride. The only think I'm still wondering about is how much I liked the ending. I did like the way it ended, but I feel like I wanted a little more of the loose ends tied up.