Scan barcode
aformeracceleratedreader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Homophobia, Racism, and Sexism
Minor: Death of parent, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Alcoholism, Blood, and Gun violence
leonormsousa's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Homophobia, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Vomit, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, and Racism
Moderate: Trafficking, Alcohol, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Slavery, Blood, Chronic illness, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder
thefightinside's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Gaslighting, Child abuse, Outing, Emotional abuse, and Homophobia
Moderate: Ableism, Alcoholism, Classism, Forced institutionalization, and Racism
Minor: Alcohol, Sexism, Sexual content, Cursing, and Blood
const_elle_ations's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Homophobia, Medical content, and Racism
Moderate: Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Sexism, Vomit, and Gore
Minor: Acephobia/Arophobia
piperclover's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Alcoholism, Blood, Child abuse, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Homophobia and Sexism
vthecreature's review against another edition
- 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
I also really liked the character development in this. With Monty being so unlikable and problematic in the beginning, I had little hope for him and was only consoled by the reactions of the people around him, which assured me that he’d learn his lesson someday.
I found the writing very gorgeous, especially whenever Monty described the scenery (very immersive) and his feelings for Percy (heartwarming!). The character voice for Monty was well done and had me laughing.
I’m also very glad that
This book was very action-packed, which did feel a bit much but then again it probably wasn’t meant to be read in a single day…
Some of the dialogue and characters’ behavior were unrealistic
This book was clearly well planned, as certain tidbits from early in the story came into play later, which was great for the mystery aspect! I don’t know how to feel about the magical aspect though, since I had not been expecting it at all going into this. Also, the whole “misunderstanding between two people causes more drama than it should” trope knocked my rating down a bit.
Still, this was overall a delightful read!
Graphic: Violence, Chronic illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Child abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Biphobia, Ableism, Alcohol, and Blood
Moderate: Gun violence, Confinement, Medical content, Sexual content, Homophobia, Sexism, and Vomit
Minor: Outing, Death of parent, Slavery, and Forced institutionalization
crufts's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Our charismatic-scoundrel-with-a-heart-of-gold protagonist (Henry "Monty" Montague), an 18-year-old English lord, embarks on his Grand Tour of Europe with sister Felicity and best friend Percy. Naturally, it all goes completely off the rails. In the process Monty matures considerably, and forever changes his standing regarding his father and his travelling companions.
There's so much to enjoy about the book:
- Interesting setting. Assuming that the depiction of the 1700s is accurate, I thought it was fascinating how there was a strong England/France alliance with tourists visiting frequently from both sides, even though everyone was relying on communicating by letters. There were already English banks, embassies, etc in France, which did not intend to become French but rather to remain there as international institutions.
- Good bisexual representation! Monty's crush on Percy is a main plot thread, but his attraction to women isn't dismissed or trivialized. He is not "really" gay, he is really bisexual.
- Fabulous audiobook narration, especially of the French villain's voice.
- A somewhat magical plot device is foreshadowed well in advance and didn't feel like a huge surprise or genre-breaker when it appears.
I did find it a tad contrived that
The main obstruction is established at the beginning, when Percy asks Monty if them kissing was all just a lark, and a flustered Monty replies "No... yes!". Disappointed and not wanting to just be yet another of Monty's flings, Percy ends the situation.
This was hard to believe because (a) Monty is good at reading people, as seen when he chats up a bank clerk later in the book, and should have been able to piece together Percy's reaction; and (b) Monty wanted to tell Percy about his feelings for years and believed it to be Real Love™, not just a lark.
I think it would've been more believable if, for example:
- When asked if was just a lark, Monty replies something cautious like "I dunno, what do you want it to be?". Percy could then interpret this pessimistically ("He's just humouring me") and the plot could continue as before.
- It could be more obvious (perhaps just to the reader, if not to Monty himself) that Percy ended the situation because he's not a one-night-fling sort of guy and believed that Monty's nature would never change. For example, Percy might ask Monty about his fling with the girl at Versailles and express his opinion that he could never have a one-off relationship like that with someone, even if he loved them
I also found the writing style to be overly flowery at times, with a bit too much detail about specific thoughts or particular actions.
However, I still found The Gentleman's Guide to be an excellent book and would certainly recommend it.
Graphic: Biphobia, Homophobia, Medical content, Mental illness, Blood, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Sexism, and Violence
Moderate: Cursing and Racism
Minor: Death of parent
Period-typical sexism, homophobia, biphobia, etc due to the 1700s setting.Violence, blood, medical content: Appears during and after action scenes during the book. Also, a main character has epileptic fits.
Domestic abuse, bullying: Against the protagonist from his father, resulting in what is likely PTSD.
Racism: Against one of the later allies in the book.
Death of parent: Suffered by a pair of minor characters.
royalmilktea's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Physical abuse, and Sexism
kaii's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Child abuse, Homophobia, Physical abuse, and Racism
Moderate: Blood, Chronic illness, Forced institutionalization, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Alcoholism, Classism, and Sexism
Minor: Kidnapping, Medical content, Medical trauma, Outing, Colonisation, Islamophobia, Death of parent, Slavery, Racial slurs, Abandonment, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, and Religious bigotry
gemstonejasper's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
There were times when, along with Percy and Felicity, I got really annoyed or even angry with Monty. But I think that was the point. Monty is a flawed character and throughout the book he grows and develops. I think it's actually cool that the author took the risk of starting out with a main character that I didn't actually like as a person. I thought he was funny and I felt empathy for him. But I thought he was a brat. I think a lot of books choose to introduce their characters with more palatable flaws out of fear that the reader won't like them. But the author was able to blend his charisma and flaws together. He was fun to read about, despite his flaws and I was constantly cheering for him to grow. Overall, I would highly recommend this book, as well as the audiobook.
Graphic: Grief, Sexism, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Alcoholism, Violence, Homophobia, Racism, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Child abuse, Ableism, Alcohol, Gun violence, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Addiction, Death of parent, Chronic illness, and Classism
Moderate: Forced institutionalization