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ekfaltesek's review
- 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
Minor: Homophobia, Grief, Child abuse, Vomit, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Racism, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Gun violence, Death of parent, Bullying, Blood, Biphobia, and Alcoholism
joyfulfoodie's review
- 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
The characters are lovable and evolve nicely through the book.
Graphic: Chronic illness, Biphobia, Child abuse, Classism, Colonisation, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Homophobia, and Racism
Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Vomit, Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, Slavery, and Suicidal thoughts
clemrain's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
Graphic: Death of parent and Physical abuse
Moderate: Chronic illness, Classism, Medical content, Racism, Alcoholism, Blood, Racial slurs, Gun violence, Vomit, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, and Violence
Minor: Grief, Misogyny, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Body horror, Sexual harassment, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Medical trauma, Deportation, and Sexual content
crufts's review
- 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.
elleandon's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Ableism, Abandonment, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Biphobia, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Classism, Colonisation, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Homophobia, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Outing, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Vomit, and Racism
emliza's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Alcohol, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, and Racism
Moderate: Ableism, Bullying, Cursing, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Gun violence, Vomit, Violence, Physical abuse, Outing, Panic attacks/disorders, and Misogyny
Minor: Grief, Suicidal thoughts, and Blood
inuy21'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
4.0
Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Physical abuse, Violence, Racism, and Chronic illness
Moderate: Racial slurs and Slavery
Minor: Bullying and Vomit
krisrow'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: Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, and Forced institutionalization
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, and Blood
alethiometer235's review against another edition
4.5
Moderate: Ableism, Alcoholism, Biphobia, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Homophobia, Racism, and Sexism