Reviews with content warning for Forced institutionalization - The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue

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Reviews tagging 'Forced institutionalization'

The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee

83 reviews

superbrats's review

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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

3.5

I was really enjoying it when it was about Monty, Percy and Felicity going on a Grand Tour with a few hitches but once the plot about alchemists and panaceas was introduced I started to enjoy it a little bit less. The real problems Monty and Percy had were more compelling to me (and it's not like they were ignored, I just wish the focus was more on that than the adventure, personally).

It was still pretty fun though and the life and death situations were important to the development of the characters and the romance.

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meliflowers's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional lighthearted 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

3.0

Love a good rep for himbos!!

A well written book and a good story but it was a bit too predictable and cliché at times. I loved the characterisations and setting.

It's a good story but I couldn't really get into it or enjoy it as much as I'd hoped.

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andyourstruly's review

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adventurous medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

GGtVaV is a very indulgent queer adventure story. Though the main cast all struggle with their own hardships, external and internal, the reader always knows they'll overcome to get their happy ending, and in that way, despite themes of racism, sexism, ableism, homophobia, and physical/emotional abuse, it feels very light.

The author studied history in university, so a lot of the historical details of events and cultural norms are more accurate than your average YA novel, but there are still glaring blind spots, like the author not being well-versed in clothing culture or that almost every educated person would have been fluent in French in the early 1700s, particularly if they had a French parent.

My biggest takeaway with it was that, as fantastical as so many elements were, it seems strange that the author didn't just ... write an adventure where people happened to be queer or black or women. It felt like a strange decision to hand-wave away a lot of actual problems they may have encountered but to really spend a lot of time projecting modern-day feminism onto a character from the era and bringing up homophobia and racism that wasn't even always period-accurate. Fun book, may read the sequels, not so invested that I'm prioritizing it.

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fromjuliereads's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging funny hopeful lighthearted reflective medium-paced

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

3.0

I think there were aspects of this book done really well, but there were also parts I struggled with. I liked the adventure and the character interactions! I really struggled to like the main character... he honestly had few redeeming qualities. And I get that his behaviour and aspects of the facade were due to how he was treated at home and trauma, but it didn't negate the fact that he's pretty shitty to anyone around him. I also think this book could have been edited down - some parts dragged quite a bit. But overall, I'm glad I read it!

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mep_mep_mep's review

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3.0

There was a lot I wanted to like about this one— a queer romance in a lighthearted historical fiction seemed interesting to me. The first few chapters I actually enjoyed quite a bit, as they set up the character dynamics, tone, and style of prose well. I thought I knew what I was getting into.

However, partway through, the story pivots into a completely different genre of adventure romp, and this continues until the end. To put it bluntly without spoiling too much, magic is real. The central macguffin of the narrative is an impossible magical cure, and it’s REAL. But the ambiguity of whether this is a historical fiction in our world versus a magical one really takes all the tension out of characters’ arguments and motivations for much of the story. If the alchemical cure is actually just pseudoscience, why does the chase for it matter to me as the reader? I may just not be the target audience, but the mismatch threw me off enough for my engagement to slip away quickly.

I enjoyed the dynamic of the main trio, and the romance between Monty and Percy was sweet. I particularly liked that Monty struggled with believable negative character traits. He is impulsive, noncommittal, and sometimes ‘annoying,’ but I like that he’s allowed to be. However I do have to note that while his privilege in his world is discussed on occasion, I don’t know if it’s explored as well as it could have been. His traveling partners Percy (an epileptic person of color) and Felicity (a young woman interested in medicine) both have their own unique obstacles that Monty never has to grapple with. Additionally Percy and his health/future are major sources of tension, but he barely has any autonomy in this story. He’s mostly along for the ride, despite his perspective being the most complex and thought-provoking in the book.

Idk I’m just putting thoughts out there, I was just a little underwhelmed :/

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