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

friends-to-lovers is all i needed. romantic angst is the cherry on top. part of the plot wasn't my favorite but like i said, friends-to-lovers with romantic angst!

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livinthebubble's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted 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

4.0

Wow. Not what I was expecting but in a good way.

I'm not normally a historical fiction enthusiast, but this was so good. I even had this on my potential unhaul list, but I was pleasantly surprised. Although a smidge predictable, I had such a great time reading this. Pirates, highwaymen, running naked in Versailles. For a 500-page book, I was never bored.

All three main characters were great. My fave has to be Monty, our bisexual dumbass. The book was in his POV and the narration was funny af. There were too many moments where I laughed out loud. Percy was just a lil bean, the sweet and gentle one of the 3. Felicity was a mood (not as much as Monty tho) and I'm excited to see more of her in book 2.

"Felicity," my mother hisses down to her. "Perhaps you should remove you spectacles at the table."

"I need them for reading," Felicity says, eyes still fixed upon her smut.

The romance was so cute. This is what I mean when I say I want a slow burn. If you like unrequited pining, friends to lovers, forced to share a bed, tension (and so much more), this is for you. And the ending, oh my god. I just loved all of it.

"I love you, but I don't know how to help you. I still don't! I'm an emotional delinquent and I say wrong things all the time, but I want to be better for you. I promise that. It doesn't matter to me that you're ill and it doesn't matter if I have to give up everything, because you're worth it. You're worth it all because you are magnificent, you are. Magnificent and gorgeous and brilliant and kind and good and I just... love you, Percy. I love you so damn much." I almost cried.

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georgiaisreading's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional funny lighthearted 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

4.25

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breadbees's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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leonormsousa's review

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adventurous funny lighthearted 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

4.0

TRIGGER WARNINGS

violence, child abuse, physical abuse, emotional abuse, forced institutionalization, murder, slavery, trafficking, racism, homophobia, misogyny, sexism, panic attacks/disorders, blood, injury/injury detail, medical content, chronic illness, vomit, alcohol

REPRESENTATION

bisexual MC, mixed-race (Black) gay LI with epilepsy

REVIEW

The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue was a refreshing, fun and surprising read. I was expecting just a light-hearted queer historical romance, but I got, on top of that, an adventurous book with more depth than I imagined.

Switching things up and starting with the ending, let me just say: I loved the author’s note at the end of the book. The author explains some of her research and clarifies what parts of the book are very much inspired by what is actually known about eighteenth-century Europe (the setting of the book). I thought it was such a powerful way to help the reader learn from the story and turn the novel into more than just a cute romance.

Among the topics that are covered throughout the book (and some in the author’s note), we have queerness culture, race relations, epilepsy, misogyny, child abuse, politics and piracy; all really important and/or really interesting subjects that add layers to this great YA romance.

As for the main plot, it is not your typical (historical) romance. It is filled with adventure and mystery and it even has a fantastical side to it, which was something that I completely loved. It all provided the perfect set-up for me to see the characters grow (and grow on me), especially Monty, while keeping me invested in the story.

I’m not a big fan of friends to lovers, but this book was proof that when something is well done, it doesn’t matter if you’re not a big fan of the genre or the trope: it can still get you! Seeing Monty’s and Percy’s relationship grow as they learn how to love was just marvellous. For me, it was just a shame that we had to see a bit of the miscommunication trope (not my favourite), although I do think that it came to show the extra lack of confidence that can be felt in expressing your feelings in the case of queer relationships.

While it didn’t completely blow me away, The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue was a solid 4-stars that found its way to my heart. And since Felicity was my favourite character, I’m very much curious to see how the author has approached misogyny and asexuality in the second book of the series, where she takes the lead.

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zoe_archambault's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective fast-paced

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

3.5

Wasn't super into it in the first half, but the second half really had me. My only main concern is the random and sudden vivid descriptions of suicide ideation and self-harm which were off-putting and honestly unnecessary.

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heather_lt's review against another edition

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adventurous 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? It's complicated

5.0

I went into this completely blind because I'd forgotten the blurb by the time I got around to reading it. Thought it would be something like The Intoxicating Mr Lavelle by Neil Blackmore with the "on tour" theme and it was but just much better. I wasn't expecting the mystery element so it was happy happenstance.

Overall this is not deep reading by any means and there is some questionable language that wasn't really necessary, but it was a fast-paced, fun, entertaining spot of historical fiction. Such an adventure following Monty's trio around Europe as they constantly get in and out of trouble. Looking forward to continuing with the series.

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