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4.19 AVERAGE
4.19 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
they’re my favorite siblings everrrrrrr 🫂 this is like bridgerton but for ppl who like pirates and the uncharted franchise
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
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
i’m so glad they finally got married and that while adrien will have to live with his anxiety/ocd, that at least he knows he can manage it.
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
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
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
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
adventurous
emotional
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
rounding up a little because i'm going to miss this series and i really flew through this one
Find this review and more on my blog at Worlds Unlike Our Own.
3.5 stars
Nearly two decades after the events of The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy, Adrian Montague, now 19, is his father’s sole heir and a budding political writer. But in the wake of his mother’s recent death under somewhat mysterious circumstances, he has been struggling more and more with his mental illness, the same his mother had, and fears that people will find out about it. When he receives a keepsake of his mother, a broken piece of a spyglass, Adrian sets out to find more about it, only to happen upon an older brother he never knew he had – Henry Montague, aka Monty. Adrian’s mission to find answers soon turns into a quest across the sea to find their sister Felicity and a jaunt through various countries, in search of something only spoken of in legend.
Well, it was good to return to these familiar faces, but this book was definitely the weakest of the series. The mood of the entire story has changed and there’s none of the side-splittingly funny moments or ridiculous antics that I so enjoyed in the series thus far, and it made this book, quite frankly, tiresome. The fantasy/supernatural theme from The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy continued here as well, and I didn’t enjoy it any better. The pacing was really slow towards the beginning, but improved once the actual plot started. What was well depicted however, was the representation of Adrian’s anxiety disorder and OCD and how he struggles to cope with it in a society and era where it is taboo.
Adrian started out as a rather interesting character, and the initial chapters build up some background surrounding his relationships with his father and fiancee and how his political future will turn out. All that goes down the drain however, when he more or less leaves everything behind to gallivant across Europe on a wild goose chase in search of a ghost out of legend and none of these concerns are remotely significant until the end of the book. He was a character who was easy to empathize with, and very well written from that perspective, but Adrian didn’t really make for that good of a narrator, especially if you compare him to the ridiculously entertaining Monty from the first book.
The most jarring aspect for me however, was that Monty and Felicity, who would be nearly 40 years old in this book, simply did not act their age. They still behaved more or less like their teenage versions from the previous two books, and as a reader, knowing that they’re supposed to be so much older. Then again, it is extremely difficult to picture either of them as grown adults, which made reading this book a very strange experience. I’m also rather disappointed at how little page time Percy had.
Overall, following the journey of the Montague siblings was fun, but this felt more like a check in with the characters rather than a solid plotline, and the book really could have been condensed a lot – maybe even into a novella. If you’ve read the first two books, I’d recommend reading this one to complete the series but don’t go into it with too high expectations.
3.5 stars
Nearly two decades after the events of The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy, Adrian Montague, now 19, is his father’s sole heir and a budding political writer. But in the wake of his mother’s recent death under somewhat mysterious circumstances, he has been struggling more and more with his mental illness, the same his mother had, and fears that people will find out about it. When he receives a keepsake of his mother, a broken piece of a spyglass, Adrian sets out to find more about it, only to happen upon an older brother he never knew he had – Henry Montague, aka Monty. Adrian’s mission to find answers soon turns into a quest across the sea to find their sister Felicity and a jaunt through various countries, in search of something only spoken of in legend.
Well, it was good to return to these familiar faces, but this book was definitely the weakest of the series. The mood of the entire story has changed and there’s none of the side-splittingly funny moments or ridiculous antics that I so enjoyed in the series thus far, and it made this book, quite frankly, tiresome. The fantasy/supernatural theme from The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy continued here as well, and I didn’t enjoy it any better. The pacing was really slow towards the beginning, but improved once the actual plot started. What was well depicted however, was the representation of Adrian’s anxiety disorder and OCD and how he struggles to cope with it in a society and era where it is taboo.
Adrian started out as a rather interesting character, and the initial chapters build up some background surrounding his relationships with his father and fiancee and how his political future will turn out. All that goes down the drain however, when he more or less leaves everything behind to gallivant across Europe on a wild goose chase in search of a ghost out of legend and none of these concerns are remotely significant until the end of the book. He was a character who was easy to empathize with, and very well written from that perspective, but Adrian didn’t really make for that good of a narrator, especially if you compare him to the ridiculously entertaining Monty from the first book.
The most jarring aspect for me however, was that Monty and Felicity, who would be nearly 40 years old in this book, simply did not act their age. They still behaved more or less like their teenage versions from the previous two books, and as a reader, knowing that they’re supposed to be so much older. Then again, it is extremely difficult to picture either of them as grown adults, which made reading this book a very strange experience. I’m also rather disappointed at how little page time Percy had.
Overall, following the journey of the Montague siblings was fun, but this felt more like a check in with the characters rather than a solid plotline, and the book really could have been condensed a lot – maybe even into a novella. If you’ve read the first two books, I’d recommend reading this one to complete the series but don’t go into it with too high expectations.
adventurous
funny
mysterious
relaxing
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:
N/A
First of all, Mackenzi Lee creates some pretty funny similes, for example: [he was] as composed as a sonata.
Second, I really appreciate this quote: "Can we not simply be people, each of us with cogs in our brains that turn slightly differently, and some that need oiling and alignment and upkeep more than others?"
Third, this was the most difficult of the three books for me to read because of the content- reading about someone's struggles with mental health is never going to be easy - but it was still cathartic and it actually reminded me of A Semi-Definitive List of Worst Nightmares which is not a bad thing especially since I liked it more.
Fourth, I love Monty and Percy so much even though I'd probably dislike Monty if I met him in real life
Edit: I'm actually going to give this 5 stars because there wasn't really anything to fault :) also I love how much Mackenzi Lee seems to love pirates (especially kindly ones)
Second, I really appreciate this quote: "Can we not simply be people, each of us with cogs in our brains that turn slightly differently, and some that need oiling and alignment and upkeep more than others?"
Third, this was the most difficult of the three books for me to read because of the content- reading about someone's struggles with mental health is never going to be easy - but it was still cathartic and it actually reminded me of A Semi-Definitive List of Worst Nightmares which is not a bad thing especially since I liked it more.
Fourth, I love Monty and Percy so much even though I'd probably dislike Monty if I met him in real life
Spoiler
and their wedding was soooo cuteeeeee and they're still passionately in love after 20 years I'm so happy for themmmmEdit: I'm actually going to give this 5 stars because there wasn't really anything to fault :) also I love how much Mackenzi Lee seems to love pirates (especially kindly ones)