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4.19 AVERAGE
4.19 AVERAGE
Absolutely loved reading this book, loved the story of the last Montague sibling, and it was such a great story!
I need to see a therapist if I want to finish this. It’s incredible but the depictions of mental illness are too real and they’re sending me into psychosis
adventurous
emotional
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
“I want to stop picking at life like it's a meal I don't want to eat, because I want to. I want to taste it all. I want life to be a feast, even if I have to eat it raw and bloody and burned some days. I will pick bones from my teeth. I will let the juice drip down my chin.”
Inheriting the curse of my bloodline (my parents mental illness).
I really loved this. This is adrians story and the 20 year time skip sets him up to be a different person with a different narrative dealing with his own issues in his own way and I think it was bold yet fitting to have this book be more grounded and real bc very interestingly the fantastical and magical, in contrast to the other books, is only for Adrian, only in his head. No one is privy to the flying dutchman and (mostly) no one else believes in it like him. It's about a nineteen year old dealing with grief and loss and wanting more and wanting to belong in the most rational irrational way he can and it's a very personal and visceral experience and for that i loved it. Adrian abandoning the familiar cast in the last stretch was a great way to emphasize this is his story and the climax being just for him was wonderful and satisfying and will stay with me.
What I really also like about the build up towards the climax was Adrian running off in abandon with another boy dealing with grief and loss and growing up in his own way too. It felt quiet and momentous, these two kids recognizing the storm in each other, and it's something I wish was a bit longer as Lee has a talent for memorable side characters and their quick bond felt special but I was left wanting for more moments between them. I do think the familiar cast may have held this book back a bit imo, though I think Adrian connecting with his immediate family made sense and the cameos from the old cast felt natural, I particularly liked Monty’s role which worked to give the series a full circle moment. Adrian Montague invents found family by literally finding his siblings and pulling them out of the woodwork for family bonding while letting them get closure about their own hang ups. Amazing, no notes.
And honestly this book is what being nineteen is like, isn't it. Inheriting your family’s curse and not noticing until your older and having a crisis over it, being different from your parents and the weight of being yourself meaning you must defy them, wanting more out of life and to live it but also being so scared of all of it at the same time, looking to fix yourself then learning to accept yourself all while looking to belong to others too. Its all there in its real messy glory.
I also really must praise the writing style, even with a close personal first person pov following a character with debilitating anxiety, i was able to read this incredibly fast and easily. Her writing remains immersive yet easy to read (though I should say Adrian’s voice can be bleak and he does experience intense anxiety and suicidal ideation, cw for that) and remains charming and funny when wanted while doing a great job of blending historical settings with a ya voice.
All in all, i don't think this book quite keeps the same broad and easy appeal of the other two bc of its intentionally difficult narration and bc it breaks the formula of the two previous books which some ppl may not like, but i do think it is successful in what it sets out to do—which is to say I think this is more akin to a character study than an action romp though I think this is fitting for Adrian’s story—and i personally got a lot from it and greatly enjoyed it. Adrian is a great mc who receives his own unique characterization who’s story deserves to be told (I feel as though a lesser author would’ve just mixed his previous siblings personalities together to make him fit. Not the case.) Lee representing mental illness and giving space to it in her historical setting with such care was a satisfying third subject to tackle in this series and she of course subverts the ya romanticization and quirkiness and over dramatic depictions of mental illness here. Adrian’s adventure is real and emotional and as memorable as the others; the ending was also a really sweet way to cap off the series with an optimistic tone while remaining realistic about our heroes futures, very true to the series themes and sentiments of there are no cure alls to your problems but we can still believe and celebrate every triumph, big or small, bc they matter and bc you matter and are worthy of living. I did tear up a few times throughout this book and there are a few scenes that were just a whirlwind of emotions that I loved getting swept up in, so five stars from me
I will miss all the Montagues and co. and every book in this series gave me something I needed when I was a teen that I’m very grateful for and what more could you ask for in a ya? This trilogy as a whole is great and each book bleeds wonderfully into the next while never being overtaken by the previous book’s narrative lines and I recommend this trilogy for a fun and satisfying time.
“I close my eyes. Turn my face to the light-soaked sky.
And take a breath.”
Inheriting the curse of my bloodline (my parents mental illness).
I really loved this. This is adrians story and the 20 year time skip sets him up to be a different person with a different narrative dealing with his own issues in his own way and I think it was bold yet fitting to have this book be more grounded and real bc very interestingly the fantastical and magical, in contrast to the other books, is only for Adrian, only in his head. No one is privy to the flying dutchman and (mostly) no one else believes in it like him. It's about a nineteen year old dealing with grief and loss and wanting more and wanting to belong in the most rational irrational way he can and it's a very personal and visceral experience and for that i loved it. Adrian abandoning the familiar cast in the last stretch was a great way to emphasize this is his story and the climax being just for him was wonderful and satisfying and will stay with me.
What I really also like about the build up towards the climax was Adrian running off in abandon with another boy dealing with grief and loss and growing up in his own way too. It felt quiet and momentous, these two kids recognizing the storm in each other, and it's something I wish was a bit longer as Lee has a talent for memorable side characters and their quick bond felt special but I was left wanting for more moments between them. I do think the familiar cast may have held this book back a bit imo, though I think Adrian connecting with his immediate family made sense and the cameos from the old cast felt natural, I particularly liked Monty’s role which worked to give the series a full circle moment. Adrian Montague invents found family by literally finding his siblings and pulling them out of the woodwork for family bonding while letting them get closure about their own hang ups. Amazing, no notes.
And honestly this book is what being nineteen is like, isn't it. Inheriting your family’s curse and not noticing until your older and having a crisis over it, being different from your parents and the weight of being yourself meaning you must defy them, wanting more out of life and to live it but also being so scared of all of it at the same time, looking to fix yourself then learning to accept yourself all while looking to belong to others too. Its all there in its real messy glory.
I also really must praise the writing style, even with a close personal first person pov following a character with debilitating anxiety, i was able to read this incredibly fast and easily. Her writing remains immersive yet easy to read (though I should say Adrian’s voice can be bleak and he does experience intense anxiety and suicidal ideation, cw for that) and remains charming and funny when wanted while doing a great job of blending historical settings with a ya voice.
All in all, i don't think this book quite keeps the same broad and easy appeal of the other two bc of its intentionally difficult narration and bc it breaks the formula of the two previous books which some ppl may not like, but i do think it is successful in what it sets out to do—which is to say I think this is more akin to a character study than an action romp though I think this is fitting for Adrian’s story—and i personally got a lot from it and greatly enjoyed it. Adrian is a great mc who receives his own unique characterization who’s story deserves to be told (I feel as though a lesser author would’ve just mixed his previous siblings personalities together to make him fit. Not the case.) Lee representing mental illness and giving space to it in her historical setting with such care was a satisfying third subject to tackle in this series and she of course subverts the ya romanticization and quirkiness and over dramatic depictions of mental illness here. Adrian’s adventure is real and emotional and as memorable as the others; the ending was also a really sweet way to cap off the series with an optimistic tone while remaining realistic about our heroes futures, very true to the series themes and sentiments of there are no cure alls to your problems but we can still believe and celebrate every triumph, big or small, bc they matter and bc you matter and are worthy of living. I did tear up a few times throughout this book and there are a few scenes that were just a whirlwind of emotions that I loved getting swept up in, so five stars from me
I will miss all the Montagues and co. and every book in this series gave me something I needed when I was a teen that I’m very grateful for and what more could you ask for in a ya? This trilogy as a whole is great and each book bleeds wonderfully into the next while never being overtaken by the previous book’s narrative lines and I recommend this trilogy for a fun and satisfying time.
“I close my eyes. Turn my face to the light-soaked sky.
And take a breath.”
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Gentlemans Guide and the characters/story was my comfort story these last few months and Noblemans Guide met all my expectations.
All the things that were loveable and that I enjoyed from the other Montague siblings books were present in this.
Ingredients for a Montague siblings novel: Funny, action, love, mental health representation, and characters that aren't perfect but seem tangible and real.
Recommend this if you liked the 1st book in this series.
All the things that were loveable and that I enjoyed from the other Montague siblings books were present in this.
Ingredients for a Montague siblings novel: Funny, action, love, mental health representation, and characters that aren't perfect but seem tangible and real.
Recommend this if you liked the 1st book in this series.
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
I *love* Lee's writing style. I usually plow through her books, but this one took me much longer than expected. I really related to a lot of the ways that Adrian's anxiety manifests. When reading about how Monty have Felicity have been and what they accomplished, I thought about the Trop Talks video from Overly Sarcastic Productions about sequels and especially time-skip sequels. The argument being that: where do you go after the "they lived happily ever after?" Yet, it makes sense that Monty is still struggling with self (loathing) doubt. Similarly, Felicity prioritizes her work over her relationships. I felt like where the characters are now is believable.
However, I feel like the book followed a similar plot as that of The Gentleman's Guide of Vice and Virtue: character has a disability and goes on an adventure to obtain a cure. I wish we could have seen something different since we already had Gentleman's Guide and Lady's Guide.
Overall, it felt like a comfort read for me in the sense that it is a weighted blanket but made with itchy material.
However, I feel like the book followed a similar plot as that of The Gentleman's Guide of Vice and Virtue: character has a disability and goes on an adventure to obtain a cure. I wish we could have seen something different since we already had Gentleman's Guide and Lady's Guide.
Overall, it felt like a comfort read for me in the sense that it is a weighted blanket but made with itchy material.
I just loved this entire trilogy and the third and final Montague sibling did not disappoint. Adrian is just as lovable and almost as infuriating as Monty and Felicity. This was probably the most serious/least light-hearted book of the 3. And that's ok with me. It was full of the same witty banter as the others, but this installment deals heavily with themes of mental illness and suicide.
I appreciated the way Lee approached Adrian's illness, reminding us through his own struggles and his eventual acceptance of himself that those of us who struggle are not hopelessly broken. We can learn new ways to speak to ourselves, and reframe our ideas about how we fit into the world. We are loved and we are worthy and deserving of all the good things life has to offer.
I appreciated the way Lee approached Adrian's illness, reminding us through his own struggles and his eventual acceptance of himself that those of us who struggle are not hopelessly broken. We can learn new ways to speak to ourselves, and reframe our ideas about how we fit into the world. We are loved and we are worthy and deserving of all the good things life has to offer.
This whole series was a banger from start to finish. Good job Mackenzi Lee. You killed it.
Monty is still wonderful Monty in this book. All the characters from previous books stay three-dimensional, interesting, and true to who they were at the start of the journey but with obvious growth.
Obsessed.
Monty is still wonderful Monty in this book. All the characters from previous books stay three-dimensional, interesting, and true to who they were at the start of the journey but with obvious growth.
Obsessed.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
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
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes