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Reviews tagging 'Injury/Injury detail'
Poradnik dla dżentelmena o występku i cnocie by Mackenzi Lee
77 reviews
gcoulsxn's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
fast-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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcoholism, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Vomit
aformeracceleratedreader's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
I enjoyed the romance and the adventure but it wasn't anything that sticks out to me or that I think will last in my memory. It was a good filler audiobook to listen to while I gamed or worked.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Racism, and Sexism
Minor: Alcoholism, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
leonormsousa's review against another edition
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
REPRESENTATION
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Vomit, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child abuse, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Slavery, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Trafficking, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
uhhlexiconic's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Maintaining a breezy pace despite its 500 pages, A Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue veers off its year of behaving badly plot to something more adventurous.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Racism, and Injury/Injury detail
diadoodle's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcoholism, Gun violence, and Medical content
kaii's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
tense
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Racism, and Alcohol
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Racial slurs, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Blood, and Classism
Minor: Confinement, Racial slurs, Slavery, Forced institutionalization, Islamophobia, Medical content, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Outing, Abandonment, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
akwardgrinch's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Homophobia, Misogyny, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, and Injury/Injury detail
rotfaced's review against another edition
adventurous
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
3.75
A few things, before I dive in: I got this as an audiobook, which I think affected my review in positive and negative ways.
Positives first: The writing style is very whimsical and engaging, made more-so by the expert narration. It was truly enjoyable, listening to this book, and for a brief two weeks it made my long commute more bearable. The author really has a way of twisting internal dialog to contribute to a scene rather than to detract from it, and the narration capitalized wonderfully on this style to provide an animated audio experience. The characters themselves were engaging-- the sister, Felicity, especially-- and the plot really felt like it was taking us on an adventure. I sometimes had no idea what to expect from it.
On the subject of Felicity, I think she's a much more compelling character than her brother and I'm glad to get a second book in her perspective. She was a breakout right away. I love her defiance, her knowledge, her demeanor. She was well and truly the star of many of the scenes she participated in. What a great voice.
Now for the criticism. Warning: Spoilers ahead!
Monty, the main character, is fun to follow-- at first. His antics and bad behavior kick the plot of spectacularly, and the messes they get in are fun and compelling to follow, at first. But then it gets old very, very quickly.
This man literally never stops fucking up. He's a lecherous clown. He has no meaningful growth-- any internal dialog he has is kept private and exacerbates his miserable, selfish perspective. He rarely apologizes. He defies reasonable authority for no other reason except that it seems like the author needs a contrived reason to move the plot along in another disastrously ill-executed direction. I literally had to skip some scenes because they were SO painful to listen to. Monty is a total buffoon, and I really came to despise his selfishness over the course of the book-- especially because it's rarely ever actually, meaningfully dealt with. Sure, he has a few spats here and there with people he cares about, but none of it matters! They forgive him in the end anyways! And somehow this resolves in him being a better person in the last couple of pages of the book. It's maddening, and it's made worse by the allowances given him by Percyand Scipio .
Percy exists, primarily, to be Monty's romantic fixation and source of tumult. I actually liked Percy when his personality wasn't being defined and modified by Monty's dramatic interior monologue, but I think the thing that really kills his character is the fact that he... never holds Monty accountable. Monty steals, cheats, lies, wastes their money, gets blasted,has them arrested, nearly dies-- twice!-- and overall drives the plot purely through his inability to contend with his own behavior. I cannot imagine what Percy must see in Monty, who does nothing but make life worse for the both of them, and it's never really touched on. I would have loved to see Percy's perspective even for a bit of the book. More, I would have loved to see Percy stand up for himself more often. I would love to have seen Percy actually deny Monty refuge in his comfort.
Scipio and his pirate crew are alsomore or less just plot devices. Scipio spends so much of his screen time acting as yet another person who comforts Monty, tries to convince him of his worth, and then refuses to hold him accountable for his bad behavior. It seems like every 'good' character exists for the sole purpose of propping up Monty and cleaning up his messes with almost no recompense.
(As an aside, I only found out after finishing the book and beginning the sequel that the author has been repeatedly smug, rude, entitled, etc. but that's neither here nor there. Probably.)
The only exception to this is Felicity, who regularly needles her brother but has no control or power over him. She is oftenliterally fixing his wounds and cleaning up his messes, but at least she seems properly put-out about it. However, in line with the perspective of good versus bad, the author apparently felt the need to have Felicity voice her disgust and lack of understanding surrounding the Percy/Monty relationship and homosexuality in general, complete with 'it's a sin' rhetoric . This came out of nowhere? Why do this except to give Monty just an ounce of moral high ground to a sympathetic audience?
Takeaway: I had enough fun with the book that I didn't stop listening to it, but it's another tick in the box of 'disappointing m/m fiction' for me. I wish the love interests were more than just a pair of arms to hold the protagonist sometimes, and especially here.
Extra .75 points for the narration, though!
Positives first: The writing style is very whimsical and engaging, made more-so by the expert narration. It was truly enjoyable, listening to this book, and for a brief two weeks it made my long commute more bearable. The author really has a way of twisting internal dialog to contribute to a scene rather than to detract from it, and the narration capitalized wonderfully on this style to provide an animated audio experience. The characters themselves were engaging-- the sister, Felicity, especially-- and the plot really felt like it was taking us on an adventure. I sometimes had no idea what to expect from it.
On the subject of Felicity, I think she's a much more compelling character than her brother and I'm glad to get a second book in her perspective. She was a breakout right away. I love her defiance, her knowledge, her demeanor. She was well and truly the star of many of the scenes she participated in. What a great voice.
Now for the criticism. Warning: Spoilers ahead!
Monty, the main character, is fun to follow-- at first. His antics and bad behavior kick the plot of spectacularly, and the messes they get in are fun and compelling to follow, at first. But then it gets old very, very quickly.
This man literally never stops fucking up. He's a lecherous clown. He has no meaningful growth-- any internal dialog he has is kept private and exacerbates his miserable, selfish perspective. He rarely apologizes. He defies reasonable authority for no other reason except that it seems like the author needs a contrived reason to move the plot along in another disastrously ill-executed direction. I literally had to skip some scenes because they were SO painful to listen to. Monty is a total buffoon, and I really came to despise his selfishness over the course of the book-- especially because it's rarely ever actually, meaningfully dealt with. Sure, he has a few spats here and there with people he cares about, but none of it matters! They forgive him in the end anyways! And somehow this resolves in him being a better person in the last couple of pages of the book. It's maddening, and it's made worse by the allowances given him by Percy
Percy exists, primarily, to be Monty's romantic fixation and source of tumult. I actually liked Percy when his personality wasn't being defined and modified by Monty's dramatic interior monologue, but I think the thing that really kills his character is the fact that he... never holds Monty accountable. Monty steals, cheats, lies, wastes their money, gets blasted,
Scipio and his pirate crew are also
(As an aside, I only found out after finishing the book and beginning the sequel that the author has been repeatedly smug, rude, entitled, etc. but that's neither here nor there. Probably.)
The only exception to this is Felicity, who regularly needles her brother but has no control or power over him. She is often
Takeaway: I had enough fun with the book that I didn't stop listening to it, but it's another tick in the box of 'disappointing m/m fiction' for me. I wish the love interests were more than just a pair of arms to hold the protagonist sometimes, and especially here.
Extra .75 points for the narration, though!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Racial slurs, and Racism
Moderate: Gore and Injury/Injury detail
onefineelephant's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
reflective
tense
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
8/10. I wasn't exactly swooning over this book but I did really enjoy it. I like the ending message that we would all be happier if we accepted our own and others' flaws. Monty had to learn to love himself. Felicity was a firecracker. Percy was a gracious love interest. I enjoyed the realistic sibling relationship. I also enjoyed the more tender moments. I'm not a fan of ambiguous endings but I understand why this book needed to have one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Biphobia, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
girlpuck's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
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
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Child abuse, Homophobia, Racism, Sexism, Outing, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Slavery