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

3.0

a fun and not especially intellectual read. if you would like a story about best friends in love having adventures and also they’re gay, it’s the book for you. the book does attempt to have more weight by including material about racism, sexism, homophobia, disability, and addiction. it even dips a little into class. but with a few exceptions these parts of the book were absolutely secondary to its main goal: a fast-paced action story with mysterious artifacts and plucky teens.

i deeply appreciate that this was one novel with lots of glossed over travel, rather than the trilogy it could have been with worse editing. i was left doubting a lot of the trio’s logistics, but entertained enough to not care.

the social justice aspect of the book was mostly fine, with only a couple jarring or obviously out of place bits. Lee’s strongest use of these themes is when she lets the characters explore the tensions in their relationships, rather than telling us about them.

Spoiler

i liked Percy’s frustration with Monty over Monty’s desire to defend him, and how Felicity understood and tried to help explain. i also liked Percy and Felicity’s responses to Monty’s addiction before and after they understood its cause. but i would have liked to be shown more and told less, even in these examples.