The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue

By: Mackenzi Lee

Narrated by: Christian Coulson

Length: 10 hrs and 47 mins

Publisher's summary

A Kirkus Prize nominee with five starred reviews! A New York Times best seller!

2018 Audie Award® nominee for Best Male Narrator!

Named one of the best books of 2017 by NPR and the New York Public Library!

"The queer teen historical you didn’t know was missing from your life.” (Teen Vogue)

"A stunning powerhouse of a story." (School Library Journal)

"A gleeful romp through history." (ALA Booklist)

A young bisexual British lord embarks on an unforgettable Grand Tour of Europe with his best friend/secret crush. An 18th-century romantic adventure for the modern age written by This Monstrous Thing author Mackenzi Lee - Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda meets the 1700s.

Henry “Monty” Montague doesn’t care that his roguish passions are far from suitable for the gentleman he was born to be. But as Monty embarks on his grand tour of Europe, his quests for pleasure and vice are in danger of coming to an end. Not only does his father expect him to take over the family’s estate upon his return, but Monty is also nursing an impossible crush on his best friend and traveling companion, Percy.

So Monty vows to make this yearlong escapade one last hedonistic hurrah and flirt with Percy from Paris to Rome. But when one of Monty’s reckless decisions turns their trip abroad into a harrowing manhunt, it calls into question everything he knows, including his relationship with the boy he adores.

Witty, dazzling, and intriguing at every turn, The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue is an irresistible romp that explores the undeniably fine lines between friendship and love.

Don't miss Felicity's adventures in The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy, the highly anticipated sequel!

©2017 Mackenzie Van Engelenhoven (P)2017 HarperCollins Publishers

Romantic and Fun

The Gentleman’s Guide, filled with adventures and misadventures, highwaymen and pirates, intrigue and treasure, romance and comedy, is a fun read. The three main characters are wonderfully rendered; the narrator, the never-do-well son of an English earl is acerbic Nd dryly witty and often self-effacing despite his vanity. The performer is spot on and makes the whole story come alive. In short, a fun read and well worth the time.

Fun adventure

Fag hags (am I allowed to say that anymore?) will love the voice of this story. Romance and adventure abound.

AWESOME AMAZING BRILLIANT EPIC MUST READ!

I had started this last year and I read it and loved I it so much that I just had to re-read it again. But I am finally able to finish this book and it was just as AWESOME and AMAZING as when I started it! That I will always want to come back to it when I need a good boost of FUN and LIGHT reading! CAn't wait to read more! I highly recommend it! AWESOME, AMAZING, BRILLIANT and EPIC! A MUST READ SERIES

Amazing, simply amazing.

This a great book to listen to. Storyline is simply amazing. I hope they will make series off this story. I hope they can continue from when their father receive the letter and then start talking about their lives and what happens to felicity and her brothers relationship. What a great book.

Wonderful

Could not have loved this book, or the reading of it, more! It had me laughing and nodding at all the wisdom so funnily delivered.

Review: The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue

At the start of the novel, Monty is an absolute scoundrel! He is selfish, destructive, and hurts those that love him most. Despite all of this, I couldn’t help falling in love with him from the start. Underneath his destructive patterns, is a broken, caring, loving person who just has a really hard time showing this side of himself, which is something that I think we can all relate to. He is also adorable and funny, and the perfect narrator for his “Grand Tour horror story.” Watching him grow through these experiences and through his relationships with Percy and Felicity was an amazing adventure I will not soon forget. I can’t say enough about how much I adored this novel. Below were some of the high points for me:

High Points:

Monty- He is witty, charming, snarky, and absolutely hilarious. I was laughing throughout the entire novel. Monty’s sole purpose in life is to provide a witty retort at all costs and this gets him into a lot of trouble, but makes for a very entertaining read. “I understand less than half the words in that sentence, but God bless the book people for their boundless knowledge absorbed from having words instead of friends.” – Monty

His growth throughout the novel is gradual and never felt forced to me. He changes in several ways but the most important changes affect his relationships with Percy, with Felicity, and also with himself. His lust for Percy matures into true love, and acceptance; and their love story is just so beautiful. Felicity and Monty also bond as siblings and begin to share a mutual understanding and appreciation for each other, despite their differences at the start of the novel. Most importantly, Monty also learns to accept and love himself, despite his past mistakes. He writes to his father: “It took several thousand miles for me to being believing that I am better than the worst things I’ve done. But I’m starting.” I found his desire to live life as his true self, despite the immense social pressures and obligations, to be really inspiring.

Felicity- I was getting major Hermione vibes from Felicity. Like Hermione, she helps Monty and Percy in invaluable ways. She helps Monty let go of his selfish, destructive behavior. She helps Percy understand the nature of his disease. She is the defiant, smart, kick-ass bookworm character that we all love! Like Monty, she also grows throughout the novel: learning to relate to her brother, and learning how to maneuver within social constraints and still be true to herself.

This novel is not just an amazing adventure story, it deals with several heavy themes such as child abuse, chronic illness, racism, feminism, gender expectations, and sexuality. All of this coupled with the backward 18th-century point of view on homosexuality, medicine, women’s roles in society, and race. Not to mention that Lee had to avoid using many of the above terms because they didn’t exist as they do today. Lee definitely had her work cut out for her, but she truly handled it all so so beautifully, and I was blown away! She managed to give each issue the respect and focus they deserve, while also making the story feel lighthearted and fun. It was so refreshing to read something that managed to deal with all of these heavy issues adequately, while still managing to feel like a fun, frivolous, adventure novel. It was truly the best of both worlds.

Adventure- That brings me to the adventure element, which was not at all what I expected, in a good way. When Monty started out on his Grand Tour, I was really excited because as someone who majored in 18th-century literature, I was fascinated with this tradition. My brain jumped ahead of me and I was expecting Monty to grow primarily through his interaction with different cultures, art, history, ect., which he definitely does, but there was so much more to this adventure that made it so rich and complex. There is a fun mystery to unravel that is a little of bit magic and a little gothic horror, also mixed in with intrigue, politics, and scandal! It was a thrilling, completely unpredictable adventure and I loved every second of it.

Attention to EVERY detail- Lee has so perfectly made this world feel very 18th century- to the description of clothing, history, setting, even down to the slang the characters use, like “zounds,” everything made this story feel very much connected to this era.

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone and everyone!! The Audiobook was amazing as well! The narrator is perfect for the witty and snarky banter of the three main characters.

Stunning & Surpising

I am emotionally wrecked upon having finished The Gentleman's Guide. I had no idea what I was getting in for - not the emotional depth, not the breathtaking writing, not the swashbuckling adventure, not the mystery or social commentary or any of it. Every few chapters in the first third or so of the book, I revised my understanding of what this book was going to be. It wasn't whiplash, just a subtle unfolding of a much better, smarter, exciting book than I expected.

Christian Coulson's narration is just about perfect. Monty has a unique voice and Coulson captures it and amplifies it seamlessly.

I laughed and cried and gasped out loud and, having just finished it, can't stop longing to hear more from Monty.

I fell in love with this story

This was such a romantic, funny, and beautifully written story.  The characters were so relatable and it was interesting to hear how they developed throughout the book.

The narrator's portrayal of the characters throughout novel was wonderfully done. He put so much emotion and variety into the characters, which really brought the story to life.

A Delightful Book

This is such a fun romp of a book! Monty is a delightful mess, Percy is a sweetheart, and Felicity is awesome! Big fan of the minor characters introduced throughout the book as well. I recommend it if you want a sweet romance to smile and laugh at while going about your daily business - it certainly made my day a little brighter!

Swashbuckling Lovely Adventure

Lovely book of self-discovery with the appropriate amount of swashbuckling adventure. I’m quite in love with Monty and Percy, and was more than impressed and proud of Felicity. Great book!