Explore our new BookBrowse Community Forum!

Book Summary and Reviews of The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee

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

The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue

by Mackenzi Lee

  • Critics' Consensus:
  • Readers' Rating:
  • Published:
  • Jun 2017, 528 pages
  • Rate this book

  • Buy This Book

About this book

Book Summary

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda meets the 1700s in this hilarious and swashbuckling stand-alone teen historical fiction novel.

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

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.

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $45 for 12 months or $15 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Reviews

Media Reviews

"Starred Review. A stunning powerhouse of a story for every collection." - School Library Journal

"Starred Review. The book's exquisite, bygone meter and vernacular sit comfortably on a contemporary shelf. And the friction of racism, tyrannical entitled politicians, and misguided disapproval of homosexuality also have a relevance rooted in current culture's xeno- and homophobia. Austen, Wilde, and Indiana Jones converge in this deliciously anachronistic bonbon." - Kirkus

"Starred Review. ...Lee (This Monstrous Thing) doesn't shy from addressing the era's overt racism, sexism, homophobia, and prejudice regarding illness. Percy, a biracial epileptic, and Felicity, a young woman dreaming of medical school, are well-rounded and fascinating supporting characters, and the romantic relationship that develops between Monty and Percy is sure to leave readers happily starry-eyed. Ages 13–up." - Publishers Weekly

"Starred Review. Modern-minded as this may be, Lee has clearly done invaluable research on society, politics, and the reality of same-sex relationships in the eighteenth century. Add in a handful of pirates and a touch of alchemy for an adventure that's an undeniable joy." - Booklist

"Careening from fete to fiasco on a Grand Tour of 18th century Europe, The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue is a dizzying, dazzling, and roguishly romantic romp. This book makes me want to unrequite my own love so I can requite him all over again." - Heidi Heilig, author of The Girld From Everywhere

"Don't read this book unless you like adventure, hijinks, and forbidden romance, and if you do, then read it twice." - Stacey Lee, author of The Secret Of A Heart Note and Under a Painted Sky

"An outrageously fun, witty, fascinating, and romantic adventure, starring a memorable trio I'd happily travel with for ages. Lee is a definite force in diverse historical YA." - Dahlia Adler, founder of LGBTQ Reads and author of Under the Lights

"The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue is a Grand Tour all its own. Hilarious and romantic, adventurous and scandalous, Monty's adventures are just as delightful as Monty himself. I adored this book!" - Rachel Hawkins, author of the Rebel Belle series

"Sweet, smart, and powerful, Gentleman's Guide tackles timely topics that will resonate profoundly with readers - all wrapped up in a truly epic road trip. Prepare to laugh, gasp, swoon, and cheer." - Claire Legrand, author of the Winterspell series

"A delightful romp of a road-trip through eighteenth century Europe, packed with witty dialog, razor-sharp pacing, and the perfect amount of swoon. You should abso-bloody-lutely read this book." - Erin Bowman, author of Vengence Road

This information about The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

Reader Reviews

Write your own reviewwrite your own review

Charles

A Gay Boy's Guide to Flirting
A gay boy's guide to flirting, or writing "colored fiction" for "colored people" about "colored people" written by a white girl. Don't bother with this juvenile rip off of Pirates of the Caribbean. If you want to see a predatory young man convince his best friend to succumb to his unwanted advances, even though his friend denies and outright refuses these advances multiple times, the this book is for you. If you are a grown man who wants to prey on young boys, then you will enjoy this fantasy. There is even a part where the main character looks at other boys crotch bulges while he himself is only eleven years old. There is some plot about a magical alchemy thing that could maybe cure the love interest's epilepsy, but that serves no purpose other than to give the two boys some reason to continue their adventure. They retrieve the magic item, but toss it into the fire and leave their adventure behind. The two boys live together and write home about how they are now flaming homosexuals and they will never return home to their families ever again. Avoid this book if you want something interesting to read. However, if watching two boys flirt with each other for 528 pages makes your heart flutter, then go ahead and give it a shot.

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $45 for 12 months or $15 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Author Information

Mackenzi Lee Author Biography

Mackenzi Lee holds a BA in history and an MFA from Simmons College in writing for children and young adults. Her short fiction and nonfiction has appeared in Atlas Obscura, the Boston Globe, Crixeo, and the Newport Review, among others. Her debut novel, This Monstrous Thing, won the PEN New England–Susan P. Bloom Children's Book Discovery Award. Her second book, The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue, was a New York Times bestseller and an ABA bestseller, earned five starred reviews, was a #1 Indie Next Pick, and received a 2018 Stonewall Book Award Honor and a New England Book Award. She loves Diet Coke, sweater weather, and Star Wars. On a perfect day, she can be found enjoying all three. She currently calls Boston home, where she works as an independent bookstore manager and pets...

... Full Biography
Link to Mackenzi Lee's Website

Other books by Mackenzi Lee at BookBrowse
  • The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy jacket
Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $45 for 12 months or $15 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

More Recommendations

Readers Also Browsed . . .

more YA historical fiction...

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $45 for 12 months or $15 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Top Picks

  • Book Jacket: Graveyard Shift
    Graveyard Shift
    by M. L. Rio
    Following the success of her debut novel, If We Were Villains, M. L. Rio's latest book is the quasi-...
  • Book Jacket: The Sisters K
    The Sisters K
    by Maureen Sun
    The Kim sisters—Minah, Sarah, and Esther—have just learned their father is dying of ...
  • Book Jacket: Linguaphile
    Linguaphile
    by Julie Sedivy
    From an infant's first attempts to connect with the world around them to the final words shared with...
  • Book Jacket
    The Rest of You
    by Maame Blue
    At the start of Maame Blue's The Rest of You, Whitney Appiah, a Ghanaian Londoner, is ringing in her...

Members Recommend

  • Book Jacket

    Pony Confidential
    by Christina Lynch

    In this whimsical mystery, a grumpy pony must clear his beloved human's name from a murder accusation.

Who Said...

Be sincere, be brief, be seated

Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!

Wordplay

Solve this clue:

F the M

and be entered to win..

Your guide toexceptional          books

BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.