“Are you going to be sick?” I raise my head. The duke is gone, but Helena is on the window seat, twisting her necklace around her fingers. I don’t answer, because I don’t believe a prisoner owes his captors any sort of report on his health. That, and if I’m going to be sick, I’d prefer to do it all over her, and I’d prefer it to be a stealth attack.
― Mackenzi Lee, The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue
On paper, Henry “Monty” Montague has everything any man could want: wealth, privilege, and an all-expenses-paid yearlong adventure traveling ‘The Continent’ with his best friend Percy. But of course, Monty is unhappy. Not only does he have a massive and inconvenient crush on Percy, but in one year’s time, Percy is set to start law school in Holland while Monty returns to England to suffer under the tutelage of his abusive father before he is forced to take over the family estate.
In the eyes of everyone but Percy, Monty is a drunk, a rake, and a scoundrel. Percy believes in him, but even Monty doesn’t understand why. Despite his best efforts to run amok, Monty’s father saddles Monty and Percy with Monty’s younger sister, Felicity, as well as a chaperone.
After a disastrous party in Paris where Monty makes an ass out of himself in front of his father’s acquaintances, the chaperone decides that the trip is over and everyone is heading back to England. Before this can happen, their group gets attacked by raiders, and Monty, Percy, and Felicity must decide whether to try to continue on their own without any money or transport, or if they should try to find their chaperone and be shepherded back to England. Monty also discovers that Percy is not going to law school, and may never return from Holland. To save his best friend, Monty coerces his brilliant little sister to help Percy avoid his fate. The three sheltered teens proceed with a modified plan, and learn to survive on instincts and luck.
I put off reading this book for a long time. When I finally picked it up, I tore through it in about two-and-a-half days. It is so fun! Monty is a spoiled ass with a tender heart. Even when he’s making the worst decisions possible, you empathize with him. Felicity is the brilliant, snarky little sister with enough knowledge to get her brother out of life-threatening situations. And Monty uses his mastery of bullshit to talk his way out of the rest.
Percy is a great character, but at times it felt as if he was a plot point rather than a fully-realized human. Percy’s father was from England and mother was from Barbados. After his father’s death, Percy is raised by his aunt and uncle in England. However, as he is dark-skinned, they hide him away when certain guests come to visit. Throughout the book, he faces racist comments and threats. However, these scenes are used to illustrate how blind Monty is to the real world. Until they explicitly show him, Monty does not understand why Felicity is so jealous of his Eton education while she is forced to learn sewing, music, and traditional skills. He does not get why standing up for Percy’s honor would set Percy off.
This is a YA book and the storytelling is great. Most of my criticisms are that Monty is too dense. He is a fun character but not especially complex. And that’s fine. He has his own trauma and issues with self-worth, so that helps round out his character a bit. Still, it is frustrating to see him miss the point time and time again.
In summary, this is a fun, fast read with fantastic dialogue. If you like high-adventure and medium-to-low-angst coupled with a secret mission, I recommend this book.