Bisexual Romps, Pirates, and Manhunts // The Gentleman's Guide To Vice & Virtue

Title: The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue

Author: Mackenzie Lee

Date published: June 27, 2017

Pages: 513

Henry “Monty” Montague was born and bred to be a gentleman, but he was never one to be tamed. The finest boarding schools in England and the constant disapproval of his father haven’t been able to curb any of his roguish passions—not for gambling halls, late nights spent with a bottle of spirits, or waking up in the arms of women or men.
But as Monty embarks on his Grand Tour of Europe, his quest for a life filled with pleasure and vice is 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.
Still it isn’t in Monty’s nature to give up. Even with his younger sister, Felicity, in tow, he 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 that spans across Europe, it calls into question everything he knows, including his relationship with the boy he adores.

This book was so delightful. I'd seen it hyped up by nearly everyone who's anyone in the YA community, and I can happily say that this book lived up to, and even exceeded, its hype. This is honestly probably the most unique book I've read in a while, and definitely the most unique historical fiction novel I've ever read, so it deserves all the hype, all the stars, all the love.

Here is a small sampling of all of the amazing things you will find between the pages of this remarkable, wonderful book:

• Diversity. OMG, a historical fiction novel where not everyone is white and straight? Be still my fluttering heart. Even better, a bisexual MC? Be still my fluttering, bisexual queer heart! Monty is a roguishly sassy MC with a crush on his best friend, who is black, which is also something we never see in historical novels, despite the fact that people of color existed in history, and not just as slaves or servants, which is generally the narrative the mainstream forces upon us. This book dealt really well with racial issues, and even had a few moments where Monty himself slipped up, but even then, the book addressed those quite well. Percy is also diverse in other ways that I won't explicitly state because SPOILERS, and those were explored in an interesting way also and brought up a lot of interesting questions and points of view about the lives we value and what makes life have value.
• Sass. Goodness, this is by far the sassiest book I've read this year, and again, for sure the sassiest historical fiction novel. For a lot of the book, Monty is a fresh arsehole, but all of his dialogue is purely delightful and hilarious to read. His sassiness will make you laugh and cringe for him, and the banter between him and Percy (WE HATE RICHARD PEELE!!) is also wonderful to behold.
• Character growth. As just noted, Monty is often a total butthole. However, he is a multidimensional character who is very complex and grows throughout the story. He grows through hardships, his friendship with Percy, and even HAVING HIS PRIVILEGE CHALLENGED, which is not shown nearly enough in YA. 
• Adventure. To be fair, I did not read the entire Goodreads summary before I read this, so I did not know about the manhunt aspect until it happened in the book. So, I was quite surprised by many happenings in the book, which does not happen for me very often while reading YA anymore, probably just because I've read so much of it. There were lots of fun twists and turns that made the 500+ pages go by quickly, which is definitely a feat worth noting since I do not usually gravitate toward large books because I just don't have the time, or at least feel like I don't. 
• Venice!!!! It has been a dream of mine since childhood to visit Venice, so to see it featured prominently in the story was very exciting and nostalgia-making for me. In fact, I loved all the settings in this book, and found them very vivid and well-written. Venice, however, was for sure the favorite, other than Barcelona, where I have actually had the pleasure of traveling to. 

Basically, if you have been like me and been putting this book off because either you don't normally go for historical fic or because of the page count, GO FORTH AND READ!! This book is so wonderful, delightful, and full of joy. I promise it will be unlike anything you've read, and it will go by so fast you'll wish there were even MORE pages.