The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue (Montague Siblings Series #1)

by Mackenzi Lee

Overview

A Kirkus Prize nominee and Stonewall Honor winner with 5 starred reviews! A New York Times bestseller!

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! 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062382818
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	09/04/2018
Series:	Montague Siblings Series , #1
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	544
Sales rank:	12,919
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 7.80(h) x 1.40(d)
Lexile:	900L (what's this?)
Age Range:	13 - 17 Years

About the Author

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 every dog she meets. www.mackenzilee.com

Editorial Reviews

An incomparably delightful historical romp. I was swept away by Monty’s incorrigible voice from the very first page, and the rest of this confident adventure tale did not disappoint. Lee’s sophomore novel has heart, depth, and an abundance of wisecracks from a protagonist you can’t help but adore.

Rebecca Wells

Wonderfully refreshing. A delightful, thoughtful, hilarious read.

Maggie Kane

The John Hughes of queer 18th century adventure novels with an alchemical heart at its center. Lee perfectly captures teen humor and angst. I can’t wait to see what she writes next!

Alsace Walentine

Delicious.

Vulture

Simultaneously harrowing and hilarious, everything about this book from the serious questions posed about sexuality, chronic illness, and social inequality to the extraordinary journey Monty, his best friend, and his sister find themselves on make Mackenzi Lee’s latest the kind of book you’d be a fool to miss.

Gaby Salpeter

Don’t read this book unless you like adventure, hijinks, and forbidden romance, and if you do, then read it twice.

Stacey Lee

Monty is pitch-perfect as a yearning, self-destructive, oblivious jerk of a hero who inspires equal parts sympathy, frustration, and adoration from reader. A genre tribute, satire, and exemplar in one.

The Horn Book

If you’ve ever mentally shouted ‘NOW KISS’ at a pair of fictional male best friends, this is the book for you.

NPR

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

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

A Marauder’s Map of the heart, full of pirates, highwaymen, humor and romance. Mischief managed brilliantly!

Chris Abouzeid

An elegant, colorful, swashbuckling good time of a read and a beautiful addition to the LGBTQ+ genre. This is a great novel for upper YA readers and a great adult cross-over title. I definitely have a book hangover after finishing this gem.

Amanda Zirn

I can’t wait to get this book in my store—I know my customers looking for historical fiction and LGBTQ stories will adore GENTLEMAN’S GUIDE as much as I have!

Clarissa Hadge

Filled with highwaymen, pirates, and heart pounding exploits of a romantic nature, this is the summer road-trip adventure you’ve been waiting for.

Marika McCoola

★ “Tongue-in-cheek, wildly entertaining, and anachronistic in only the most delightful ways, this is a gleeful romp through history. Monty is a hero worthy of Oscar Wilde.

Booklist (starred review)

A rollicking ride that also turns a keen eye to issues like class, racism, homosexuality, and identity.

Brightly

An adventurous romp through 18th-century Europe with a trio of unforgettable characters. Lee weaves together the fun and the fantastical with a conversation on historical privilege that will resonate with modern readers. Perfect for fans of LA Meyer’s Bloody Jack series. Expect to fall in love with this book!

Nicole Brinkley

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

With roguish charm, sly wit, and tender heart, THE GENTLEMAN’S GUIDE TO VICE AND VIRTUE is a shameless flirt of a novel. If Monty and Percy hadn’t already stolen my heart, I would surrender it to them gladly.

Wendy Darling

Careening from fete to fiasco on a Grand Tour of 18th century Europe, THE GENTLEMEN’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

Vice has never been more charming and virtue never more daring than in Mackenzie Lee’s superbly written globetrotting adventure. Not since Hamilton the musical has the 18th century been this much fun.

Amy Cherrix

Monty and Percy are insanely shippable from page one, and quickly became one of my favorite YA couples of all time.

Rachel Strolle

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

Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue is the queer teen historical you didn’t know was missing from your life.” (“Best Queer Books to Celebrate Pride 2017”)

Teen Vogue

★Mackenzi Lee (This Monstrous Thing) combines her knowledge of European history with a contemporary, comic sensibility to create an over-the-top romantic adventure complete with cliff-hanging chapter endings and sometimes outrageous narration. Monty is a licentious, flawed and engaging 18th-century hero.

Shelf Awareness (starred review)

A rollicking ride that also turns a keen eye to issues like class, racism, homosexuality, and identity.

Brightly.com

★ 04/24/2017
Eighteen-year-old Henry “Monty” Montague—scandal prone, acid tongued, and a bit too fond of boys, girls, and gin—is embarking on a grand tour of Europe, a last hurrah before taking up the mantle of lordship. The tour quickly veers off course for Monty, his longtime friend (and not-so-secret crush) Percy, and his headstrong sister Felicity when Monty and a young lady are caught in a compromising situation at Versailles, after which Monty absconds with a small trinket. Pursued by the Duke of Bourbon, Monty learns that the object may hold the key to unlocking powerful alchemical secrets. Without funds or connections, the three haphazardly make their way across the continent, crossing paths with secretive Spanish siblings, an inexperienced pirate crew, and others. It’s a gloriously swashbuckling affair, but 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. Agent: Rebecca Podos, Rees Literary. (June)

Publishers Weekly

Richly imagined and ingeniously plotted, this version incorporates quotations from Shelley’s text while updating the perennial questions of the original regarding how far is too far when it comes to meddling in the affairs of life and death.

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

A richly imagined tale of two brothers and a dark science that twists everything I thought I knew about Frankenstein. A monstrously good read!

Megan Shepherd

Mackenzi Lee’s THIS MONSTROUS THING is simply beautiful. It pulses with electricity, mystery, and heart and brings to life one of my all time favorite tales with an unexpected twist.

Danielle Paige

Lee’s rip-roaring, genre-trampling, beautifully affirmative novel absolutely lives up to the hype, whisking readers off on a breathless and refreshingly unique adventure.

RT Book Reviews

In her debut, Lee has crafted an intriguing premise that will easily satisfy gothic horror and steampunk fans.

Booklist

A compelling and brave retelling of the first science fiction novel. A secret history, a love story, something both old and new.

Scott Westerfeld

★ 03/01/2017
Gr 9 Up—A trio of high-born, determined, and wildly charismatic teenagers get more than they bargained for in this rollicking 18th-century Grand Tour of the Continent gone awry. Endearing rake Lord Henry Montague (or Monty) and his biracial best friend (and unrequited love), the infinitely patient Percy, leave England to drop Monty's fiercely intelligent sister Felicity off at finishing school. The friends then spend a year traveling. After the Grand Tour, Monty will return home to help his demanding father run their estate and Percy will go to Holland to law school. If Monty's dad catches wind of him still "mucking around with boys," Monty will be cut off from the family. The trip is intended to be a cultural experience. However, no one could have predicted that one seemingly petty theft would set off an adventure involving highwaymen, stowaways, pirates, a sinking island, an alchemical heart, tomb-raiding, and a secret illness. From the start, readers will be drawn in by Monty's charm, and Felicity and Percy come alive as the narrative unfolds. The fast-paced plot is complicated, but Lee's masterly writing makes it all seem effortless. The journey forces Monty and friends to confront issues of racism, gender expectations, sexuality, disability, family, and independence, with Monty in particular learning to examine his many privileges. Their exploits bring to light the secret doubts, pains, and ambitions all three are hiding. This is a witty, romantic, and exceedingly smart look at discovering one's place in the world. VERDICT A stunning powerhouse of a story for every collection.—Amanda MacGregor, formerly at Great River Regional Library, Saint Cloud, MN

School Library Journal

★ 2017-03-06
An 18th-century Grand Tour goes exquisitely wrong. Eighteen-year-old white viscount Henry "Monty" Montague is as known for his dashing looks as his penchant for booze—and boys. Before his abusive father grooms him to run the estate, he and his mixed-race best friend, Percy, orphan son of a British colonist and a Barbadian woman, are sent on a yearlong Grand Tour—after which he and Percy will likely be separated forever. Adding insult, their Tour begins under the proviso that, after Monty's sister is delivered to school in Marseille, Monty will remain on the sober straight and narrow or else risk loss of title and fortune. Monty wastes no time in demolishing this agreement in Paris when he gets hammered, offends Percy, insults a duke, ends up naked at Versailles, and steals an objet from the palace in a fit of childish rage. The theft ignites an adventure that illuminates a side of life the trio wouldn't have otherwise seen. Issues of same-sex romance walk in stride with those of race as Monty and Percy find their footing amorously, sexually, and socially. Their realized attraction could mean imprisonment or death, and their relationship is often misconstrued as lord and valet due to Percy's brown skin. 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. (Historical fiction. 12-18)

Kirkus Reviews

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