jamgrl's Reviews (197)

This is a solid follow up to the Gentleman’s Guide.

Felicity is hard to like early on- she’s got real “not like other girls” syndrome, and while she is bullheadedly trying to get into medical school after refusing a perfectly good offer to be a boat doctor, I was mostly just happy to spend time with Monty and Percy. BUT once she gets together with her former friend, we see a lot of character growth and really charming friendships emerging as each of what ends up being 3 women traveling together grows and opens up. It was already hinted pretty clearly in book 1, but we get strong confirmation of Felicity being aro-ace as she explores what that means for her and how she wants to live her life. We also, as it has to be with a sequel of the first book, get a fantasy adventure towards the end that changes the stakes!

I didn’t like the writing style; I may try again another time.

Leduc does a really good job of telling the story of her own life and experience with disability throughout it as well as thoroughly addressing fairy tale tropes through explaining old fairy tales none of us have ever heard of that shaped the genre. She is honest, as well, about where her experience is not relevant to certain types of disability conversations and in those cases, cites others’ experiences so that she can delve fully into the relationship of many disabilities with fairy tales. The writing style is conversational, making it easy to follow and understand her points. This book definitely made me think hard about portrayals of disability and about disability in general, which I had been thinking about a lot in the midst of my own temporary disability (recovering from a broken ankle and ankle surgery).

I was expecting there to be smut in this novela. To be clear- there is no smut in this novela. What it lacks in smut, however, it makes up for in really sweet and emotionally vulnerable character growth. Along with increasingly silly cock-blocking scenarios, we see these boys talking about their feelings and their fears and wants and it is all very sweet 😭😭😭. We don’t need this novela, but we want this novela! Also, it takes place with a beautiful beachy backdrop, what more could you want? (Some smut, but it is YA, so I forgive Mackenzie Lee, who, based on what I have thus far read, is perfect.)

What starts out as a bi rom com in a historic setting pivots into maritime adventure with high stakes and a dash of fantasy and I loved it. Monty is a ridiculously fun character and the trio of him, Percy, and Felicity make an excellent adventuring team to follow with the right combination of sense, silliness, and chemistry. The book balances serious moments of reflection about identity and society and family (and abuse) with classic pining + miscommunication and an actual adventure plot surprisingly well. I was on the edge of my seat for the whole book.

This book is vaguely set in the 1700s and it is clear it is not trying to fit a particular time period perfectly- the main characters have a lot of modern ideas, but they are expressed in ways that <i>feel</i> appropriate- I am not a historian, but the author studied history, so I feel in good hands with this. It is having fun with history, which make anachronisms not feel jarring the way they sometimes do in historical fiction for me. 

(About the characters below; possibly a bit spoilery.)

Monty is pompous, vain, stubborn, and a bit too dumb of ass to know what is going on around him half the time, and he also has a massive heart and is coping best he can with his life. Warning for parental abuse and substance addiction. I can see how somebody might not enjoy Monty, but I fully adore him.

Percy is wonderfully lovable and that is it, I don’t know how anyone could disagree. He is the mixed race son of a gentleman raised by an aunt and uncle, so with him, the book gets to explore race and privilege and what that could look like in the vague 1700s. We also see him deal with (spoiler!) ableism, and that is just really nice to see.

Felicity is a surprising delight of a side character, the highly practical and almost clinical of the group. She also gets a meaningful moment or two with Monty.

I read this is going to be adapted for HBO and I am thrilled.

I adored this book. From the first page (metaphorically, since I listened to the audiobook), this book was hitting me with witty humor. The style is very fun and easy to love. The main character is terrible! Until he is not. It is funny the whole way through but also finds it’s way to meaningful reflection on life and love and humanity. The world building is strong and the characters are unique and lovable.

I am also always thrilled when I accidentally come across a bisexual protagonist, so extra points.

I don’t know what you want me to say, it is a classic for a reason. 

Reading about Michelle Obama’s career while going through my own career transition was really comforting. Because if Michelle Obama changed jobs every few years and kept exploring and adapting and became the inspiring person she is, maybe I’ll be okay! 

I really didn’t know much about Michelle Obama’s life before the White House before reading this book and it was really cool to learn her life story. I do think she is very inspiring and her way of writing this book felt very accessible and relatable. 

It was also a bit of a Time Capsule- it was really interesting to rethink so many national events I remember from the lens of her experience of them. It was a really fascinating window into American Politics and the family of politicians in a particular period of time.