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

[rsadelle]

I read this because I saw a few people say they liked it, and then it was at the library. Someday I will remember that one of those people and I like entirely different kinds of queer stories and I won't like the things they do. I'm not sure I would say I hated this book - the concept of an outrageous adventure novel isn't bad, and it had a few moments that made me laugh - but I certainly didn't like it. I found Monty, the protagonist, kind of insufferable, and although he has a character growth arc and an explanatory backstory, I never really warmed to him. It also suffered as a book in comparison to the last book I read, which was a historically-set novel that was incredibly vivid and felt solidly grounded in time and place. This one felt like a very modern-conceived story that was set in a handwavey old-timey setting without feeling like it really belonged there. And I guess there's nothing really wrong with writing that kind of story, but it just didn't work for me. I never quite believed the story, and I spent a lot of it rolling my eyes and saying, "Ugh," at Monty.