The Gentleman's Guide To Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee *REVIEW*

The Gentleman's Guide To Vice and Virtue

By Mackenzi Lee

This was a hard book for me to review. After finishing it I just felt like I could have liked it more or there was just something missing in the story for me but I couldn't figure out what it was. That being said, I waited a few days after finishing the book to get all my thoughts in order and comprise this review.

The first thing that I want to touch on is the hype surrounding this book. I hadn't heard about it until it came out for one of last years Owlcrate's, and after reading some of the reviews and hearing people rave about how laugh-out-loud funny this book was I decided to pick up the Owlcrate version because I enjoyed the cover better.

When I first started this book, I was definitely unsure how I would feel about it, mainly because it was my first YA historical fiction novel. After the first few introductory chapters the characters embark on their tour of Europe. I was a little hesitant that at this point it would be kind of a predictable and boring read until somethings happen which sets up the characters going away for their original plans and basically being on the run. I really enjoyed the part while they were going from place to place, as I do love a good road trip book, but then they were in one place for a pretty long time and not a lot happened which was kind of disappointing. 

It also felt like we switched genres mid-way through the book which I was a little confused about and maybe thats how it was back then pertaining to the subject of topic the characters were discussing but to me it just felt off and made the story less enjoyable for me. I also know that humour is subjective but with the amount of people saying this book was super funny I was expecting to be laughing up a storm but I honestly barely laughed at all.

Overall, this was an okay book but nothing special. I feel like it had a bit more potential but kind of lacked midway to the end of the story.

Trigger Warnings: This book is set sometime in the 1700s and as such racism is a pretty prominent thing that happens within the book. Child abuse is also very talked about and so is epilepsy so if you are sensitive to any of these things, just be aware before you head into it.

.5