A trio of siblings navigate their own personal crises, their collective familial dysfunction, and the hidden fantastical elements of the 18th century in this LGBTQ+ historical adventure series.
It was the summer of 2023, a horrible windstorm had knocked out power in much of northwest Louisiana, and I had never been so deliriously hot in my life. My house never dipped below 90°F, the humidity caused it to feel like I was swimming through the air, and doing ANYTHING during that week was immediately exhausting. It was day after day of sweaty yardwork clearing all the downed trees and waiting for power to be restored, for gas stations to restock, and for any respite from the heat. I set the scene on this weather reading blog so that when I say this book series is worth your time, you believe me. I read The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue, The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy, The Nobleman’s Guide to Scandal and Shipwrecks and the accompanying novella The Gentleman’s Guide to Getting Lucky during this time. To say it whisked me away to a fantastical world and let my hot, sweaty reality fall to the wayside would be an understatement. It was full of fun when I was miserable, it made me laugh when all I wanted to do was scream, and it forced me out of my own head when there was nothing to do and nowhere to go. I owe Mackenzi Lee one helluva thank you note!
The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue focuses on the roguish Henry “Monty” Montague as he rebels against his father one last time before having to assume his place in respectable society. He, his best friend and current crush, Percy, and his younger sister, Felicity, leave to travel Europe and tour for a year. An embarrassing dalliance-gone-wrong results in an impulsive Monty stealing a random artifact from their hosts, one that is more important and more closely tied to magic than Monty had realized. The resulting chase reveals to Monty just how much he has underestimated his precocious younger sister, the lengths to which he would go to save the kind-hearted man he loves, and the strength it takes to overcome the unhealthy coping mechanisms he developed in the face of a father that abused him and a society poised to reject him.
This book gives Wolfstar vibes through and through, with Percy, the Remus Lupin equivalent in this analogy, being my favorite character. It was an excellent introduction to Lee’s world, and while I absolutely adored this book, I was happy to see the next book would focus on Felicity, as her character felt like there was so much more to explore.
The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy picks up about a year after the first book. Felicity is unsuccessful in her attempts to get into medical school. Desperate to do so, she launches a hairbrained scheme to crash the wedding of a former friend, Johanna, and her world-famous doctor betrothed, hoping to talk to him directly about prospects in the medical field. A mysterious young woman, Sim, offers to help Felicity with her plan, though as it turns out, both she and Johanna have hidden agendas that get in Felicity’s way. The girls form a tentative alliance, get into trouble as they help each other chase their noble pursuits and ambitions, and collectively buck the societal norms of femininity.
This book was the science-pirate-girl-gang story I didn’t know I needed. While Felicity was the protagonist and her story arc’s ups and downs were engaging, the way in which Lee wove Felicity’s story into Johanna’s and Sim’s stories kept me on the edge of my seat. I love when a character’s decisions have consequences that feel real and when we see the ripple effects of those decisions push others’ plots along. It was my favorite book of the series, so I went into the last book with high expectations that were pretty much met.
The Nobleman’s Guide to Scandal and Shipwrecks follows Adrian Montague—a secret social activist, a chronic bundle of nerves, and the sole heir to the Montague family’s estate due to his older siblings’ supposed deaths many years earlier. When his mother dies under mysterious circumstances, Adrian is convinced that something nefarious is going on, and while searching for information of her in London, he stumbles upon his very-much-alive older brother, Monty. The brothers hatch a plan to find their sister, Felicity, whom Monty has lost contact with but whom they believe can help them understand a seemingly supernatural artifact that their mother left behind. As Adrian reconnects with his siblings, he battles his debilitating anxiety, his feelings of inadequacy, and the fear of his own mental illnesses leading to the slow, consistent decline he witnessed in his mother. The tone of this book felt different than the previous two due to the well-written portrayals of panic attacks, OCD, and generalized anxiety. The writing felt true to Adrian’s character, though, and it gave a news lens through which to view all the beloved characters and relationships we followed in the previous books. Overall, this book was a nice conclusion for the three main characters of the series, though I felt like I was left wanting with some of the conclusions for the side characters. I guess I’m just a girl who needs more Sim in her life! I also liked that parts of the book took place in the Arctic—recall above about my heat wave reality at the time and I’m sure you can infer how nice it was to give in to cold, snowy escapism.
The Montague Siblings series was downright charming. That week, I had a void that needed filling, and this series exceeded expectations.
I would rate The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue at 3.5/5, The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy at 4.5/5, and The Nobleman’s Guide to Scandal and Shipwrecks at 4/5. The novella, The Gentleman’s Guide to Getting Lucky, was also cute. It was a quick read that felt like a fanfiction of Monty and Percy come to life, in the best way. It didn’t have too much plot, so I would rate it at about a 2.5/5, but it was fun to visit the characters again. All in all, I would recommend this series if you are a fan of the historical fantasy found in The Lady Janies series (Brodi Ashton, Cynthia Hand, and Jodi Meadows) and/or if you are looking for a more lighthearted YA series that is already completed.
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