BOOK REVIEW: THE GENTLEMAN'S GUIDE TO VICE AND VIRTUE BY MACKENZI LEE

(I received a review copy of this from Edelweiss/HarperCollins, so thank you so much to the publisher for sending one my way!)

"A small shift in the gravity between us and suddenly all my stars are out of alignment, planets knocked from their orbits, and I'm left stumbling, without map or heading, through the bewildering territory of being in love with your best friend."

My feelings for this book, I think, can be succinctly expressed with an audio clip of me perpetually screaming. Fortunately for you guys, Blogger doesn't have that feature yet (or does it??), so I'm gonna have to review this book using "words" that convey "meaning." 

My 3 main impressions of The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue:

1) I loved it 

2) I !!! loved !!! it!!!

3) I...LOVED...IT

Let me set the scene for you so you can understand just how happy this book made me. Twas exam season, and I was not feeling very...awesome. My life consisted of waking up, studying, eating, sleeping, ad infinitum. So one day I wake up with an email from Edelweiss where they're all like Hey Fatma here's a review copy of The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue!! Here's how you can access it!! WE GOT UR BACK ENJOY IT GURL!!!! (Okay maybe they didn't say the "WE GOT UR BACK ENJOY IT GURL!!!!" part.) Needless to say, I lost my shit. Actually, no, first I thought I was having some weird dream where I was receiving an ARC of a book I really wanted (because only book-obsessed people dream about receiving ARCs). And then I proceeded to lose my shit. I downloaded the ARC and despite my lingering doubt that this was all some elaborate, very specific prank, it worked. I HAD A REVIEW COPY OF THE GENTLEMAN'S GUIDE TO VICE AND VIRTUE. I've never ever received an ARC, let alone an ARC for a book I had been anticipating for so long, so it was very much a surreal experience. Unfortunately, as exam season has a way of destroying anything that provides one with a shred of happiness, I had to wait 2 weeks before I actually read this. And the rest is history. (And by "history" I mean I skipped breakfast, secluded myself in my room for the whole day, and proceeded to inhale-read this.) Whoever it is that blessed me with this ARC, THANK YOU.

Okay I promise this is the actual reviewing part now.

YOU GUYS. I LOVED THIS SO MUCH. That's what everything in this review is gonna boil down to.

Here we go.

►The characters? My actual children. Monty is a little shit, but I'll be damned if he isn't the most lovable, sympathetic little shit out there. You simultaneously wanna party with him and also give him a good talking to and also give him a big hug. He learns and develops so much throughout the book and I'm so! proud! of! him! Onto Percy, who's an adorable little cinnamon roll—a cinnamon roll who, might I add, stands up for himself and doesn't let Monty steamroll him. I loved how fearlessly frank Percy was when he needed to be, but also how he knew when to be gentle and forgiving. He's like a badass cinnamon roll, like a cinnamon roll with barbs or something. (This is why I'm not a writer.) Last but not least, Felicity. *clears throat* FELICITY IS MY GIRL. She is the ultimate GETS-SHIT-DONE character.  I love her wild ambition, even in the face of people ruthlessly telling her she's not enough. She talks the talk, walks the walk, and sciences the science. 

►The character dynamics? Melted my damn heart. Monty and Percy have made it to my coveted "I will go down with this ship" shelf. (Coincidentally enough, that phrase also takes on a somewhat literal meaning in the context of the book.) Needless to say, they were REALLY FREAKING CUTE TOGETHER. You'd think that Felicity would get third-wheeled in their presence, but she doesn't. Instead, she shines just as brightly as they do. Her scenes with Monty were so endearing—they made me ridiculously emotional. It was the perfect I guess I kinda do care about you but don't make me admit it kind of sibling love. Basically, the scenes between these characters left me a) smiling like a huge dork, b) audibly chuckling (like actually laughing, not that non-committal nose-exhale thing), or c) crying in varying amounts. 

(actual gif of me reading cute scenes from this book)

►The plot? Surprisingly sinister at times, but mostly just campy, adventure-filled, and SO VERY FUN. I was expecting this to read like a contemporary with minimal plot, but to my surprise the plot drove a large part of the story. And what an awesome plot it was. So many high jinks, so much trouble. 

►The diversity? PRESENT AND ABUNDANT AND WONDERFUL. As soon as I watched a video of Mackenzi Lee saying she wanted to write historical fiction that wasn't white, straight, and male I was like YES, I WOULD LIKE TO OBTAIN THIS BOOK. PLACE IT IN MY HANDS PLS. There is so much great representation in Gentleman's Guide. There's LGBTQ rep, disability rep, racial rep, mental illness rep. ALL THE REPS. And it's not that it's just sprinkled in there and ignored—it's actually discussed at length. You get to see how exactly marginalization affects these characters and how they respond to it.

(Personally, I thought the rep in here was great. However, I don't share any of the marginalized identities that these characters have, so I would love to see some ownvoices reviews once this book comes out.)

(how the diversity in this book makes me feel)

*Exhales* OK. I think that's it. I hope this (actually never-ending) review conveyed to you at least some of the love I have for this book. Honestly, I'm really glad I didn't just end up listing all my favourite scenes (i.e. regurgitating the entire book for you) because I was really really tempted to. (I HAVE SO MANY FAVOURITE SCENES THOUGH. SO MANY!!!)

When June 27 rolls around, y'all better prepare yourselves for the glory that is The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue.