The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy
Ratings86
Average rating4
Prima vervolg op deel 1, met deze keer zuslief in de hoofdrol, die verwoede pogingen doet om ergens dokter te kunnen worden, maar dat door aristocratische heren wordt gedwarsboomd. Uiteraard weer met piraten, maar ook zeedraken!
If I could give this more than 5 stars I would.
And I can not wait until the next book is out, I need more of these characters!
The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue is one of my absolute favourite books. This book, while definitely not as good, was still brilliant.
Lee is very good at writing travelling adventures, and, while this book did have some odd pacing in places, it also had another grand adventure. I really liked Felicity's character and her navigation of the world she's in, as well as Johanna and Sim.
I also really appreciated how Felicity's exclusive, ‘not-like-other-girls' feminism, where she looks down upon Johanna and other girls because of their femininity, was challenged by Johanna herself.
I found the depiction of Sim and her family to be a bit...off? Like, I feel like the conversations about whether to study the dragons or leave them alone could have done with some more nuance, but this wasn't a huge issue.
And of course, I loved to see Monty and Percy again, and I'm really glad they showed up at the end of the book as well, they are my absolute favourites, I love them so much!
Belabors The Plight Of Women more than necessary imo but also it wasn't written for me it was written for teens who probably appreciate that more than I do! overall a good fun romp and I love my pirate gf Sim!!!
women women women, I just love them women. this book has seriously given me everything I needed. it's simply breathtaking
In my review for [b:The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue 29283884 The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue (Montague Siblings, #1) Mackenzi Lee https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1492601464l/29283884.SY75.jpg 49527118], I mentioned that its style lent itself to the younger side of the Young Adult category. I would say the same about The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy, but that is in no way a demerit. I think that if I had this book when I was 13....honestly, my life might have been much different.Like its predecessor, Lady's Guide has a winding nature to it. Felicity Montague, determined to be accepted to medical school and become a great surgeon, finds herself traveling on a whim to her childhood friend's wedding in Germany, in the faint hope that she may convince her groom, the groundbreaking doctor, Alexander Platt, to employ her. What she discovers though is that Platt and the supposed happy union between him and her estranged friend, Johanna, is not what it seems, and she and Johanna find themselves on a hell of an adventure. And there are indeed plenty of petticoats and piracy.I don't remember the prose being this good in Gentleman's Guide, but this book is really beautifully written. In GG, you had Monty's romance with Percy, but here its Felicity's romance with, well, life. This is a story about a girl learning how to live on her own terms - a fairly complicated task for anyone, let alone a young woman in the 18th century. She's not the most likeable person at first. She's obsessed with her own individuality in a way that teenage girls have a tendency to be - thinking she's the only one who feels and thinks the way she does, and that she's better than others who she views as having more superficial desires. She grew a lot in the first book, but as she sets out on her own here, she is shown again and again there are many different ways for women to be - beautiful, brainy, savage, or all three.Speaking of women - this book loves women. Felicity herself is likely asexual or demisexual, finding little desire to be physically involved with anyone, or desire for romance. But she adores the women at her side - Johanna and Sim, the pirate princess Felicity manages to unwittingly steal the heart of. Seriously, the way the prose indulgently describes Johanna's figure, or the way the page just fucking sizzles whenever Sim flirts with Felicity, I was surprised that Felicity was not actually interested in that kind of thing. But I thought this was an incredible exploration of relationships, friendships and even desire, without it necessarily being about sex. Honestly, it's a little mindblowing. Also, there's dragons. I love how Mackenzi Lee sneaks up on you with that stuff. Genre, who? There is action and excitement, but I think that played second to the great character dynamics. Platt makes a great, messy and complicated villain, and Johanna, Sim and Felicity utterly complete each other. To me, everything about this book just fits together so snug and tight. I don't think there was a single sentence that disappointed me.I know there's some distaste for Mackenzi Lee of late. It's the kind of thing that if you're not paying close attention to book Twitter, you would completely miss it, and now its rather difficult to find first hand evidence of what went down. But I can't claim to know who Mackenzi Lee is as a person, I only believe that she accomplished something truly great in this book. If my angry, moody, sexually confused middle school self had been able to read this, been to see girls exploring relationships with each other, wooing each other, fighting for each other, and building lives for each other, I might have been able to see myself doing the same much, much sooner. I hope that this book finds its way into the hands of many girls like me.
I wasn't consistent in reading this book, so I don't think I got the full immersive experience. I love how Felicity's voice and narration is so distinct from Monty's. This book has got some pretty cinematic imagery and comedic timing. Some of the dialogue and scenes put a goofy smile on my face. I love love love the messages and relationships and representation.
It's a problem for me, when I really, really like a book because I am often worried that I won't like the next thing I read by the author anywhere near as much. Example? This book. I was hoping I'd get a female driven adventure in the vein of [b:The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue 29283884 The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue (Montague Siblings, #1) Mackenzi Lee https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1492601464l/29283884.SY75.jpg 49527118] I didn't think that was too much to ask. Instead, I got this mess.So, the first half of the book feels like an over extended prologue where Felicity is just teleporting from one local to the next with how little attention is given to the actual travel. And, compounded on that, the three girls don't actually start traveling together until about the halfway point. Uncoincidentally, I started enjoying the book more once we reached the halfway point.Except for a few issues that made me drop the rating from three stars to two. First, I like big reveals to be foreshadowed. An example of not doing this is [b:Legacy of Light 38358367 Legacy of Light (Effigies, #3) Sarah Raughley https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1517874257l/38358367.SY75.jpg 60025022]. (One year later, I'm still bitter about this series.) So, if you're going to have a big reveal in the very fabric of the universe you've created, build up to it. Don't just go: btw, there's dragons. No, seriously. Please don't do that. At least not if you want me to like the book.Now that we got that out of the way, let's take characters.Felicity. Oh, Feli, I kind of loved you in Vice and Virtue. Imagine my dismay when I realized I liked the way you played off your brother and little else about you. Felicity is a good character, don't get me wrong, but she is way too serious for me. I like characters that joke - you know, humor under fire or gallows humor? - Felicity is not just not that, she's also quite hard and judge-y. I don't like that.Johanna. Now, this girl, I like. She's not funny, but she is feminine and badass and I just kind of adore her.Sim. Sim is...a plot device. She has very little point or purpose in the story than being a plot device at various times. (Three times, at least, I think.) That was disappointing.And their friendship? Well, I feel something between Johanna and Felicity that might be friendship. I feel something between Sim and Felicity that is a one sided, slight crush. Oh, and general mutual mistrust. I feel nothing between Johanna and Sim. Honestly, Felicity still has more of a bond with Percy than whatever was trying to be built between her and these two girls.Now, about the aro/ace rep. Honestly? I probably wouldn't have noticed it if I hadn't been told it was there. That's partially because of me and just the way I'm wired. (I don't see romance and marriage as the endgame.) But also, because Felicity is written as being more interested in knowledge than romance and I personally don't see that as a sign of aro-ness. Or ace-ness. If I hadn't heard that Feli was on the aro/ace spectrum - even after thinking she was aro after reading Vice and Virtue - I would have probably had her pegged as a demisexual lesbian. Ymmv, but that's what I saw. There is an ace discussion on page but...it went the same way I always hear they do: the ace person being told ‘you just haven't met the right person yet and/or you need to try it first'. That was gross, by the way, and it was made even worse by it being a supposed sympathetic person that says this.So, in closing, what I loved so much about Vice and Virtue - the adventure and surprising attention to both Percy's illness and Monty's past - (Remaining obscure to avoid tagging this as spoilers.) was strangely absent here. Because, really, the strange colonialism theme could have been handled much more sensitively. (And I'm not even getting into that.)
I listened to The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue and knew I had to listen to this one as well. I finally buckled down and listened to it and adored it. I wasn't a huge fan of Felicity in the first book, probably because Percy and Monty are so adorably cute, but in this book Felicity showed me how much I was missing out on.
This book does amazing things. It truly goes into the trope of the strong woman character and what that means. See, Felicity judges everyone...harshly. She thinks she does things the only right way, yet Johanna is also quite feminist and wants to travel, she just wants to do it in style with cute things. Then there is Sim, glorious Sim who might have been my favorite character, who wants to...um... be a leader, we shall say, but her style is more aggressive than the other two. Felicity has to learn to stop putting other women down for liking feminine things and UGH I love it. I should also say I totally shipped her and Sim and then was shipping her with Johanna, and truly could have immensely happy with all three of them in a relationship together.
The story was fabulous. I loved the adventure, I loved journeying with Felicity and watching her grow and change and realize our dreams are allowed to change.
This book made me laugh, cry, and sigh dreamily. Definitely worth the read.
Enjoyed Felicity's voice as much as Monty's, and though a different narrator, the audio book was equally as hilarious, with some great laugh-snort moments. I appreciate the sense of fun and adventure that Lee brings to historical fiction.
This was just absolutely boring. And it took a long time for it to get somewhere, and even when it got there it was still not quite there, if that makes sense
I really struggled with this installment. I think I had such high expectations after how much I was surprised by the first book and how much I actually enjoyed it. This book follows Felicity and while I loved her character in Gentleman's Guide, I just could not get into this book. It also took me almost a month to read because I just never wanted to read it. There was always something I would rather do.
I think a lot of people will enjoy this book, I just unfortunately was not one of them. Part of my lack of interest could be because this is a historical fiction book and those are generally not my cup of tea. I am glad I read this though so it was not another book on the never ending list of sequels I have not read.
1
I really, really liked The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue, so it kind of pains me that this one feels so much weaker. It shouldn't be. Felicity was a badass young lady-doctor in TGGTVV, and it did not translate over to this book.
2
I enjoyed Felicity's perspective for maybe about half the book. At first I liked this book and her a lot. She is fighting for the same right to go to medical school as men are given! She shouts about menstruation in a room full of men! She deserves this just as much as they do!
3
But then she said that about 600 times. So much so that I've already returned the audiobook but I can hear the narrator chirping “You are Felicity Montague! You deserve to be here!” for the umpteenth time in my brain.
4
This book was SO MUCH LONGER than it needed to be.
5
I lost interest about 3/4 of the way in. I especially lost interest when it pivoted entirely from historical fiction into a fantasy novel. (There's dragons!)
6
Up to this point, I could kind of get on board, I guess, because we're being historically accurate and all. Women have no rights. Felicity is traveling with a woman named Sim, who is Muslim and whose family are pirates (because Felicity and Monty met the pirates in the previous book, so this makes sense). Felicity doesn't exactly treat Sim great, doesn't trust her, continues to waver back and forth about whether Sim is trustworthy or trying to rob Felicity who wanted to sail with Sim in the first place for not-noble reasons related to Felicity trying to get a job with a man she's idolized forever who also happens to be marrying Felicity's childhood former-friend, Johanna also for not-noble reasons.
7
Which spins off into capers related to escaping from Former Idol Man because of Convenient Marriage Power Transfer because ack! a woman owning things! Sim helps them escape to Algiers for reasons, but then because Felicity is a wanna-be doctor, and Johanna is a wanna-be naturalist, they decide they can bring samples of the dragons! back to England and basically decide they can be wanna-be colonizers too!
8
But oh no! Former Idol Man also wants to colonize the waters the dragons! are living in. That's terrible. Why would he do that. Why on earth would Felicity and Johanna only decide colonization is bad when they're not the ones doing it? Eyeroll
9
Felicity and Johanna have a plan and they save all the African pirates from their ship being sunk by a giant dragon! and also because they have a map that ... well, it's gonna take a long time to explain the map thing. Hooray for white saviors!
10
Obviously, because Sim is a woman, she obviously wants all the same things as the two white women she's with. This book BEATS YOU OVER THE HEAD with feminist ideas, conveniently forgetting that one of them is that WOMEN DON'T ALL HAVE TO WANT THE SAME THINGS. (Apparently this is only important in Felicity's storyline, because she doesn't wanna get married and also doesn't want to kiss people and also looks down on everyone for liking stuff that isn't medical textbooks.)
11
For all its shouting about feminism, it really sucks at intersectionalism.
12
Because of these issues I don't know how to feel. I was enjoying it, then I was enraged or bored for the rest of it. But I also didn't know whether this book wanted to be historical or if it wanted to make up everything as it went, so I don't know whether the colonialism aspect worked with it historically or if it didn't work at all because fantasy novel. It could probably have benefitted from a sensitivity reader.
13
Disappointing.
Ahh I love Felicity!! I love so much about this story–Felicity's ambition, her hubris, her intelligence, and her (eventual) willingness to admit when she's been wrong. I love seeing her overcome her “not like other girls” syndrome. And I love what the piracy plot is doing to push back on colonialism!! Also it's just fun as heck!
Also great to see that Monty and Percy are still in loveeee.
spoiler: THE DOG IS FINE.
Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue is the book that made me believe that historical fiction can be fun too while being diverse and giving us the perspective of those whose stories we don't hear often enough. I have been waiting to read more of Felicity's adventures and I'm so glad that this one didn't disappoint.
Felicity Montague is a sassy badass woman who wants to become a doctor in a world that will never let her but that doesn't stop her from pursuing all possible avenues, however far fetching they may seem. Despite seeming very ambitious and going off on her usual rants about equality for women and the unfairness of the society, she still feels insecure sometimes about the societal expectations placed on her, how life would be simpler if she could be satisfied being someone's wife. But she never lets these insecurities unsettle her and gives herself constant pep talks to believe in her choices. As the story progresses, she realises her own flaws and prejudices and works to better herself while also gaining an understanding that her path to knowledge might be slightly different than the one she originally planned.
Johanna is the epitome of femininity and compassion and smashes the stereotype of the “strong female character” that we so often see in YA. She loves her dresses and parties, always has a smile on her face and is very charming in social situations, and she also wants to do everything she can to follow in her mother's footsteps and restore her scientific legacy. I love how she stands up for her principles but is also ready to own up to her biases when challenged. But the best part - she is a devoted animal lover and her dog Max is the most adorable one ever. And the scene with the baby sea dragon... I almost cried 😢😢😢
Sim is the swashbuckling African Muslim hijabi pirate we never knew we needed. She is cunning and sassy and brave and just wants to fight for her birthright to inherit her father's pirate fleet. She is very strong in her convictions and never backs down from an argument and the frenemy-ish dynamic she develops with Felicity is my favorite part of the book.
And coming to my adorable babies... Monty and Percy. They just light up the page with all their love whenever they show up and I was waiting for all the little moments. I almost teared up reading about their dire living situation but Monty is still his old flirty delightful self, and nothing can get him down while Percy is his side. It's also very endearing to see how much closer Monty and Felicity have grown and the ends to which Monty and Percy go to protect her is just awesome. She is definitely lucky to be part of that Monty-Percy sandwich 😍😍😍
I just love how easy it is to read and get lost in Mackenzi's writing. Her charming demeanor definitely reflects in her words and that's why this series is so much fun. I especially love that this book while being an adventure tale, gives us a portrait of the misogyny and the discrimination against women at the time and the lives of those ladies who relentlessly fought for their rights when everything was stacked against them. The other most important thread I enjoyed in this book is the importance of friendship and female solidarity. The bond that Felicity, Johanna and Sim form during the course of their journey is very admirable to read about and something we all can learn from.
The author follows the same tone of writing as in Gentleman's Guide - using the quirky humor to give subtle commentary on various social issues. Misogyny is the main theme here because each of these amazing women are fighting for their rightful place in the world. Despite wanting to be a doctor and live an independent life, Felicity is still a victim of internalized misogyny, and it takes an intense conversation with Johanna for her to realize how quickly she used to judge other women for making choices different than hers, and that strong women come in all forms. The extremely problematic views that we hear from men along the way made me very angry and frustrated because unfortunately, people who think like this still exist in our world.
The other theme that is very subtle and might not feel very impactful but I felt very differently about was colonization. As the daughter of an African pirate commodore, Sim has a very opposing perspective to the narrow minded European view that Johanna and Felicity share. The conflict between Johanna's insistence on opening up the resources of the islands for the sake of science and research, and Sim's protectiveness for her people and natural resources is depicted with a lot of care; and it's clearly pointed out that the European justification for colonization for the good of the people is a boatload of crap.
We also get some awesome aroace rep in the form of Felicity and it's done wonderfully, especially in a time period when it was a woman's duty to marry and procreate. She has many internal monologues questioning her feelings and not being able to explain to others about the same, but I love that she finds peace within herself towards the end. Sim flirts with her in such adorable ways, sometimes even through arguments... it was very cute to read. Despite the possibility for a beautiful sapphic romance, I'm glad that the author portrays their sexualities independent of each other. And it's great that none of their orientations are depicted as wrong. My only gripe is that while she is understanding of the love that Monty and Percy share, and even calls Percy her brother, Felicity still thinks of their relationship as sinful in her head and I wish she had evolved beyond that.
If you loved Gentleman's Guide, you might find this book slightly less adventurous and more forceful in it's message - but in this age of persistent women trying to fight for better gender equality, I feel this is a great book with an empowering story featuring badass women taking down the patriarchy in their own ways.
5 stars AAAh, these books (Montague Siblings) are just a breath of fresh queer air! I absolutely love Felicity! :) She reminds me of an older Flavia de Luce! LGBTQ+ rep: asexuality, aromanticity, m/m relationship!
4.5 stars/5 stars
As spectacularly delightful as the first Montague Siblings book. Keeping my fingers crossed that Mackenzi Lee has more books to share with Felicity and/or Monty involved!
3.5 stars. I didn't love it quite as much as the first, but it was still excellent!
I have been eagerly awaiting this sequel to The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue, and it did not disappoint! In The Lady's Guide we continue the story of the Montague siblings, with the book opening on Felicity showing up at her brother's flat in London while she figures out how to get into medical school. I love the sibling relationship between these two, and Felicity's friendship with Monty's partner Percy. The three of them just make an amazing little group, so supportive and understanding of each other.
Felicity strongly hinted at being asexual in The Gentleman's Guide, and through the course of this book, that is cemented. Even when she comes to care for someone, sex just...isn't her thing. Romance isn't really either, making her both asexual and aromantic. It's fantastic representation for an identity we don't see very often in books. Or, perhaps, an identity we don't see explicitly mentioned in fiction. Many books don't have romantic plots and just don't investigate that aspect of their characters, but to investigate that aspect of a character and say NO, they are NOT interested in that is unique.
Similar to The Gentleman's Guide, this is an adventure story. Unexpectedly, we veered into magical realism in this book, with the existence of some fantastical creatures I wasn't expecting to see. Nothing about The Gentleman's Guide had implied that the world they inhabited was not exactly ours, but The Lady's Guide does deviate. So that was a big surprise, and I'm not sure I like it. It felt a little forced. I think the “secret” that someone was protecting could have been written as something real instead of a fantastic creature.
That minor quibble aside, I really loved this book, just like I did the first. These two are GREAT books, and the characters are outstanding.
You can find all my reviews at Goddess in the Stacks.