The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy by Mackenzi Lee - Paul's REVIEW

*I received this book as an eARC from Katherine Tegen Books via Edelweiss. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*

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The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue

Title: The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy
Author: Mackenzi Lee
Release Date: October 2, 2018

Synopsis: A year after an accidentally whirlwind grand tour with her brother Monty, Felicity Montague has returned to England with two goals in mind—avoid the marriage proposal of a lovestruck suitor from Edinburgh and enroll in medical school. However, her intellect and passion will never be enough in the eyes of the administrators, who see men as the sole guardians of science.

But then a window of opportunity opens—a doctor she idolizes is marrying an old friend of hers in Germany. Felicity believes if she could meet this man he could change her future, but she has no money of her own to make the trip. Luckily, a mysterious young woman is willing to pay Felicity’s way, so long as she’s allowed to travel with Felicity disguised as her maid.

In spite of her suspicions, Felicity agrees, but once the girl’s true motives are revealed, Felicity becomes part of a perilous quest that leads them from the German countryside to the promenades of Zurich to secrets lurking beneath the Atlantic.

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Review: Mackenzi Lee's books are soooooo good. I've loved her writing ever since This Monstrous Thing. This is the companion novel to The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue focusing on Felicity, Monty's sister. Lee's books usually take me longer to read. This book came out back in October and I only just finished it. I think it takes me longer because her style of adventure stories have many highs and lows in the energy and pacing instead of a simpler story. Lee does such a great job of writing personal moments between the characters. Such wonderful details. There's a lot to take in in every chapter. And I love it!

This is a historical fiction, but just like Gentleman's Guide there are some fantastical elements. I think the best analogue is something like Indiana Jones. I would never think of Indian Jones as a fantasy story, but maybe it is? The 1700s were a time when there were still unknowns to the Western world. I really enjoy how Lee writes the 1700s through a modern lens. Felicity is on the asexual spectrum. It's great to see queer rep in a time period you usually only get cis straight white male stories.

The characters from Gentleman's Guide return. The focus is on Felicity, but all the other main characters are featured to some degree. Plus we get a lot of new characters! And PIRATES! 

The tension comes from differences in perspectives and priorities between the characters. I really enjoyed when "good characters" come at odds with each other. 

I obviously give this book a 5/5. If you haven't read any of Mackenzi Lee's books, you need to read her stuff! I'd suggest starting with Gentleman's Guide. I look forward to reading more of Lee's writing in the future.    


--PAUL