ARC Review: The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee

Title: Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue Written by: Mackenzi Lee Published: June 27, 2017 by Katherine Tegan Books (Harper Teen) (Amazon / Goodreads) Synopsis: An unforgettable tale of two friends on their Grand Tour of 18th-century Europe who stumble upon a magical artifact that leads them from Paris to Venice in a dangerous manhunt, fighting pirates, highwaymen, and their feelings for each other along the way. Henry “Monty” Montague was born and bred to be a gentleman, but he was never one to be tamed. The finest boarding schools in England and the constant disapproval of his father haven’t been able to curb any of his roguish passions—not for gambling halls, late nights spent with a bottle of spirits, or waking up in the arms of women or men. But as Monty embarks on his grand tour of Europe, his quest for a life filled with pleasure and vice is in danger of coming to an end. Not only does his father expect him to take over the family’s estate upon his return, but Monty is also nursing an impossible crush on his best friend and traveling companion, Percy. Still it isn’t in Monty’s nature to give up. Even with his younger sister, Felicity, in tow, he vows to make this yearlong escapade one last hedonistic hurrah and flirt with Percy from Paris to Rome. But when one of Monty’s reckless decisions turns their trip abroad into a harrowing manhunt that spans across Europe, it calls into question everything he knows, including his relationship with the boy he adores. Witty, romantic, and intriguing at every turn, The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue is a sumptuous romp that explores the undeniably fine lines between friendship and love.

*** I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This fact has not changed my opinion. ***

I was unbelievably excited to read this book and it was abso-bloody-lutely amazing. I loved Mackeni's debut so I would have read anything that she came out with next but this just sounded amazing and it was. Everything I had hoped it would be with amazing characters, a thrilling plot, and brilliant writing.

Going into this book I expected it to be an interesting piece of historical fiction as the author took us through an engaging period of history. She absolutely did that. I like my historical fiction to take imaginary people and populate them in real places with real events. That's exactly what happened here. Europe in the 18th century came alive in this book. And it wasn't just the upper class goings on either. There were some dangerous and different things we got to experience as well. I loved every place and event that was explored. We were taken to so many amazing cities in Europe that I personally loved when I was there in college and Mackenzi did a great job in describing these beautiful places. It was a beautiful setting for a book and a great backdrop for this historical fiction novel.

However, my favorite thing about this book was, without a doubt, the characters. This book is full of completely amazing and likable characters. First and foremost we have our main character Monty. Monty is seriously everything. He is the perfect combination of charming and vulnerable. I loved him when he was being sullen and reckless just as much as I love him when he was being flirty and rakish. I love characters like Monty who we get to see at their best and at their worst.

But Monty wasn't the only amazing character here. The book was full of likable characters who were complex and engaging. The two most important and interesting are Monty's companions, Percy and Felicity. Percy is Monty's best friend and love interest. He's just so adorable and I love the two of them together. I ship it so hard. Then there is Felicity, Monty's sister. She's described as being bookish and a bit of a bore but she is anything but. She's snarky and plucky and is really the best out of everyone in a crisis. I really loved her and the dynamic she has with Monty is amazing and so realistic. And that is just the beginning. This book had so many amazing characters.

I think part of what made the characters so fantastic was because for me the heart of this book is in the coming-of-age. Each of the characters has this great development throughout the book. I'm not sure they really had a traditional Hero's Journey but they did got through an incredible change throughout the book. The people we meet at the beginning are not the people we see at the end. Each of our heroes go through their own journeys as they figure out who they are and who they want to be. This is something that I love about YA and it was one of the best parts about this book.

But beyond the figurative journey, our characters went on a literal journey throughout the book. The main jumping off point for the plot here is the characters' Grand Tour. It's pitched as a road trip story, something that I don't usually enjoy but I loved it here. I already mentioned how great the settings were and that in and of itself would probably have been enough but then things very quickly veered off plan and it became incredibly more interesting. I didn't know that I was getting an action packed high stakes adventure story with this book but that is exactly what I got. I seriously could not put this book down. It really built to a climax that had me on the edge of my seat and along the way there were so many amazing moments. I didn't expect to be able to finish this in a few days but I was because it was that good. I couldn't stop thinking about it when I wasn't reading and when I was reading I couldn't think of anything else.

Even though this is a love and very gushing review I feel like I cannot do it justice. I really loved it that much. It was an insanely brilliant and engaging l book that I could not stop reading and do not want to be over. It had everything I had hoped it would have and more. There was a descriptive setting, great and complex characters, and a thrilling plot full of adventure and a good coming of age story. Seriously, read it. You won't regret it.

I give The Genteman's Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee 10 out of 10 stars

Buy/Borrow/Bypass: BUY! Without a doubt you need to buy this book. It is my first ten star review of 2017 so that's saying something. I mean I really loved it. It's funny, it's sweet, it's trilling, it's impactful. It's brilliant. Everyone, just everyone should read it.

Have you read Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue? What did you think? Leave me a comment with your thoughts. Thanks for stopping by and HAPPY READING!

ARC Review: The Love Interest by Cale Dietrich

Title: The Love Interest Written by: Cale Dietrich  Published: May 16, 2017 by Feiwel and Friends (Macmillan) (Amazon / Goodreads) Synopsis: There is a secret organization that cultivates teenage spies. The agents are called Love Interests because getting close to people destined for great power means getting valuable secrets.  Caden is a Nice: The boy next door, sculpted to physical perfection. Dylan is a Bad: The brooding, dark-souled guy, and dangerously handsome. The girl they are competing for is important to the organization, and each boy will pursue her. Will she choose a Nice or the Bad?  Both Caden and Dylan are living in the outside world for the first time. They are well-trained and at the top of their games. They have to be – whoever the girl doesn’t choose will die.  What the boys don’t expect are feelings that are outside of their training. Feelings that could kill them both.

*** I received an advance copy of this book from the publishers in exchange for an honest review. This fact has not changed my opinion. ***

When I first learned about this book, I knew I needed to read it. I love books that play with YA tropes and one involving spies is totally up my alley. And while this was not quite what I was expecting it was a pretty good read and an interesting debut.

For one thing, I really did like the world of this book. It's sort of an interesting combination of contemporary and dystopia. You have a present day setting but a lot of the trappings dystopia with some interesting technology and a extra-governmental organizational power suppressing people for their own gain. Except this time the people they are oppressing is the people who work for it and not really a larger society. It had definite Dollhouse vibes and I really liked that. I only wish we had gotten more from LIC. I didn't really know what their motivations were here and why they even existed. They could have been super fascinating if we had spent more time with them.

I also did like the characters here. I'm the kind of person who likes unlikable characters, who likes characters who subvert common tropes and so I really appreciated these characters. The fun thing about them is that they were intentionally trying to be cliche but you get their inner monologues where they poke fun at the idea of being a "Nice Guy" or a "Bad Boy." It was tongue in cheek and a fun concept. I think probably though it isn't a concept that everyone will appreciate. It's my kind of humor and I really enjoyed it.

I did also like the character development. Many of the characters here were going along with what they needed to do to win and over the course of the book they had a hard time really deciding if that was what they wanted. I appreciated that the book had this subtle coming of age thing as the characters, especially the main character of Caden figured out who they really are. I thought he had really good development and I also really liked Nathalie's development. She was probably one of the more interesting characters even though I figured her out right away.

But one of my main criticisms is kind of about the characters. Well, it was more about the writing. What I mean is the dialogue. The dialogue in this book was so rough. I know sometimes it's hard to write dialogue that feels genuine and interesting without going overboard. It's a fine line and this book did not walk it very well. The dialogue felt forced. There was either too much or not enough. It honestly sometimes felt like the characters were just narrating their thoughts instead of actually speaking like normal people.

My other criticism is with the pacing. The plot of the book was good and super engaging but it took so long to get to the good stuff. It's not really a spy story, that's maybe the B plot. I want more to the spying and less of the just trying to make the girl like you. Because when that stuff did kick in it was amazing. It took me four days to read the first half of the book because it was so slow I kept putting it down but only two days to read the second half. And then when we did finally get to the climax, which by the way happened at about 90% it felt like it was over too quickly. It could have been a really dramatic and action packed read if it was paced a little better.

But in general, this was a pretty good read. I liked a lot about it. It had an interesting world and engaging characters I just wish the dialogue was better and it was paced a little more evenly. I think it had a lot of promise that it didn't really deliver on for my type of reader but I did enjoy it.\

I give The Love Interest by Cale Dietrich 8 out of 10 stars

Buy/Borrow/Bypass: Borrow. This was a pretty good debut and I think fans of more character driven reads will enjoy it a little bit more. It's really a coming of age story masquerading as a spy novel. If you like unique books that play with the tropes or are looking for a subtle spy story then check this one out.

Have you read The Love Interest? What did you think? Leave me a comment with your thoughts. Thanks for stopping by and HAPPY READING!

ARC Review: The Art of Being Normal by Lisa Williamson

Title: The Art of Being Normal Written by: Lisa Williamson Published: May 31, 2016 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux (Macmillan) (Amazon / Goodreads) Synopsis: David Piper has always been an outsider. His parents think he's gay. The school bully thinks he's a freak. Only his two best friends know the real truth: David wants to be a girl.  On the first day at his new school Leo Denton has one goal: to be invisible. Attracting the attention of the most beautiful girl in his class is definitely not part of that plan. When Leo stands up for David in a fight, an unlikely friendship forms. But things are about to get messy. Because at Eden Park School secrets have a funny habit of not staying secret for long , and soon everyone knows that Leo used to be a girl.  As David prepares to come out to his family and transition into life as a girl and Leo wrestles with figuring out how to deal with people who try to define him through his history, they find in each other the friendship and support they need to navigate life as transgender teens as well as the courage to decide for themselves what normal really means.

*** I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This fact has not change my opinion. ***

I'm not a huge contemporary reader. It probably only makes up about 10% of my annual reads. But I do love a good coming of age story and lately that has meant enjoying more and more contemporaries. The Art of Being Normal is one that I liked a lot more than I expected.

For one thing, it is an interesting story about identity. That's one of the things that I love about YA contemporaries because the teenage years are so important to figuring out who you are as a person. I thought that The Art of Being Normal brilliantly walked that line between wanting to be accepted and loved, and wanting to be who you are. It's a very modern and complex story about two teenagers coming to terms with who they are inside and reflecting that to those around them despite some terrible consequences for their honesty. This is a common theme with a lot of YA novels but here it is was even more heightened because this is about transgender teenagers.

The book alternates perspectives between two transgender youths who are struggling with coming out and the consequences that would have. Things are definitely not easy for either characters and there were some tough moments to read as the characters dealt with bullying and worse. First there is David, who while he identifies as trans, hasn't told anyone except his two best friends and is reluctant to take things to the next level. His struggle throughout the book of taking the leap was interesting and encouraging. Then there is Leo who was born a girl but is living as a boy. His history is a little less encouraging. It has been a tough road for him and I definitely empathized with his struggle. And while each of them had great and supportive people around them they also had toxic and not supportive people around them. Seeing them figure out who was who and being surprised by the acceptance they received from people was another fantastic element of the book.

I've read some reviews that say that this book is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to trans issues and I think that makes sense. I would not be able to speak for the trans community, as a cis woman, but I do think that this books is an interesting look into an often not talked about subject matter and it makes me think a lot about the struggle both internally and externally for trans teens. You are able to connect with the characters and see the struggle both internally and externally that they may have to go through. If you are looking for different kind of LGBTQIA story that will make you think then check this book out.

But one thing I didn't love about this book was the pacing. Or maybe it was the plot development. Or maybe the problem was the synopsis. I don't know. I just know that there was a lot of dramatic irony, especially when it came to Leo. I wouldn't want to rush a person's coming out but as a reader we know that he is transgender and even when we have the book from his perspective, it's not mentioning that. The struggle for him to tell people and come clean is totally valid but from the standpoint of the reader it was frustrating. I would have rather that point not be part of the synopsis or Leo at least recognize it. I get that maybe he wouldn't want to in order to move on with his life but it got to a point where I wasn't able to make an emotional connection with the character because I was waiting for that to be stated.

On the whole, The Art of Being Normal was a quick and interesting contemporary that made me think. It is a complex coming of age story about transgender teens and more than that it's about teenagers figuring out who they are and finding a support system of people who will accept them no matter what.

I give The Art of Being Normal by Lisa Williamson 8.5 out of 10 stars

Buy/Borrow/Bypass: Borrow/Bypass. If you are a fan of contemporaries, especially those of the LGBTQIA variety or you like coming of age stories than I would check this one out. There were some story elements that I didn't totally love but it's an engaging read for sure.

Have you read The Art of Being Normal? What did you think? Leave me a comment with your thoughts. Thanks for stopping by and HAPPY READING!