#gentleman's guide to vice and virtue

[dragonbadgerbooks]

October Fun Day Book Photo Challenge: October 11, 2023 National Coming Out Day

[carsweirdness]

rereading "the gentleman's guide to vice and virtue" series by mackenzie lee for the third time of my life. why the hell not, i love the series.

[eleftherian]

Felicity threatening Monty for saying something misogynistic at the same time Percy is giving him a lecture about racism is the vibe today

[pretensesoup]

Queer books, day 29/30

This is more of an adventure novel than a romance and more of a YA novel than one aimed at adults, both of which were reasons why I was unlikely to read it. But then I did read it, and it was excellent.

The book follows Monty, who is rich, spoiled, and hated by his father, his friend Percy who is half Black, a talented musician, and sick, and Monty's sister, who is much more sensible than anyone gives her credit for. It's set in the eighteenth century, which is fun, and follows the three of them as they try to do a Grand Tour of the continent, get into trouble at Versailles, are pursued all over Europe by criminals linked to the French government, get kidnapped by pirates, and eventually some kind of alchemy something something. Anyway. It's about surviving trauma, about different kinds of terrible parents, and it's a very, very slow burn friends to lovers romance.

I'll confess that although I love friends to lovers, this was a little slow even for that genre. Maybe because it's a YA novel. And by the end, Monty has received some injuries that are reminiscent of injuries Aubrey receives in the Master and Commander series. Which is cool, as a tribute, but I wonder about having to either externalize his wounds as a symbol (because he's also got massive trauma from his father being awful) or something about him having to be injured to justify having a gay happily ever after (a sort of pseudo "bury your gays" thing). I'm pretty sure neither of these was intended by Lee, though.

Key quote:

The great tragic love story of Percy and me is neither great nor truly a love story, and is tragic only for its single-sidedness. It is also not an epic monolith that has plagued me since boyhood, as might be expected. Rather, it is simply the tale of how two people can be important to each other their whole lives, and then, one morning, quite without meaning to, one of them wakes to find that importance has been magnified into a sudden and intense desire to put his tongue in the other's mouth. A long, slow slide, then a sudden impact.

Anyway, it's a great, funny book, full of adventure, and a gay love story. 10/10 go read it.

[fortunatefires]

Monty is the epitome of disaster bisexual and I love him with my whole heart

[queer-book-character-tournament]

Character, book, and author names under the cut

Henry "Monty" Montague- The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee

Kihrin D’mon- A Chorus of Dragons by Jenn lyons

Silas Bell- The Spirit Bares Its Teeth by Andrew Joseph White

Robert Lanyon- The Glass Scientists by S.H. Cotugno

[shy-sapphic-ace]

List of queer books I read, loved & recommend!

(There isn't any particular order, I wrote these as I remembered them)

Master Of One - Jaida Jones & Dani Bennett (mlm, fantasy, very cool worldbuilding and magic system, funny, cool characters)

Legends & Lattes - Travis Baldree (wlw, fantasy, very soft & chill vibes)

The Priory of the Orange Tree - Samantha Shannon (wlw, high fantasy, cool worldbuilding, kinda reminds me of LOTR but with more dragons and feminism and lesbians)

Even Though I Knew The End - C.L. Polk (wlw, supernatural noir, cool 1930s detective story with angels & demons, I loved this one!)

The Love Interest - Cale Dietrich (mlm, science fiction, very cool concept)

The Darkest Part Of The Forest - Holly Black (side mlm, fantasy, cool fae lore)

The Weight Of The Stars - K. Ancrum (wlw, not quite science fiction but space stuff is involved, lovely and complex characters)

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe - Benjamin Alire Sáenz (mlm, fiction, very nice in general, there is also a sequel)

The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue - Mackenzi Lee (mlm, historical and vaguely fantasy, nice story but I preferred the sequel honestly)

The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy - Mackenzi Lee (wlw, the sequel to the one before, more fantasy elements than the first, asexual main character!!)

Gallant - V.E. Schwab (no romance, but in the background one of the characters(?) uses they/them pronouns, very cool dark fantasy vibe)

Stranger Than Fanfiction - Chris Colfer (gay main character, trans main character, coming-of-age, nice book)

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda (yes it's the Love, Simon book, mlm, fiction, pretty nice)

They Both Die At The End - Adam Silvera (mlm, sci-fi ish but mostly fiction, cool ideas, but the ending is sad! Very amazing book though, I haven't read the prequel yet)

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo - Taylor Jenkins Reid (wlw, bi main character, historical fiction, cool story, just a neat book in general)

This Is How You Lose The Time War - Amal El-Mohtar & Max Gladstone (wlw, sci-fi, very cool time travel stuff!! and very beautiful, it felt like reading poetry most of the time)

One Last Stop - Casey McQuinston (wlw, background trans & pan & queer characters, sci-fi or fantasy idk, but time travel, I loooved this book, great)

The House In The Cerulean Sea - TJ Klune (mlm, fantasy, THIS BOOK oh my gosh you should read it!!, just cute and lovely and good)

Under The Whispering Door - TJ Klune (mlm, fantasy, this book is also sooo amazing, great character development and awesome relationships and stuff, it's been a while since I read it but it was so good)

In the Lives of Puppets - TJ Klune (mlm, ace main character!!, sci-fi, now THIS is found family, oughh feelings. argh, tj klune you’ve done it again, a human and his family of funky robots… I love them)

And They Lived... - Steven Salvatore (nblm, fiction, about gender identity and learning to love yourself, read it a while ago but it was very nice)

I Wish You All The Best - Mason Deaver (nblm, fiction, about finding your identity and people who care about you, very cute and sweet)

The Song Of Achilles - Madeleine Miller (mlm, historical, very good in general)

Carry On - Rainbow Rowell (mlm, background wlw in the third book, fantasy, it's a trilogy, basically Harry Potter if it was gay and also better)

Silver In The Wood - Emily Tesh (mlm, fantasy, very pretty, lots of fae stuff and lovely descriptions, it has a really good sequel too)

Pretty much anything by Alice Oseman (all cute and lovely and great, though I've only read Radio Silence so far I hear only good things, Solitaire is on my to-read list)

I Kissed Shara Wheeler - Casey McQuinston (wlw, fiction, it's been a while but I liked this book)

The Falling In Love Montage - Ciara Smyth (wlw, fiction, this book was so cute and funny and deeply emotional it made me Feel way too many things, I'd definitely recommend it)

What Big Teeth - Rose Szabo (a bit of queerness all around, fantasy, werewolves and monsters, this one was pretty cool!, lots of original ideas for the world/character building)

His Quiet Agent - Ada Maria Soto (mlm, asexual, fiction, about like spies but this book was so gentle and sweet I wanted to cry in the best way possible)

Some By Virtue Fall - Alexandra Rowland (wlw, historical fiction(?), theatre drama!! rival romance!! duels!!, a very good read in general)

Don’t Want You Like a Best Friend - Emma R. Alban (wlw, historical fiction, I’m not usually one for regency romances, but I really liked this!!, very cute and lots of drama, and there’s a sequel coming out soon!)

[dragonbadgerbooks]

October Fun Day Book Photo Challenge: October 3, 2023 National Boyfriend Day

[thehappyfeminist-22]

I found this in a thrift store and had to do a double take. If I saw this cover art without any other context, I would have assumed it was a piece of OFMD fan art. The title even sounds like something Stede would read/write himself, only his would be "The Gentleman Pirate's Guide to Getting Lucky".

[pitviperofdoom]

Reading Mackenzie Lee's Montague Siblings trilogy is like being taken by the hand and led down Don't Romanticize The Past Lane, almost all of these characters' problems would be significantly less of a problem if it wasn't the fucking 1700s.

[eleftherian]

i missed my homosexual dumbasses sm (monty & percy obvs)

[queereads-bracket]

Queer Fiction Free-for-All Book Bracket Tournament: Round 1D

Book summaries below:

The Montague Siblings series (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 other stories) by Mackenzi Lee

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.

Historical fiction, romance, adventure, 18th century, series, young adult

The Bruising of Qilwa by Naseem Jamnia

In this intricate debut fantasy introducing a queernormative Persian-inspired world, a nonbinary refugee practitioner of blood magic discovers a strange disease that causes political rifts in their new homeland. Persian-American author Naseem Jamnia has crafted a gripping narrative with a moving, nuanced exploration of immigration, gender, healing, and family.

Firuz-e Jafari is fortunate enough to have immigrated to the Free Democratic City-State of Qilwa, fleeing the slaughter of other traditional Sassanian blood magic practitioners in their homeland. Despite the status of refugees in their new home, Firuz has a good job at a free healing clinic in Qilwa, working with Kofi, a kindly new employer, and mentoring Afsoneh, a troubled orphan refugee with powerful magic.

But Firuz and Kofi have discovered a terrible new disease which leaves mysterious bruises on its victims. The illness is spreading quickly through Qilwa, and there are dangerous accusations of ineptly performed blood magic. In order to survive, Firuz must break a deadly cycle of prejudice, untangle sociopolitical constraints, and find a fresh start for their both their blood and found family.

Fantasy, secondary world, queernorm, novella, adult

[happygirl2oo2]

Always remember the three G's of the Montague siblings:

[background fanart credit to @brittlestarry, idea inspired by this]

[ineffably-poetic]

i’m easily entertained because if you say anything about my favorite media i’ll immediately start screaming and be consumed by my thoughts for hours while i draft about ten fanfics

[queer-book-character-tournament]

Character, book, and author names under the cut

Henry "Monty" Montague- The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee

Ambrosius Goldenloin-  Nimona by N.D. Stevenson

[fortunatefires]