The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy (Montague Siblings) (edition 2018)

Mostly fun, with a bit of a defensive afterword (the author insists her characters are in keeping with historical behaviour, so long as you look at the incredibly rare exception to the norms, which is fine). I have more of a problem with most of the characters having incredibly modern, PC attitudes (and I'm gay myself!) and the vocabulary that goes with it (e.g. phrases like "Alexander could be a gender-neutral name,"). I get that it's a fantasy, but it takes me right out of my willing suspension of disbelief.

This one, and the first in the series, are indeed ostensibly fantasies. I liked how the first one gradually revealed a fantastic element, and in this case the same thing happens, rather more abruptly, and I don't think it works as well. It's easier to accept alchemy than sea dragons, essentially.

And I liked Felicity more in the last book (she seemed sensible) than here (she seems angry, sullen, bitter, and prickly), but at least the author acknowledges her character's faults (so often authors seem enamored of their perfectly dreadful protagonists and blind to their failings).

Still wondering what the next book will hold, but might not rush to read it.

(Note: 5 stars = amazing, wonderful, 4 = very good book, 3 = decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful. I'm fairly good at picking for myself so end up with a lot of 4s). ( )

“I’m learning there is no one way for life to be lived, no one way to be strong or brave or kind or good. Rather there are many people doing the best they can with the heart they are given and the hand they are dealt. Our best is all we can do, and all we can hold on to is each other.”

FORMAT READ: Audiobook (Highly Recommended)
SIMILAR VIBES: ((nothing comes to mind at the moment, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing because it means it’s unique))
READ FOR: if you want the gentleman’s guide to vice and virtue… but female version
READING LEVEL: Level 2-4 out of 5

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OVERALL THOUGHTS: 4.75

I really did start this series expecting a light contemporary read but it turned out to be a much deeper historical fiction than I realized. The characters in this whole series are just so well-written. From Monty and Felicity, to all of the side characters that were still given enough depth for you to care about the. They have backgrounds that make sense with the plot (which was surprising for me because I thought before beginning the first book that this was a contemporary series).

The audiobook was also performed very well. This is also true for The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue so... yes


Both Monty and Felicity in these books realize that life is much more than what the society has set for them for them to be. Reading Felicity's side to it just made that even more prevalent and I.... I WAS LIVING FOR IT.

Specifically for this book, Felicity's character development was just as drastic as Monty's that I was left feeling so proud of them at the end of their books. I felt like I lived through Felicity's development as she went through it. Another one of my list of favourite heroines because she instead of whining she actually takes action towards her goals. I was so hooked and the overall story just sucked me in all over again.

The magical realism was also not something that I expected??? Like, at first I was all like "is this going to work?" but in the end, it did. It made the books a bit more on the fantastical side together with the fact that it's historical fiction... it just gave me those vibes. But I was (very much) okay with it.

I loved the piracy side of this series and how it's ironic to the "lady-like" and "gentleman-like" parts. I loved everything about these books and if you are thinking about reading this, I am here to tell you that you should. I don't care what your reading tastes are like, give these two books a try.

“But there are always consequences. Even in standing still. And I’m tired of stillness.”

… and excuse me, but was that an “Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe” reference? Or am I just imagining things?

PLOT: ★★★★★
WRITING STYLE: ★★★★★
WORLD BUILDING: ★★★★★
CHARACTERS: ★★★★★
THEMES: ★★★★★
PACING: ★★★★★
PAGE TURNER: ★★★★★ ( )

An amazing follow-up to The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue, the Lady's Guide follows Felicity Montague in the aftermath of her brother's absconding to London with his boyfriend.

Felicity is, rightfully, irritated with a lot of the world for demanding that women not work. Anywhere. She meets two more women during her adventure who tend to share the same views, and she meets men who claim to, but do not.

There is a lot to read in the pages of this story, but it was utterly fantastic. ( )

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! ( )

I want to know everything about my own self, and never have to rely on someone else to tell me the way I work.

[Thank you, thank you, Edelweiss for the ARC.]

Felicity Montague is an icon. That's all I need to say, right?

(THREE POINT FIVE) STARS FOR PURE JOY. As expected from the chaos that is the Montague kiddos, this was a ton of fun. It's another whirlwind trek across the globe, this time with Felicity, who is a perfect balance of inspiring and grating and sensitive and self-aware of all of that. It was a touch ridiculous, as it should be, but also came with a torrent of love and a hand to get people like Felicity back up on their feet again.

I really wanted to not mention GGVV in this review, but I kinda got to. It stumbles in the ways its sibling (haha) did, and those stumbles can't hide quite so well without Monty's loud, distracting narration. But still it overcomes all of that by being such a lovely personal story that it doesn't demand to be perfect. Was I still shaking the book a little like, "why did you spend so much time in x y z spot when there were DRAGONS AT THE END OF THIS FREAKIN' BOOK" - yes, yes I was, okay, and I still desperately wanted an extra 100 pages, but while the plot kinda left me scrabbling for more, this book still feels like just the right amount of ranting, relating, and hugging that you expect from a really good friend.

And then there's me, an island all my own. An island that sometimes feels like a whole continent to rule, and sometimes a cramped spit of land that sailors are marooned upon and left to die.

It's not without its exciting moments and I love the whole premise of travelling around - Lee still creates these beautiful cities and stunning environments and knows just what scenes to put in those settings to make them really shine.

But, yeah, like kinda mentioned above, it cuts off just as its getting good - when it's becoming an adventure book rather than a sisterly book, but hey, maybe that's just not for me all the time. It's someone's perfect book - it's bound to be, considering how many ways it tries and succeeds to reach out to you.

Anyways, I'm delighted. Felicity Montague my queen. Now, since Felicity did me the ABSOLUTELY HEART-MELTING favour of calling Percy her brother, how abouts a book three...

You are Felicity Montague. You have climbed through catacombs darker than this, you escaped from a second-story window with only your bed sheets and you should not be frightened of this darkness, but instead be sure that the most frightening thing in it is you. ( )