My Thoughts: The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy by Mackenzi Lee

The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy
(Montague Siblings #2)
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Publication Date: October 2nd 2018
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Pages: 450
ISBN: 9780062795328
Genre: Young Adult | Historical
Source: Own

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In this highly anticipated sequel to the New York Times bestselling The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue, Felicity Montague must use all her womanly wits and wiles to achieve her dreams of becoming a doctor—even if she has to scheme her way across Europe to do it. A must-have for fans of Mackenzi Lee’s extraordinary and Stonewall Honor-winning novel.

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. (Goodreads)

The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy is the second book in the Montague Siblings series by Mackenzi Lee was probably one of my most anticipated new books for this month, and I absolutely couldn’t wait to get started on the story. I read the first book in the series, The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue, back in it was first released, and I couldn’t wait to get started on this sequel to see what would happen next in the story. I definitely was not disappointed!!

The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy is Felicity’s story, and picks up about a year after where The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue leaves off. I loved Felicity in the first book, and I was super excited to read her story to get to know more about her. She’s such an interesting character, and I enjoyed following her on her adventure. I also love that a lot of the characters that I loved from the first book make appearances in this story as well, and are included just enough to satisfy your curiosity and make you glad to see them, but not so much as to take over Felicity’s story completely. It was nice to ‘see’ them all again though!

I love that the storyline for this book is historical, but also has just a small tough of fantasy in it as well! It definitely kept me curious as I turned the pages. But, while I really enjoyed the storyline, there were also a few things in it that made me angry as well. A lot of it was the from the treatment of women and people of color, which was definitely relevant to the time period in which this book was set. These are just some of the parts of history that I hate reading about, yet I’m glad it was included in the story, because it is a great reminder of how far we have come, and how far we still need to go.

Overall; The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy was an excellent sequel to The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue! I really enjoyed the story so much, but I also hate to see the series end. If Makenzi wanted to write more books with these characters, I would totally read them. If you’re looking for a quick, fun series to read that includes diversity and eye-opening historical issues that are still somewhat relevant today, do check out The Montague Siblings series by Mackenzi Lee!!

My Thoughts: The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue (Audiobook)

The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue
(Montague Siblings #1)
by Mackenzi Lee
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Publication Date: June 27th 2017
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Pages: 513
ISBN: 9780062382801
(Audiobook ISBN: 9780062743114)
Genre: Young Adult | Historical | LGBT | Romance
Source: Own

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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. (Goodreads)

I originally read The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee back when it was first set to release, and for some reason forgot to review the book for my blog. With the book’s sequel, The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy coming out soon, (October!), I thought it would the perfect time to re-read the book to refresh my brain before starting the sequel. I have to say, I think I enjoyed this book even more the second time than I did the first time I read it!

Let’s first talk about the characters in the book. The main character in the story is Henry “Monty” Montague, who was born a gentleman, but is a rogue by nature. If I had to describe Henry in one word, the first word that comes to mind is ‘rascal’. Reading the story from his point of view was interesting, to say the least, and I found myself laughing out loud and rolling my eyes at all the things he, his best friend, Percy, and his sister, Felicity, go through throughout the book. You couldn’t help but love them all, and I can’t wait to see what’s in store for them in the next book.

The storyline for this book was definitely fast-paced, and full of action. Just when I thought Monty and his crew couldn’t get into any more trouble, they did, and I literally flew through the pages to see what was going to happen to them next. I also really enjoyed the setting for the book. The idea of traveling Europe is awesome, and I really enjoyed the descriptions of it throughout the book.

I also want to add that I opted to listen to the audiobook for my second read of this book, and it was absolutely fantastic! I had to stop just a few chapters into the book to look up the narrator, because he was doing such a wonderful job with the story, and I wanted to know who was reading the story. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that this book is narrated by Christian Coulson, who happens to be the actor who played Tom Riddle in the Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets movie.  Seriously, he did an excellent job narrating this story, and if you have the opportunity to check the book out in audiobook format, I highly recommend you do so!

Overall; The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue has it all... An awesome, diverse cast, a fast-paced and addictive storyline, and a main character who lands himself into more trouble than you’d think would be possible. This was a very enjoyable read, and I can’t wait to get started on the second book, The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy, which is all about Felicity and her dreams of becoming a doctor. I’m super excited to get started on it! If you’re looking for a fun series, do check out the Montague Siblings series by Mackenzi Lee!!

Waiting on Wednesday #329 - The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy & Muse of Nightmares

The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy
(Montague Siblings #2)
by Mackinzi Lee
Website | Twitter | Instagram

Publication Date: October 2nd 2018
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
ISBN: 9780062795328

Add to Goodreads

Available for Pre-Order:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository

Felicity Montague is through with pretending she prefers society parties to books about bone setting—or that she’s not smarter than most people she knows, or that she cares about anything more than her dream of becoming a doctor.

A year after an accidentally whirlwind tour of Europe, which she spent evading highwaymen and pirates with her brother Monty, Felicity has returned to England with two goals in mind—avoid the marriage proposal of Callum Doyle, 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 small window of hope opens. Doctor Alexander Platt, an eccentric physician that Felicity idolizes, is looking for research assistants, and Felicity is sure that someone as forward thinking as her hero would be willing to take her on. However, Platt is in Germany, preparing to wed Felicity’s estranged childhood friend Johanna. Not only is Felicity reluctant to opening old wounds, she also has no money 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 will lead her from the German countryside to the promenades of Zurich to secrets lurking beneath the Atlantic. (Goodreads)

Is anyone else really excited to read this book??
I read The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue last year,

and really enjoyed the story.
I plan to re-read it this month before starting this sequel!!

Muse of Nightmares
(Strange the Dreamer #2)
by Laini Taylor
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Publication Date: October 2nd 2018
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
ISBN: 9780316341714

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In the wake of tragedy, neither Lazlo nor Sarai are who they were before. One a god, the other a ghost, they struggle to grasp the new boundaries of their selves as dark-minded Minya holds them hostage, intent on vengeance against Weep.

Lazlo faces an unthinkable choice—save the woman he loves, or everyone else?—while Sarai feels more helpless than ever. But is she? Sometimes, only the direst need can teach us our own depths, and Sarai, the muse of nightmares, has not yet discovered what she's capable of.

As humans and godspawn reel in the aftermath of the citadel's near fall, a new foe shatters their fragile hopes, and the mysteries of the Mesarthim are resurrected: Where did the gods come from, and why? What was done with thousands of children born in the citadel nursery? And most important of all, as forgotten doors are opened and new worlds revealed: Must heroes always slay monsters, or is it possible to save them instead?

Love and hate, revenge and redemption, destruction and salvation all clash in this gorgeous sequel to the New York Times bestseller, Strange the Dreamer. (Goodreads)

So, I haven't actually started this series yet,

but I'm pretty excited to finally do so!
I've had Strange the Dreamer on my TBR for too long,

and I'm really excited to read these books together!!

**"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking The Spine,
that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.**