Rating: ★★★★
Blurb: 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 Link (From now on all of my reviews will be spoiler-free FYI!) This extremely thick - 500 page - book made its way into my library by word of mouth and tons of praise by LGBT+ blogs I follow. The second my eyes saw “waking up in the arms of women or men,” “hedonistic hurrah,” and “harrowing manhunt” all on the same summary page, the book immediately found its way into my cart. While I’ve owned the book for quite a while and finished it up in February (it’s been a bit, folks), what sparked me to read it was the fact that its sequel has recently arrived and that the show had been optioned for TV and I thought now was the best time to read it. While it sure was a thick one to get through, oh man did this book deliver. I’ve never ever been one for historical fiction but since reading this book it’s been the only thing I’ve been reading. I’m talking genre-changing good, guys. To jump right into it, some of the main issue I took with the book was just some of the vocabulary tossed around, Since the novel takes place in the 1700’s it’s understandable and inviting that the author throws you into the world, but there was a good chunk of reading time that was just me and my phone researching what a fancy word for a vest was. But despite some of the dissonance that comes from the new vocabulary, the characters were still just teenagers facing problems that we have to deal with today which made them all very relatable (for the most part, one or two issues just seem downright medieval). While I always will love a book with a wise-cracking protagonist, I love that we’re also able to see another side to Monty that makes us see how much he really needs to mature and learn over time. His sister, Felicity, who ends up being the lead in the sequel made me so excited to read it after I finished this book, she was so independent and smart she was in comparison to the typical girl that was written about in books pertaining to this era. Finally, Percy. Percy. Besides being the idol of Monty’s dreams, he creates subplots of his own by being the only Black lead character and speaking up about it and his life as an aristocrat surrounded by white people. I became so involved in all of their personal plots and how they intertwined, I entirely forgot this book was sold as an adventure novel. And you know the second that happens because everything in the book just shifts. Characters change, plot change, the whole vibes that come off of the book make your heart race and have you questioning everything. All I was expecting was some Georgian Era bisexual boy crushing over his bestie and having some fun but oh no it turned much more than that and was honestly the book that made me question how I’d never picked up a historical fiction book in my life before this one. The whole Grand Tour aspect of the book really ties it together. From country to country there’s always something new developing in the plot leaving there to be never a dull moment. Whether historical fiction or adventure is your jam or not, this book really is able to get you to invest in both of those genres. I’d extremely recommend this book to anyone, especially people interested in seeing a bisexual lead, talking about racism in a taboo society, and Felicity who is just downright an amazingly intelligent female character.
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