Name: The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy
Rating: 4.063157894736842 (190 reviews)
ISBN: 9780062795335

Mackenzi Lee

The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy

sharkie

This!!!! I’ve been putting off reading this book for quite a while tbh, probably since I read the last one and I just got to it. AND IM SO MAD I DIDN’T SOONER!!

It was just so good, so well written, so interesting!! I really enjoyed reading Felicity’s adventure and how she grew through the journey! Along with the lil Monty x Percy parts being wonderful, I also really loved Johanna and Sim a lot and I just think all the female characters in this book are so strong and amazing and I just really enjoyed reading about them all. The rep in this series is always just immaculate and I love reading about such a time period in a more modern light!

Jamieson

okay - I had heard some mixed reviews on this but I ended up quite liking it! The adventure was so engrossing and I loved the presence of DRAGONS. I also really liked the new characters and Felicity's character growth was good. I definitely found this super addictive and I kept reaching for it all the time which is great. AND PERCY AND MONTY ARE SO FCKIN SWEET !!!

But there were some things that kind didn't sit right I will go into when I write my full review. 

I'm tossing up between a 3 and 4 star but I'll let it sit for now

Thais Souza Passos

It was so good ♥️♥️♥️ But some things didn’t go well for me, like that ending and also some moments in which I thought the story had reached a sort of ending, but Mackenzi just added more stuff, but it was a good and funny book, tho ♥️♥️♥️

Tate

Rating: 3.5
Favorite Quote: “You deserve to be here. You deserve to exist. You deserve to take up space in this world of men.”

Summary: Felicity Montague has returned to England with one goal - to enroll in medical school. Despite her high intellect and impressive knowledge of anatomy, the men of the medical school board refuse to look past her gender. On the slim chance of getting taken on as an apprentice to her idol physician, Felicity, and a companion flee to Germany to attend his wedding to Felicity’s ex-childhood best friend. 

Review: Felicity Montague is an endearing character. She has grown up with different ambitions than her peers. However, my favorite character in this book was Johanna. Johanna’s femininity, kindness, and dreams were compatible with her drive and curiosity, and seeing all of these traits within a character made me really identify and connect with her character. Felicity and Johanna’s friendship was lovely and their connection was so deeply rooted in being outcasts as children but also as they grow into women and we see that bond change as they grow. Sim was introduced as a mysterious character but as the story unfolded I grew to deeply admire her. Felicity and Sim’s ambitions were different but they complimented each other magnificently! Felicity and Sim are utterly capable women who if only given the chance, would excel but they are both being held back by men in positions of power. Felicity’s asexuality was not invalidated or treated as an oddity. The discussion between Felicity and Sim about a potential romantic relationship was a serious and bittersweet one that was treated with grace. Monty and Percy’s appearance was a highlight and they arguably are much more captivating characters than Felicity as narrators, perhaps because of how single minded Felicity was about achieving her ambition. I loved getting to see Monty (and Monty and Percy’s relationship) from Felicity’s perspective. The adventure aspect of this book was interesting and I appreciated the moral questions raised as well as the discussion raised about colonization. The feminine friendships were what kept me reading when the book started to feel a little dull or overly drawn out. The brother and sister relationship between Monty and Felicity is rocky; they are both flawed but they support one another as only siblings can!

Nicole Dykeman

I ADORED this book. I listened to it on audio, and the narrator was fabulous. It passes the Bechdel test. There’s an asexual main character, as well as lesbian, gay, and bisexual representation. There’s also POC representation. And none of it feels forced or unnatural. What more could I ask for?

Felicity is such a fun, engaging character—she’s an even better main character than a side character! She’s ambitious, proud, and confident, but still flawed. I loved her mantra. She deserves to be here, truly. Her relationship with Joanna might be my favorite part of the book—seeing two girls strengthen their friendship in the face of male adversity was so lovely. I love that no one ends up in a romantic relationship. The explicit acknowledgement of Felicity’s asexuality was so important to me. Her thirst for knowledge is neverending. Her feisty attitude toward the men who try to put her down is admirable. I just love Felicity Montague with all of my heart. This novel was so well-written and refreshing, and I wish this book had been around when I was younger. It would have meant the world to me then, just as it does now. 

The cameos from Monty and Percy we’re absolutely adorable. My heart nearly stopped toward the end of the book. No spoilers, but I can’t believe Mackenzi Lee would do that to me. AGH I was stressed. As much as I adore Monty and Percy’s relationship with one another, I almost adore their relationships with Felicity even more. I’ve said it in reviews before, but as an older sibling myself, I’m a sucker for strong and supportive sibling relationships. 

I really can not recommend this book enough. I’ll be raving about it forever.

courtney garrison

I don’t know really where to start with this one there’s a lot of thoughts here. I absolutely adored Gentlemen’s guide and Mackenzie’s writing. This one just didn’t quite hold up for me.

Your MC is Felicity and she is hell bent on becoming a doctor. When she is denied admission she goes on a quest to meet dr.platt. Along the way she meets a friend to help her get there and is soon thrust in to a wild adventure including dragons.

My main issue with this book is that Felicity just felt like she lost her spark to me. She felt so isolated, she wasn’t herself like in gentlemen’s guide. She felt like a whole new character to me. I loved her witty and sarcastic personality in gentlemen’s guide.

My second and I my get hate for this was how much the feminism was shoved in your face. I enjoy stories about female empowerment and success but to me it was every other sentence was about how men sucked, not the story. She seems so set in her ways to me about being a doctor and men blocking her from that that she was crappy to Johanna. Not to mention she basically used her friend to get to try and meet dr.platt.

I love Felicity, Monty and Percy, but this story lacked, the big part of it didn’t even come into play till the end. I loved it but just wish it would have happened faster instead of coming all together at the end. I felt like she was a sidekick to Johanna’s journey more than having her own.

Johanna I absolutely adored and loved. She called out Felicity on so much. The big thing she called out was that she felt Felicity looked down on her because she liked dresses and social Parties. I absolutely loved that aspect because that was true feminism to me. You support women’s choices whether they are career driven or want to wear dresses.

I love that felicity was asexual. Sim is also a poc and is was amazing to read more about her, her father and where she came from. I think it was an opportunity to touch on racism and colonialism with her character, but sadly there was little to none brought up.

As always the queer rep with Monty and Percy was fabulous, their scenes were hilarious to read. I love Monty and Percy being such strong characters, but having scenes at the beginning took the spot light off Felicity and made her seem more like a child than a strong woman.

Overall I gave this 3.7 because while it is a favorite and I enjoyed it. I feel like some areas could have used more work.

Andy Bayliss

3.5***
loved it but just not as much as the first book

Sahi K

Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue is the book that made me believe that historical fiction can be fun too while being diverse and giving us the perspective of those whose stories we don't hear often enough. I have been waiting to read more of Felicity's adventures and I'm so glad that this one didn't disappoint.

Felicity Montague is a sassy badass woman who wants to become a doctor in a world that will never let her but that doesn't stop her from pursuing all possible avenues, however far fetching they may seem. Despite seeming very ambitious and going off on her usual rants about equality for women and the unfairness of the society, she still feels insecure sometimes about the societal expectations placed on her, how life would be simpler if she could be satisfied being someone's wife. But she never lets these insecurities unsettle her and gives herself constant pep talks to believe in her choices. As the story progresses, she realises her own flaws and prejudices and works to better herself while also gaining an understanding  that her path to knowledge might be slightly different than the one she originally planned.

Johanna is the epitome of femininity and compassion and smashes the stereotype of the "strong female character" that we so often see in YA. She loves her dresses and parties, always has a smile on her face and is very charming in social situations, and she also wants to do everything she can to follow in her mother's footsteps and restore her scientific legacy. I love how she stands up for her principles but is also ready to own up to her biases when challenged. But the best part - she is a devoted animal lover and her dog Max is the most adorable one ever. And the scene with the baby sea dragon... I almost cried 😢😢😢

Sim is the swashbuckling African Muslim hijabi pirate we never knew we needed. She is cunning and sassy and brave and just wants to fight for her birthright to inherit her father's pirate fleet. She is very strong in her convictions and never backs down from an argument and the frenemy-ish dynamic she develops with Felicity is my favorite part of the book.

And coming to my adorable babies... Monty and Percy. They just light up the page with all their love whenever they show up and I was waiting for all the little moments. I almost teared up reading about their dire living situation but Monty is still his old flirty delightful self, and nothing can get him down while Percy is his side. It's also very endearing to see how much closer Monty and Felicity have grown and the ends to which Monty and Percy go to protect her is just awesome. She is definitely lucky to be part of that Monty-Percy sandwich 😍😍😍

I just love how easy it is to read and get lost in Mackenzi's writing. Her charming demeanor definitely reflects in her words and that's why this series is so much fun. I especially love that this book while being an adventure tale, gives us a portrait of the misogyny and the discrimination against women at the time and the lives of those ladies who relentlessly fought for their rights when everything was stacked against them. The other most important thread I enjoyed in this book is the importance of friendship and female solidarity. The bond that Felicity, Johanna and Sim form during the course of their journey is very admirable to read about and something we all can learn from.

The author follows the same tone of writing as in Gentleman's Guide - using the quirky humor to give subtle commentary on various social issues. Misogyny is the main theme here because each of these amazing women are fighting for their rightful place in the world. Despite wanting to be a doctor and live an independent life, Felicity is still a victim of internalized misogyny, and it takes an intense conversation with Johanna for her to realize how quickly she used to judge other women for making choices different than hers, and that strong women come in all forms. The extremely problematic views that we hear from men along the way made me very angry and frustrated because unfortunately, people who think like this still exist in our world.

The other theme that is very subtle and might not feel very impactful but I felt very differently about was colonization. As the daughter of an African pirate commodore, Sim has a very opposing perspective to the narrow minded European view that Johanna and Felicity share. The conflict between Johanna's insistence on opening up the resources of the islands for the sake of science and research, and Sim's protectiveness for her people and natural resources is depicted with a lot of care; and it's clearly pointed out that the European justification for colonization for the good of the people is a boatload of crap.

We also get some awesome aroace rep in the form of Felicity and it's done wonderfully, especially in a time period when it was a woman's duty to marry and procreate. She has many internal monologues questioning her feelings and not being able to explain to others about the same, but I love that she finds peace within herself towards the end. Sim flirts with her in such adorable ways, sometimes even through arguments... it was very cute to read. Despite the possibility for a beautiful sapphic romance, I'm glad that the author portrays their sexualities independent of each other. And it's great that none of their orientations are depicted as wrong. My only gripe is that while she is understanding of the love that Monty and Percy share, and even calls Percy her brother, Felicity still thinks of their relationship as sinful in her head and I wish she had evolved beyond that.

If you loved Gentleman's Guide, you might find this book slightly less adventurous and more forceful in it's message - but in this age of persistent women trying to fight for better gender equality, I feel this is a great book with an empowering story featuring badass women taking down the patriarchy in their own ways.

Grace O'Callaghan

This is the adventurous sequel to ‘The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue’ starring Felicity, Monty’s younger sister. After the events of the first book Felicity finds herself in Edinburgh working for a baker as she tries to find somewhere to study as a physician. But things aren’t quite going according to plan when the baker proposes to her. Felicity heads back to London in a panic, hoping to find her dreams there. When it seems like all hope is lost there also, she is led back to the continent where thieving, meeting her idol, pirates and stitching are involved in an adventure of a lifetime.

Where to begin with this book? I don’t know quite how to put into words how I felt, but I’m sure I can manage.

• To begin with, Felicity is one of my favourite characters ever. I honestly don’t know how Mackenzi Lee managed it, but she did. I completely adore Felicity. She is prickly and sarcastic and clever and confident and I just love her for it. She is clearly a Slytherin as she’s so ambitious and will stop at nothing to accomplish her dreams. However, she is still an incredibly flawed character in that she is misogynistic at times, but we see her grow into a more accepting person.

• Sim was a really interesting character that I loved exploring. Felicity and her both have some amazing banter. But she also keeps Felicity in check when she goes on an ‘I’m not like other girls’ rant. Sim was just so badass as well and the great Muslim pirate princess I didn’t know I needed.

• A fun addition to Sim and Felicity was Johanna. We’re introduced to her through Felicity’s eyes as someone who was once clever, brave and wanting an adventure into someone who likes pretty dresses and is getting married just to settle. Of course this is complete nonsense and Felicity Montague is put in her place as Johanna tells her how she has made her feel by thinking her ridiculous for liking pretty things and parties. 

• Let’s quickly talk about the cameos of Monty and Percy. They were just both so bloody adorable and I need more of it.

• Mackenzi Lee’s writing was yet again the star of the show. I swear I shall read everything she writes because it’s just so witty and fun to read. Historical fiction is often associated with dense and long descriptions but Lee displays her historian nerd self by keeping it light and fast paced.

• Piracy plot and that’s me in. I mean what else could you want. Fast paced I here you ask? Check. Girl Gang? Check. Pirates and thievery? Check. Slightly fantastical creatures? Check. It’s all I could ask of a plot that ticks all my boxes.

• I also loved all the discussions in here. There were so many about race, sexism, sexuality (specifically asexuality, though not written explicitly on the page), menstruation and more.

All in all, a phenomenal follow up to an already quality book. I’ve read GG twice now and I’ve only given it 4.5 but I feel like it’s more of a five as I think about his series and these characters do much. Does anyone else think there may be a third book which follows the Goblin?

Kaitee Tredway

Delightful! Though, I am SO partial to Monty’s snark. I missed it.

Luna

this was a very high 3 star for me because the feminism and the ace rep were absolutely iconic. but it still had the ya trope of “i believe everything i see and have absolutely no faith in my loved ones”.

Cameron Austin

This was just absolutely boring. And it took a long time for it to get somewhere, and even when it got there it was still not quite there, if that makes sense

laura

I thought this book was such a fun adventure. I really loved being in felicity head. I really loved how LEE crafted this world. I also loved how many different settings this book included. I also really enjoyed how this book handled the topics of race, women rights and just women kicking but and taking names. I thought the pacing in this book had some slow moments but overall it was a solid read. This book was def a fun read and I really loved seeing former characters as well. I thought the hits of LGBTQ romance was so well done. And I really am curious what book is coming next!

Paige Green

Disclaimer: I received an arc of this book and then bought my own copy before the author did the incredibly stupid thing where she signed other authors books, a lot of them POC. Also she didn’t apologize publically. Not cool Mackenzie. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy

Author: Mackenzi Lee

Book Series: Montague Siblings Book 2

Rating: 2.5/5

Diversity: Muslim side character, gay and lesbian characters

Publication Date: October 2, 2018

Genre: YA Fantasy

Recommended Age: 16+ (language, violence, romance, sexual content)

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books

Pages: 450

Amazon Link

Synopsis: 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.

Review: I thought this was a well done book for the most part. The book had well developed characters and funny moments. The world building was marvelous as well and I loved the history behind this book. I also loved that the author continued Monty and Percy’s story.

However, there were a lot of points in this book that I thought the author could have done more. I’ve always pictured Felicity as asexual and while the author seemed to be reaching for that, she didn’t really get there in my opinion. The ending left you with a sense of incompleteness. The romance between Felicity and a certain pirate were incomplete as well and I wish that the author just did more to make this a full circle. The book also didn’t have a real life historical component to it like the first book did and I think that makes the book weaker.

Verdict: It could have been more, but it felt like the author got lazy in her writing.

The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy

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