The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue

This book is exactly what people mean by the phrase "wild romp". It's vaguely historical fiction, veering off into fantasy in a number of ways. It muddies the waters between what probably happened and what might have happened and what absolutely did not happen. But it's entertaining, even when it goes off the rails.

The main character, Monty, is a complete disaster. As most eighteen year olds are. He's lived a life mixed with privilege and punishment. On the surface he has everything he wants. But scratch that surface and he can't have anything he actually wants. And he mostly deals with that by trying not to think too hard about what he wants. And drinking way too much. Like I said, he's a disaster. And he spends most of the book as a disaster. But by the end he's starting to figure some things out, starting to realize that he needs to change and how and why he needs to change.

I was by turns exasperated and charmed by Monty and his sister, Felicity, and friend, Percy. They are such teenagers sometimes. Figuring life out and making huge mistakes and feeling their way forward. Overall the book was fun, but something I probably would have liked a lot more had I encountered it in high school.

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