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The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue – Mackenzi Lee
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.
With a title and cover like that, how can I resist? Right off that bat, I know it was going to be a fun, lighthearted read with adventure and laughter and kissing at the end. And indeed it is.
The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue is about Monty, his sister Felicity and his best friend Percy and their Grand Tour gone awry (to be expected because Monty). Feckless is a word I learned recently and it is something that can be used to describe Monty, along with fun-loving and not the brightest spark in the room. Monty’s sister Felicity can throw a better punch than him. Probably the only things we can commend him on are his indecent supply of good looks and that he really does love Percy with all the love his silly little heart can give. Felicity is the nose-buried-in-a-book/can-do-anything type aka the smarter one and Percy is a music loving, well-mannered guy whose darker looks makes him a bit more circumspect with his behavior compared to his more reckless best friend.
If this was a movie, the visual style, storytelling and soundtrack might be something like what Sofia Coppola did with Marie Antoinette. Not entirely accurate but still gives a good sense of time, place and mood. This would also have been a solid 5-star book had it been a little more concise but I felt it was stretched out a tad too long like the author felt the trio had to have as many misadventures and go to as many places as possible before resolving everything.
Rating:
3 Stars – not exactly setting my world on fire but I liked itSoundtrack: City of Culture
Artist: Slow Riot
Album:(source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29283884-the-gentleman-s-guide-to-vice-and-virtue)
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Triangle – Fuuke Mame
When one childhood friend passed away, the two who were left behind reminisce the love from the past and the present.
I hate cockblocks! Happily, there was a new beginning.
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Coming Home – Jay Northcote
Jago returns to his home in the wilds of Cornwall, and is looking forward to catching up with old friends after a term away at university. When he’s reunited with Will—his best mate from sixth-form college and last summer’s fling—Jago’s feelings for him are rekindled and impossible to ignore.
Over the short winter break, Jago can’t resist taking whatever Will’s offering. But will the New Year bring new beginnings? Or will Jago be left with more bittersweet memories and a heart that needs to heal again?
Jay Northcote is a new to me author and Coming Home is a not bad story about friends who had a summer fling and now had to deal with the awkwardness of seeing each other again. This is a short story but I liked how the author fleshed out the details so it didn’t feel like things were rushed. I’m lukewarm about the couple but I liked the holiday atmosphere and the Brit stuff.
Rating:
2.5 Stars – far from hate but not quite a likeSoundtrack: Barbed Wire Love
Artist: Stiff Little Fingers
Album: Pure Fingers(source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19003291-coming-home)
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Tonaride Hanasaku Oto ga Shita -Miyoshi Ayato
Love. It comes all of a sudden even to delinquents. A pint-sized punk is fascinated by the earnestness of the black-haired, pessimistic committee chairman; two punks start going out only as a defiance to everyday monotony; and two boys cut classes at their usual spot, the rooftop, where they end up having an adult relationship. Also after that, extras on these three couples. Triple features, satisfaction guaranteed. A compilation of oneshots packed with the follies of youth. Sensei, an impure same-sex friendship, what’s that?
Love these punk homos!
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All Roads Lead to You – Harper Fox
Successful British model Sam was making a big name for himself on the catwalks of Rome when he met and fell head over heels in love with Lauro, a waiter in a pizza restaurant. Lauro, charming and naïve, returned all Sam’s affection, and they enjoyed one passionate summer in the vibrant city and the wild campagna countryside beyond. But Sam had big dreams. He accepted a modelling assignment in New York and left his pizza boy behind.
Now Sam is back, older and wiser. But Lauro is older and wiser too. Can the city of eternal romance work its magic on these two star-crossed lovers?
Cat Sebastian mentioned Harper Fox in an interview as one of the good ones out there. I have been meaning to read her Tyack & Frayne series for some time now. All Roads Lead to You is a mediocre fare and probably not the best representative of the author’s works. It is likable but predictable. Main points of interest for me is the “low-key Don Corleone” part and the glorious Italian food.
Rating:
2.5 Stars – far from hate but not quite a likeSoundtrack: Beautiful People
Artist: Modern English
Album: Pillow Lips(source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15513854-all-roads-lead-to-you)
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Senaka made no Kiyori – Kuneida Saika
Ishikawa feels that his relationship with Yamaguchi has entered a stale period. Why is Yamaguchi ignoring him, and how can he get the spark back?
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San Andreas Shifters: Sumage Solution – G.L. Carriger
Can a gentle werewolf heal the heart of a smart-mouthed mage?
NYT bestseller Gail Carriger, writing as G. L. Carriger, presents an offbeat gay romance in which a sexy werewolf with a white knight complex meets a bad boy mage with an attitude problem. Sparks (and other things) fly.
Max fails everything – magic, relationships, life. So he works for DURPS (the DMV for supernatural creatures) as a sumage, cleaning up other mages’ messes. The job sucks and he’s in no mood to cope with redneck biker werewolves. Unfortunately, there’s something oddly appealing about the huge, muscled Beta visiting his office for processing.
Bryan AKA Biff (yeah, he knows) is gay but he’s not out. There’s a good chance Max might be reason enough to leave the closet, if he can only get the man to go on a date. Everyone knows werewolves hate mages, but Bryan is determined to prove everyone wrong, even the mage in question.
I tuned out most of the time. Always a bad sign.This could have been really good. This could have been epic. This needs better world building, less sex talk and insta-lust, and more focus on shifter issues. There is the supposedly humorous banter but it was mostly just sexual innuendos. I was hoping for shifter vs mage/shifter vs shifter battles, human/mage/shifter politics, more magic stuff but it was mostly smut. There was nothing going on. It really didn’t help that the voices in the audiobook sounds similar. It’s a waste of the shifter and sumage concept. If Max was was an ordinary DMV employee and Biff was a typical biker, it wouldn’t have made any difference to the story. This book is a DNF.
Rating:
1 Star – I feel really sorry for the trees they killed for this book
Soundtrack: Howl
Artist: Florence + the Machine
Album: Lungs(source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35112713-the-sumage-solution)
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Akujiki no Dinner – Ogawa Chise
About a vampire with peculiar taste.
You are going to have questions after reading this and wish for more chapters.
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REVIEW: Single Malt by Layla Reyne
Agents Irish and Whiskey: Single Malt – Layla Reyne
The heart’s a resilient beast
Eight months after the car crash that changed everything, FBI agent Aidan Talley is back at work. New department, new case and a new partner. Smart, athletic and handsome, Jameson Walker is twelve years his junior. Even if Aidan was ready to move on—and he’s not—Jamie is off-limits.
Jamie’s lusted after Aidan for three years, and the chance to work with San Francisco’s top agent directly is too good to pass up. Aidan is prickly—to put it mildly—but a growing cyber threat soon proves Jamie’s skills invaluable.
Jamie’s talents paint a target on his back, and Aidan is determined to protect him. But with hack after hack threatening a high-security biocontainment facility, time is running out to thwart a deadly terrorist attack. They’ll have to filter out distractions, on the case and in their partnership, to identify the real enemy, solve the case and save thousands of lives, including their own.
God, I was bored. I found myself tuning out majority of the time because it was so dull. If this was an ebook, I wouldn’t be able to finish this. But I had the audiobook and I enjoyed Aidan’s Irish brogue and Jamie’s southern drawl enough to go through the whole thing but it mostly felt like a chore. Both agents were likeable but I couldn’t care less about the the mystery, the romance and the characters. A lot of people seem to love this. I’m beginning to think contemporary books and me just don’t click. I should stick with the historical, paranormal or magical.
Rating:
2 Stars – it’s a struggle to finish the damn book
Soundtrack: 300 M.P.H. Torrential Outpour Blues
Artist: The White Stripes
Album: Icky Thump(source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33296928-single-malt)
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Entrance – Hayashi Rice
At the entrance where he told me goodbye, I still wait where he left me behind.
It’s that one-door-closes-another-one-opens kind of thing.
