“The Gentleman’s Guide to Getting Lucky” by Mackenzi Lee

Book Review | Rating – 3/5 | Genre – Young adult/Historical-Romance

This was a book I requested after reading the first book, The Gentlemans’ Guide to Vice and Virtue many years ago. Thankfully, my mum was kind enough to buy me this for my birthday, which was hilarious considering the title.

This was also a good stepping stone back to fiction after reading David Sedaris’ book (check that review out here). So, here is the review…

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In this funny and frothy novella that picks up where the New York Times bestselling The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue leaves off, freshly minted couple Monty and Percy fumble through their first time together.

Monty’s epic grand tour may be over, but now that he and Percy are finally a couple, he realizes there is something more nerve-wracking than being chased across Europe: getting together with the person you love.

Will the romantic allure of Santorini make his first time with Percy magical, or will all the anticipation and build-up completely spoil the mood? (Check it out here)

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What did I think?

Unfortunately, I was rather let down by this one. My first thought is that I was rather taken aback by it being a novella, having not thought through what I was actually going to be reading.

The overall plot I rather enjoyed, getting rediscover the characters I enjoyed from the first book. It was also great to see gay characters exploring sex in such an open and honest way. Not spoiling the book, but the resolution is a very real portrayal of any relationship.

My main criticism would be the rather child-ish feel to the book. Ignoring the overall subject of the book, it read and even aesthetically looked like it could’ve been a child’s book. This did take me out of my overall love of the book.

Reasons to read The Gentleman’s Guide to Getting Lucky…

• Great character development: its a great way to see how the characters grow outside of the original books’ arc. Even in the short story, you’re able to see more about these characters and how the feel towards events from the previous book and what is going on in the present.
• Short and Sweet: this was one of those moments where I didn’t mind how short the book was. The plot didn’t need to be any longer and tied up events nicely by the end.

At the end of the day…

I feel like this would’ve been one of those books that I could’ve really loved. The characters were as great as when they were last seen in the first book, and the story was great to see for the first time. If only the book could’ve felt slightly more grown-up than it was presented.

This hasn’t put me off the rest of the collection, wanting to get my hands on the next book to see what happens next.