Publication date: June 27 2017
Published by: Katherine Tegen Books
Genre: Young Adult, Romance, Historical, LGBTQ,
Rating:
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.
So long it took me to read this - if I had known how disappointed I would be, I would have gladly waited more :/
Don't get me wrong, it started out great!
Romance? ✅
MM? ✅
Historical? ✅
England? ✅
Earls, dukes and whatnot? ✅
What's not to like? Monty was a real rake (mind you, Percy was no better) witty and funny. The first few chapters just flew by and up until the groups leaves for France, it book was truly a delight.
It was after that it started going off course and I kinda lost interest. I could already see from the moment Percy had the
that the book was going a totally different way than I expected. I thought GGVV was going to be about two highborn guys from London, Monty and Percy, and how their relationship blossoms into this great romance while traveling around Europe.
Instead of that, I got alchemy and pirates and a completely different adventure than the one I signed up for, which if I am being honest, didn't even make sense.
I know, my bad. I should have re-read the blurb which I obviously forgot. If I had, I probably wouldn't have picked the book up.
I really disliked the way Felicity and Percy always put Monty down. Yes, he was reckless and he drunk a lot. Boo hoo. He was 18 years old! Percy did exactly the same and no one told him off. But for some inexplicable reason, Monty's actions were reprehensible. And not only that, but no one ever stopped to ask him "Why? Is something wrong? Are you OK?" He suffered so much abuse in the hands of his father, and his own sister who lived in the same house, was so preoccupied with not giving a rat's ass to notice.
And Percy! He always claimed to know Monty so well, but when Monty acts out, Percy gets angry and sooo dramatic. Grow up! For me, Monty was the most honest and no-nonsense character out of all three of them. Team Monty all the way!
Despite Percy not being my favourite person, I'd like to have seen them together with Monty more. There was almost no romance (!) except for that scene in Paris, and it was as if Lee was hesitant to write any scenes between them, filling the space and distracting us with a pointless paranormal story instead.
Another book with a great potential, which unfortunately fell flat pretty early on.
3 stars for what this book could have been, and for the first 100 pages which were really entertaining.
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