The Gentleman’s Guide to Getting Lucky (Montague Siblings #1.5) by Mackenzi Lee
Historical Fiction | Romance | LGBTQ | Novella | Young Adult
Published by Katherine Tegen Books
Released November 26th, 2019
Goodreads | Amazon
Rating: 
One of my biggest book-related surprises last year was discovering Mackenzi Lee’s The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue. Young adult historical fiction was a genre I generally avoided for no real reason, but after seeing this book talked about online, I found myself intrigued enough to pick it up. And boy, am I glad I did.
Lee’s Montague Siblings series has quickly become a favorite of mine, and I pre-ordered The Gentleman’s Guide to Getting Lucky as soon as the physical copy was announced. Originally, this novella had been part of a pre-order campaign during the release of The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy, but after her fans kept asking for it, her publisher agreed to do a hardcover release of it.
I haven’t read any of Mackenzi Lee’s non-Montague Siblings books yet (although I definitely want to), but for this particular series, I love how Lee combines humor with serious topics and infuses a bit of magic into her world. All of these books were an absolute delight to read, and I’m already planning on re-reading them when the third book, The Nobleman’s Guide to Scandal and Shipwrecks, is released in mid-2020.
This novella focuses on Monty and Percy, the main characters from The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue. It takes place after the events in that book and picks up with them living on a beach with Monty’s sister, Felicity, and a group of sailors.
Monty and Percy are life-long best friends who have been in love with one another secretly for years and are finally together as a couple. The Gentleman’s Guide to Getting Lucky is about the beginning of their relationship, specifically the first time they, ahem, get lucky.
The story was definitely entertaining, infused with Lee’s humor and the perfect characters that she’s developed. I devoured it in about an hour the same day I received it in the mail, and I really enjoyed it.
I have a difficult time with novellas because I find that I always want more of the story, and that was true of this. I wanted it to continue on so that I could see more of the life that Monty and Percy built together. That said, however, the story was adorable, and is a great example that romances and love-making are not always perfect the way it’s portrayed literally everywhere. Fuck-ups and hilarious things happen, and it’s okay. It’s real life.
Another aspect of the story that I enjoyed was that Monty was very respectful of Percy not wanting to jump into sex right away. As this is a young adult book, it was nice to see that and is something that I hope young people pick up on and internalize.
Overall, if you’re a fan of the Montague Siblings series, you’re going to want to read this. However, if those stories didn’t do anything for you, you’ll get absolutely nothing out of this. I enjoyed it, and whenever I do re-reads of the series I’ll read it. I hope more novellas and novels are in the future for this series!
Read Yourself Happy 
I absolutely adored The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue and I can’t wait to read this one! I’m glad you liked it. 💕
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Thanks for sharing your review. Do you have any winter book suggestions?
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Nice review! I am the same way and don’t generally steer towards YA (or any) historical fiction. However, I did pick up and read The Gentleman’s Guide to V&V and absolutely LOVED IT. I loved Lee’s sense of humor and the setting so I would love to pick up this book! Going on the TBR. =]
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