The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy

The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy (2018) Mackenzi Lee

Set in Europe and other locales in the 1700s.

Oh this was FUN!

The sequel to The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue follows Felicity Montague, a young woman who does not want to be a proper lady but instead wants more than anything to be a doctor. She’s spent the past year trying to get into medical colleges and been denied at every turn. So she returns to London and her brother Monty, to regroup.

Felicity is a nerd who has no interest in society or marriage or anything else that is to be expected to young women of her time.

It is, I must confess, the most excited I have ever been in Callum’s presence. I can’t remember the last time I was so excited. Here I am with an actual medical emergency and no male physicians to push me out of the way to handle it. With a chunk of his finger missing, Callum is the most interesting he has ever been to me.

I’m far more comfortable discussing epilepsy than fornication.

“I’m talking about menstruation, sir!” I shout in return.

It’s like I set the hall on fire, manifested a venomous snake from thin air, also set that snake on fire, and then threw it at the board. The men all erupt into protestations and a fair number of horrified gasps. I swear one of them actually swoons at the mention of womanly bleeding.

We do get to see Monty and Percy in this book, and although he’s much better (for one, he’s sober) Monty remains indomitable.

My brother, always one for histrionics, has made his fall into poverty as dramatic as possible.

What makes this book awesome:

1. Felicity is probably an ace.
2. Things do not work out for Felicity in any way she might have hoped. But it’s ok (the same is true for Monty and Precy).
3. Felicity discovers that perhaps she has some blame for the failure of her friendship with Johanna.

Also: there are three strong, independent female characters, all different and opinionated, and eventually they learn to accept themselves (and each other) for who they are.

Your beauty is not a tax you are required to pay to take up space in this world.

(Y)ou should not be frightened of the darkness, but instead be sure that the most frightening thing in it is you.

It’s lovely, and unlike the first book, it took me no time at all to dive in, since I’d already met and liked Felicity.

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Rating: 9/10

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