The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy by Mackenzi Lee

SYNOPSIS

Felicity Montague is through with pretending she prefers society parties to books about bone setting—or that she’s not smarter than most people she knows, or that she cares about anything more than her dream of becoming a doctor.

A year after an accidentally whirlwind tour of Europe, which she spent evading highwaymen and pirates with her brother Monty, Felicity has returned to England with two goals in mind—avoid the marriage proposal of Callum Doyle, a lovestruck suitor from Edinburgh; and enroll in medical school. However, her intellect and passion will never be enough in the eyes of the administrators, who see men as the sole guardians of science.

But then a small window of hope opens. Doctor Alexander Platt, an eccentric physician that Felicity idolizes, is looking for research assistants, and Felicity is sure that someone as forward thinking as her hero would be willing to take her on. However, Platt is in Germany, preparing to wed Felicity’s estranged childhood friend Johanna. Not only is Felicity reluctant to opening old wounds, she also has no money to make the trip.

Luckily, a mysterious young woman is willing to pay Felicity’s way, so long as she’s allowed to travel with Felicity disguised as her maid. In spite of her suspicions, Felicity agrees, but once the girl’s true motives are revealed, Felicity becomes part of a perilous quest that will lead her from the German countryside to the promenades of Zurich to secrets lurking beneath the Atlantic.

Synopsis from Goodreads

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PERSONAL REVIEW

Last year, writer Mackenzi Lee introduces us to the Montague siblings and all of their insanity in A Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue. After a whirlwind Grand Tour where Monty, his best friend Percy, and sister Felicity travelled to unexpected places, befriended pirates, and narrowly missed death, it was too be expected that a book about Felicity would be equally exciting. In A Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy we follow Felicity’s journey to try to become a doctor, while accidentally stumbling across hidden secrets and once again meeting pirates. Needless to say, the Montague siblings never disappoint.

Strong Women Throughout
Felicity has always wanted to be a doctor and practice medicine, specifically trying to find ways to help women and the poor, a shocking suggestion that results with her being forcibly removed from the college where she is petition for admittance. I’ve loved Felicity since the first book because of her no nonsense attitude and her determination. In her story, we get a chance to see this determination in action as she tries to find someone to train her as a doctor. Along the way, we meet Sim and Joanna, more strong women who are trying to find their place in a world where they have few options. While Felicity actually annoyed me a bit in this book (it was hard to put my finger down on what it was about it this time, but I didn’t love her as much as I had in The Gentleman’s Guide), I still loved reading about her adventures with Sim and Joanna. All of these women are intelligent, determined, and passionate about what they want for themselves. It was wonderful to read about.

Some Monty and Percy Time!
It was so nice to spend time with Monty and Percy again; it wasn’t clear what their future would actually look like after we left them at the end of A Gentleman’s Guide, so this gave us a great look at what their lives are now like. There were some brutal truths to realize — there still is no cure for Percy, so he continues to be in pain — but it’s also lovely to see how they are creating a life together despite the difficult new reality they find themselves in. Monty getting a job was hilarious to read about, and their relationship looks stronger then ever. I won’t say when they meet up with Felicity, but I will say that I enjoyed the moments when the three of them are together again.

Always Read the Author’s Note
Mackenzi Lee continues to be an example of how it’s always a great idea to read the Author’s Note at the end of a book. In both books, she takes the time to explain what life in the 1700s would have been like for these characters, and giving historical details on why she did or didn’t add certain things into her book. One of the things I loved most is when she argues about how women in historical fiction shouldn’t all be complacent because that is not how all women actually were during this time period. For the second time, she has focused on three specific historical themes (Medicine, Naturalism, and Piracy) in her Author’s Note to expand upon so that we can learn what they were actually like in the 1700s and what she has either kept the same or changed for the sake of her book.

Lee is an author that I have come to adore and I had a great time on this second adventure with the Montague siblings. While it seems that their story is at an end, I can’t wait to read more from her in the future, especially if she gives us more historical fiction. I’d highly recommend this to anyone looking for a light historical fiction that brings its characters on semi-unbelievable adventures but still is a wonderful read. If you like A Gentleman’s Guide, you really need to read up A Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy!

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FINAL RATING: 4/5