As 2019 comes to an end, I’m not sure there is anything that could make me happier than a Gentlemen’s Guide novella. Mackenzi Lee’s The Gentlemen’s Guide To Vice and Virtue and companion The Lady’s Guide To Petticoats and Piracy are some of my favorite books, featuring some of my favorite characters, and spending time with them is perfection. I actually saved The Gentlemen’s Guide To Getting Lucky, a novella that was first released as a pre-order incentive, until I could have it in book format, something to be given a space of honor along with the other two books on my bookshelf. I wanted to curl up with the book, and I’m so glad I did because reading it this week was soothing and wonderful, like coming home after a long and arduous journey. The Gentlemen’s Guide to Getting Lucky picks up where the first book leaves of, acting as a bridge between that and The Lady’s Guide To Petticoats and Piracy. Monty, Percy and Felicity are on Santorini, waiting with the crew of the Elefheria for a ride to ports unknown, their futures uncertain and stretched ahead of them. Monty and Percy have finally confessed their love for each other, after years of being stubborn and uncommunicative—so much would have been solved if Henry Montague just said how he felt! On a gorgeous island, nestled into a flat just beyond the sparkling water, the two have settled into a sort of honeymoon bliss, reveling in their recently confessed love for each other.
But when the reality of their future settles in, Monty panics and in full Monty fashion bungles everything. When Felicity suggests leaving Monty and Percy alone in their flat for a night, Monty overthinks it, ruining a lovely night together and starting a huge fight. Monty’s insecurities about the future and whether Percy will stay with him when they leave the island create a monster out of what was supposed to be Percy’s first time, something special the two of them could share.
The novella might be short, just coming in at about 100 pages or so, but it is everything I could have hoped for after reading The Gentlemen’s Guide to Vice and Virtue. It is hilarious and heartfelt and so swoon-worthy. This book felt like a happy sigh after the fast-pace ending of The Gentlemen’s Guide.
I was glad for the realistic discussions that took place between Percy and Monty as they map out their lives together. We often don’t get to see the aftermath of the fade to black, happily ever after that many novels give us. We float on happy, blissful feelings once our favorite couple confesses their feelings in the last pages of a book. I always craved more than that, taking to fanfiction to explore the established relationship moments of my favorite ships. This novella answered that craving and gave readers what we deserve, a moment of reality and truth that never get explored. While awkward, it was refreshing to see Monty and Percy (who have denied their feelings for years) explore the boundaries of their new relationship and discuss the next step in their lives, romantically and domestically.
I hope this novella is one in many different stories that we’ll get of Monty and Percy and with the news that HBO has picked up the series, I just might get that wish. Hopefully soon many more readers and viewers will not only see Monty and Percy on the screen but also get to experience their stories for themselves.
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