The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy by Mackenzi Lee
My Rating: ★★★★★
After being turned away from every medical school she’s applied to, Felicity has had enough of being judged by her gender rather than potential skill. Then she gets an unwanted marriage proposal and escapes to Monty and Percy’s place with a plan: get into school and stay with her brother. Things go downhill when Felicity is turned away for being a woman yet again, but there’s a bright spot: her idol might take her under his wing in his latest adventure. The downside? He’s about to marry her former friend and there’s no way a letter will get to him in time, so she needs to go in person. With no money and no other prospects, Felicity accepts the offer of a mysterious young woman, Sim, willing to pay Felicity’s way and finds herself on a dangerous quest that puts her and her new and old friends to the test.
I loved the first book so much that I couldn’t wait to get my hands on this one. Sadly, the opening is boring and it takes a while for the story to get rolling. When it finally picks up, we hit part two and that’s when Lee takes us on an amazing journey. I don’t think there will be a third in the series, but if there is, I will be there in an instant.
The first book focused on Monty and Percy and this one focuses on Monty’s sister, Felicity. I love Felicity, but she is close minded and set in her ways. That said, the book is a journey that helps Felicity grow as a person and realize that she’s closed herself off because she has always been so focused on getting into medical school and becoming a physician. It was great to watch her grow and open her mind as well as learn more about herself and her own character flaws. It was also really interesting to see her meet up with her old friend, Johanna, and discover that Felicity was the main reason that their friendship ended. I loved watching Felicity come to that realization as she is confronted with how she feels and the events that happened in the past.
I loved following her adventures with her old friend, Johanna, as well as her new friend, Sim. Although, she and Sim aren’t friends at first and Felicity is suspicious of her until she realizes that she’s being judgmental and that Sim is a cool and friendly person and not the evil pirate she decided she was when they first met. I loved Sim and I think it would’ve been cool if we had some chapters from her perspective. That said, I really enjoyed watching their relationship develop and learning more about Sim’s life.
Johanna was a nice slap in the face for Felicity. She’s a mixture of the frivolous careless woman that Felicity despises and a smart and bright woman that Felicity grew up with. Johanna as a character is really a message that one can be feminine and intelligent with aspirations that is still relevant today. It’s a message that we watch Felicity learn as they become friends again and go on a hilarious but serious mission.
There are so many hilarious lines. One of my favorite lines is in chapter 14 when Sim says, “Felicity Montague, you are a cactus.” There’s also many hilarious moments that are at the expense of old white men who think they know all while Felicity, Sim, and Johanna come by and prove that women are severely undervalued and looked over due to societal prejudices against women. If you were on the fence about reading this book, I strongly urge you to run out and pick it up because you’re going to love going on a hilarious journey and meet up with some old favorites from the first book.
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