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A review by nere
The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy by Mackenzi Lee
adventurous
funny
inspiring
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
Monday, August 2, 2021 (Reread)
“I have spent my whole life fighting for what would be mine without question if I were a man, and to be better at it than my brothers, because women don’t have to be men’s equals to be considered contenders; they have to be better. That’s the lie of it all. You have to be better to prove yourself worthy of being equal.
Reading this is a bit therapeutic for me personally as a woman pursuing medicine. Granted it is not the 1700s and I will not be barred from studying medicine on the basis of my sex (hopefully). But I too often relate too much to Felicity in this. Wanting something so badly it'll eat you from the inside out if you don't get it, ("my heart a hungry, wild creature savaging me from the inside out ") often feeling like the whole world is conspiring against you—in Felicity's case literally—so you don't achieve it.
It's likely many men will very likely read this book and attribute the severity of the misogyny down to the time period and dramatization. But Christ, SO much of this I feel. ("into those hawk-black eyes of a man who has never been denied anything in his life .") The entire boardroom meeting scene is a microcosm of everything a woman experiences on a daily basis.
I love Monty, I adore him, I do. And I love his story, but Felicity's honestly resonates with me in a way very few books do. And it's actually kind of nice to not be in Monty's head and see him from an outsider's perspective. He's still one of my favorite characters so every moment of him in this was delightful.
A big focal point of these books is character development. And boy do I love it! Feli, like her brother, does have some prejudice to work through. In her case, it’s unlearning internalized misogyny. And it’s so relatable because she goes through that stage a lot of women go through of: ‘I’m not like other girls!’ But Feli you ARE like other girls and that’s a beautiful thing to be!
It would’ve been really easy to not have this focus on growth be an aspect of the novel because Fel already seemed a lot more self-aware and, dare I say, woke than Monty in the first book. Despite this, I can earnestly applaud Lee for the arc. Despite Felicity being someone who actively challenges her own ideas of homophobia and racism she was raised on, she still has room to grow—as we all do. It’s an important lesson.
Anyways, as you can probably tell from the way I’ve gushed about this endlessly. I love this book to bits and recommend this, as well as the rest of the series, with my eyes closed. This series is a place of comfort and happiness to me and that clearly hasn't changed. So excited for the next one!
It's likely many men will very likely read this book and attribute the severity of the misogyny down to the time period and dramatization. But Christ, SO much of this I feel. ("
I love Monty, I adore him, I do. And I love his story, but Felicity's honestly resonates with me in a way very few books do. And it's actually kind of nice to not be in Monty's head and see him from an outsider's perspective. He's still one of my favorite characters so every moment of him in this was delightful.
A big focal point of these books is character development. And boy do I love it! Feli, like her brother, does have some prejudice to work through. In her case, it’s unlearning internalized misogyny. And it’s so relatable because she goes through that stage a lot of women go through of: ‘I’m not like other girls!’ But Feli you ARE like other girls and that’s a beautiful thing to be!
It would’ve been really easy to not have this focus on growth be an aspect of the novel because Fel already seemed a lot more self-aware and, dare I say, woke than Monty in the first book. Despite this, I can earnestly applaud Lee for the arc. Despite Felicity being someone who actively challenges her own ideas of homophobia and racism she was raised on, she still has room to grow—as we all do. It’s an important lesson.
Anyways, as you can probably tell from the way I’ve gushed about this endlessly. I love this book to bits and recommend this, as well as the rest of the series, with my eyes closed. This series is a place of comfort and happiness to me and that clearly hasn't changed. So excited for the next one!