★★★★★ Peter Berlin 26.04.2024 amazon.de

I was intrigued by the cover and this together with the title really got my attention. This is a very entertaining novel, at times a light-hearted romp but it addresses serious issues, as for example racism, homophobia, child abuse. Though Henry “Monty” Montague was born and bred to be a gentleman of the British upper class, he doesn’t live up to his father’s expectations. Instead of being respectable he much prefers gambling halls, late nights out spent with a bottle of gin and having sex with both women or men. He is really very much in love with his dark-skinned friend Percy, but he is afraid of his discussing his feelings for him with him.Now Monty embarks on his Grand Tour of Europe, an educational trip where he is supposed to learn about European culture, sow his wild oats and then come home to be respectable. Things go wrong right from the start.Sometimes the plot is of hair-raising logic and Monty makes plenty of mistakes and can be quite annoying, but the entertainment value is always high, so it is was very easy for me to finish the novel. It was fun doing so.The friendship between Monty and Percy is described very well and really involved me as a reader. Moreover, I really the way the novel is written. The author really knows how to use the language and makes it very interesting to read.So if you like a well written novel, that is fast paced and keeps you entertained the whole time, this book is for you. It was also nice to read about two very positive young gay characters who find each other and learn from each other. I gladly give 5 stars to this novel.I hope you found my review helpful.