Mortal Follies is exactly what you'd expect from any Alexis Hall Novel!
His humor and heart are ever present in this is fresh & delightful sapphic whimsical tale! The characters and scenes felt so lifelike and vividly described!
And Puck as the narrator?!?! Pure genius!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and NetGalley for the ARC of this novel. I was not a huge fan of Boyfriend Material from the same author but enjoyed the conceit of this one where the narrator is Puck from A Midsummer Night's Dream to please his lord Oberon. Seeing what I thought would be the biggest plot point (who cursed Miss Mitchelmore) be resolved halfway through was refreshing to go a different way with the ending. The whimsy of having Puck narrate and tell the audience more about the world of the fairies made this a much more interesting book for me. This definitely stands out from the pack for me. 3.5 stars

In a regency England full of magic, fae, and old gods, Maelys has been cursed. She and her friends must figure out how to break the curse before it's too late. I enjoyed the story overall, but my favorite part was having Puck be the narrator. I thought it was very fun and allowed a lot of context of the world's mythology to be added through his perspective on Maely's story.

I liked the narration at the beginning but it started to get more and more difficult to separate from the actual story. I liked the characters too but the story was just really hard to follow and I was super confused. I would give this another try at another time but I don’t think it’s for me right now.

I love Alexis Hall! I always find myself reading their books no matter what it is about and usually I have a good time.

This one I went in feeling neutral, that this would be good, but not blow me away and I was pretty much right about that.
I enjoyed the narrator and how they were telling me a story. I felt like there were so many funny moments and I loved the sapphic romance things. As the story went on though I was losing the plot, it felt like I was reading on vibes only.

Alexis Hall gives good vibes so even if I don't care about the plot I still love the vibes.

This was a quirky fantasy type regency romance as told by the perspective of a witty hobgoblin. It was very heavy on the humor and romance development but light on the actual story. There were essentially two events that our protagonist, Miss Mitchelmore had to navigate - being cursed and then dealing with her love interest’s curse. The characters were interesting and fun to read, but ultimately I felt the novel lacked in fullness. 2 stars.

Review based on an Uncorrected Digital Proof provided by Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and NetGalley. Thank you!

This was really fun! It's a sapphic historical fantasy. Personally I'm not a big fan of historicals, so I probably didn't enjoy it as much as some people would. However I really loved the humor in it, each character had their own fun personality and the romance was super cute. I did not really like the narrator I felt it took away from the story, but other than that this was a fun read, and the cover is absolutely gorgeous.

First I would like to thank the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I have read a few of Alexis Hall’s books and I was excited to see her newest release available on NetGalley. This is the story of two women in a time where people do not have a high opinion of them and if you do not fall within that expectation you are cast out and looked upon as a witch.

What I loved
- Narrator, I really enjoyed having a third-party storyteller who not only kept the story going but also added additional “flavor”
- Strong Women, there are a lot of characters in this story and so many of them are strong women. They stand up for themselves, what they want and everyone else be damned
- Magic, there are a lot of different types of “magic” that is explored in this story and additional bonus throwing stones at the traditional church system 😉

I had high hopes for this book but something about it really did not resonate with me. I think all of the pieces were there but it did drag in some points and there were plenty of points in the book where I wanted to throttle the main characters. Without spoiling things I can’t really say much else but this book literally put me to sleep at times. Now if you are one that likes a longer story with great magic references wittiness and a great LGBTQIA romance I would absolutely encourage you to give this book a try!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a galley in exchange for an honest review.

I like the book. The setting is fun and nicely developed. The characters are neat. The concept is cool. That is, the concept of the main character being cursed and trying to track down the person who laid the curse. That was fun. Except the story is only kind of about that. It's about curses and romance. Which is fine but I really assumed the balance would be a little more even. For me, the pace of the book suffers from that unevenness.

Three stars.

If you have been dreaming of a crossover between Bridgerton and A Midsummer Night’s Dream all centered around a sapphic relationship, Alex Hall has you covered in Mortal Follies.

I enjoyed the narration, but it was very stylized as it was told from the perspective of Puck (from A Midsummer Night’s Dream) and had magical elements that defined the plot and story progression. Now I personally have no problem with a fun deus ex machina moment or two, but it did get to the point where even I was giggling at the ridiculous nature of the plot progression at parts.

Hall does an amazing job of telling diverse and inclusive stories whiles exploring queer emotions and relationships in a realistic and nuanced way. And of course, where Hall always gets me is with the supporting characters, from witches to parents I would read a book starring every last one of the wonderful cast that was playing support to Miss Maelys Mitchelmore. Her relationship with her friends and family was everything I wanted and more, and as always I left this book with a silly smile on my face.

Mortal Follies falls into a certain niche of books that have been popping up in my recommendations, historical fantasy set in real world locations but with a decided lean into the magic of the old gods/ways/beliefs.

This particular one is set in Regency England at the end of the Napoleonic wars following the mishaps of Maelys Mitchelmore, who has the misfortune to be cursed by one of the old gods, and has to figure out who cursed her. She, her best friend Lizzie Bickle and cousin John Caesar, have a list of suspects and little time before something happens and Maelys's reputation is forever ruined.

The story's narrator is a hobgoblin, so this gave the book a little extra bit of whimsy that I can't decide if it benefited the story or a minor turn off.

4 out of 5 stars, and 1 out of 5 for any sort of spice - this was fade to black/closed door with only a little bit of build up before and after the fade.

Thank you to NetGalley and DelRay for the free eARC, this is my honest opinion.

I am obsessed with this book. I think this new regency fairytale genre is so much fun! Mortal Follies even takes it to the next level with some mythology mixed in as well. This is such a charming book with the snarkiest narrator I’ve ever encountered. I quite frequently laughed out loud by the descriptions provided by the curmudgeonly hobgoblin. The story centers around a young woman in society who finds herself cursed by some unknown entity who seems determined to ruin her reputation. The determined young woman tries to figure out who or why she was cursed when she begins to fall in love with one of her main suspects, Lady Georgianna (who has a tarnished reputation of her own and is suspected of killing her whole family with sorcery).

Perfect for fans of Olivia Atwood’s novellas and Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries.

This book set out to do too much, and I think it suffered for it.

Rather than being told in first person POV from the main characters, the first person narrator is Puck (although he is referred to by different names) from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. The way he tells the story is amusing—at first. After a while, I found that the things he inserted felt like repetitions, and it added nothing new to the story. In fact, it made me feel even more removed from the main characters, which is an interesting choice in a romance, because it led to me not being emotionally invested.

I also think the romance was more of a subplot than the actual focus, and the least interesting part of the book. Instead, the plot surrounding Maelys's curse is much more compelling. I was expecting the focus to be on the romance once that part of the story was resolved, but what happened instead is that the second half dealt with Georgiana's backstory. An interesting plot in its own right, but the book ended up doing too much by including it. I also think it led to a feeling of "same old" in the way it was executed.

3.5 stars rounded up. In theory this should have hit all my boxes and it had a lot of fun things going for it but ultimately I wasn't as in love with it as I wanted to be. This seems very much like a you either love it or hate it sort of book. I myself had mixed feelings.

I loved Boyfriend Material so when I saw the author had a new book out I requested it. It is a very different sort of book and I respect Alexis Hall's range. "Genre-fluid" is an apt term for his writing. This is a historical fantasy romance, a meeting of Bridgerton and A Midsummer Night's Dream, but make it sapphic. Although there was a lot of historical accuracy here, you have to suspend disbelief around the way queer folks were treated in society, just like in Bridgerton. The universe was fascinating, in which faeries and magic are accepted by greater society and the old gods walk among the humans.

It's told in the voice of an omniscient narrator who is particularly zany and irreverent, as you would expect from a faerie whose role is to collect stories. Ultimately I didn't care for the narrator, though. He rambled in often tedious ways and made the book longer than it needed to be. The irreverent tone was almost too flippant in a way that grew on me in parts but in other parts I found annoying.

I also struggled with the pacing. This is the story of Miss Maelys Mitchelmore, who had a happy childhood with loving parents, delightful friends, but is unlucky in love. Her friends summer in Bath for the season, where Maelys is stricken by a magical curse and saved from scandal after her garments disappear at a ball by the mysterious, brooding Duke of Annadale, a woman who inherited her estate after her whole family died of strange, magical circumstances.

Thus follows lots of sapphic pining, Miss Mitchelmore's lesbian awakening, the two ladies saving each other from mortal peril again and again, a feminist streak of women taking their power back and living life on their own terms, and general fae wackiness.

I felt like the curse was wrapped up a little too snugly; I figured out who the culprit was right away and by the 50 percent mark of the book we were moving on to the next mortal peril. I also didn't like the chemistry of Maelys and the duke after they got together. I loved the brooding, gender-defiant duke but I didn't care for the general arc of their relationship.

I felt like one hundred pages of sprite capriciousness could have been cut to tighten up the romantic arc and the mystery. It was just a little erratic for me and predictably resolved.

But the characters were wonderful; I especially loved Maelys's fanciful friend Miss Bickle, who is obsessed with anything supernatural, and the tone of the narrator had its moments. I had hoped that Miss Bickle would be getting together with the Ambassador from the Other Court, but maybe we'll get that in the next book. This wasn't the book for me as much as I had hoped, but it did have lots of good things going for it that kept me engaged to the end. Finally, a romantic comedy that's actually funny in lots of places, if a bit dialogue and banter heavy for my personal tastes.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance review copy. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Always a big fan of Alexis Hall and this book was no dissappintement I really enjoyed and I'm glad I got to read an e-ARC of this book.

I really struggled connecting to the narration style in this one. I think there are a lot of people who shop at our bookstore who will like this, it just wasn't for me.

DNF. As much as I love Alexis Hall. This just didn't hit the mark for me. Maybe it the retelling from an narrative structure. Usually that doesn't bother me, but it kept me disconnected from the characters and I was not feeling it. Maybe one day I'll give it another shot.

I wanted to love Mortal Follies, and I ended up only liking it fine. It has a lot going for it: an interesting narration from a spirit named Robin, who simply observes humans and interferes for fun, but mostly collects stories, a fantastic lyrics ridiculous side character named Miss Bickle, and a world in which fantasy intersects naturally. But it just kinda dumps you in the world and goes along a thin plot line.

For me, this probably would have felt more engaging were it a hundred or so pages shorter. Still a fun and unique read though!

Thanks to Netgalley and Ballantine Del Rey for the e-ARC!

This probably has to be my fave book from Alexis Hall!! I was hooked from start to finish. I can't wait to read more fantasy books from them!

Thank you Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and Netgalley for this ARC!

Even though I received an ARC of this book, honesty is the best policy.

I really, REALLY wanted to love this book. I truly did, but for me, it just fell flat. I love the author's other works, but this one just didn't do it for me.

I loved the sapphic romance and the concept of this story, but the execution of just wasn't my cup of tea. I felt like the fae being narator took away from the plot, rambled on at times, and just broke the flow of dialogue and scenes. The world building was minimal at best and at times I wish there was more elaboration on fantasy aspects.

All in all, not my favorite from the author, but I'll still continue to read his books!