“It is not the span of a life that interests me but the moments within it.”

I received an eARC of Mortal Follies by Alexis Hall from Random House Publishing in exchange for an honest review. Here are my thoughts!

💖 Miss Maelys Mitchelmore did not anticipate entering in to high society beneath a curse, but that is what happened all the same. Magic that starts as not-quite-harmless fun quickly becomes more dangerous, and Maelys soon finds herself depending on Lady Georgianna Landrake to save her - despite who the rumors that she is an enchantress that brought about the deaths of her family. As the two work together the attraction they share for each other can not be denied. Will they be able to end Maelys’ curse? And should Georgianna be trusted at all?

I’m gonna be real with you all. This was a book that I desperately wanted to love, and perhaps because of that I was left disappointed. The narrator (forever immortalized in my brain as John Oliver) was an omnipotent fairy in search of a story, and I loved them. However, the narrator being so memorable left me feeling less than connected to the heroines of our story. Alexis Hall is an author who dabbles across genres and while some of their books have been a huge hit for me, some are also misses. Mortal Follies lies somewhere between — a three star read that wasn’t very memorable. A tragedy for a cover and premise that both drew me in so strongly! I’ll stick to rereading A Lady for a Duke and Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake for my Alexis Hall fixes. 💖

Talk about cognitive dissonance going on over here. So, I adore Alexis Hall and ALLLLL his work, and I will basically read his grocery list. That said, the narrative distance here really wasn't working for me. But I am wondering if it's my head space, or the book itself. But it's doing exactly what it's supposed to every time it is interjected, and obviously that was what Alexis wrote it to do, so from a craft perspective the execution is flawless.

The cover is gorgeous.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC.

Mortal Follies begins by introducing us to our Fairy narrator, Robin (or at least, that's how he's known to humans) who tells us the story of Maelys Mitchelmore. Our first encounter with Miss Mitchelmore is her escaping a ball because her gown has begun to disintegrate. She is rescued by the dangerous and possibly murderous Duke of Annadale, aka Lady Georgianna, who society both reveres and shuns after she is suspected of killing her entire family. The two of them as well as Maelys' cousin and friend endeavor to discover who has cursed Maelys. Through their adventures, Maelys is drawn to Lady Georgianna for reasons she doesn't fully understand but when she wants to give into that chemistry, Lady Georgianna continually keeps her at arms length distance.

This book really has two parts, though it's not really denoted within the text. In the first part, the characters are trying to find out who has cursed Maelys and in the second they are trying to solve the curse that has been placed on the Duke of Annadale's family which has required her to avoid having close relationships due to concern about those people being adversely affected.

I did really like the narrative style, having a distinct narrator who is separate from the story he is telling I think worked pretty effectively here and I actually thought the narrator was pretty funny at times - there's some very quintessential British humor layered throughout the story, which I appreciated and enjoyed.

Though I liked the narrative style, the writing style was a bit...ethereal (?) for my liking, or at least for the mood I was in at the time I was reading. It really took me until 30% to sort of get into the book and understand what was happening. The second half went much more quickly for me but I still read this much more slowly than I typically do. I think ultimately I may have rated this book higher had I been in a slightly different mood.

I also really liked the ending - that the "silliest" character (and let's be real, a LOT of the characters were silly) is the one to solve the majority of the riddles? I loved that juxtaposition.

As always with Alexis Hall's writing, the totally normalized queer society is ever present, which is something that has me come back to his stories again and again. This is one of the most unique books I've read recently and I definitely don't think it's for everyone.

Thank you to Netgalley and Del Ray for the eARC in exchange for a review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

*My review will be posted online within two weeks of the release date (slated for 5/24/23); this review will be updated with the appropriate links once live. | ETA updated with links 5/24/23

I was drawn to this book based on EVERYTHING, a "sapphic Regency romantasy?!" Yes, please! The writing was vivid, the characters were fun and entertaining. But, I felt a huge distance to the book and characters because of the choice of narrator. I think that framing the narrative in this way, with a magical being (a hobgoblin) who is bound to find and recount stories, is REALLY interesting, but it fell flat with everything else the book was trying to do. Especially in terms of a romance, I don't want some mostly invisible dude reporting back to me?! This choice also created A LOT of extraneous detail that I could have done without; a lot of asides that weren't needed, and diving into explanations of the magical world, which I'd prefer to have gotten from the witchy characters themselves. I also would have loved to be INSIDE the character's minds more!

OVERALL: I really, really liked the story, but I didn't love the execution through this narrator. It's WORTH the read, and I feel like if I was given a head's up on the first-person POV retelling from an observer, I would have been prepared/it wouldn't have been such a hard time to settle into.

3.5 stars

Thank you to Random House Publishing and Netgalley for the ARC copy to review.

Honestly, I must say that the cover drew me to this book more than the description. It is bold coloring and intriguing. Though the description on its own does call to mind an amusing romantic tale. Alas, the writing style will be what ultimately made this not a great read for me.

Mortal Follies is told by our eccentric fairy narrator, called Robin by mortals. He comes across Miss Maelys Mitchelmore at a ball noticing her gown is falling to pieces around her. At this, he finds an amusing tale is about to unfold, and being a storyteller commits himself to follow her around unknown to all. I enjoyed having a narrator telling the story from the perspective of being there as well as comments from the present about his remembering. However, the style the book is written in is I believe the same way as Austin or Bronte books are done. I have not read theirs so I could not be sure. Only to say that this is not a style I personally seem to care for.

The story is divided into two separate parts while not actually saying part one or two. It is just that the whole first half of the book is focused on what the description stated and then it wrapped up. Once the evil part is found and vanquished, we are left with another half of the book. This part is really more of the romance. Miss Mitchelmore devotes herself to winning the attention of the woman she believes also fancies her. While this is fine it could have been done more within the overall story of the magicalness and then the compounded curse at the end could still be possible.

This tale did have a somewhat happy ending. As our narrator is telling this as a story he witnessed in the past he gives context to the fact that he lost track of the subjects after the amusing tale was done. From the ending of the tale though we are given a satisfying conclusion. The characters still hadn't really made me attached to them as one was prickly and the other a bit naïve if determined.

Overall I think this is probably a good book that many people will enjoy. The style just wasn't for me thus the star rating it got. I did appreciate that it is a self-contained book. Also, the narrator and Miss Mitchelmore's best friend were delightful.

Mortal Follies is a sapphic regency era romance with magic, curses, fae and old gods. We follow Miss Maelys Mitchelmore who appears to have been cursed starting with the the deterioration of her dress at a ball and then with events that soon become much more dangerous endangering her life. The Lady Georgiana Landrake, also known as the “Duke of Annadale”,comes to her rescue again and again as the curse escalates but there are rumors that she’s a witch and a murderess. Can she be trusted?

I had such a good time reading this. Maelys’ naïveté and bravery contrasted against Georgiana’s mysterious dark and brooding personality is delightful and the supporting characters are also great. Miss Bickle in particular is a whole mood and I love her! The story takes place in our world in the regency era but in which people interact with the old gods and fair folk, and magic and curses exist. Because of this it makes for interesting use real world locations like the Roman Baths in Bath and the goddess Sulis. Our narrator Robin, a hobgoblin, exhiled from Oberon’s and Titania’s court and forced to live as a mortal writer is great fun adding asides, mischief, and a different perspective from the characters we are following. (I love that the character continues even into the acknowledgments, super cute.)

All in all this is a super lovely and romantic comfort read with mystery and humor, best enjoyed in a relaxing atmosphere with some marchpane and tea.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Mortal Follies is the story of Maelys, a young lady who seems to be cursed. When her gown unravels at a ball, Maelys is forced to consider unusual methods for taming said curse. Who would want to curse her anyway? Enter the Duke of Annadale, real name Lady Georgianna, so nicknamed due to the unnatural way her father and brothers died. Is she truly a murderess? How is she always coming to Maelys’ rescue? And unbeknownst to Maelys, she has a narrator observing her. The narrator is a curious and at times capricious fae whose purpose is to document the story and ensure that (almost) all of the reader's questions are answered. Will the mysterious fae have documented a comedy or tragedy in the end?

Mortal Follies is a witty and whimsical historical romance from Alexis Hall. I adored it!! I would unabashedly read Alexis Hall's grocery list, but fortunately this book exists. The sense of humor is so droll and even as Hall writes the simplest sentence, a joke is somehow worked in. Maelys and Georgianna have a complicated and swoonworthy romance. It is thrilling to watch as they appease goddesses, defeat villainous men, and simply try to decide what they might mean to each other. Hall never ignores the realities of what it meant to be queer during this time period, yet somehow one is certain of a happy ending. I thought the narrator was hilarious and eloquent. I appreciated the hidden world of the fae that was revealed through their eyes.

Mortal Follies is a must-read for Alexis Hall fans (of course), Lex Croucher (Infamous), and KJ Charles (The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen). If you enjoy witty, queer historical romance tinged with a hint of magic then you need to read Mortal Follies!

Thank you to Alexis Hall, Del Rey, and Netgalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

For publisher: My review will be posted on Instagram, Goodreads, Amazon, Storygraph, and Barnes & Noble etc

I really, really wanted to like this. The narrator has a wonderful, comical air about him, and the story itself is very interesting. I will finish it eventually, but this was just too slow moving for me right now.

DNF at 10%

I'm pretty picky with the narration on my books, and there is something about the way this is narrated that my brain is having a herd time with. I think it's the 1st Person narration of an observer, and not of an actual involved character.

I don't like to give star ratings if I DNF a book, but since I'm forced to, this is not an accurate rating of the overall book

⭐️=3.5 | 😘=5 | 🤬=5 | ⚔️=4 | 18+

summary: Good Omens (urban fantasy with quirky omniscient narrator giving fourth wall-breaking commentary) meets Bridgerton (hot people having sex in empire waist dresses) meets A Midsummer Night's Dream (morally suspicious fae thingies messing around with human lives; the narrator claims they gave Shakespeare the idea for AMSND and he stole it without credit, a joke that was funny the first time and tired the fifth). basically, the MC is cursed and she has to find out who and how and why and falls in love with an aloof and Byronic daughter of a duke and there’s a quirky best friend and she breaks the curse woooo

thoughts: convinced that Boyfriend Material was Hall’s magnum opus and nothing else he writes will ever compare. Mortal Follies has the mix of humor, social commentary, and steam typical of Hall’s work, but because of the omniscient narrator, he struggled to keep a consistent tone throughout; like, there’d be an incredibly steamy conversation and then absolute crickets with the romance for like five chapters, because neither of the love interests are narrating!! it’s a random hobgoblin, and all the “haha foolish mortals I care not for their problems I tell this story for my own purposes” got old veeeeeeeery fast.

I still had fun though––like this was genuinely entertaining!! there were some fun quips and curse-solving adventurey moments, but looking at it as a whole, it’s… not great

This is the Bridgertons with fairies!! I loved every page and really wished that there were going to be more books set in this world. The romance, setting, and mythology were all amazing. I can not wait for more.

Maelys Mitchelmore has been cursed. She doesn't know by whom, or why, but she does know that she can't appear in public without humiliating misfortune--a shredded dress, all the food rotting, etc. And the only person who may know how to get to the bottom of things is Lady Georgiana Landrake, the Duke of Annadale--who just so happens to be one of the suspects. And, on top of that, Maelys is drawn to her in a way she's never quite been drawn to anyone else.

Mortal Follies is narrated by a hobgoblin, which makes for some really fun moments. I loved the combination of historical romance and fantasy, of the fae being a part of the everyday world in a genre in which that's not normally the case.

Mortal Follies is a lot of fun, with a great cast of characters, really fun narration, and lots of twists and turns.

I am saddened to say that I could not finish this book. I was very interested in the premise, and the prelude really had me hooked.

Unfortunately, I made it only 1/3 of the way through. By this point, I realized every step was going to unfold in much the same manner: uncover a truth/incident, have quite the discussion about it, make an attempt to correct/deflect, have quite a discussion about it, uncover another truth/incident, etc. In short, there was far too much talking and not enough doing.

I feel as though the narrator was a wasted opportunity. Through the narrator, we could have experienced more description, more world building, and definitely less talking. Maybe this comes up later, but it would have also been great if the narrator was used as an actual plot device in the form of the unreliable narrator. If it does come up, I think I would have enjoyed a some foreshadowing to it in the first 1/3.

All in all, I really felt this one came up short. I wanted to love it. I love curses and regency settings. I do want to know how it unfolds, but unfortunately I do not have attention span to make it to the end. The talking is just too much for me. I want to feel the action. I want to feel the intensity of the moment. Instead, I just have the same level of "Oh no, why is this happening to me?"

Honestly, I wish there was more to the romance too. Lady Georgianna seems like she would have been a wonderfully interesting character, but her scenes are compromised in comparison to Maelys's friend Miss Bickle. And the writing is bogged down by the narrator. I'd have loved less of his opinions too.

I am giving it two stars as I did not finish it, and it absolutely had potential. For the sake of the author, I will not post this to social media.

<b>Title:</b> Mortal Follies
<b> Series:</b> N/A
<b> Author(s):</b> Alexis Hall
<b> Genre:</b> LGBT, Romance, Fantasy, Historical Fiction
<b>Date Published:</b> June 06, 2023
<b>Date Read:</b> May 16-19, 2023
<b>Format:</b> eBook
<b>Free?:</b> ARC via NetGalley

<b>Overall Rating:</b> ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️.5 / 5

<b>Spice Rating:</b> 🔥 / 5
<b>Fluff Rating:</b> 🩷🩷/ 5
<b>Tear Rating:</b> 💧/ 5
<b>Humor Rating:</b> 😆😆😆 / 5

<i>”The question is not how much longer I have lived, dear heart, but how much more I have lived.”</i>

<b>The perfect blend between history and myth</b>, Mortal Follies takes us through a magical 19th-century England. The story is told by our narrator, a mischievous hobgoblin with a flair for the absurd, following a cast of hilarious characters as they navigate being cursed by Greek goddesses and the social drama of the ton.

When I first started reading this book, I wasn’t sure I would enjoy it. The style of the narrator took some getting used to, and initially, it felt unnecessary. However, as the story progressed, I found the narrator’s presence more interesting, as this invisible sprite became the supernatural influence causing someone to feel a chill on the back of their neck or their shoe to go missing, or even the answer of “how did they know to be there!”. By the end, I was laughing out loud and enjoying the banter and silliness of our dear narrator.

<b>The plot</b> was enjoyable to say the least. I was surprised to have such a big climactic moment to the story at the halfway point, wondering what the author could possibly throw at us in the second half. <b>I fear that the second half, however, didn’t have as much intrigue as the first, with the ending feeling slightly rushed.</b> It could be said, though, that this was keeping with the style of our hobgoblin narrator, who cares not for the dull moments of humans such as “happily ever afters”.

My favorite point of the entire book though was a supporting character, Miss Lysistrata (Lizzie) Bickle. Lizzie is an eccentric, free-spirited dreamer, who is either a genius or completely insane. Some of the most humorous moments in the book came from Lizzie’s character, with my favorite exchange including:
<blockquote>
”But don’t worry, when you <i>are</i> murdered, I have simply <i>hundreds</i> of plans for vengeance.”
“Hundreds?”
“Oh yes. The first involves scorpions.”
“And the second?”
“Also scorpions.”
</blockquote>

The spice was fairly tame, with the bulk of the scenes (I believe only 2 of them) being conversation between the two. Again, this could probably be attributed to keeping with the narrator’s disdain for human emotions and interactions that don’t make them laugh or further their storytelling ventures.

Overall, <b>I would definitely recommend this book</b> to others. It was a fun read, an interesting concept, and <b>I laughed until the end.</b> If you’re looking for a lighthearted and funny <i>Bridgerton</i> meets <i>The Odyssey</i> story with a sprinkling of LGBT romance, then this is for you.

Thank you for Netgalley providing me this book for an honest review.

I first took notice of this book and author due to the cover. The words and pink cover were just such total opposites from each other I had to read and see what the story was like. I was pleasantly surprised by the research and depth that went into making this 19th century English setting book in a fae/old god infused world all mixed together. I loved seeing the friendship between Lysistrata (Lizzie) and Maelys Mitchelmore, our protagonist. The narrator, a rather chaotic fae named Robin, was also a delight as he related the story to the reader, or rather, more for his master, who time and again he mentioned he had to make or find something interesting in the lives of the character to share and write about, least his lord find it boring and he out of a job. The Duke of Annadale, also known as Lady Georgiana, was a nice contrast to Maelys naivety and innocence of the world around her, also brooding and rarely showing her most intimate thoughts and even fears. To be honest, after the major incident involving Maelys very life was resolved, I thought the story would be over and she'd get her happy ending with Georgiana. But there was more to be added concerning some of the older 'magics', for lack of a better word, for the Duke and what prevented her from being true to herself and her relationship with Maelys. Through so many tricks and turns the characters had to go through to achieve their goals (or escape the goals others had in mind for them) was a delight and the narrator Robin made it all the more enjoyable with his sarcastic and even sometimes malicious joys in the humans joys and discomforts. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes Regency style novels and a very funny narrator.

To be Featured in a Recent Reads on Youtube - First week of June
Imgur Link goes to Instagram graphic scheduled for June 27th
Blog post scheduled to go Live for June 27th

Mortal Follies is another excellent example of how Alexis Hall’s writing range is just damn impressive to me. After reading A Lady for a Duke and expecting another somber, emotional historical I was incredibly surprised at how jovial, magical, and unique Mortal Follies is.

The story is told to us through the narration of Robin - a fairy who has fallen out of favor with the courts and is sending a story to his Lord (take a guess who he might be). We get this story told in a first person POV as Robin follows around the characters in his story, his thoughts and feelings so much that he is a character all his own and I love him. The rest of the cast are equally as fantastic, some more than others. Our main two lady lovers are interesting and I felt for them and did cheer for them, however my favorite character by far was a side-character named Lizzie. I wonder if perhaps another future book may feature her as I got the feeling that Alexis Hall also enjoyed writing her.

The style is unique and the situations absurd as well. The setting is a Regency/Victorian feeling era, but mixed with fantasy as ‘Old Gods’ (pagan gods) and the Fairy are acknowledged and chased about from time to time. In fact our plot revolves around someone placing a curse upon one of Lady Lovers and their pursuit of clearing it. That made for an interestingly tense story at times, but always undercut with the humor and absurdity that really sold this for me.

I know a lot of people don’t enjoy a lot of humor or silliness in their stories - this would be one to avoid if you are that reader. However, if you enjoy the sly and some times childish humor of Fairy narrator then this is a must read. It’s hilarious at times and keeps it’s pace throughout. A big recommendation from me.

Mortal Follies was an absolutely delightful fantasy romance! For me, the absolute best part was the narrator, Robin, a Shakespearean-esque imp from the court of Titiana and Oberon who is narrating the follies of human romance he has witnessed over the years in order to pay his bills. (His narration really reminds me of Bartimaeus from the Bartimaues Trilogy by Jonathan Stroud besides the fact that these books are aimed at completely different audiences.) Due to the narration, this book felt quite different from anything else I’ve read by Alexis Hall, but it was equally as charming!

The romance itself is a sapphic, historical romance in the style of Bridgerton with an age gap and a slight dom-sub dynamic. The plot equally focuses on the characters’ romantic relationship and their fantastical adventure while Miss Mitchelmore desperately tries to rid herself of a curse.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for giving me an arc in exchange for an honest review!

I got through 45% of this book and could not get into it.

It’s definitely not the writer. I’ve read other things by this author and loved them. I just don’t think I liked her writing this genre.

So sad I had to DNF.

In theory, Mortal Follies is everything I've been currently dreaming of in one book. Sapphic Victorian romance in a world of gods and fae? An ordinary girl who's been cursed and so must work with a suspected witch to shake her curse? Yes, please! But, in practice, this particular book and I did not exactly mesh, and the main reason is the narrator.

Because...there's a narrator. And it's not the MC or her love interest. It's Puck, also referred to throughout as "Robin," who has been cursed to become a mortal storyteller, which is a clever idea, I'll give Alexis Hall credit for that. But possibly not the best choice for a romance.

Very early on, it becomes apparent that we're never going to be able to shake Puck and that all of the interactions between Maelys and Lady Georgiana are going to be subject to Puck's commentary. This might work for some readers (I've heard plenty of people call Puck "charming"), but I am one of those readers who just found the whole thing a little voyeuristic -- and a little wordy! So much time is spent describing the various objects that Puck turns themself into in order to spy on the main cast, and I would have appreciated that time spent developing the relationship between Maelys and Georgiana.

Because of the Puck thing, I didn't feel that closeness to the characters that I usually do in a good romance and so I found it hard to root for the main couple, which is a shame, because I really did like Georgiana as a love interest. She's dark and brooding -- very Byronic! -- and her banter with Maelys is top-notch.

Anyway, when I finally was able to just skim the Puck parts and focus on the story, I really enjoyed the supporting cast (especially Maelys's bestie Miss Bickle), and I felt that the tone matched the time period perfectly. I'd definitely read another Alexis Hall book, especially if he set it in Victorian times or made it sapphic. But if only someone had just gotten rid of that narrator...

Thank you to NetGalley, Alexis Hall, and Random House Publishing Group for providing an advanced free digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts.

I’m a big fan of Alexis Hall and couldn’t wait to dive into this historical fantasy! I was captivated by this world of magic, fairies, and enchanted clothing, where our leading ladies find themselves in some absurd, albeit humorous, situations and must use their wit and creative thinking to break the curses of a vengeful viscount and an angry deity.

While I really enjoyed the story, I struggled getting through the book because of the pacing, which can be attributed to the conflict, romance, and narrator. The first being how the major conflict was resolved 54% in, which truthfully, made the second half of the book sort of drag. Then there was the romance… and this slow burn was perhaps *too* slow. It’s all talk of romantic desires and entanglements until the 70ish% mark, which seemed too late in the story. Finally, the narrator was funny at first, but then their commentary became superfluous and made the story lag and the book feel much longer than its 416 pages.

I truly loved the gorgeous cover, the quirky dialogue, and the outlandish situations these colorful characters found themselves in, but I do wish it had been about 50-100 pages shorter to help with the disjointed events and odd pacing.