this book was such a lovely time! if you like regency era romance, queer characters, magic with a bite but also some whimsy, and, arguably best of all, the most chaotic neutral narrator I have ever encountered, then you will fall in love with this book. there is inherently a metafictional aspect to the entire book because puck (yes, the same puck who caused all that chaos in midsummer) treats us as his captive audience and weaves a tale of love and almost-tragedy while not interfering at all (or does he?).

our main character, Maelys, has been inexplicably struck by a curse. she and her ragtag friends band together to figure out just what mystical force wishes for her demise. along the way, she meets the mysterious duke of annadale. she gets tangled up in the plot as well and is a crucial part to Maelys realizing that “oh. OH. I like women. that’s why I have trouble finding a suitable husband prospect.”

in some elements, this book reminds me of the cozy fantasy genre, especially half a soul, where the regency genre blends seamlessly with the fantasy genre; where magic lives hidden in nooks and crannies, but doesn’t hide if mortals uncover it. but at the same time, the stakes here are a bit more dire and dramatic than other cozy fantasies. there are a couple of near-death scenes, but honestly the drama didn’t take away from my cozy enjoyment at all. I really enjoyed how expansive the magic system was here; it felt like it pulled from a few different cultures and had potential to have pulled from even more. puck as the narrator was my absolute favorite part. it gave a bit of a twist in perspective on the story as opposed to a close third or first person from one of the main characters. Alexis Hall’s voice is really clear here, mainly with the British-isms and the deadpan humor. I found myself laughing aloud several times while reading.

the only thing that brought my rating down a bit was the romance didn’t always have the most chemistry and even felt almost forced apart by dumb circumstances sometimes. I understand when characters have hesitations, but here it ended up dragging the story. other than that and overall, I really had a great time with this one. 4.5 stars out of 5!

This novel is a MASTERPIECE! Mortal Follies has sapphics, romance, high stakes, magic, an angry goddess, and laugh out loud dialogue and references that were just *chefs kiss*

This is THE romcom of the CENTURY I seriously cannot get over how much I BURN FOR IT!

The course of true love gets twisted up like a circus balloon in this story and the narrator, Robin Goodfellow, is here for it. I, on the other hand, had a hard time staying interested, I hate to say. While I did enjoy Robin's snarky narration and commentary, I felt like the story had the oddest pacing. A lot of hurry up and wait, then it ended super abruptly. Plus, the distance from the character's pov kept me from truly connecting with them.

What I did enjoy are the characters. My favorite is Miss Bickle! She brought humor and the wildest ideas to the story. Mr. Caesar, Maelys's cousin, is a perfect foil to Miss Bickle's fanciful nature, and is always ready with practical solutions. As a mixed race person, whose father is a freed African, and as a queer man, he also provides insight into facets of British society that are frequently ignored in historical romance. Maelys is plucky and determined and doing her best. Lady Georgiana gave me Gentleman Jack vibes, which is a big compliment. I also liked the fantasy elements! Having been to Bath, it was fun (and horrifying) to imagine a goddess lurking below the waters.

Overall, an enjoyable story with good characters, my main complaints are with the pacing and the ending.

Loved Alexis Hall’s writing and the characters in this book. Hall’s writing kind of reminded me of The Dangerous Damsels series by India Hilton (which I LOVE!!!) very cute sapphic rom com

This book was an absolute joy, as Alexis Hall's generally are. I loved reading it with the Shakespearean lens, the mix of magic and romance. I am not normally a romance reader but I make an exception for this author!

Alexis Hall can do no wrong. This mixes so many things that I love. Historical romance. Magic. Queer love story. All the bickering. It's just all so amazing. The characters are great. They make sense together. I never once thought "whelp, that was stupid and I hate it". This is another must read.

I tried, I really tried to like this. This was tediously slow and repetitious. At 43%, Mr. Caesar still doubts Georgiana, which has gotten old. She could provide irrefutable proof, yet he still wouldn’t believe her, and the constant doubting and questioning was tiresome.

Even the narrator was a mixed bag. I laughed a few times towards the beginning because he provided a much needed laugh, but then he, too, got repetitive, which felt like filler for the book. It slowed down the pace so drastically that I started skimming for conversation to avoid it, which is not a good way to read a book. I had such high hopes for this. I mean, look how lovely the cover is! But unfortunately, it fell flat. If this book sounds up your alley, definitely try it, as there are some nice reviews on this one.

From bestselling author of Boyfriend Material Alexis Hall, Mortal Follies is a story of fairy spirits, vindictive magic, and regency romance. Bridgerton meets A Midsummer Night's Dream with a magical, sapphic love story. When Miss Maelys Mitchelmore attempts to enter high society, a persistent curse blocks her path, forcing her to seek help from unexpected company. The Duke of Annadale, otherwise known as Lady Georgianna Landrake, is a bitter woman who might have murdered the men around her to inherit her family fortune. Can they work alongside one another to shatter the curse?

Told from the point of view of Oberon's jester, the story contains snarky asides meant to add additional depth to the tale. Rather, it slows the story's pacing with frivolous commentary. However,tI can see how that tongue-in-cheek commentary might capture the attention of other readers. The promise of a queer, Bridgerton-esque story caught my eye, but the execution felt messy and unfocused. The characters lacked dimension, making it difficult to connect with them on an emotional level that would have powered the story forward.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishing for allowing me access to this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book is best described as two separate plots surrounding the same characters. At points it feels like a planned duology that wound up being combined into a standalone, and how much that affects engagement with the plot will depend on the reader. I enjoyed the dynamic between the main two leads, though, and the choice of narrative voice was very fun.

3.5 stars. Overall, you won't regret reading it. I love queer novels and lately I'm craving the regency vibes. I read this over a couple of rainy days, and it was like a warm hug.

I have a sweet spot for a mystical being narrator and Robin reminded me of one of my favorite series growing up, the Bartimaeus Sequence. I genuinely enjoyed the narrator's sarcasm and quips. The book worked the best for me as a comedy, when the narrator made me laugh the most. I also thought the regency element was quite well done; nostalgic but not old-fashioned. Queerness might not be commonplace but it is not unaccepted or hidden away. Society's rules are allowed to be broken, and often are. Maelys's parents, in particular, really worked well for me. It made it an enjoyable read instead of a more tragic one.

Unfortunately, the plot didn't quite land for me as forcefully as I had hoped. There's one plot that occupies about half the book and is neatly resolved. (I'm not sure the mystery was quite as "mysterious" as Hall had hoped, but that's not why I was reading the book.) At that point, the romance takes full stage from halfway to about three-fourths done. Then suddenly a new plot emerges that last until almost the final pages of the book. I also struggled with the romance too; one of the MCs was so distant as to be downright rude, and it made it difficult to root for them being together. (The explanation of why she was so distant worked for me, but I wonder if it wouldn't have worked better occurring closer to the halfway mark than 75% of the way through.)

I have loved many of Alexis Hall's other books, so I was grateful for the opportunity to read this! Thank you so much to NetGalley and Del Rey for the e-ARC.

I'm not really sure what happened, but somewhere along the way I seem to have stopped finding Alexis Hall very funny? I DNFed Husband Material and Paris Daillencourt Is About to Crumble, despite adoring their predecessors - and Mortal Follies fell flat for me in much the same way.

I think it's objectively a lovely book, and I can see how it's supposed to be charming and a little bit silly and heart-warming, and I was happy with the neat worldbuilding. Having Shakespeare's Robin Goodfellow as the narrator is sheer brilliance, and his little asides to the reader are probably my favourite parts of the book. But I don't feel any incentive to keep reading and find out how it all ends.

I didn't care for the Narrator at all, the story felt like it was given secondhand and I just could not stay focused through it. I didn't get any enjoyment, either. I did try for over a month as I did receive this as an ARC thanks to NetGalley, but ultimately this is a DNF for me.

Really good! Fairies and regency era romance. I absolutely loved it. The characters were wonderful and the story was perfect. Had me laughing several times. I definitely recommend it.

Thank you, Random House Publishing - Ballantine and author Alexis Hall for the opportunity to read Mortal Follies prior to release!

When Maelys Mitchelmore finds herself at the hands of a vengeful, persistent curse, she finds help from her bubbly friend and her down-to-earth cousin… as well as the mysterious, brooding Lady Georgiana Landrake, AKA The Duke of Annadale. As the curse progresses, and the nuances of the curse grow from irritating to downright dangerous, the Duke of Annadale and Maelys begin to see more of one another, but the Duke remains just as mysterious. With no indication as to why she has been cursed in the first place, it’s easy for the blame to be cast onto Ms. Landrake, but the solution does not reveal itself to the party easily.

Alexis Hall weaves a tale of magic, gods, goddesses, intrigue, and adventure, written from the point of view of a puckish sprite who follows Maelys on her (mis)adventures and tells her story. I personally did find the narration style to be rather fun and witty, as it left one to guess the feelings of the characters and interpret them, and first-person narration told from the perspective as one who is not a main character of the book per say is very unique and creative. The cast of characters is entertaining as well. I particularly enjoyed the antics of Maelys and her optimistic friend Miss Bickle, but do wish Mr. Caesar’s character was explored a bit more. We didn’t learn too much about either of them other than items mentioned in passing. The romance that occurs later on in the book happens much, much later, but there are moments that lead up to this over time that are picked up on in the first half of the book.

This book has received three stars from me rather than four because there are pieces of the story that are either left hanging in the book / do not serve too much significance to the main plot. I will say that the main plot of the book actually started to unfold only after the first third of the book, which made the start a bit slow-moving, but do understand that there was a lot of build-up in order to reach the main storyline.

Mortal Follies was overall a unique take on a regency-era tale that was pleasurable to read for fans of Austen and A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Thank you to Del Rey and NetGalley for an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What can I say but "AHHHH!!!" This book was so unbelievably adorable. I mean it was CUTE and it was hilarious and witty. One aspect I really liked was the narrator, I loved the little bit of fourth wall breaking and the asides. They made me laugh quite a bit. At the same time some of that went on for a bit, and made the pacing slow of the book. By about the 60% mark I was a bit less enthralled with the book, but nonetheless still enjoyed it.

As a sapphic romance I can say this was a slow burn, and quite a charming one. It had your historical fiction regency feel, but you also had a bit of magic and mayhem.

I adored the side characters, especially Lizzie and John. I absolutely need books for the both of them at some point in the future. And of course, Mae and the Duke I also loved.

Other things that I loved about this book:

⭐ the plot. The plot was really sectioned into two parts, and while I felt the first part was stronger, the second part was also good
⭐ the friendships in this book. Lizzie and Mae for one, I loved their banter and friendliness with each other, and I love how they interacted with John.
⭐ the families. HILARIOUS. I feel like this was a bit more Julia Quinn style family regency than other such books. So -- loved that part.
⭐ how religion was tackled in this book -- I found it was done very well.

Overall, this was a great book full of romance, plot, action, swooning, mystery and magic. 100% recommend this book to EVERYONE.

oof, I didn't enjoy this. The paranormal-historical world with queer characters was fun and has a lot of room for books in a series. It would appeal to fans of [author:Olivia Waite|4710174] and [author:Olivia Atwater|20153683].

The narration quickly became monotonous, though. The narrator is a fairy creature who watched the events in real time and, in contemporary/modern day, is telling the story in this format (because he has been punished and must live as a mortal, for some unspecified crime, and he needs the money). Lit geeks may appreciate the asides, comments, and ties to similar characters in other early English literature, but they felt kind of ham-handed to me. In the narration, the fairy makes constant additions and commentary about how humans are boring, he doesn't care, human suffering is funny, etc. The first one or two are funny, but then the comments never stop-- although the humor sure does.

I loved [book:A Lady for a Duke|57007967] and was excited to read something else by this author. This is a big miss for me, and has me rethinking any tentative plans to read the author's older works. I'm heartbroken!

eARC from NetGalley.

The premise of this book was so interesting to me, especially the way the narration was set up. Robin Goodfellow / Puck is telling us this story of love and gods and curses. This allowed for many cheeky asides and ironic commentary throughout the story that I was personally a big fan of. The first half of the book is well paced and very funny. I found myself giggling at almost every page at least once, whether from our mischievous narrator, or (more than likely) from the fantastic supporting character Lysistrata.

However, I found the story fell off in the second half. It seemed listless and unfocused. Even the characters seemed frustrated with the turn of events and pace, which didn’t help matters for me. The ending especially felt far too abrupt, and we didn’t get a satisfying moment of catharsis between our romantic leads where they were able to be a truly open couple with one another without the threat of curses and gods and fairies hanging over them.

Other aspects that disappointed me are the lack of use of John Caesar and the characters he specifically introduces us to. *minor SPOILERS ahead* John is Maelys’s cousin, he’s half black, and he’s gay. He introduces the audience to the “underground” gay scene in Bath, and informs us that it’s struggling to stay afloat, then introduces us to a trans woman named Tabitha who was disowned by this scene because of her transness. All these aspects are forgotten to be of use in the story very early on. When Maelys is discovering she likes women she has the conversation with Lysistrata, who does a great job supporting and encouraging her, but without any of the grounded reality of what being gay in 1814 England means that John would have been able to provide. She doesn’t talk about it with Tabitha either, nor is the problem of the gay scene falling apart ever resolved. It’s just mentioned and then forgotten. I kept waiting for any of this to come back into the story and was sorely disappointed when Tabitha made a brief appearance for two pages again at the end of the book. There was so much more that could have been done, and it’s a shame it was wasted.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing!
Overall I have enjoyed Alexis Hall's books. While I didn't love Boyfriend Material I really enjoyed a lady for Duke, so I was really excited when I ended up liking this as well. It definitely leans more similar to A Lady for Duke in terms of writing and plot compared to Boyfriend Material. I absolutely adored the Regency setting in the romance was fantastic. I think this is probably my new favorite of Alexis Hall's books. The magic and the curse brought a fun fantasy element and I absolutely loved the main characters and getting to see the romance develop.

I want Robin the Hobgoblin to narrate my life (or I guess not, since that would mean some bad stuff is going down haha). Going into this I was expecting a recency romance but what I got instead was a funny book with curses and characters I want to adopt (looking at you Miss Bickle) with a generous side of sapphic regency romance.

I definitely recommend it and in fact have started talking it up already to anyone who will listen.

Thanks to Random House/Del Ray for the eARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

For fans of A Lady for a Duke, Alexis Hall gifts us another incredible regency romp - this time with sapphic love and magic, narrated by our favorite sprite with decided opinions about mortals.