A wonderful sapphic celebration of Shakespearean mischief and Austenesque expectations. Alexis Hall’s stories never fail to make me laugh as much as tantalize me. I always finish one with a smile on my face and Mortal Follies was no exception.

This book starts off strong gets a little slow in the middle but then picks back up at the end. The entire book is narrated by a third party who we eventually learn is Robin (or we would know him as Puck!)

Due to circumstance, they have been reduced to telling stories of a publishing house, and they are quite bitter about it. The narrator provides commentary throughout the entire book, often leading us to believe they may not be the most reliable narrator. At one point the narrator describes themselves as “an observer, a chronicler, and occasional maker of mischief.”

This is one of my first times reading a book like this and it is Alexis Hall’s first time writing one (aside from the brief flashes of changing tenses they experimented with in Glitterand.)

The two main characters are beyond delightful. Miss Mitchelmore is a lady of high society who has been cursed (with clothing great unmakes itself) and Miss Georgiana, who we learn is a trans woman, is infamous for possibly having cursed and killed bet brothers and father. Naturally, they are both each other’s only hope, and hilarity, heartfelt feeling and passion commence.

They take grumpy/sunshine to a new level and the banter was phenomenal, and not just between the MCs. All of their friends, acquaintances and enemies also provide amazingly funny anecdotes and monologues throughout the entire book. While the pace is a little slower, it is mostly because Alexis Hall continually sets scenes with grand details and hilarious commentary.

I recommend this book (and all Alexis Hall books!)

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a ARC copy to review.

Once again Hall gives us a book filled with beautiful writing and a fun cast of characters!

Things I adored about the book: the writing style, of course. The characters feel fleshed out and interesting, and this take on A Midsummer Night's Dream. .

As a huge fan of retellings, I was immediately sold on this book and when our Narrator was introduced to us, I knew I would be in for a funny treat. Almost every time Puck broke the fourth wall I would laugh or shake my head. By far my favorite character, honestly. I love sarcastic gossipers.

I am notoriously picky with my wlw reads and I'm so thankful this book didn't disappoint! The chemistry between Maelys and Georgianna was very alluring and fun to delve into. All in all, their story was fun to read.

My only complaint is at some parts the story would drag on just a bit too long, but that's a nitpick that I'm sure very few people agree with. This was such a fun book 4/5!!

This book is a free ARC in exchange for an honest review!

The only word I can use to describe this book would be tedious. It took me weeks to read this. I am a fan of the authors others books but I could not get into this book. The characters were unlikable, the plot was confusing at best. It was way too silly for me.

This is another delightful and ridiculous book from Alex Hall. I’ve really been loving their historical romances, and this has all the wit, snark, over the top absurdity, and sweetness that I have come to expect. And this time, let’s add faeries and vengeful ancient goddesses!
Since the narrator is Robin (more familiar to us mortals as Puck from Midsummer Night’s Tale), we get additional side commentary and insights, but rather less spice, as it would of course be indiscreet for Robin to give us those salacious details.
I did find Lady Georgiana and Maelys to be a less compelling couple than I’ve found in the other books; Lady Georgiana is rather cold (for a decent reason!) but it still made it hard to warm up to her (unlike for example the Duke in Something Fabulous). Though I did love Miss Bickles, Maelys’ best friend; she reminded me a bit of Bonny from SF.
Overall, I think my personal headspace inhibited me from enjoying this book to the full extent it deserved, but I’m not going to let that detract from my recommendation of the story!

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a requested copy for review. All opinions are my own.

alexis hall is always a hit or miss for me, and this book was unfortunately a miss, specially because I could not stand the narrator, not a bad book just not for me

3 ⭐️
This is my first time reading this book by this author and I am planing to read more books by this author!

Honestly, I had mixed feeling about this book because the story plot got confusing towards the middle to later half 😭. The ending was super rushed and the way this book was written didn’t allow me to experience the plot but rather it felt like someone was explaining the story to me?

I enjoyed the characters and the fairy tale vibes from this book was fantastic!

I hadn’t read anything by Alexis Hall before this, though their books were on my radar. What a fun read this was! The narration choice was amusing and helped move the story along in a really clever fashion. I enjoyed the magical aspects and I appreciate that they brought something to the story (instead of acting as filler like they do in some stories). I will definitely check out more of their books after this one. I would have finished it sooner if I hadn’t just been reading it on my kindle (which I usually just use for bedtime reading).

My biggest struggle with this book is how fragmented it is. The first half and the second half have the same characters, but two completely different plot arcs and resolutions. It was confusing and I finished feeling like I just read a fever dream and maybe also had a fever dream myself in reading the fever dream.

I loved the first hundred pages, the setting in regency time but with queer characters is something I love and want to continue to see more of. The bantering between Mae and Georgiana was wonderful and I loved the set up of their relationship. However, after that the book started to lose me. I don't know much at all about greek gods and maybe this all would have made more sense if I did but there was too much going on with curses (past and present) and offerings to gods. I totally lost me after the second animal was cruelly murdered as a "sacrifice". By the second half I was very annoyed with Georgiana and how she was treating Mae, their relationship did not seem healthy but it was supposedly all okay because they loved each other ???? I wished there was more conversation and time spent on their relationship developing instead of on the curse multiple plot arcs

While the narrator was occasionally funny and certainly witty, I did not think it added much to the story and made some of the more intimate scenes really awkward to "watch in" on instead of getting the experience from the characters themselves.

I felt that the story was disjointed and uneven. The predominant conflict was resolved halfway through the book, which was pretty unsatisfying. There was a lot of back and forth between Maelys and Lady Georgianna's relationship before a brand new conflict was introduced. The plot felt a bit slow and dragged periodically, especially with the focus on Maelys and Lady Georgianna's relationship. The premise was intriguing but not something I would read again.

The Story
The story began with Miss Mitchelmore having discovered she was under some spell while at a ball and her clothing was coming undone. She happened upon a Duke, a woman, who saved her from public humiliation. Miss M's friend, Miss Bickle, urged her on to pursue feelings for the woman all throughout the story while Mr. Ceasar suspected the duke of the source of the crime.

The story followed along like a mystery. Halfway thorough the book, the mystery was solved, leaving the reader wondering what the purpose of the second half of the book was supposed to be about.

Firstly, I was stricken by the quality of writing, which was thoroughly enjoyable to read. The setting of the book took place in a Jane Austen-esque Bath with a magical, fairy tale style to it, along with paganism and witchcraft. The narrator was a hobgoblin with almost, but not quite, omnipotent abilities. Personally, I enjoyed the narration, sometimes it was humorous.

Characters
There were issues with the vast amount of characters, who were often mentioned by their last name, but not introduced into the story yet. Later, the multitude of characters—who the reader wasn't familiar with yet—were mentioned by their first name, or a nickname, or a second nickname, and it had all become confusing. For many characters, I wondered why they had been introduced at all and weren't significant to the story.

Miss. Bickle was fun for a side character, since she was rather odd and had a strange way of thinking that could be considered dumb amusement. The main character was rather dull and the duke shelled herself in and tried to push others away. The picnic had some amusing characters as well, like the father who kept reciting poetry.

The duke so happened to always be at the right place at the right time and saved our damsel in distress multiple times. That had became tedious and ridiculous after a while.

Conversations
Some of the conversations seemed to draw out and didn't fit into the story well. For instance, after the duke saved Miss M., each time, it's indicated that she knew more that she was letting on and the heroines met to discuss things. Eagerly, I wanted to know what the duke knew, but instead of discussing anything of any importance (like the mystery they were trying to solve), they discussed having sex together and what they wanted to do to each other. It always seemed out of place and at the wrong time.

Again, when the trio was together discussing who could be the suspect, the conversation seemed to be pointless and went nowhere, and then the conversation was brought back to the feelings between Miss. M and the duke . . . again, and again. It didn't feel as if the story was moving along, but rather it was the same conversations in a different setting.

The parts about the sacrifices and idolatry was gross and lost stars for me.

Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review. I decided to read this during the trans rights readathon during a week when I was experiencing an extreme reading slump, but boy, did this one get me out of it. I love that the action starts immediately to draw the reader in. However, towards the middle, it did become a bit of a slog, but it picked back up by the end. I must say, the ending was just ok. It could've used a little reworking to draw the action out a little bit more. It’s probably because most of the conflict seemed to disappear or get resolved by the second act, which is why I removed a star from my review. It's not all bad though, this book had some great moments! Several times I laughed aloud, which is rare for me. It goes to show how well-written the narration is. The characters were easy to root for, the dialog was well done and I felt like these could’ve been conversations I’ve had with my friends in real life. The romance was charming! I won’t drop any spoilers, but it's a cute sapphic love story. I was swooning! Overall, the plot was a bit unhinged, but that’s what made this a fun, exciting and quick read for me.

The story itself was a bit all over the place for me as I personally felt that this book could have been broken up into a duology. However, I am a sucker for any sapphic fantasy so I really can't complain that much. Above everything, my favorite part of the story was the narrator. If Hall decided to do a collection of short stories with this narrator I would read it in a heart beat (hint hint).

NetGalley ARC Educator 550974


A whimsical story that feels like a mix of genres, that include romance, comedy, drama and fantasy. Trigger warnings include rape, animal harm and language. It was a quick read with lovable characters and some that bore.

This book was interesting, the hobgoblin narrator having very strong opinions and telling the story is definitely not everyone’s cup of tea but I enjoyed the narration.

I loved the characters and especially Miss Bickle, who is Miss Migchelmore’s best friend. She is utterly ridiculous and hilarious and often provides the best insights and advice. Miss Mitchelmore was clever, assertive, and sometimes impulsive. Their interactions with witches, priestesses, and goddesses clever and interesting. The Duke of Annadale is withdrawn and protective; but the self sacrificing trope has never been my favorite.

My biggest issue with this book is that I felt like it was two separate books. There was the Miss Mitchelmore’s curse and resolution and plot, and the Duke of Annadale and her curse and resolution. However, those two stories felt like two entirely different stories to me (though related). Because there were two stories in one book, as well as potentially the narrator, the relationship wasn’t developed as much as I would like it to have been. They say they’re in love but we don’t get enough of their interaction that isn’t life/death or sex related.

Parent’s guide:
Sex & Nudity: moderate (attempted rape, sex—closed door, reference to tying someone up during sex)
Violence & Gore: moderate (animal sacrifice, murder, curses)
Profanity: moderate (multiple uses of f***** to refer to sex)
Alcohol, Drugs & Smoking: mild
Frightening & Intense Scenes: moderate (attempted kidnapping, attempted rape, murder, animal sacrifices)

This is…fine? Much less manic than the Something series, but more whimsy than Hall’s other standalones. It’s not helped by some haphazard pacing, but it leaves you with a warm feeling overall.

The first-person outsider POV doesn’t really do a lot for the story. The narration’s asides are few and far enough between that they end up entirely forgettable aside from the fact that it’s the structure (and aside from the one bit in the Assembly Rooms where we get a glimpse what the live telling would’ve been) and what they are doesn’t add much other than the quirky interest of having a first-person outsider POV (which you do forget at some points, especially as it slides into each woman’s emotions and then abruptly pulls back with a “or that’s what she looked like, humans are so abstract” just to remind you that there’s a narrator to the story. I can’t decide whether I would have liked it better if Puck had been more present as a narrator or not.

Unfortunately, that’s also how a lot of the side characters and side plots feel as well. They’re all there just enough to leave you wanting more and to feel unfulfilled, but also little enough that you look back and think why was this a plot diversion. It’s either setting up for more novels or Hall wanted so badly for us to know about these characters that were far enough outside of the plot that he fit in these scenes. It also fits in with the pacing - half of the book is concerned with one plot, a quarter with another, and then the last quarter with one last bit, skipping around with not a lot of regard for timing or pacing.

That said, what’s there is cute and inventive (even if a lot of the legends are…wrong, with no indication as to why they would be different from our knowledge of them), and it’s a solid Regency romance.

Mortal Follies is Bridgerton meets A Midsummer Night’s Dream, although I’d also argue it weaves in a bit of Gentleman Jack and a pinch of Good Omens (or maybe that last one is just because I pictured the narrator as Michael Sheen).

My favorite part of this book (apart from that gorgeous cover) is definitely the writing, which was far wittier than most romance or historical fiction novels I’ve read. The narrator, Robin/Puck from Midsummer, often interrupts to provide some world-building or make little comments about each character’s thoughts or whether they’re right or wrong. Granted, sometimes this would get a little distracting, but this narrative device was responsible for some of my favorite lines in the book. I did /so/ much highlighting compared to most books.

I also enjoyed the world-building—as you might know from the blurb, it’s Regency England but with mischievous faeries, clever witches, and vicious gods, and there were several side characters I’d love to see sequels about.

I think the thing that kept me from /fully/ enjoying this book was the pacing. It was partly a mystery, partly a romance, but the pacing doesn’t follow either of those genres super well. Without spoiling, it felt like the climax of the novel happened about halfway through, and then the plot meandered a bit until the end, which came kind of abruptly. Plenty 0f bad things happen to the cursed protagonist. but I don’t think I ever bought that she was truly in any danger, and there wasn’t a lot pushing me to keep reading. There were a few times where one side character in particular seemed like he might be a threat, but nothing ever came of it except for the protagonist’s grandpa being like “oh yeah, that guy sucks,” and that confused me.

A lot of the time, the narrator would end a chapter with “and then I got bored so I left,” which ended up being more relatable than I think was intended. I’m not sure how much changes between an ARC and the final copy, but it felt like it was missing some kind of catharsis at the end, at least.

I’d still recommend this book, though, especially to fans of fantasy and Regency romances. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this advance copy!

This review will appear on Instagram on 03/29

We love a sapphic romance book, especially one that gives Bridgerton vibes. It was nice to shake up the environment to include fantasy elements like fae, gods, goddesses, and witches. The narrator being a hobgoblin jester brought the Good Folks to the reader's world, a little fourth wall break that I appreciated. I enjoyed the narrator, having an outside complaining persona was very amusing for me and brought a little outside perspective to fae people.

The pacing of the novel was good until after the main issue was solved, there were still plenty of pages left and left me a bit confused to what the rest of the story would be about. I wished the second tiny arc was hinted at earlier so that the flow into it would be more cohesive.

My ABSOLUTE favorite character wasn't any of the female leads. It was definitely Miss Binckle. She was quirky, cute, and a bit of an air head that brought humor to otherwise tense situations. She was the character I most related to in the whole book. Especially with her shipping of the two main leads.

The romance between the two leads was very cute but not at all spicy. This story fades to black during ✨those✨ scenes. I guess the narrator isn't a voyeur in that sense.

Overall I very much enjoyed my time with this read, and it left a smile on my face.

This was an unique book. Having a narrator was a nice change to the same ol’ same ol’ romance. (Especially a faerie as one). I enjoyed the descriptions with the scenes and characters. And I enjoyed having a story of two women falling in love. All in all, an interesting read.

One sentence to describe this book?

It’s Bridgerton if it had magic and fantastical elements.

The beginning of this book started out in a very familiar tone that bridgerton fans would love. Oberton’s jester starts out this book with a direct letter to us- the gentle readers of this tale. Being called that immediately put me down memory lane and put me in the mindset of - okay so we’re entering high society. It called me to brew some tea and beckoned me to read it outdoors with a gentle breeze at my side as I sip tea and immerse myself into a new story.

And what a weird beginning this story took on. We’re introduced to one of the main characters, Miss Mitchelmore as she goes through a rather strange ordeal. Miss Mitchelmore’s dress comes undone mysteriously and she is forced to hide in the garden as it magically disappears. Mercifully, she is found by Lady Georgiana and avoids scandal.

The next day she meets with her friends and they ponder who could have possible meddled with her dress. In this world, magic exists so they wonder who wielded the spell and try to solve the mystery. It gets dizzying as the narrator of the story takes on different forms and follows everyone around. While it’s a unique way to tell a tale, I also found myself quite annoyed with this jester. And I also found it hard to continue forward with this book.