Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for the eARC.

This was an enjoyable, whimsical tale narrated from the perspective of the hobgoblin puck from A Midsummer Night's Dream. The hobgoblin narrates the tale of Miss Maelys Mitchelmore who finds herself cursed and doesn't seem to know. Maelys finds herself in the mercy of Lady Georgiana Landrake due to the curse and romance with a magical plot ensues.

In terms of the narration, it was mostly enjoyable, but perhaps due to the omniscient nature of it, the author included a few of scenes and characters that really didn't add much to the plot, particularly in the first half. It might have been flowed better if those scenes were excluded. However, while it may pull you out of the story at times, it added a fair amount of whimsy to the story which was befitting the nature of the tale.

It is also a mostly humourous novel, with many quips by the narrator, plenty of banter, and a lot of comedic relief, particularly from Miss Bickle. The quips mostly landed and the banter between Maelys and Georgiana were top notch(I enjoyed every interaction they had). The Miss Bickle parts were more uneven in my opinion. While her quirkiness was amusing, it reached a little over the top at times(e.g her "tinging"/shipping felt a little too referential for my tastes, bordering on cringe).

The characters, for the most part, were quite endearing, though the means of narration meant that we never quite get to feel the emotions with them. Maelys is a very likable heroine and I really enjoyed her arc. Georgiana in her brooding, Byronic nature and sharp tongue is quite swoon-worthy(I do wish we got to spend more time with her than we did). While Miss Bickle did get a bit over the top sometimes, her friendship with Maelys was very sweet and her idiosyncrasies were mostly endearing. I don't have strong feelings for Mr. Ceaser who felt mostly there to round out the dynamic and had some scenes that really went nowhere as mentioned earlier.

The plot did feel like it was done at the halfway point initially, but in hindsight connected quite well. Though you never quite feel a tension as it progresses despite the dastardly plots involving gods. It's certainly more of a cozy read.

All in all, it's funny and enjoyable romcom with a unique voice and endearing characters. And while it certainly could have been tighter, it's still a relatively quick read. 3.5/5

- thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an arc to review!

- i really wanted to like this, but a huge complaint of mine was the choice of the narrator. it’s an omniscient point of view, which can be done nicely, but not in this book. it ended up making me feel detached from the characters, and in part, made me not finish the arc entirely. it’s unfortunate, since the idea of sapphic lovers uncovering the ways of healing a curse sounded so good.

I received a free digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I have loved a whole bunch of Alexis Hall's books, and ultimately loved this one too, but it took 3 attempts to really get into it. The combination of fantasy elements with a regency setting was delightful. The characters were brilliant, from the main lovers to the supporting cast. And the plot itself was a fun multi-part romp, with more depth than I normally pick up from a romance.

However, I had a few issues, both helping to explain that slow start to enjoyment. I think the narrator choice was fun, but overly complicated. It felt like we were seeing this story through a filter, when the story was interesting enough that the filter was unneeded. Adding to that, the characters were so deep in their regency stereotypes that sometimes it felt hard to follow what they meant. I have not read that many regency romances, so this could just be my lack of familiarity with the sub-genre though!

Overall, another very fun sure-to-be hit from Alexis Hall!

Alexis Hall has an absolute talent for weaving stories in amazing new ways. I fell in love with every character in this book and even the narrator. This story brings so much love and passion into the plot which I was not expecting but absolutely loved.

The representation of how hard queer relationships can be is so true and it’s all shown in such an amazing manner. The aesthetics, the writing, the characters, ect. Everything was amazing.

CW/TW:
Attempted Rape

I liked this novel reminded me a lot of the author's other novel a lady for a Duke in its writing style. I really loved that it was an explicitly lesbian romance that took place in not modern setting. I really wish it had spent more time on the last arc of the novel for the ending felt a little abrupt looking for items for Minerva.

Mortal Follies starts with a bang but quickly loses steam. The narration gimmick is interesting - having a fae narrating the humans' story- but it was badly suited for a romance (there's only so much an exterior narrator can say about a romance before it becomes creepy and awkward). The narrator's commentary often disappears when the author seem to realise he wants to write the story and actions and not comment on everything so why do we have this narrator in the first place (besides fun concept to play with)

I am surprised this book is not the first in a series (or it has not been announced yet) because there are way too many side characters set up for their own arc and vast possibilities opened up. Honestly too many insipid characters in the first part of the story made me lose interest in this for weeks. The main story is really boring and the book really becomes a romance in the last third. Although "romance" because with an external narrator the characters have to voice all of their emotions for us to know about them.

Something that bothered me is that Georgiana is presented as a stone top (lesbian who only gives and does not let her lover touch her). This is rare to see in books and I was pleasantly surprised to see an non-lesbian author explore a complex part of lesbian sexual identity. Turns out Maelys spends some time upset about this and try to pressure her lover into letting her touch her which I found extremely uncomfortable. Georgiana accepts because the reason she was like that is that she's brooding and has a dark secret (which is really disappointing- both the secret and the non stone top thing).

And then we get more fantasy plot which does not do the book any good

This was really cute. Funny, bridgerton meets witches but with a pov/narrator that gives me Hermes vibes.

10/10 would recommend!


Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to receive an arc in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I have mixed feelings about this book. I enjoyed it, and then I didn't.
The writing was great and the story was very whimsical. I love a good whimsy, especially in a magical Victorian England set story. However, we are introduced to interesting characters that aren't seen again. I am hoping this is because there will be more stories to come set in the same world. Otherwise, what was the point? I also felt that the romantic aspect of the story was drawn out far too long. The Duke is very hot/cold, to the point where I was over it. A little too slow-burn for me. The first half is fun, there's magic, there's curses, there's the 'will they, won't they?' relationship, there's a battle of sorts. It almost seems as if the second half could have been a separate story. A second curse tacked on after the first felt superfluous. The characters are really what kept the story going. Miss Bickle, Mr. Caeser, the parents, Tabitha, and even the Goblin narrator are all delightful. The character development for Maelys was fantastic and worth the read, even if I think she deserved better than the Duke.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Buckle up for a romantasy— for a sapphic romance— for a grumpy sunshine trope— for a return to Bath (if you love Jane Austen that is). I’m a huge fan of Alexis Hall, and Mortal Follies had the whimsy and humor I have come to expect from all of Hall’s books. I’m not a huge Shakespeare fan so the allusion to Midsummer Night Dream was lost on me for the first half of the book— then I felt very silly. Now that I can appreciate it that Puck is our hobglobin narrator I want to reread this book to see what other things I may have missed! The narrative voice IS hilarious and I’m sort of hoping Hall writes more tales from my new favorite globetrotting hobgoblin’s point of view! Some other reviews mentioned the pacing of this book was surprising— I would just say that it’s a ride, and you should enjoy it. The arc is maybe not what you would expect but that doesn’t mean it’s not enjoyable. The romantic storyline happens more in the latter half than the first half and that’s all I’ll say! I enjoyed an arc from NetGalley and this is an honest review.

This was such a fun and enjoyable sapphic read! While the story and plot were interesting and enjoyable, who doesn’t like a good curse and godly magic, my favorite aspect of this was the narrator! It was lots of fun to reward this through the eyes of Puck, the hobgoblin. I was literally laughing out loud at the narration and story telling. The story itself was good but a little predictable. It was easy enough to figure out who put the curse on Miss Mitchelmore and the ending and some other little things. But I did love characters and their relationships. Miss Mitchelmore and the Duke of Annadale had a well written slow burn that had me screaming at them to kiss in every scene together and delighted when it finally happened. I also absolutely loved Miss Bickle and found her hilarious. She completely stole the show! I want another book but with her as the mc.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and recommend you read it when it comes out this summer!

Read if you like…
•sapphic
•curses
•regency era
•slow burn
•faeries

4.0 stars. A Regency romance in which Miss Maelys Mitchelmore, plagued by increasing levels of supernatural misfortune, falls in love with a noblewoman suspected of dark magics by polite society. As told by eternal trickster Robin Goodfellow.

I very much enjoyed the first half of this book and its stylized voice (in which I am now struggling not to write this review). Maelys's struggle to deal with her curse and the not-always-helpful input from her friend and family played delightfully against the formal setting of Regency-era high society. But by the latter half, I was wishing for Maelys's free-spirited friend, Miss Bickle, to take up the reins as main character. The action subsided as the romance between Maelys and the Duke took precedence, and it felt as if the sense of bright, brittle whimsy tinged with mystery and darkness was never quite recaptured. There was also a mismatch between the conflicts encountered and the actions undertaken to address them. That said, if there are any more stories forthcoming in this world of Fey and Old God observers, I would gladly take the plunge.

I was given the opportunity to review an e-ARC of MORTAL FOLLIES through NetGalley.

Man, I went on a journey with this one.

It’s always a tricky experience when you have high expectations for something, whether because it sounds like something you would love (lesbians, magic, historical, ironic narrators) or because you love the author’s past work (Pansies, … okay look I can’t list everything). You want to love it, but you are hyperaware about the potential for disappointment so you’re preemptively trying not to try to love it, because that will just make you dislike it? And this book is such a specific tone that I read it in batches with days in between because I wanted to really be able to immerse myself in the tone instead of reading it in snatches on the train or while some database was loading on my work laptop (what, am I going to sit around and do nothing while I wait? That’s a whole 15 seconds!), which meant that this book was percolating for significant amounts of time even though I wasn’t always reading it. So rather than try to write an actual review, I’m going to give you a sense of my experience of reading it:

1%: Delightful!
30%: Idk idk… is this a bit depressing? Does the tone really cohere?
40%: Is it me or is this dragging…. Why this filler? The plot is going nowhere.
56%: uhhhhhh okay this is decent actually, but was the plot just basically resolved?? What is going to happen for the rest of the book??
70%: you know what, this is great! I would happily just follow these characters. (But seriously, what’s going to happen, now it’s just looming.)
90%: okay this all totally works, this makes perfect sense, what an incredibly structured book actually, when I finish maybe I should reread the first half so that I can reflect on it in context??
100%: I’m literally tearing up???? Oh my god, a perfect happy ending, this is all I ask for in a historical romance!!

So, like I said…. I went on a journey lol.

A few additional points which, while seemingly random, all turn out to relate to Jane Austen:

- One of my favorite things about Austen etc. is a narrator/narration that lovingly(…ish) mocks the characters. I knew I loved Emma when she bent down to tie her absolutely not-untied shoelace so that Harriet and Elton could walk on together and then a little child ran up so she walked next to them, and it was all totally natural, the most natural thing in the world… or, the book gently and hilariously points out, it would have been natural if she were not, you know, doing it all on purpose. Technically speaking. So basically I adored this book’s puckish (hah) narrator. I wonder if it would get old and it never did!
- I loved how, Austen-esque, there was a relatively small circle of side characters that recurred at various points in the story. There was a moment where I thought “oh no! Are we really not going to see [redacted] again??” Pshaw, of course we were!
- I appreciate the lack of plot predictability even though the plot is very purposefully structured and exists within a genre full of familiar tropes? Because it was really that I was expecting a modern Regency romance plot and what I got was an Austen plot. Very fun! I was hesitant about this book because prior to reading it I was really feeling oversaturated on Regency era historical romance, but I think the key is that the book is a play on Austen, not Georgette Heyer.

And finally… it’s brutal how much I relate to/want to be the Duke of Annadale and yet I have neither an ominous reputation, nor a gallery with portraits of my devilish ancestors, nor a pistol on my bedside table, nor a beautiful ingenue begging me to fuck her and/or save her life…….………… 🧐

I have mixed feelings about this book. The writing was beautiful. Scenes and characters were described in vivid detail and the narrator went out of their way to be sure you understood what was happening

However, I wasn’t fond of the narrator. This book is told through the lens of a fairy set about finding a story. So while we do get an omnipresent point of view, it is filled with the narrator’s opinions of the women and their actions.

Overall, there was nothing outright concerning about the content. It was an adventurous and beautiful story chronicling two women finding love. It was just HEAVILY detailed to the point of being overdone. The narrator fell down many a rabbit hole. It took me a long while to finish the book and, at only 416 pages, it felt much much longer.

I have to state that this book is a romance book first and foremost. Is it spicy? No. Is it rich with love? No. Is it realistic regarding love? Yes. This book seemingly has two parts: during the curse and after the curse (and during the curse again). Whenever it seemed the main conflict was resolved, a new conflict would become apparent.

I liked this book and the overall message. I just didn’t care for the narrator. I felt like I was hearing a story secondhand (which I was). I never felt like I was an active participant in the enjoyment of the story. I read about how much the narrator enjoyed the story, but I never enjoyed it. It was like reading a chronicle- very informational.

I absolutely loved the narrator, they kept me laughing and also kept me curious about the story of Maelys and Georgiana.

After finding herself at the center of a curse a young noblewoman seeks the assistance of a rumored witch, getting entangled in more than she might have bargained for in Mortal Follies by Alexis Hall.
In 1814 the young Miss Maelys Mitchelmore finds herself facing a variety of difficulties with seemingly inexplicable origins. While attending a ball scandal nearly befalls her as her dress starts dissolving; escaping to the gardens she is soon found, and unenthusiastically rescued, by Lady Georgiana Landrake, who within society is frequently referred to as the Duke of Annadale and is believed by many to be a sorceress and murderer of her father and brothers. As the impact of the curse on Miss Mitchelmore progresses to increasingly dangerous, and potentially fatal, proportions she seeks out aid from wherever she can find it, even if it’s from company society deems undesirable. With the unwavering assistance of her dear friend Miss Bickle, who fervently believes in fairies and magic, and her rather pragmatic cousin Mr. Caesar, and the additional help of the brooding Duke, Miss Mitchelmore navigates a world of gods and magic in an effort to reveal her tormentor and undo the curse, but in undoing the curse upon her she finds herself becoming increasingly intertwined in a romantic entanglement that leaves her to boldly navigate, and voice, her yearning for what might be.
Told through an entertaining and puckish narrator of the hobgoblin often referred to as Robin, who fleshes out the more magical side of events and references other notable literature featuring fairies, a story of yearning and romantic pursuits, however misguided they may be, unravels with the humorous and informative commentary that Robin provides. Many events stemmed from magical interventions making the general acceptance of magic within the world a necessary element and it was well-depicted, particularly though the portrayal of the delightfully whimsical Miss Bickle and her steadfast belief in and consideration of magical beings. Though the tale follows Robin’s collective telling of Miss Mitchelmore’s misadventures, which begin with an unfortunate, though noteworthy, event of her dissolving dress that draws Lady Georgiana in to be part of the story’s events, once the identity of the curse layer is revealed and dealt with, the second half of the story feels more like a separate tale from the one of magical adventure with the narrative's shifted focus on a foray toward reluctant romance while using a few connections in the form of common characters to link the novel together into a broader narrative; meanwhile there are other characters with distinct personalities or quirks who were introduced and quickly forgotten leaving them to not be explored or used to their full potential or for a deeper purpose and raising a question to the reason behind their introduction in the first instance.
Overall, I’d give it a 3 out of 5 stars.
*I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I must admit I'm a little disappointed.
The first chapter had me hooked. The Duke if Annadale had me swooning, and the banter was incredible. I was hooked all the way up to about page 150, where we had the fight with the big bad, the villain, and I was genuinely confused where the story would go and how it could continue.
Had I not read the first half, I would have enjoyed the second half well enough. The problem was that each half felt like two different books.
There was a who dunnit reveal, and an epic fight by page 150 which almost made the second half feel unnecessary.
The second half arguably didn't need the first half at all, in terms of furthering the story, hence why I felt like I was reading two different books.
The first 150 pages were easily 5 stars. The second 150 pages were closer to 3 stars. It's hard to rate this book as a whole when it didn't read like a whole book.

With that said, Alexis Hall's humor wasn't missed, and truly that's why I love her writing.

Big thank you NetGalley and to the publisher for the chance to review this book pre-release. This is my first read from this author, and I really enjoyed it, I loved the twist on a historical read, and the inclusivity, however the narrator was not my...favorite part. When I looked past that however, I really enjoyed reading it, and would highly recommend for lovers of sapphic slow-burns, light fantasy and those looking for surprisingly inclusive topics that are important in today's real world.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an ARC.

Amidst high society luncheons and unrequited romantic advances, Maelys Mitchelmore finds herself cursed. Not a fantastic, fairytale kind of curse, either-- the kind of curse that seeks to destroy her reputation.
From her dress unraveling at a ball to being attacked by swarms of wasps, the curse goes from ridiculous to deadly.
It quickly becomes clear to Maelys that the only person who may be able to help her is the outcast Duke of Annadale-- a woman they call a witch after the unexplainable deaths of her male relatives. Will the Duke be able to save Maelys from her curse, or is she perhaps the one who doomed her in the first place?

I would rate this book a solid 3.5 stars if Goodreads allowed that, but am happy to round up to 4. I was actually quite pleasantly surprised by this novel! I had no idea what to expect going into it, and found that it was one of the most intriguing books I'd read in a long time.

I wasn't sure how to feel about the narration at the beginning, in fact I felt it may be a bit too much, but it settled well over time. There were a few moments that I felt we were given more information about Robin than was necessary, but that may just be personal preference. I really do love a strong voice and that is exactly what we got-- there was such an interesting mixture of religions and magic and folklore and Shakespearean references thrown around-- I was constantly on my toes.

As for the romance, I really enjoyed the characters but felt that some of the emotions fell a bit flat. This, I believe, is just because with an outside narrator, we don't really get to experience Maelys or Georgiana's thoughts or feelings at all-- we are just told about their actions. They were also very hot and cold with each other, which began to feel a bit repetitive. I think if Georgiana's *secret* was announced sooner, it would have flowed a little bit better and felt less rushed at the end. Despite this, I did root for them and relished the few little moments they were truly honest with each other about how they felt.

I did also find that there were quite a few characters mentioned that seemed to disappear out of nowhere. John's friends, for one, were there for just a moment. It was very clear that the author had thought long and hard about who they were as characters (they felt so genuine and flushed out!), but they were never mentioned again after that one encounter. I would have loved to have more information on them, personally. I can't quite figure out what purpose they served.


SPOILERS BELOW!

My final thought is that the plot felt incredibly strong in the beginning, so I was very shocked when everything seemed quite resolved right in the middle of the novel. When we discovered that Maelys was under another separate curse, it felt a bit repetitive. It seemed as though there were two climaxes of the book, but that the second one was significantly less exciting since we had already done the same song and dance before. I kept waiting for a big overarching climax to set in, but there was none. There was one curse, it was dealt with, and then there was another curse and it was dealt with. The ending also appeared rather rushed, and perhaps the intent was to show that Maelys was now a trained curse-breaker and could easily win this round, but it ended up feeling just a bit less impactful because of the pace.

END OF SPOILERS!


Despite my slight nitpicking, I did really quite enjoy this book! I thought the characters were unique and the setting/voice/language was unlike anything I've read before. There should be far more sapphic fairytales in the world and I would gladly eat all of them up!

I love Alexis Hall’s writing, and when I found out he wrote another queer historical book, I immediately added it to my TBR and requested an ARC.
 
Sadly, I didn’t like Mortal Follies as much as I wanted to. Worse, I decided to DNF. I tried to start reading this ARC several times, and while the different style of the Mortal Follies could have been a fantastic way to tell a story, I just didn’t like the narrator. I’m eagerly waiting for Alexis Hall’s next book, though (after all, he publishes so many books in 2023, and I’m pretty sure I’ll love at least one of them).

This was a fun read. I loved the narrator and the twist on a regency romance. If you are fans of Bridgerton and sapphic dalliances, this would be perfect for you.
That being said, my favorite part of this book were the sprinkles of fantasy. I liked the fae and the gods and the magic. I would really recommend this book and this author to anyone!