I love the cover so much, and went in without knowing much about the synopsis, but I really enjoyed MORTAL FOLLIES!

It was such a delightful read, and had all the witty banter and snark.

*many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the gifted copy for review

As much as I adore Alexis Hall's contemporary series, his historical fiction continues to fall flat for me again and again. I was incredibly intrigued by the concept of Mortal Follies, but in the end, it just didn't work for me. A little confusing, a little overwritten, and the characters didn't make up for it. Sad to say, not a winner for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the voice in this book! Alexis Hall has such a talent for taking regency/period vibes and putting them in a totally relatable and delightful queer love story. It was a fun and fantastic mystery to read. It did feel almost like two separate books in one, with big reveals happening well before the end of the book and new issues arising; that being said, I did enjoy the read and am excited to read more by this author!

All in all, 3.5 stars. Rounding up to 4!

I ultimately made the decision to DNF this book based on the pacing. I found the pace very confusing as well as the development of the Duke of Annadale's character. Too soon, in my opinion, does the Duke say to Maelys some version of "you couldn't handle me in bed" and we hadn't established much real flirting, interest on the Duke's side for it to be very believable. I enjoyed the decision to write from Puck's POV and the little quips and mannerisms he has are very entertaining, but I just couldn't get into the story and about halfway through felt I was wasting my time.

Maybe it's because this setting is in the 1800s...i just couldn't get attached to any of the characters. Initially I was really excited about the romantic fantasy that's really popular recently...but I just couldn't get into it and felt a little bit bored at times.

⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

this is an amazing book, but maybe not the book for me i learned. the narrator was.. weird to me. like i was more focused on that than the story because it was unique. however, i'm also just not a mystery person but i love alexis hall. if you're looking for something with romance but less romance than a romance book, this is for you.

This is a delightful and enchanting sapphic high society romance written with Alexis Hall's classic quirky and charming style. I really enjoyed the whole cast of characters and the magic/sorcery added a fun dimension to the story line.

Sincere thanks to NetGalley & Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Unfortunately I was unable to read this before it got archived. I have seen a copy of Mortal Follies at my local library so that was cool to see. Hopefully I will get a chance to read it soon as I like queer novels and mythology!

A sapphic historical romantasy should really be right up my alley but for some reason this really didn't grab me. I found the pacing to be a bit off. Most of the action happened around the middle of the book and then it kind of fell off from there.

⭐️⭐️.5
🌶️🌶️

I wanted to like this book so badly!! Sapphic, funny, yet felt quite long and was a slog to make it through. I think the issue for me is that much of the plot is mystery-driven and I wanted more romance. And once the romance was happening, it was closed door. But if you’re someone who likes mysteries, this might be the book for you!

Thank you NetGalley, Alexis Hall, and Random House for a free copy of Mortal Follies in exchange for an honest review.


For 2023, I’ll be using this rating scale:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I mourned the ending of this journey 🥹
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ really enjoyed and would recommend
⭐️⭐️⭐️ it was fine
⭐️⭐️ I didn’t enjoy this journey
⭐️ I dnf’d or wish I’d dnf’d
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ this is smutty smutty erotica 🥵
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ medium burn
🌶️🌶️🌶️ slow burn
🌶️🌶️ romantic b plot / closed door / YA romance
🌶️ no romance / nonfiction

Special thanks to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I loved boyfriend material and was super excited to read this book. I do wish that it was a bit shorter, as I felt like there was quite a lot of filler. I was not the biggest fan of the narrator, but I loved the other characters.

Overall I just wish that this book was shorter and that the narrator wasn't constantly inserted into the story.

3.75
this book felt very quintessentially alexis hall in that it had a quirky (and eventually slightly grating) narration style, incredible side characters, and probably about 100 too many pages
I don't think I like this one as much as "a lady for a duke," so if you're looking for a society romance I'd stick to that one. However, I am so glad that I pushed through the middle slump of this book, because I did really love this story and Miss Bickle especially

I am SUCH a fan of Alexis Hall, so when I see this book, and I see fantasy historical romance? sign me the hell up!

thank you to the publisher and net galley for the arc. I really had high expectations for this one since I thought it sounded exactly like the kind of books I like to read. Unfortunately, while I enjoyed all the jokes and comments from the narrator at first, it grew really annoying fast and was quite distracting from the actual story. It just was not my type unfortunately.

So many fun unexpected little twists and turns, a perfect addition to my favorite subgenre of whimsical alt historical reads packed with hilarity, pearl-clutching, and various creatures.

Exciting hijinks and magic abounds in this one. All the characters felt well-rounded and the mystery was intriguing from start to finish. I can't get enough of queer magical "historical" fiction!

This was a fun book! Not going to lie, I mixed up my authors and assumed that the author was a different person. But what a delightful mixup this turned out to be! I was enamored and enchanted after the second chapter. This is a story that’s definitely outside my wheelhouse, but to be honest? Miss Bickle and our narrator Robin kept me going. I loved her eccentricities, and Robin? What a delightful hobgoblin. This story is part romance, part high society, part devilish, part romp in the woods. I really am just so glad I was lured in by a pretty cover and chose to stay. This book will make you laugh out loud, feel like a warm hug, and just make you smile.

I really enjoyed Boyfriend Material so was excited to read this book. While the concept had a lot of potential, I felt the execution was lacking. There was just too much going on here and it didn’t come together for me

This was such a fun read! Easily one of my Top 5 books this year.

I loved the Bridgerton aesthetic, the uniquely bizarre (in the best possible way) characters, and the overall mystery + adventure!

The Fantasy element was very well-done as well, with the book featuring gods, fairies, witches, and magic!

I need this to be a series!!

This might be a case of "it's me, not the book." I adore Alexis Hall's writing and love how he tries new things with his plot devices and doesn't stick to one area of queer romance, however, I just couldn't get into Mortal Follies. I think in part it was due to the narration which just didn't seem to work for me, nor was I captivated by either main character for it to hold my interest. I may circle back to it at a later date but for now, I'm putting it down and hope to enjoy this next one!

I appreciate the advanced reader copy.