I wanted to like this book so badly. It sounds like something I would absolutely devour and be absolutely feral about. Unfortunately, something about it didn't click and I found it to be a slog to get through, to the point where I was skimming just to get an idea of what was happening. Maybe it was the style of narration that made it fall flat for me, as that was something that annoyed me even in the beginning when I was riding the high of 'this is going to be so good'.

Whatever it was, I gave it my all and really did want to enjoy it; but, our stars were not meant to align.

Thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey for the ARC!

A laugh out loud funny story of Miss Maelys Mitchelmore in regency England falling in love with Lady Georgiana Landrake who is suspected of murdering basically her entire family all told from the perspective of a hobgoblin.

3.5

This was such an interesting premise for a read and the way it was narrated.

I enjoyed our narrator with their storytelling, but also at times struggled to follow the story due to it.

I think overall it had the same magic of Alexis Hall's writing with great comedic moments, swoon worthy romance and characters I love.

I wanted to love this book and while I loved Maelys, Georgiana, and their supporting cast of characters... the narrator was a bit much. The author did a wonderful job of weaving together historical fiction with fantasy and romance to create a wonderful story. I just felt the narrator tended to muck up the flow a bit too much despite enjoying Robin's wit and laughing along with him.

A big saving grace for me was Maelys' friend Lystrata and her delightful insights into the world they live in. Mortal Follies has a wonderful wit and the voice of traditional Regency-era satires on top of its use of Miss Bickle's concept of the world running along like a wonderful gothic novel... truly a delightful character which made the book more enjoyable for me.

Every time I read an Alexis Hall book I am always appreciative of the diversity and inclusivity he includes with his characters on top of real emotional nuances in the relationships he creates. One of the few authors that's avoided the tropes/pitfalls we can see in a lot of romance stories of any genre.

I received an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher for an honest review.

This was witty and charming. Honestly would read Alexis Halls commentary on just about anything, so it’s no surprise I loved this book.

DNF. After two attempts, I really could not get into this book. I don’t think the third party narrator was enough to grab my attention, and the characters weren’t compelling enough to take that into their own hands either. This could definitely be for someone but it’s not for me.

Alexis Hall cannot fail! Mortal Follies is sugar-spun whimsy and things romantic and wistful.

Highly recommend for everyone, but especially those enchanted and bewitched by A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

I am the worst and didn’t finish this before pub day, but Alexis Hall can do absolutely NO WRONG in my opinion!!

This book was not for me, even though I desperately wanted it to be. Fans of Alexis Hall's other works might enjoy this book since it is up the same alley. I personally just couldn't get past voice of the narrator because I didn't find them to be as comical as I would have liked. It felt like it was trying to hard to recreate the voice of Shakespeare's Puck from A Midsummer Night's Dream, but never could quite reach the intended goal.

Alexis Hall delivers like always! Loved this book. It was especially fun to read something from this author in a fantasy setting. I really enjoy the way this author finds unique stories to tell but always imbues them with just the right combo of heart and humor.

I received a copy of this book through Netgalley. This is my honest review.

When I started reading this book, I didn't realize it was a sapphic romance because one, I basically never read book blurbs before reading books, and two, although I requested the book because of the gorgeous cover, I didn't look at it that closely to really notice the two characters entwined at the top. So it was a pleasant surprise for me when I really got into the story in June (when I read the book) to realize it was a perfect read for Pride month.

The narrator of this tale is a hoot. Although I found myself getting annoyed with some of the ways he made sure we the readers knew he was keeping himself well hidden. Like I'm not really sure all the form changes were really necessary for him to observe the characters, but he did, so we got to hear about it. He really came across as a person who wants more attention that they're getting, without wanting to draw attention to themself.

My favorite character in this tale was Miss Bickle. She has some serious Luna Lovegood vibes about her in the best way possible. She's a real ride or die for Miss Mitchelmore, in spite of the obvious danger. She's just honestly the kind of friend everyone should have.

There were so many quotable lines in this tale, that it was a wee bit difficult for me to narrow down my favorites. There were so many times I found myself giggling over the narrator's or one of the character's lines, making this book just a real joy to read.

Overall I give Mortal Follies 4.875 out of 5 stars.

If you’ve ever read a historical romance and thought, “This could use a few more curses,” boy do I have a book recommendation for you!
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It is, in fact, an unfortunate curse that brings together the love interests in Alexis Hall’s new, sapphic, historical romance. When Miss Maelys Mitchelmore finds herself the subject of a painful and embarrassing curse, she must, along with her cousin and best friend, discover who cursed her and how to remove it. Maelys is helped by the mysterious Lady Georgiana Landrake, who keeps showing up whenever Maelys needs rescuing and knows more about magic than most people in polite society. As more about the curse is uncovered, the more danger the two ladies find themselves in, and soon both their reputations and their lives are at stake.
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One of my favorite aspects of Mortal Follies is its narrator, the fairy Puck of Midsummer Night’s Dream fame. Puck is merely a neutral observer of human misfortune, but their biting wit lends a unique humor to this magical romance.

Mortal Follies by Alexis Hall is a romance that rather defies being set in a singular category. It is the year 1814, and life for a young lady of good breeding has many difficulties. There are balls to attend, fashions to follow, marriages to consider, and, of course, the tiny complication of existing in a world swarming with fairy spirits, interfering deities, and actual straight-up sorcerers. Miss Maelys Mitchelmore finds her entry into high society hindered by an irritating curse. It begins innocuously enough with her dress slowly unmaking itself over the course of an evening at a high-profile ball, a scandal she narrowly manages to escape. However, as the curse progresses to more fatal proportions, Miss Mitchelmore must seek out aid, even if that means mixing with undesirable company. And there are few less desirable than Lady Georgianna Landrake—a brooding, alluring young woman sardonically nicknamed “the Duke of Annadale”—who may or may not have murdered her own father and brothers to inherit their fortune. If one is to believe the gossip, she might be some kind of malign enchantress. Then again, a malign enchantress might be exactly what Miss Mitchelmore needs. With the Duke’s help, Miss Mitchelmore delves into a world of angry gods and vindictive magic, keen to unmask the perpetrator of these otherworldly attacks. But Miss Mitchelmore’s reputation is not the only thing at risk in spending time with her new ally. For the reputed witch has her own secrets that may prove dangerous to Miss Mitchelmore’s heart—not to mention her life.

Mortal Follies is a book that I have trouble categorizing. It is a historical romance, a fantasy, a LGBTQIA+ romance, an adventure, and has a Shakespearean feel with the narrator. I liked the cast of characters and the diverse and quirky personalities for several of the secondary characters. I thought the story and worlds building was well done, and the characters were multidimensional and highly entertaining. I am a fan of the author, so my enjoyment is no big surprise here. I only had two little things that bothered me, one was that I figured out the person behind the curse way to quickly. Second was that I had some trouble with the pacing- although this might have been more on me trying to break a reading slump with a favorite author. It just felt like it took forever to get to the end, and even though I enjoyed the ride it just felt slow to me. Again, this might just be because of my mindset while reading and I do not hold it against the author at all. In fact, I have two more oft heir books in my reading queue and I can wait to get to them.

Mortal Follies is a romance with many twists and turns. and much that fans of historical or fantasy romance will enjoy.

This book was unfortunately a DNF for me. It was very hard to get into the narration and point of views. I did really enjoy the concept and the sapphic romance, I just didn’t have an easy time getting into the book.

This was good, but not excellent. I liked the main characters but it felt a little forced. Was a fine read, but probably wouldn't purchase it for myself!

A fun, lesbian, fantasy version of Bridgerton, complete with witches, fairies, goddesses and curses. My favorite book by this author is Boyfriend Material; Mortal Follies is quite a different type of novel, written in regency English as opposed to hip modern dialect. Nevertheless it is an entertaining read with enough twists and turns to keep me interested.

I wanted to try something different to read and I was very happy with my choice!

First, I was obsessed with the first page. I had to read it out loud in an English accent. I was pretty hooked from that point on! I laughed so much during the book but it still kept my attention.

The dialogue was so amazing! The plot was a little lacking for me but still a great book in my eyes.

Thank you, Random House Publishing and NetGalley for the EARC! As always, my review is my opinion and thoughts.

This magical sapphic romantasy had me cheesy grinning with the banter and chemistry. I also love that it wasn't PG-13. The story is told from the eyes of Puck who is adamant about not being a hobgoblin. It's Regency with fantastical elements. I did feel it was a bit longer than needed but outside of that I loved this book. Curses, emotional depth, hilarious banter and steamy chemistry made this a highly rated audio for me.

True rating 4.5/5.

"mortal follies" is a sapphic romance that takes place in 1814 and that is... narrated by a hobgoblin. our main character, miss mitchelmore, is dealing with a curse at the beginning of the novel, and ends up needing to turn to "the duke of annadale" -- another young woman and potential witchy murderess -- for help. also featured is miss mitchelmore's friend, miss bickle, and cousin, mr caeser.

this book has a great start! it is fun, funny, bright, and has SUCH sexual TENSION like the WAY these WOMEN are FLIRTING!!!! ughhhhh it's delicious! i also loved the narrative voice for the majority of the book. i found it fun and ~quirky~ and nice for setting this book apart from the occasional monotony that occurs when reading similar plotlines over and over.

i ADORED miss bickle. as a neurodivergent,,,,,, i resonate so much with this woman. she is goofy and kind and makes no sense to anyone but herself. ADORE.

by about the 80% mark i slowed down a lot in my reading, partially because of my own ~personal life~ but also due to the unusual pacing of the novel. there were so many problems to overcome and the fact that things just... took longer... in 1814 did feel like it played in a bit. i don't know if this is a major issue or just from my reading experience though!

my largest problem was that i felt the ending fell a bit flat. the final problem and solution were just slightly contrived? for my taste? and felt clunky and rushed sadly. didn't ruin the book for me at all, but was a disappointment for sure.

overall, i had such a fun time reading this and i definitely recommend giving it a shot if you're open to lots of jokes about mortals and their behavior (i very much am. yippee!).


one final note: i wish i had looked up some trigger warnings before reading! off the top of my head, here are a few: stalking, transphobia from minor characters, threat of physical/sexual violence, death, animal sacrifice. i would certainly double check other reviews/sites for ones i may have missed as these were a bit off putting to read in a rom-com-esque setting :)

(as always, much thanks to the publisher and netgalley for providing me with a free eARC in exchange for my honest review.)

*Disclaimer: I may have not enjoyed this book, but this does not mean you will not like it. I personally wanted to love this book, but in the end this book was not for me.

Rating: 2.5/5 Stars
Mortal Follies is marketed as a sapphic fantasy regency romance that follows Miss Maelys Michelmore as she enters high society, but finds herself cursed that can ultimately become fatal, so she pairs up with a rumored witch (Lady Georgianna Landrake) to help get rid of the curse.

I have been a fan of Alexis Hall's London Calling series and when I saw Mortal Follies up for request on NetGalley, I just had to request it. I was approved for the arc, however I did not get time to read the arc, so I requested the audiobook from Libby.

Point of View Disclaimer:
Now, first thing first, you all should know that Mortal Follies is told with a third person omniscient point of view.

I believe even if I physically read Mortal Follies I would still have the same opinions on the things I will be talking about in this review.

Characters:
For this book being told in third person omniscient they have the qualities of what type of third person narration this book would be in, BUT they are but are not a third main character, have a name, and breaks the fourth wall a lot, which all of this throws you out of the story and messes with the pacing.

Then, with how the POV is done, it makes it very, very hard to connect with the characters because they feel blended together and I really struggled to tell the characters apart. Their characteristics felt pretty similar too and the characters were not really relatable.

Also, our narrator calls use the proper titles (ie. Miss Mitchelmore or some version of this and then Lady Landrake or some version of this) of the characters and it really takes out that personal aspect with these characters, makes them less unique, and takes you out of the story because it just feels way too proper. I do suppose maybe the properness could be due to this book being set in 1814 and when you read classic books from around that time period, we see the properness of names.

Romance:
For the romance between Maelys and Georgianna I felt no chemistry between them and cannot even tell you why they like one another, but it did feel pretty insta-love like.

Plot/The World:
The plot consists of Maelys being cursed and teaming up with a possible witch, Georgianna to help her get rid of the curse. So, that in the nutshell is the plot, but from the time we come to the conflict and start to rise to the rising action to the climax, then down to the falling action and resolution it was all over the place with things happening superfast/rushed, then there being many times we are doing nothing with the plot or staying in place for a while. The falling action and resolution felt very rushed and did not feel super satisfying, but more of me thinking "finally this book is done." The world building could have had more development since it felt like that there was not much known about the world.

On a Positive Note:
I know I have spent a lot of time talking about the negative aspects of why I did not enjoy this book, so here are some positives.

The cover is very pretty and eye catching, which is another reason why I wanted to read it before seeing it was written by Alexis Hall.

For the premise of the book, I think it is unique and could have been promising. If this book was told from one of the MC's point of views, the character development and world building being more fleshed out, and I believe the romance would have had more chemistry and realistic if we, the reader, knew more about each of the characters.