I LOVE Alexis Hall's books. I've adored every single one I have read, and Confounding Oaths is no exception. This novel takes place after the events of Hall's Mortal Follies (one of my favorite books of 2024), and while you could probably get away with reading this one first, I will always recommend reading the books in order. Oaths is a MM romance filled with magic, stress, pining, more magic, fairy bargains, and the best narrator of them all: our mischievous Puck of A Midsummer's Night Dream fame.

Our main character is Mr. John Caesar, and his growth throughout the book is one of my favorite things. He's dealing with a lot, and even when he manages to muck things up, I love that his love and devotion to his family always comes through.

I recommend it for readers of romance, historical romance, fantasy, etc!

John thinks he’s just going to get a pleasant night with an army captain. Little does he know, he’s going to get swept up into fairy wishes, a secretive cult, & a puckish narrator.

This was delightful. And I felt it was a stronger read for me than Mortal Follies. There was less focus to the romance (which was still sweet and kept me invested), and then we got wishes gone awry, action packed scenes, dramatic rescues, and some really lovely sibling relationships. The development of John and Mary’s relationship, specifically, just was so much fun to read.

And I continue to enjoy Hall’s secondary characters. And Puck continues to make me smile! His little asides just made me giggle, and there was fewer of his references to other adventures to distract me.

The pacing also worked a lot better for me, and there was a less abrupt ending! Most everything was resolved in a way that left me satisfied, but we got enough hints that I’m looking forward to whatever may come out next in this series.

Thanks to both NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for this arc!

I struggled to get into this one at first, and then I figured it that it's the second book in a series. After reading the first book, this one was quicker to understand. I love the idea behind these books, and will continue to read any new additions to this series, but it isn't my favorite set by this author. They're light-hearted, funny, super queer, magical historical romance, but it's just missing something for me to be five stars.

<i>First, a thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an eARC of this book.</i>

This was a fun read - same cadence, same character and feel as Mortal Follies. But I m one just didn’t resonate the same for me as Mortal Follies did.

I would still read more from Hall, but this wasn’t as much of a slam dunk for me.

**I was provided an electronic ARC from the publisher through NetGalley.**

Alexis Hall returns to the world of Mortal Follies with the sequel, Confounding Oaths. Mischievous Robin Goodfellow narrates the events as Ms Mary Caesar falls into an unfavorable fairy bargain as her brother, John, attempts to assist her despite the interventions of a regiment of soldiers, military cult, Faerie Queen Titania, and dashingly handsome Captain James.

I waited until after the book's release to have access to the audiobook once I realized there was a third party narrator that breaks the fourth wall. This is my own fault, but I had not read Mortal Follies prior to reading this book. It stands alone reasonably well, but I don't doubt the books would be better in sequence.

This is a playful twist on A Midsummer Night's Dream, and is clearly inspired by but NOT a retelling. Unfortunately for me, one of the things I like best about Alexis Hall's writing is the character work from the characters directly engaged in the story. Which, of course, with our Robin character narrating, I do not have access to. As such, I recognize that this book was objectively fine, but it simply wasn't for me.

On to the next from Alexis Hall's backlist!

I love how widely Alexis Hall writes, and the various genres and voices he writes in. I've read just about every book in his catalogue. That being said, this wasn't one of my favorites (which is very much a me thing, not a writing thing). As with Mortal Follies, I had a hard time connecting to the characters since the narration (through Robin) felt almost disconnected. Still if you enjoyed Mortal Follies, you will love this book. It's filled with Hall's signature humor, characters, and love!

As a disclaimer, Alexis Hall can do no wrong in my eyes, so take that with you as you read this review.

This was literally everything I wanted and more. Made it to the top 5 of 2024 books.

The romance was sweet and steamy and so well written. I loved the characters. The plot was surprising and FUN!

This was an absolute treat.

Thank you NetGalley and Del Rey for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I loved Hall’s Mortal Follies, so I was excited to return to the world and characters in Confounding Oaths. I still absolutely love Robin as a narrator, but I just wasn’t that invested in the overall story. While I found that the narrative voice was strong, I also felt like there was too much going on (which I suppose is similarly true of Mortal Follies, but I wasn’t that bothered then and the different storylines were easy for me to keep up with. Miss Bickle is lovely, of course, and I think it’s fun to see what the Old Gods are getting up to, but I wasn’t particularly compelled by the romance this time around. I do wonder if this is in part due to the fact I have been aggressively bouncing off of romances since June, but at the very least I greatly enjoy the sinister undertones. Regardless, Confounding Oaths is funny and while I personally feel very Well That Happened about this installment, I am still fond of the world and would read other stories set in it.

the story in here is just as beautiful as the cover art - the cover art is what i think will draw many people in but the romance between our tw main characters is what will make them stay.

just as with the previous book in this series, I loved this one. The approach to narration is fresh, fun, and utterly captivating. I also loved the characters and am always a fan of the third act tension being from a kidnapping instead of a breakup lol

rep: Black MC & LI of color, Black side characters, sapphic side characters

spice: none

tw: human sacrifice, attempted murder, actual murder

Once again, I loved an Alexis Hall story! I read this when I first received the ARC, and I could not put it down. For a second reading, I selected this for a November book club book, and everyone loved it. The complexity and the fact that I actually enjoyed the characters in this one a little bit more than I did in Mortal Follies made for a great read and reread.

I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

Confounding Oaths is the sequel to Mortal Follies, a queer Regency fantasy strangely narrated by Puck of Shakespearian plays. I liked Mortal Follies and was excited to read this book!

For some reason, I really struggled with this book and DNFed at 10%. The writing just wasn't for me and it was so weird to switch back to Puck in a Regency romance. I enjoyed some of the dialogue, as I always do in Alexis Hall's books! This one just wasn't my cup of tea.

2 stars from me and an unfortunate DNF. Thank you to Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley for the eARC of this book, my thoughts are my own!

Alexis Hall does it again! Alexis Hall is one of my all time favorite authors. He always writes really wonderful characters and a story that is sometimes absolute madness, but always a fun ride. Confounding Oaths was a sequel to Mortal Follies, which I read last year and adored. It has a fun plot, and an even better narrator. My favorite part of Alexis Hall's writing is the humor he effortlessly incorporates into his stories, but that humor never distracts from the story and (in this case) never takes away from the higher stakes of a plot (which for this book, contains magic). I loved this and recommend it to anyone looking for a quick fantasy read with witchcraft, faeries, and shenanigans!

It took me a very long time to get through this book. It was very very slow. There is definitely a lot going on but almost too much going on. I just couldn’t get into this story. I really wanted to like it but unfortunately it wasn’t for me. This is the first book I’ve read by Alexis. I’m not sure if I’d read another. Thank you NetGalley, Alexis and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the ARC!

This is my first book of this kind from Alexis Hall. It was not what I expected and wasn’t typically something I would choose, but I appreciated the writing and clear range of talent in the author. While it wasn’t my cup of tea, it was ibjectively well done.

Thank you Netgalley and Publisher for this advanced copy.
Just like always, Alexis Hall did it again. It was such a fun read and really recommended.

*Confounding Oaths* by Alexis Hall is a witty and heartfelt romantic comedy that delves into the complexities of relationships, commitment, and personal growth. The story follows two men—Sebastian, a stoic and gruff lawyer, and Jonah, a free-spirited artist—who navigate the ups and downs of love and self-discovery. Hall's sharp dialogue and nuanced character development create a rich, immersive narrative that explores the balance between independence and intimacy. The book’s humor and emotional depth make it a compelling read for fans of slow-burn romance. With its relatable characters and layered themes, *Confounding Oaths* is both charming and thought-provoking.

I was a little disappointed in this book after reading Mortal Follies and really enjoying that one. In this book, I had trouble becoming attached to our main character, John and Orestes, and their romance. They didn’t really have any chemistry and I found John a little whiny and got annoyed by him. I also found the narrator a little more distracting in this book which took me away from the story at hand, making it feel a little disjointed at times. Then there seemed to be multiple storylines that didn’t feel like they connected or weren’t always relevant. It felt like a plot line would come up in one chapter then wouldn’t come up for several more chapters, giving me time to forget that was an issue or something else going on. The only storyline I liked was Mary’s and her adventures in the fairy world, if that was the main focus I feel like I would’ve enjoyed the book more.

i hate to say it but i probably would have dnf'd this book if it wasn't a arc. the main couple had no chemistry and i didn't care about their relationship developing because they hooked up before the 20% mark. The prose felt clunky and it was hard for me to get in to.