Good news, you do not have to have read Mortal Follies to read this one. I had no problem whatsoever following our characters and the plot, though it references the previous book and I’m sure there are Easter eggs I missed.

I adore Hall’s writing so much. His humor is very front-and-center in this book, the characters are so charming and interesting, the premise was odd but intriguing, and the plot was (for the most part) quick-paced and constantly changing. The structure of the book is that a story-collecting fairy is watching over our main characters, but not (supposed to be) interrupting, which means that it’s a respectively fade-to-black romance, but also that we get a very humorous and candid friend in our ear commenting on what everyone is doing as they do it. A lot of the humor comes from our narrator, though all of the characters do get their turns at being exaggeratedly silly and witty, but there’s so much heart in it all.

Things I loved:
· It’s a fantasy first, romance second, which means there’s a plot!
· Captain Orestes James, be still my heart he is perfection.
· The humor! It’s spot on exactly the kind that I love. Some of it is very tongue-in-cheek, some is very modern, some self-referential, and sometimes just a sincerely told joke.
· The overall vibe—it’s very light-hearted, whimsical, humorous, and does not take itself too seriously at all.

Things I didn’t love:
· I thought the pacing got wonky, especially in the last 30% or so. It’s still a very quick and easy read, it just felt a little uneven at times.
· The narrator.*
· Anne—she’s the annoying little sister and we’re supposed to be annoyed but oh boy was I annoyed.

*This is incredibly specific to me, though. I specifically disliked Hoid from Tress of the Emerald Seas and our narrator reminded me of him so strongly that I couldn’t move past it.

If you liked…
· Tress of the Emerald Sea: if you liked Hoid and his narrating style
· Emily Wilde, Half a Soul: a historical time period with some well-woven fantasy, especially the more traditionally dark fae/fairyfolk/trickster elements; also very similar for their soft romances
· The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy/Good Omens: if you enjoyed the sarcasm, wit, and/or humor
· This is How You Lose the Time War: for the self-referential-ness or the soft romance
…then try Confounding Oaths if it sounds interesting!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!
Really fun romp in this sequel to Mortal Follies! Plenty of adventure and hijinks afoot and fun to read.

This is an absolutely solid sequel to Mortal Follies. The third party narrator is definitely something of an acquired taste, but the narration and the story shines with wit and cynicism and a surprising amount of social commentary (both historic and modern) that had me giggling throughout.

This story follows a much wider cast of characters than the last, and the romance is not quite so central as a plot, so I would not call this a "sweeping romance" as much as a "tale of adventure and magical hijinks" but I found it enjoyable all the same. We nominally follow John Caesar, and his sisters Anne and Mary, Maelys' cousins from Mortal Follies, but throughout the story our cast of characters get tangled up with soldiers and faeries and a bit of a murderous cult, so the adventure feels fast paced, a bit convoluted, and woven throughout with sharp wit and fanciful narration.

I also absolutely loved Ms. Bickle as a side character and her fandom bookclub, I laughed so hard at the fanfiction references. Absolutely hilarious.

I did feel somewhat in the middle that the plot got a bit too long and convoluted and could have been maybe more neatly tied up, and the romance being secondary meant that I wasn't quite so invested in it and was expected it to be a bit more sweeping and with less complexity. The book was just trying to do too many things all at once. It all worked in the end, but I did feel some of it could've been cut and worked just as well. Altogether, I'd say this was a solid follow up to Mortal Follies, and if you liked the fanciful narration and the mirthful hijinks, you'll likely enjoy this one even more. I do feel this particular series is written only for the most fanciful of readers and may be a bit of an acquired taste for some, but I'm enjoying it greatly.

Solid 4 stars. This is great as a fantastical historical comedy that has a little romance in it! However, I don’t think it works as a genre romance. So, depending on what you want this book to do, it might be a hit or a fail!

Tonally and story-wise, this felt more like a cross between The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels and Terry Pratchett's Witches books, with a tiny dash of genre Regency romance thrown in the mix, than like a true romance novel, to me. Which was great! Just not what I had expected going in!

I adored the narrative structure and writing style of this! By far the best part of the book for me. The story is told from the perspective of a snarky Fae. (Think Puck from Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.) His narration is truly hilarious and brilliantly done!

And although, said snarky narrator calls out the reader for potentially not having read the first book in the series—Which was such a funny moment!—I think it works perfectly well on its own!

Overall, it felt a tad too long and the romance could have been a bit stronger, but I had an amazing time with this book until the ending. That sadly knocked it down from a low 5 stars to a middle-of-the-road 4 stars. I am kind of angry at it. I just felt that several of the things that happened were truly unnecessary and I could see parts of it being genuinely upsetting for other readers.

I enjoy a well written Regency romance — which is why I sought out an arc of this book (And I want to thank Net Galley and the publisher for granting me the advanced reader copy!) — but I’m afraid I didn’t enjoy this book. While it has all the right pieces, with balls and the judgemental society of the ton mixed with biracial characters, faery folk and wishes, it’s not as character forward as I would have liked. To be honest, I had to keep reminding myself to read it, and set aside time to finish it or I probably would have just left it in my TBR pile forever.

The book opens with the introduction of Robin, aka Puck, who will be the narrator of this story, complete with judgements meant to show the reader which characters are likeable and which aren’t, to paint every scene with a very pointed brush so you don’t make mistake of thinking this character might be more important, because the narration will let you know exactly what you’re supposed to think and feel about any given situation or person. There are fourth wall breaks, which aren’t poorly done, but … honestly, the author’s sense of humor and my own don’t really connect.

For example, Mr. Caesar — the biracial hero of the story — is asked by one of his sisters if he’s interested in reading her “ction,” which is short for “averection” which is short for “avid reader fiction.” Because she writes fanfic — or rather, she’s working on an “wtiitpobw” of Pride and Prejudice. (That’s “work that is tin the process of being written.) If that’s the sort of humor you find amusing, then you’re in luck. However, it didn’t work for me. The fanfic aspect dies off pretty quickly and isn’t brought up again after this one scene in chapter one, but the humor is pretty constant.

Then there’s Robin’s narration which I also didn’t care for. It kept the entire story, and the characters within it, at arm’s length. I was told what they were doing, what they were thinking, what they were feeling and, in all, it’s a gimmick that I, personally, didn’t enjoy. I want my stories to be more character forward, and that’s just not this book.

What this book is is a Regency romp with a cult, a faery queen, a girl who made a foolish wish and a rag tag band of soldiers doing what they can to help because Mr. Ceasar is having an affair with their Captain Orestes James, who happens to be black. I did enjoy that aspect, and how both Mr. Caesar and his sisters ended up finding greater help from their own ancestry than they did from a more traditional approach to the faery queen’s magic. I also enjoyed their beginning reclamation of their grandmother’s culture at the end of the story. I just wish I had been more pleased with the overall reading experience.

If you like well researched Regency romps, faery tales and good writing — and share a sense of humor with the author — you should have a good time with this book.

CW: Colorism, hugely, linked directly to racism. A good portion of the plot is that one of the main character's sisters looks more like their father-- and therefore is not as popular or sought after as her younger sister, who takes more after their English aristocratic mother than their free father. All three children are visibly mixed, but it is only the elder daughter who takes most after their father, who was formerly enslaved. Rejections of her, when her sister is so much more sought after, are difficult, not only to her own self-esteem, but to her future-- after their earl grandfather dies, their financial prospects are best reliant upon their husbands.
So then, she makes a wish to be beautiful. It's granted, and she turns to living glass which causes all to find her beautiful. The fey here are very. . .well, fey, and it's easy to see the loopholes in the oaths sworn.

The romance between John and James felt as if it went fairly quickly, and was not as much as plot as the fey plotline, with John's family difficulties, and then the slower rise of a cult. As usual, I highly enjoyed all the side characters-- Lysistratia Bickle (though not so much her startings of fandom), James' crew, and most importantly, John's family relations. His mother, his father, and their love for each other. The strife between the sisters that is well.. all too much in the way of only children living together for their entire life with different personalities can be.

I did like the focus on the repetition of words, and the cleverness of Mary!

I went into this having no idea it was part of a “series” of sorts, so now I am even more excited to read the next one. What a fully original and fresh story. I found the narration unique and exciting, with whimsy that kept you invested along the way.
I did wish the romance took a bit more center stage in parts. It’s what I expected from the cover and description, and while I appreciated the plot for being well thought out, I wanted more of the chemistry !
Long story short, I will be thinking of this ending for a long time.
Full review to come on my Goodreads and tik tok, thank you net galley !

I enjoyed the first book so much so when I was accepted for the second, I cried! I cannot get enough of this story! It’s so beautiful and possibly my favorite read(s) of this year!

I love Alexis Hall, but this wasn't one of my favorites by this author. I didn't realize it was the second book in a series when I first requested the ARC, but I don't think that made much of a difference. Ultimately, the writing was good and the story cute enough, but it felt too much like a classic faerie romp and lacked the creativity I found in everything else I've read by Hall. I also found the narrator / frame story distracting and kind of annoying. Definitely read other works by this author, but perhaps skip this one.

While I loved the story the writing just wasn’t for me. I know so many others are gonna love and adore this but I did not. The writing just made it so hard for me to get through. Overall I did enjoy this though

The nobleman Mr. Caesar finds love on his quest to save his sister from the tricky magical fey.

This book is very charming, told with a Regency air, and full of fantasy and magic. The romance between Mr. John Caesar and Captain James was passionate and sweet, but often pushed back to make room for the plot. I have not read Mortal Follies, so I was surprised to find a third party narrator. It was mostly enjoyable, however they were a bit much at times. I also think being out of Mr. Caesar’s head had made the romance less emotional, if you get my meaning. That being said, the scenes we did get were still swoon-worthy.

All in all, this makes for a good fantasy novel! Fans of Mortal Follies are sure to love this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey for this ARC.

**Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for the e-ARC!**

I quite enjoyed "Mortal Follies" so I was excited to see more of Mr Caesar in this second book. I was not disappointed! The narration style is funny, bold and adds a great touch to the story. Sure, it means we are less directly in the heads of Mr Caesar (or any of the other characters), but since the narrator can more or less pluck the emotions out of the mortals, it didn't bother me.
The plot is grander and quicker in "Confounding oaths" than in "Mortal Follies", quite a lot of things happen, in multiple direction. A few characters annoyed the heck out of me, as intended, other were lovely and fun. The worldbuilding is really nice in a fairy tale with bite way, which is delightful.
As for the romance, it is quite in the back, since there is a lot going on and the characters don't necessarily have the time to focus on this side. The growing feeling aren't that much on page, though it can still be felt rather well. The question around power, privilege and status was quite well done too, and same goes for the fact that Captain James is a soldier and bound to go to war.
I would say first a foremost a book about Mr Caesar dealing with his sister's curse and his own trouble, not a romance, even if the romantic part is still strong. You shouldn't expect a romance served upon a background fantasy intrigue but the other way around.
There were a few moment that were a tad long or overexplained, or with the narrator being a bit too much, but it didn't hinder my enjoyment too much.
I'll definitly read more books in this universe!

Thank you NetGalley for this arc this book was great it’s a cosy fantasy romance. Alexis halls writing is brilliant as always I’d recommend any book by them

In this high stakes game of the London Marriage Mart, John tries to help his sister Mary make the match of her dreams. When she runs afoul of an evil godmother, their plans are put in jeopardy. Along the way, John secures the help of Captain Orestes James as they navigate these treacherous waters. Will they find love or ruin? Fans of Red, White, and Royal Blue and Bridgerton won't want to miss this tale.

Thanks netgalley for the chance to read this! Fun take on historical fantasy, that continues a world you've already dipped your toes into. Honestly cozy fantasy is what comes to mind when thinking of this series/ world