This charming novel takes a delightful detour from the typical Regency romance formula. Sure, there are debutantes and dashing heroes, but throw in scheming fairies, exasperated siblings, and a healthy dose of self-awareness, and you've got a recipe for a truly entertaining read.

We meet John Caesar, a nobleman with a taste for the finer things in life, determined to secure his sister Mary a good match. Mary, on the other hand, longs for genuine connection over social climbing. A misplaced wish lands her in hot water, forcing John to seek help from a most unexpected source: Captain Orestes James, a war hero with a ragtag band of soldiers.

Theirs is a classic enemies-to-lovers situation, with John's aristocratic background clashing with Orestes' military gruffness. But the witty banter and undeniable chemistry simmering beneath the surface make their journey towards love all the more captivating.

The novel doesn't shy away from the societal constraints of the era. John grapples with his desires and the limitations placed upon him. The presence of the fantastical adds another layer to the story, with the fairy elements woven seamlessly into the Regency world.

What shines is the humor. The author has a knack for creating laugh-out-loud moments, whether it's through John's exasperated narration or the captain's blunt pronouncements. The secondary characters, from Mary's outspoken best friend to Orestes' motley crew, add their own unique flavor to the narrative.

This book is perfect for those who enjoy a bit of magic with their romance. It's a lighthearted read, but with enough depth to keep you invested in the characters and their struggles. If you're looking for an escape filled with wit, heart, and a touch of the extraordinary, then this delightful novel is definitely worth diving into.

Thanks to NetGalley and the author for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I absolutely love this book. While I have my qualms, I've got to give it a full five stars out of sheer enjoyment. I'd give anything for it to be twice as long, and I'd love to follow the captain and the gentleman on their adventures until the end of days. I shed a few tears at the end at the side of the Thames.

Below are my thoughts shared in real time during the reading process, and will contain spoilers.
🩷After being disappointed to the point of disgust by the insultingly dull snoozefest that was the protagonist of the first novel, I'm excited to jump into this one! I loved every other character from novel one, so getting that single mind-numbingly bland protagonist out of the way is like a dream come true. 😍
🩷Miss Bickle remains my truest love.
🩷Immediately this book is improved by the fact that our protagonist is declared boring by the narrator, rather than simply BEING boring while we're expected to believe there is anything valuable, much less loveable, about his character somehow. I'll try not to let my loathing of Mortal Folly's MC color everything I say, but it will be difficult.
🩷I'm gonna do it anyway. Miss Mitchelmore's character is exactly where she belongs in this book so far (a little over 10% in): Minimal. One of a number of guests at a family dinner. Yet still as bland as a mouthful of dust and twice as irritating.
🩷One of the things that makes this so enjoyable is that our protagonist cares very deeply for many people, and shows it with his actions and his sense or duty. It's difficult not to compare this directly to the first book, but it's such a refreshing departure that makes this protagonist so much more loveable. I care about him because he shows his care for others, even when he himself is in danger. I mean, I guess Mitchelmore technically did that too, but she saved her care for the final third of the book and really only seemed to give a shit about the woman she had feelings for, while we see it from literally page one with Caesar about literally anyone he feels a responsibility for.
🩷So much of Alexis Hall's strength lies in their characters, and I just love how much of that we get to see in this sequel. You just fall a little in love with everyone. And because you're just a little invested in everyone, it makes reading the story so much fun, super engaging, always hungry for more.
🩷My one great criticism so far is that John Caesar is in training to be a lawyer, and did absolutely nothing lawyery when he was literally brought to court in defense of a man. Even if he doesn't love his career of choice, it's weird that it wasn't even really alluded to in that early chapter. I almost convinced myself that maybe I had completely misread about his schooling, but when it was mentioned again about midway through the book, I felt vindicated. Why was a man studying for the bar not even trying to act in that capacity when called upon? He's not even the one to resolve the problem.
🩷Actually, I'm glad I brought this up, because another situation happens at a later time where again, lawyering would be handy, but John Caesar falls back on Karenisms instead. Super fun and delightful to watch, but it just feels so weird that he's meant to be aspiring to lawyerhood and doesn't do a damn lawyery thing when the opportunities arise.
🩷Second biggest grievance: A sixteen-year-old is given the opportunity to be courted by a fairy, and she says NO outright. Most unrealistic part of this book.
🩷I know the author must surely have plans for Miss Bickle, but it feels like a damn shame nothing sparked between her and Barryson. It really felt perfect. A missed opportunity, a tragedy of our modern era that it never came to pass.
🩷I've spent both books eager to one day read Miss Bickle's story, but now I just want more of John and Orestes infinitely 😭

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and author for allowing me to read this book for an honest review.

I’ve read a few of Alexis Hall’s books, and this is a departure from the ones I have. Firstly, it’s during the Napoleonic Era instead of present day. Secondly, this story has fantasy elements (sister makes a wish with a fairy and it doesn't’ quite go as she…well…wished). Lastly, it is wholly narrated by a fairy storyteller (not the wish-granted previously mentioned). This last point was perhaps my favorite part of the book. I enjoyed the narration style and found the narrator entertaining and amusing.

One thing that seems consistent with Hall’s books is at least one character who self-sabotages and that definitely true with John Caesar. In some of Hall’s books this type of character is kind of awful and hard to like, thankfully that isn’t the case here.

There are many interesting characters throughout the book, but the best, in my opinion, was Miss Bickle. She was straightforward and funny in the way where she’s obviously not trying to be, and quite possibly on the spectrum. She was alway a delight when she was part of the story.

Overall, this was a fun read with light fantasy, adventure, and romance elements with a nice helping of LGBT representation.

Regrettably this was such a let down for me.
I love the narrator as Puck and storyline from the first book. But the problems not being those of the main character made me lose interest. If the sister had been the main character of this book too I might have liked it more.
If there intends to be another book in which Miss Bickle is the main character I would absolutely love it!

Thank you so much for the ARC and I look forward to more from Alexis and Penguin Random House

Confounding Oaths is the second book in a series, which I did not realize before requesting this ARC and diving in. As I would recommend reading Mortal Follies first, I don't think it was necessary as I had no problem following the characters or plot. I may have missed a few references and such by not reading Mortal Follies first, but I will rectify that soon enough.

The beautiful cover is honestly what drew my attention to this book. I believe the whimsy of the cover is a perfect match for its contents. This book is full of silly shenanigans and adventure. The romance within the book was not the central plot, but it was quite enjoyable. There were quite a few parts that made me laugh and a few parts that made me think.

Overall, I think I will rate this book at a 3.75 stars. This was a pretty good read but I'm not sure it is one I would reread.

** Thank you to Random House for the free eARC in exchange for an honest review **

rating: 2/5 ⭐️'s

Honestly, I had a very hard time getting into this book. I found its writing style / POV very bizarre and was so confused about where this book was going. I ended up having to drop this book after a while because I just didn't feel connected to the characters or the story, which is unfortunate, but I was so excited for a queer historical romance with some magic involved.

I think there's a good audience for this, but it just didn't end up being me :(

Happy reading though to everyone!

This book was a little hard for me to get in to and I was overall very meh about it. I feel like there is definitely an audience for this, it just wasn’t me and that’s okay! It’s fun and the idea of it is good, it just didn’t keep me very interested.

I love Alexis Hall, but this book wasn’t for me. Part of it was me not having the brain power to translate the way of speaking in the book to something I can actually understand, but if you like full immersion into the world of the book, then I would recommend. I would just let Boyfriend Material and other Alexis Hall romcom readers know that this is a different kind of book. Not bad, just different and one that I wasn’t a fan of.

Confounding Oaths by Alexis Hall was everything I was hoping it to be. I might be biased because I absolutely love Alexis Hall and his writing and this one delivered. It's fun, a little (or a lot) over the top and it doesn't take itself too seriously yet touches on things that do matter. I loved it. The writing kept me entertained. The characters were truly unique and just all over the place. I love the worlds that Hall builds and I think this one is just as entertaining as all his other work. Thank you to Del Rey for giving me the opportunity to read this advanced e-ARC. It definitely made me smile and giggle while reading it.

The fantasy elements of this book are so damn delightful and compelling. Wishes-gone-wrong, beauty as glass, all the cool asides about the Other Court, and especially the narrator who made them! (As a framing device, seriously, you can really do no better: Hall's Robin Goodfellow is funny and sparkling and so much fun.) And then there's the fact that Miss Caesar's wish comes from this really tangled up place of societal expectations and bias and also a dash of teenage angst, which makes for great reading.

Less great reading, unfortunately, comes from the romance portion of the book. It really felt strange that for a book that otherwise had so much quirk and life that the romance would be so dull. The problem is that neither Mr. Caesar or Captain James felt like anything approaching fully-fleshed out characters, and every scene with the two of them felt like so much nothing. From beginning to end, they were archetypes: nineteenth century gentleman and dashing soldier. And damn if they didn't spend a lot of time just flat-out saying that too! Which in a book that spends so much time taking whacks at the status quo of the time period it's set in (or at least at other books in this time period) felt especially off-putting. Because on the one hand you have these guys constantly saying, "But I'm a gentleman," or "I'm a soldier, John," and on the other you have long stretches of dialogue about how, essentially, no one group of people is a monolith and also, hey, remember that people of color and also poor people existed in the nineteenth century!

Now, I get the impulse to do this, I do. But the problem is that reading dialogue of characters explaining privilege to other characters is dull. It sends the plot screeching to a halt, and the only thing that really seems to come of it in this book is that the more privileged character ends up saying, "Wow! Know something? You're right!" Which...does not at all read as natural. A better (and more entertaining) approach would be to have, say, a fourth-wall-breaking narrator make sly asides about how little has changed between the 1800s and the 2020s. But this last bit is the problem of this book all over: there are all these good possibilities RIGHT THERE - the fantasy, the killer narrative framing - and instead we're wasting time with these two tepid guys and their even more tepid romance. Like, that Mr. Caesar is a main character over Miss Caesar is kind of galling, and I can't help but feel like he was shoehorned into that position.

Essentially, there is a great fantasy book here that is being absolutely smothered by the romance. For me, this means that if there are more books in this series, and they have a romantic pairing, I'm out. But, if Hall ever decides to write a straight up fantasy I am very much IN. (I'm also in for another of his straight up romances because, let's be very real, when Hall hits, he HITS.)

As far as recommending this book goes...eh, I think it comes down to how much you love the idea of a story narrated by Robin Goodfellow, honestly. If you're lukewarm on that (and lukewarm on fantasy in general) I don't think this is for you.

This book was decent, but it left me feeling a little underwhelmed. It was hard for me to stay engaged at times, and I didn’t really connect to the main characters. All in all, still a decent read!

Confounding Oaths is another quirky fantasy installment from Alexis Hall. Hall’s range is impressive; no matter the plot, witty banter is a highlight of all their books, whether it’s a romcom, emotional romance, or historical fantasy mystery.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

It’s 1815, and John Caesar just wants to help his sister Mary make a suitable match so he can go back to his aristocratic life as a dandy. Easier said than done, though, since his family’s background is sneered at by most of the ton. Mary is insulted at a ball, when suitors only want to pursue her more conventionally attractive sister, and John meets dashing Captain Orestes James while fighting for her honor. Afterwards, Mary makes a bargain with a fairy godmother to be beautiful, and any sensible reader knows those wishes never go well. Can John build a relationship with Orestes while depending on the Captain and his team of soldiers to help break his sister’s curse?

The highlight of this series is Robin, hobgoblin narrator. His sarcasm and quips are fabulous, and his reactions to the characters are sometimes more interesting than the characters themselves. Robin’s character development this time around, including newfound empathy for mortals, is refreshing too. This style is similar to book one, Mortal Follies (which doesn’t need to be read before this one), and knowing what to expect from the outset made me enjoy the story more.

This story meanders a bit at times, and there are lots of characters to keep track of. While I was rooting for John and Orestes, I didn’t always fully connect with them. Make no mistake, though, the humor hits just right, and things like allusions to modern fanfic are hilarious and entertaining. And the cover is breathtakingly beautiful, too.

Confounding Oaths is a mysterious fantasy story with romance elements. The quips and humor are a terrific, and there are moments when I couldn’t stop laughing. Alexis Hall weaves in more serious social commentary too, and the result is a unique blend that I truly enjoyed.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this edition of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book was fun! I enjoyed the found family aspect of the soldiers and the dysfunctional/loving family aspect of the Caesar’s.

I will say it took me WEEKS to finish and put me in sort of a reading slump, mainly due to the narration. It’s sarcastic, it’s full of banter, and so on; which is exciting, but also not a smooth read. It’s not the sort of book I can read for fifteen minutes on my lunch break. All in all, a good read!

Gay love makes my heart sing.

I really liked this sequel to Mortal Follies. Books set in the same universe with familiar characters popping up is one of my favorite things. This focusses primarily on Mr. Caesar, his parents and his two teen sisters Miss Caeser and Miss Mary, but Miss Bickle, Georgiana & Maelys show up in this one too. Mr Caeser is a mixed race member of the ton who is rescued by the dashing Captain Orestes James, a black military man. He befriends the Captain and his merry band of friends called The Irregulars. Mr Caeser and the Captain have a sweet romance, but the romance is toned down in this story. It’s the chaos of magic gone wrong as narrated by our favorite sassy narrator Robin which really shines.

At a ball in the beginning, Miss Caeser is unhappy with her looks and wishes that she was beautiful. Lady, a fairy from a different court as Robin, appears and grants her this wish. Only she turns into a beautiful irridescent glass statue that reflects light in a most beguiling way to everyone around her. When Miss Caeser’s legs and arms start becoming cracked she realizes she doesn’t want to be like this anymore and the family & friends embark on a mission to break the spell. It’s kind of a bonkers twist on Cinderella. I also liked the inclusion of class differences, mixed race relationships in the ton, what beauty is, that there’s strength and power in being yourself, realizing you’re not alone in the world and not taking your loved ones for granted. Hall’s ability to blend All The ThingsTM together effortlessly remains unmatched.

There were lots of little details that made me laugh. Miss Bickle has a bookclub with her friends she calls the “Avidreaderdom” since “bookclub” is not a word that exists then. There’s a recurring bit with Robin explaining that phrases sounding like euphemisms are not euphemisms. It was endlessly funny. And of course I love all the things Robin morphs into in order to spy on everyone: mist, a bee, a spider, a dog, sunlight, etc. So funny.

**Thanks to NetGalley & DelRey for the ARC***

I picked this up because it's almost definitely going to be my favorite cover of 2024, it's absolutely gorgeous! It took me a while to get into the narration style for this one (my bad, the narrator did tell me multiple times that I should read book one), but once I got in I was definitely hooked. Once I got used to the narration style, I loved the narrator. Robin is snarky and provides witty insights in everything going on with the large cast of characters! The romance is light, but it's woven in the background as all the wild shenanigans the Other Court brings to this world happen at the forefront. I like that John was continuously called out for how he's acting based on his station and how he works to be a better person worthy of Captain James. While a lot of this book is fun and full of whimsy, it also has lot of deeper themes such as race/racism, class, inner/outer beauty, and so much more.

A unique book, Confounding Oaths functions as a standalone in the Mortal Follies world, but it is strongly encouraged to read Mortal Follies prior for a better experience.

While I was not a fan of how the romance was not the major focus, it felt a bit pushed back for me. I wanted to see these relationships blossom. I did however enjoy the mix of mythologies and elements for the world-building.

What really hurt the book for me was the narrator style. It did not vibe with me and for that, I did not really wish to continue the book.

I was not the target audience for the book, but I will say that an audience exists and I hope they enjoy this book upon release. I may return to this world again in the future.

Thank you to the Publisher for the eARC in exchange for a review.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC!

Confounding Oaths is the second book in the Mortal Folllies series. While it can be read as a standalone, I personally think its best to read Mortal Folllies first. Without reading that, you miss out on a lot.

This book follows John Caesar, a supporting character in Mortal Folllies, and his immediate family's experience with magic. The Caesar children are often looked down upon for their heritage, and one of the young ladies makes a wish. As most things involving fairies, this didn't go well. John meets the heroic Captain Orestes James who helps him with his journey to safe his sister.

As in Mortal Folllies, Confounding Oaths is told from the point of view of Robin, a hobgoblin who follows mortals to gather stories. As with Mortal Folllies, this can prove to be slightly confusing at times. However, Alexis Hall seems to have figured out the flow of this better. The plot was complex but not difficult to follow. The world Hall has built is extremely interesting. 1810s England with fairies, Greek gods, Norse gods and Christianity all existing together is extremely interesting. I thoroughly enjoyed this one and i hope the series continues.

I'm a big fan of Alexis Hall's writing, and on the whole I enjoyed this story. But I'm not a fan of the narrator device. Yes, the narrator is entertaining, so on that level it works. But the narrative distance kept me from feeling emotionally invested in any of the characters—and since I read fiction for the emotional investment, that was a problem. It wasn't a chore to read this book to the end, but I wasn't sad to see it end, either. For me, this was probably 3.5 to 3.75 stars.

My thanks to the publisher/NetGalley for an advance copy of this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey for providing me a copy of this book.

On paper, this is exactly something I would love. Historical England + high society + romance + fae? Sign me up. The reality of this story was more mixed.

Both a positive and a negative of the story was writing it from a third-person perspective with a fae creature acting as the narrator. Robin Goodfellow is an entertaining narrator, and many of their asides in the story are quite funny. For instance, their perpetual hatred towards William Shakespeare always made me laugh. However, the grandiose verbosity and the constant asides to establish the many opinions of this narrator bogs down the prose, and the pacing of the story felt extremely glacial as a result. Writing this story from an outside perspective really drains the story of its emotional highs and lows. For instance, the romance plot ended up feeling unfulfilling and impersonal. The emotional build-up of the characters is sparse since everything is based on a narrator’s observations. Even the physical elements of their relationship are glossed over because Robin finds dispassionate sex uninteresting, or because Robin is literally splitting the narrative between two different scenes simultaneously. The end result is unsatisfying and superficial.

Speaking of the narrator discussing two scenes simultaneously, literally separating the scenes with elipses, I did not like this choice. It interrupted the tension the author was building and mostly felt frustrating.

By the time the story was over, it simultaneously felt like not very much had happened but that it had taken ages to get through. I liked many individual elements to the story, such as the growth of the Caesar sisters and Miss Bickle as a whole. However, as a whole piece, this was a bit of a miss for me.

2.5/5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballentine, for allowing me to read an ARC of Confounding Oaths by Alexis Hall.

When I say any day I receive an email allowing me to read an Alexis Hall ARC is a fabulous day, I am certainly not exaggerating. Alexis Hall has long been one of my favorite authors and I have read many, many of his books.

I was also lucky enough to read an ARC of Mortal Follies, part 1 to Confounding Oaths. I would say if you haven't read Mortal Follies, while this is not a direct sequel, it will read better if you have read Mortal Follies as you will understand the tone and the world Alexis Hall has created much better.

Confounding Oaths follows high(ish) society member, Mr. John Caesar as he navigates his complicated family dynamics, made only more complicated by his younger sisters. When the dashing Captain James comes to his defense one evening, the two become linked in a series of chaotic, magical, and dangerous events.

One, not critique, but something I think is important to know before jumping into the book, is that while the romance between John Caesar and Captain James is certainly a part of the story, I would not define it as the main part of the story. This is a story about a family who are trying to navigate their own complicated dynamics while being thrust into the world of high society cults and the fae realm...and yes, John Caesar and Captain James fall for each other during it. With those as your expectations, it will be a snarky, and often messy, magical adventure to enjoy!