Give me all the Alexis Hall books. I don't care what time period they take place in or if they are realistic or fantasy, I want them all. Maelys is Georgianna are such a good match for each other in so many ways that aren't romantic that the conclusion is obvious on that front as well. I loved the addition of the magical elements into this story and the world building was imaginative and fun.

Synopsis:
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.

A sapphic pride and prejudice-sequel romance featuring goddess, fae and all sorts of such creatures. A young woman, Maelys, finds her entry into high society hindered by a curse, and the first to her aid is Lady Georgianna Landrake- a rumored witch who may or may not have murdered her whole family for her own benefit. As things progress Maelys discovers there is a lot more going on and a lot more at stake than just her reputation.

I have very mixed feelings about this book. I enjoyed the main characters and the overall concept. I had a lot of fun watching Georgianna and Maelys stumble over themselves. I did however, hate the narrator. Alexis Hall appears in the story as a hobgoblin who is forced to tell tales by his master and Maelys is his chosen subject. I honestly could have done without that part entirely.

This was a very cute read. It was a fun romp in eighteenth century England where fairies and the old gods are real and Miss Mitchelmore finds herself cursed. Her friends, Miss Bickle and Mr. Caesar, along with the notorious Duke of Annadale need to help her find who cursed her and why in order to put a stop to it.

The characters were unique and likable and it was fun going on this magical journey with them. The protagonist, Miss Mitchelmore, was well balanced by the optimistic Miss Bickle and the realist Mr. Caesar.

The narrator character didn’t really work for me. I thought he had some fun lines and he was able to add more depth and insight to the fairy realm which were positives. I could definitely see other people loving him, but he just wasn’t my thing.

I liked the world that Alexis Hall built. Anything with fairies has so much potential and she wove them into every day society well. She also did a good job threading in different LGBTQ elements and characters in a way that felt natural.

Does Alexis Hall ever sleep? This man is a book writing machine I swear! 10/10 love his historical books and this one holds up. I wish I had waited for the audiobook rather than grabbing the ebook but it’s good regardless!

I don’t know how he does it. But every time I read his work he leaves me wanting more!
Mortal Follies by Alexis Hall is a beautifully written Regency era story.
And talk about a fun time. I enjoyed every minute of this one.
Hall has the ability to make you feel things with his writing. You feel what these characters are going through. And honestly that makes me feel so connected to the characters inside his books.

“I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”

Thank You NetGalley and Random House, Ballantine & Del Rey for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

I think this book will be a hit for some and a real struggle for others. Sadly I am the former. I tried many times do start this book and get thru it, but it was just too slow and I couldn't grasp what was going on. Sadly I had to decide to DNF 50% of the way thru.

This just wasn't what I was expecting and was super disappointed by it. I loved the concept of this book but it was just poorly executed.

Thank you the NetGalley and Random House Ballantine for this advanced read copy. My review is voluntarily my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Del Rey for an eARC of Mortal Follies!

I have to admit, at first, with the narrator of the story, I was skeptical. Then, I was pleasantly surprised! Mortal Follies is a hilarious delight- utterly witty and filled with whimsical and quirky language. The romance was very realistic and I love a good sapphic romance! Bridgerton-esque regency romance mixed with Shakespeare and Fae... definitely one to add to your TBR!

I was enraptured from the beginning. At first, I wasn't sure of the narrator but I think it added something very special to a wonderful story. I loved the queer representation and how accepting many of the characters are. Speaking of characters, from main to side characters, all were compelling and three-dimensional. No one ever really felt like a throwaway even if they were only seen once or twice. I would have to say my personal favorite is Miss Bickle because of how she interacted and viewed anything otherworldly. I can't wait to have a physical copy of this book on my shelf.

I was provided this ARC from NetGalley for a fair review. This is a f/f historical romance inspired by Midsummer Night’s Dream, which sounded very intriguing. Unfortunately I am DNFing this one. It is rather chaotic and unfocused. It may just me and my mood but I have picked this up and put it down about 10 times since early February so it’s time to give up. I have enjoyed Alexis Hall’s previous books and will check out their books in the future, this is just a miss for me.

The inspiration behind this book feels like a sapphic Jane Austen crossed with a Midsummer Night’s Dream. Sweet Maeys Mitchelmore, granddaughter of an Earl, is enjoying her social season in Bath until her plans to hook an eligible young gentleman are thwarted by a curse. Maeys journey to cure her curse, through the thorny world of fickle gods and outcast witches, draws her closer to the Lady Georgiana Annendale a.k.a the Duke of Annendale. There is a growing chemistry between them, but everyone warns her not to trust the orphaned heiress and rumored witch and murderess.

First, the things I enjoyed–I loved the ludicrous humor and antics surrounding Maeys, and her friends Lizzie and John. I feel like the parody of formal society was very strong. I thought many of the exchanges between Maeys and her love interest the Duke of Annendale were witty and steamy, and I liked their exploration of power dynamics.

However, I couldn’t fully get into the book since my experience was interrupted by a couple of things. The book has a first-person narrator who isn’t involved in the action, and is often unsympathetic to the characters–I often wanted to shush their quips. They felt intrusive and distracting, especially in intimate scenes. The pacing of the story was stilted somewhat, especially as characters deliberated a lot over their decisions in dialogue. Some of the diversity in the story felt sort of flat. It felt like the author didn’t fully think through how different historical events, like enslavement and colonization, could be affected by a world with magic.

An ARC was received in exchange for an honest review.

Content warnings: murder, kidnapping, assault, public humiliation, transphobia (targeted at a side character, fought by MCs)

We follow Maelys through a troubling season in Bath. She is waylaid by a curse and must figure out who's out to get her and how to stop it. This is a fantastical tale involving spiteful gods and a Puck-ish narrator. The world is colorful and fun, and an entirely refreshing take on a "young woman of marriagable age" historical. The characters are delightful; the Duke of Annadale is an immediate hit, as well as third quarter show-stealer Polly the housemaid. The use of a narrator was almost equal parts hilarious and destabilizing. He took us for a ride, but ultimately had me glancing into the shadows hoping for a glimpse of the Puck-ish narrator of my own mortal folly.

Alexis Hall’s first romance, Boyfriend Material, was quite enjoyable, if I remember correctly. While it boasts a pretty atrocious cover, it manages to fall in the sub-genre of “romance with a little bit more depth” for me, being still relatively fluffy but also exploring self-sabotage with enough delicacy and nuance that the love story hits at a higher degree. It wasn’t fantastic, but it was sufficiently engaging I’ve been tracking the author’s future releases.

What has come since has been total flops. Something Fabulous, which somehow made the ever-confusing NYT Best Romances of 2022, featured an incredibly repetitive plot and wildly annoying characters, plummeting my opinion of the author. Still, it was queer, and it was also a historical romance, so I figured it could just be my biases, on the prowl again. I was willing to give Mortal Follies a chance, though it might be worth noting that chance was not a very large one.

Mortal Follies is significantly better than Something Fabulous, but that isn’t saying much. It’s readable, which is cool. It’s also sapphically queer, which is even cooler. Beyond that, it’s hampered by a very strange but very prominent rhetorical device Hall clings to desperately: the entire story is told from the perspective of a sprite/goblin spectator. It’s a plot-irrelevant omniscient narrator, which means its largely traditional narration, but Hall never lets the reader forget it’s a fairy viewing the human characters, frequently chiming in with details of how the narrator is changing forms in order to follow the characters around on their little quest. It’s cute—to a point. Ultimately, such a gimmicky narrator not only gets tired, but also severely hinders the reader's opportunity to be actually invested in the romance we’re watching play out. Tension and drama tends to die a little when it’s an unknown, invisible spectator who’s telling you it’s there, especially since the narrator frequently reminds the reader how little they care about human affairs.

Otherwise, the integration of the magic into Victorian England is a trick that’s been done before, but isn’t wildly offensive when done here. I’ve found Hall’s characters to be consumed by their quirks in the past—so quirky are they, they cease to have actually personalities that might make them enjoyable characters to read and relate to—and there’s a couple of characters who teeter on that cliff of quirkiness but don’t manage to fall off. I’m not sure the romance would stand up even without the fairy-spectator-lens to hinder it, as there’s an age and experience gap that makes both characters uncomfortable at different points. It also doesn’t build appropriately; it’s insta-love, but still strangely plot-oriented for a romance novel, where their relationship development is largely stagnant as they address the curse subplot.

I want to be consumed by a romance novel. I want there to be no option for me but to blitz read it, so consumed am I. While that may sound like a high bar, it isn’t actually—the number of things that have consumed me is frankly embarrassing. The sad failure of this book is that I struggled to care. A combination of the author’s stylistic choices and their underdeveloped characters severely hampered this book. While they’re not without hope, I won’t be picking up their next one.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group and Netgalley for the ARC, gifted in exchange for my honest review.

Alexis Hall did it again! I throughly enjoyed this book, I loved the magical elements and the queer romance. Thank you so much for the early copy!

It might be for others, but it’s not for me. As much as I wanted a saphhic fantasy historical romance, the Puck narration was just too much. Too distancing from the characters, too twee, and betraying too much of the author’s selfxsatisfaction.

Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for the eARC.

This was an enjoyable, whimsical tale narrated from the perspective of the hobgoblin puck from A Midsummer Night's Dream. The hobgoblin narrates the tale of Miss Maelys Mitchelmore who finds herself cursed and doesn't seem to know. Maelys finds herself in the mercy of Lady Georgiana Landrake due to the curse and romance with a magical plot ensues.

In terms of the narration, it was mostly enjoyable, but perhaps due to the omniscient nature of it, the author included a few of scenes and characters that really didn't add much to the plot, particularly in the first half. It might have been flowed better if those scenes were excluded. However, while it may pull you out of the story at times, it added a fair amount of whimsy to the story which was befitting the nature of the tale.

It is also a mostly humourous novel, with many quips by the narrator, plenty of banter, and a lot of comedic relief, particularly from Miss Bickle. The quips mostly landed and the banter between Maelys and Georgiana were top notch(I enjoyed every interaction they had). The Miss Bickle parts were more uneven in my opinion. While her quirkiness was amusing, it reached a little over the top at times(e.g her "tinging"/shipping felt a little too referential for my tastes, bordering on cringe).

The characters, for the most part, were quite endearing, though the means of narration meant that we never quite get to feel the emotions with them. Maelys is a very likable heroine and I really enjoyed her arc. Georgiana in her brooding, Byronic nature and sharp tongue is quite swoon-worthy(I do wish we got to spend more time with her than we did). While Miss Bickle did get a bit over the top sometimes, her friendship with Maelys was very sweet and her idiosyncrasies were mostly endearing. I don't have strong feelings for Mr. Ceaser who felt mostly there to round out the dynamic and had some scenes that really went nowhere as mentioned earlier.

The plot did feel like it was done at the halfway point initially, but in hindsight connected quite well. Though you never quite feel a tension as it progresses despite the dastardly plots involving gods. It's certainly more of a cozy read.

All in all, it's funny and enjoyable romcom with a unique voice and endearing characters. And while it certainly could have been tighter, it's still a relatively quick read. 3.5/5

- thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an arc to review!

- i really wanted to like this, but a huge complaint of mine was the choice of the narrator. it’s an omniscient point of view, which can be done nicely, but not in this book. it ended up making me feel detached from the characters, and in part, made me not finish the arc entirely. it’s unfortunate, since the idea of sapphic lovers uncovering the ways of healing a curse sounded so good.

I received a free digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I have loved a whole bunch of Alexis Hall's books, and ultimately loved this one too, but it took 3 attempts to really get into it. The combination of fantasy elements with a regency setting was delightful. The characters were brilliant, from the main lovers to the supporting cast. And the plot itself was a fun multi-part romp, with more depth than I normally pick up from a romance.

However, I had a few issues, both helping to explain that slow start to enjoyment. I think the narrator choice was fun, but overly complicated. It felt like we were seeing this story through a filter, when the story was interesting enough that the filter was unneeded. Adding to that, the characters were so deep in their regency stereotypes that sometimes it felt hard to follow what they meant. I have not read that many regency romances, so this could just be my lack of familiarity with the sub-genre though!

Overall, another very fun sure-to-be hit from Alexis Hall!

Alexis Hall has an absolute talent for weaving stories in amazing new ways. I fell in love with every character in this book and even the narrator. This story brings so much love and passion into the plot which I was not expecting but absolutely loved.

The representation of how hard queer relationships can be is so true and it’s all shown in such an amazing manner. The aesthetics, the writing, the characters, ect. Everything was amazing.

CW/TW:
Attempted Rape

I liked this novel reminded me a lot of the author's other novel a lady for a Duke in its writing style. I really loved that it was an explicitly lesbian romance that took place in not modern setting. I really wish it had spent more time on the last arc of the novel for the ending felt a little abrupt looking for items for Minerva.

Mortal Follies starts with a bang but quickly loses steam. The narration gimmick is interesting - having a fae narrating the humans' story- but it was badly suited for a romance (there's only so much an exterior narrator can say about a romance before it becomes creepy and awkward). The narrator's commentary often disappears when the author seem to realise he wants to write the story and actions and not comment on everything so why do we have this narrator in the first place (besides fun concept to play with)

I am surprised this book is not the first in a series (or it has not been announced yet) because there are way too many side characters set up for their own arc and vast possibilities opened up. Honestly too many insipid characters in the first part of the story made me lose interest in this for weeks. The main story is really boring and the book really becomes a romance in the last third. Although "romance" because with an external narrator the characters have to voice all of their emotions for us to know about them.

Something that bothered me is that Georgiana is presented as a stone top (lesbian who only gives and does not let her lover touch her). This is rare to see in books and I was pleasantly surprised to see an non-lesbian author explore a complex part of lesbian sexual identity. Turns out Maelys spends some time upset about this and try to pressure her lover into letting her touch her which I found extremely uncomfortable. Georgiana accepts because the reason she was like that is that she's brooding and has a dark secret (which is really disappointing- both the secret and the non stone top thing).

And then we get more fantasy plot which does not do the book any good