Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Unfortunately I was unable to read this before it got archived. I have seen a copy of Mortal Follies at my local library so that was cool to see. Hopefully I will get a chance to read it soon as I like queer novels and mythology!

A sapphic historical romantasy should really be right up my alley but for some reason this really didn't grab me. I found the pacing to be a bit off. Most of the action happened around the middle of the book and then it kind of fell off from there.

⭐️⭐️.5
🌶️🌶️

I wanted to like this book so badly!! Sapphic, funny, yet felt quite long and was a slog to make it through. I think the issue for me is that much of the plot is mystery-driven and I wanted more romance. And once the romance was happening, it was closed door. But if you’re someone who likes mysteries, this might be the book for you!

Thank you NetGalley, Alexis Hall, and Random House for a free copy of Mortal Follies in exchange for an honest review.


For 2023, I’ll be using this rating scale:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I mourned the ending of this journey 🥹
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ really enjoyed and would recommend
⭐️⭐️⭐️ it was fine
⭐️⭐️ I didn’t enjoy this journey
⭐️ I dnf’d or wish I’d dnf’d
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ this is smutty smutty erotica 🥵
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ medium burn
🌶️🌶️🌶️ slow burn
🌶️🌶️ romantic b plot / closed door / YA romance
🌶️ no romance / nonfiction

Special thanks to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I loved boyfriend material and was super excited to read this book. I do wish that it was a bit shorter, as I felt like there was quite a lot of filler. I was not the biggest fan of the narrator, but I loved the other characters.

Overall I just wish that this book was shorter and that the narrator wasn't constantly inserted into the story.

3.75
this book felt very quintessentially alexis hall in that it had a quirky (and eventually slightly grating) narration style, incredible side characters, and probably about 100 too many pages
I don't think I like this one as much as "a lady for a duke," so if you're looking for a society romance I'd stick to that one. However, I am so glad that I pushed through the middle slump of this book, because I did really love this story and Miss Bickle especially

I am SUCH a fan of Alexis Hall, so when I see this book, and I see fantasy historical romance? sign me the hell up!

thank you to the publisher and net galley for the arc. I really had high expectations for this one since I thought it sounded exactly like the kind of books I like to read. Unfortunately, while I enjoyed all the jokes and comments from the narrator at first, it grew really annoying fast and was quite distracting from the actual story. It just was not my type unfortunately.

So many fun unexpected little twists and turns, a perfect addition to my favorite subgenre of whimsical alt historical reads packed with hilarity, pearl-clutching, and various creatures.

Exciting hijinks and magic abounds in this one. All the characters felt well-rounded and the mystery was intriguing from start to finish. I can't get enough of queer magical "historical" fiction!

This was a fun book! Not going to lie, I mixed up my authors and assumed that the author was a different person. But what a delightful mixup this turned out to be! I was enamored and enchanted after the second chapter. This is a story that’s definitely outside my wheelhouse, but to be honest? Miss Bickle and our narrator Robin kept me going. I loved her eccentricities, and Robin? What a delightful hobgoblin. This story is part romance, part high society, part devilish, part romp in the woods. I really am just so glad I was lured in by a pretty cover and chose to stay. This book will make you laugh out loud, feel like a warm hug, and just make you smile.

I really enjoyed Boyfriend Material so was excited to read this book. While the concept had a lot of potential, I felt the execution was lacking. There was just too much going on here and it didn’t come together for me

This was such a fun read! Easily one of my Top 5 books this year.

I loved the Bridgerton aesthetic, the uniquely bizarre (in the best possible way) characters, and the overall mystery + adventure!

The Fantasy element was very well-done as well, with the book featuring gods, fairies, witches, and magic!

I need this to be a series!!

This might be a case of "it's me, not the book." I adore Alexis Hall's writing and love how he tries new things with his plot devices and doesn't stick to one area of queer romance, however, I just couldn't get into Mortal Follies. I think in part it was due to the narration which just didn't seem to work for me, nor was I captivated by either main character for it to hold my interest. I may circle back to it at a later date but for now, I'm putting it down and hope to enjoy this next one!

I appreciate the advanced reader copy.

I don't even know where to start this review. I absolutely loved this book! This was the perfect blend of fantasy and regency romance that I didn't know that I so desperately needed. The writing was gorgeous and sucks you in right from the beginning. The story line was so much fun, I really enjoyed all the tongue in cheek through out. I was also really pleased with the fun "old god" lore that was introduced. The characters are what really make this book what it is. The narrator of the story Puck is absolutely to die for as an outside observer of this story and I don't think that this story line would have been as successful in its telling as it was without her. I love Lady Mitchellmore and the Duke of Annadale and thought that the were great characters with a great arc. I also enjoyed their chemistry together. This book is one that i have seen described as weird a number of times and I have to admit that I agree completely. This book is so weird in all of the absolute best ways, and I cannot wait to read more like this.

Inventive, suspenseful, unpredictable. A wonderful blending of regency and fantasy elements, with a good mystery and compelling characters. The use of Puck as a narrator character is absolutely delightful. I don't think I've ever read a romance quite like this; I'm already looking forward to rereading it.

#MortalFollies
#NetGalley

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. Alexis Hall is an auto-buy (or borrow, thanks Libby!) author for me. His books are funny, romantic and compassionate.
Mortal Follies follows this trend. There are serious and silly characters, a wild plot and a romance at the center. The narrator is a whole character, a hobgoblin recounting the story from his current day exile in the modern world.

Its a bit more backstory than one typically gets from a narrator not in the story. The actual story follows Maelys, a young woman who has been cursed for reasons unknown. In trying to undo the curse she meets a mysterious woman Georgiana and realizes what shes been missing. The adventures with her friends and Georgiana trying to figure out and undo the curse.

It was a fun read.

I really wanted to like this story but I had a very hard time connecting to the characters and following the plot. Written much like Jane Austen with a fairy twist. I just struggled to really get into the story

This book was different from other Alexis Hall books I’ve read. It is set in a society where magic/fae/old gods seem to be an accepted norm. And the narrator was a third party observer to the story. This made it hard to get invested in the start of the story, and to know and connect with the protagonist Maelys, or her love interest Georgiana.

It also seemed a story in two acts. The first half of the book was dedicated to solving the curse on Maelys, which was time sensitive. The second half was Maelys and Georgiana hacking thru all Georgiana’s past trauma, which took time that wasn’t available when solving the curse. But it seemed to split the story in half.

The story was interesting, and I liked the lore we learned. But even tho almost every other book by this author has gotten high4-5 stars, this one is only getting 3. I am looking forward to other releases he has coming soon.

This was Jane Austen with a twist. The book was well written and the relationships between characters were unique. However, the plot felt scattered and drawn out, especially after Miss Maelys Mitchelmore's first curse is resolved (just over half way through the book). If it wasn't for the witty narrator and a few loose ends, I would have found it difficult to continue reading.

Alexis Hall was brought onto this earth specifically to write this book. I'm not sure if they've ever written a sapphic book before, but I'd love to see more from them. This book was fun, silly, cute, and all around a good time. I would absolutely buy a copy of this book just because of the cover, but the plot is just as good. If you love sapphic romance or regency (ish) era romance, this should definitely be your next read.