"You would defy a goddess for me?"

This book was never what I expected in both good and bad ways.

The prologue was intriguing and different; establishing a witty, comical, and at times unreliable narrator.

The magical/fairy elements in the baths I thought were particularly good. Those scenes were probably my favorite of the book.

I found intensity of Lady Georgiana and a lot of her dialogue to be really compelling. Mae's character arc was particularly interesting and fulfilling.

Unfortunately the removed-ness of how the story was told made it hard to connect with the romance. Being "told" the story rather than experiencing it with the characters was jarring and kept me from immersing into the story. Additionally, the hot and coldness of the romance got boring.

A lot felt particularly unresolved. Why was the horrible uncle included in the story to not be utilized? Why did Mr. Caesar's trip to Serena's and introduce a whole other set of character's to be discarded just as quickly.

The world building was wanting (does everyone just accept that magic and the fae are apart of our world?).

The end felt super rushed and not satisfying.

Join a fairy (who is definitely NOT invested in the well being of these mortals) as he narrates the scandalous, exciting, sapphic tale of Maelys who is caught up in the machinations of the old gods and Lady Georgiana who, despite her more than probable murdering of her four closest male relatives, seems intent on saving Maelys. There are impossible trials set by goddesses, consultations of various witches/priestesses, a visit to an 18th century drag bar, and plenty of witty conversation to delight any reader.

Thank you, Random House Publishing Group, for allowing me to read Mortal Follies early.

I have to be honest, I had to get used to the narrator and didn't like the story at first. But eventually the narrator and the story grew to me because it still has Alexis Hall's wit and charm.

This book was delightful, amusing, and light, and, as it happens, the perfect distraction during an otherwise awful few days. It got a little grating and frustrating at times, but overall, I enjoyed it. Read on for more detailed thoughts:

The Writing

There was a lot to like here — the dialogue was fun and often witty, and the narration contained some wonderfully snarky commentary. However, the narrator's tone wore thin on me at times, and I found that the nature of the narration itself distanced me from the rest of the novel. This may be a matter of personal preference. I prefer close 3rd over omniscient POV, though neither is objectively better than the other.

The Characters

Mae and Lizzie were the standouts of the cast. I appreciated Mae's chaotic tendencies and Lizzie's remarks made me laugh out loud more than once. However, I wish I could have spent more time in the character's thoughts. Due to the intrusiveness of the narration, I didn't feel particularly close or connected to any of the characters. I was watching them from a distance instead of seeing the world through their eyes. This might not bother some readers as much as it bothered me.

The Plot

To sum up my thoughts on the plot succinctly, it was a fun romp. Nothing in the plot felt out of place, though it dragged at a couple places when the characters were trying to decide what to do (I think the style of narration doesn't lend itself well to introspection). I appreciated that the romance struck the balance between not insta-love and not agonizingly slow burn, and the book finished strong.

The World Building

Not much to say here, as I'm not a stickler for world building, except that I loved the inventive theology. I also appreciated the author's effort to write a diverse cast in a setting and time period that is usually very whitewashed and heteronormative. It was a breath of fresh air.

TL;DR, my minor gripes with this book all stem from a personal preference regarding narration. This is a fun sapphic romance that could easily be a five star read for others.

Mortal Follies, my first Alexis Hall book, was one of my most anticipated reads of the year. For its strengths, of which there are a few, the book is humorous and light-hearted, sweet at its core, and perfectly whimsical. I was hooked within the first few pages and refused to let up until halfway through, when things began to... drag.
Speaking of. Onto the weaknesses: Mortal Follies is like a thin layer of paper being used as an umbrella. It sags under the weight of its expectations; it holds far more than it can feasibly hold. Its structure is built entirely around the humor and whimsy and *vibes* of this book, which, despite being a fan of the three, is certainly not enough to carry a book. Similarly, the romance—something of a sapphic enemies-to-lovers between a suspected murderer and a cursed woman who comes to her for help—is all potential. Both characters are flat mimicries of far better books: the "dark", "angsty" murderer and the "sweet" but "strong" woman who needs her help. Their chemistry is questionable. I did not find myself rooting for them.
Some more assorted thoughts; I loved the side characters (though they were also flat), the aesthetics of this book are gorgeous, the murderer's backstory is so disappointing, and this felt like it could be simultaneously 100 pages shorter and 200 pages longer. There was so much story that needed to be told, and so much unnecessary humor and description that could be cut.
I certainly am disappointed. Still, my hopes are high for Alexis Hall. Will be anticipating a book that balances humor and plot from him.

I was completely unprepared for the narrator and was skeptical but ultimately really delighted by the voice throughout. Alexis Hall’s books are always funny and always feel like they have a little something extra that really holds my attention and this was no exception! Would absolutely read more if this turns into a series.

The premise is amazing and Hall’s writing, as always, is very fast-paced and full of humor. Mostly, though, this didn’t work for me. I need a lot more intimacy in romance—I need to be in the characters’ heads and get a lot more insight into their evolving feelings, so one POV is already a reach for me. This one, with the narrator being a supernatural being watching the two love interests, is a bit too far removed for me.

And it really didn’t help me like Maelys, or understand why I should care about her curse when she’s so entitled and does so little to show Georgiana she trusts her beyond demanding her help and her complete honesty again and again. I honestly couldn’t figure out why Georgiana liked Maelys, never mind was attracted to her.

Thank you to the publisher for allowing me to read this eARC.

It was just okay, nothing super unique but pretty forgettable.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this digital arc in exchange for my honest review.

Mortal Follies was an enchanting read full of humor, angst, and romance. I am not generally a fan of omniscient narrators and it was distracting at first. One of my favorite things about Alexis Hall's writing is the way he writes first-person POV, so I was a bit disappointed to be missing out on that. However, once I got used to it, I quite enjoyed it. It was creative, fit well with the story, and was quite often entertaining.

I did enjoy the story. But it felt like two separate stories. The main conflict is resolved halfway through, then we meander for several chapters with Maelys and Lady Georgianna's hot-and-cold relationship, and then a brand new conflict is tossed into the mix that was hardly hinted at short of us knowing something mysterious and likely mystical had happened to Lady Georgianna's family.

The story seemed to drag a bit -- particularly the back and forth between Maelys and Lady Georgianna. And while the two conflicts did technically somewhat converge due to the same deity being involved, I still felt a bit of whiplash going from one right into another in the same story.

Aside from the narrator, Miss Bickle was by far my favorite character. I do hope she gets her own story at some point. Although I do hope the plot jumping stays within Mortal Follies.

All in all, it was entertaining, but not something I would reread.

Thank you so much to Netgalley, Alexis Hall, and Del Rey for the opportunity to read and review this book as an ARC! First of all, we have to talk about how gorgeous this cover is- I am ENTHRALLED with the cover art and can't wait to get my hands on a physical copy! Besides the physical beauty of this book, the content was delicious. I did not expect to love this book as much as I did, but I was completely obsessed. I loved Alexis Hall's writing style and humor throughout the book and found the character interactions really sweet, very relatable, and honestly just funny. The romance, (SAPPHIC!!!) although not the main focus, was so sweet in this book and I was most certainly NOT expecting THAT scene between Mae & Georgiana... you know the one I'm talking about. I also loved that this story is told from the point of view of an external character- I found the commentary really entertaining on that front. I will say, I was a bit disappointed with the very very ending, and I wish the ending would have been a bit more drawn out, but I still rated this four stars for how much I enjoyed everything else. I will absolutely be purchasing a physical copy and rereading in the future. I definitely recommend this one!

This was a frothy, fun romance from Alexis Hall. The author was true to the time period in which the novel took place.

The narrator was a bit wordy which made reading a bit tedious .However, the main characters were charmingly eccentric.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publishers and the author for the opportunity to reas this ARC. This is my honest revire.

I’ve always been a fan of Alexis Hall’s work and thoroughly enjoyed Mortal Follies. I feel like this the type of book you have to be in a certain mood to read. It’s a concentration of what I feel is Hall’s writing style. It’s very wordy, full of tangents and wise-cracking jokes. Mortal Follies was unexpectedly funny, I caught myself giggling a couple times throughout the book. I really enjoyed the narration of the story although there was some sections where I felt like it pulled you out of the story.

Overall, Mortal Follies was a fun and engaging read. I cannot wait to read more from Alexis Hall.

3.5/5 stars! Listen; I really enjoy books by this author and that combined with the cover made this a must-read for me. I liked the premise of this story and I chuckled throughout reading it. My concern with the story was the narration by the god entity was extremely wordy. I feel like it was intentional but it slowed down the whole story and made it hard to stay engaged in the story. I would get going and get excited and then that character would be all "as one might if one were to..." and I fell out of the story. Overall, still a very entertaining story; the writing style just wasn't for me.

I received an advance review copy for free through NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily

What an adorable story!! The true gem here isn't even the story itself, but the narrator! It felt as if I was watching a DreamWorks movie in my head and the story was told by a fairy sitting on my shoulder. I think this narrator would actually be amazing to depict even a collection of short stories?! This was such a fun read and the romance was so cute.