Romance Alexis Hall is back, this time with a sapphic story told by a well-known yet unnamed Fairy and follows Miss Maelys Mitchelmore who has been cursed and is subsequently having a rough time out in society. With the help of the unsavory and undesirable Lady Georgiana Landrake. Lady Georgiana is known as the “Duke of Annadale” and is rumored to have murdered her family. With her reputation (and her heart) at stake, Maelys must find out who cursed her and how to lift it.

I loved this book! I’ve given very few books 5 stars this year, but this is among them. This book has the traditional romance format, but with ladies and fairies. It’s hilarious, and I loved the narration. I very much enjoyed the characters and didn’t always see the twists coming. I definitely want to read it again and will buy a copy to mark up. If you’re looking for a sapphic, historical romcom, put this on your tbr.

Having not been too familiar with Mid Summer's Night Dream as other readers are, I feel I may have been at a disadvantage reading this book.

The story felt a little like a fever dream set in regency England, peppered with goddesses and fae and magic. It did feel like two distinct acts, with the first half of the book focused on one goal, and the second half on another.

The characters felt pretty shallow, which surprised me for an Alexis Hall book. But the story was mostly plot-driven, so it worked.

It was entertaining enough, with our characters finding themselves in various predicaments, but I do find that the lack of character depth kept me from being emotionally invested, so I didn't care too much about what happened to them.

Ok. Don’t get me wrong I liked the book. However, something seemed a bit off about it. There’s a detachment there, like I couldn’t immerse myself into the characters. The fairy held my attention the entire time, she stole the show.

I’m guessing that wasn’t the author’s intention, but that’s what happened. They other characters just faded into the background as we heard their stories through her observations. In the end my relationship with those characters were mundane at best.

3/5 stars

REVIEW

2.5⭐, rounded up to 3⭐.

Before we begin, I must invoke the Muses–I call upon Thalia, and Erato, and, of course, my girl Calliope. I beg you, sing; grant me the patience (and the caffeine) to get through writing this review without being too much of a joyless critic.

Let’s begin with the positives.

The setting is fun, if a bit sparse on the worldbuilding. It’s a very modernized (though in a self-aware way), romanticized version of 1812 Bath/London, where the gods of yore and faeries in tales are very much real, though largely not too much of a deal. The primary inspirations for Mortal Follies seem to stem from Shakespeare plays and Roman myth, with the two primary mythological figures being a Puck-ish narrator and a minor goddess local to Bath.

Prose-wise, the style is lighthearted and a bit flowery in a lively, frolicking way. The story is told in the first person from the point of view of a fae narrator, who primarily follows Miss Mitchelmore, with the occasional diversion to trail the love interest Lady Landrake or a side character.

The characters are good, primarily because they have snappy, witty dialogue and personalities that play well off one another. My favorite, likely surprising no one, is an extremely niche side trans character who gets two-ish scenes and is the coolest character in the whole novel. Tabitha (human Tabitha, not muse Tabitha) rules and it’s a crime she didn’t get more page time.

With that, we must unfortunately pivot into the more negative of my thoughts.

Setting was too modern at times. There’s a whole conversation about ‘tinging,’ a term coined by Miss Mitchelmore’s best friend, Miss Bickle, which is defined as her desire to see two characters–or two people–end up together. What's in a name? That which we call shipping by any other name would still be completely anachronistic in a Regency era setting, even if we call it something different. I believe it was supposed to be amusing, but it was not. It was eye-roll inducing.

There’s also the issue of swear words. I’m a great proponent of the word ‘fuck;’ it’s fun, but felt out of place in Mortal Follies, especially as it got to be used so liberally. (Yes, I’m well aware the word has been around for ages–this is a Tiffany Problem sort of issue. My point stands.)

'Fuck' also just feels a bit… uninspired, in this context. I’d much prefer some more interesting, funny, or clever ways of swearing or referring to intercourse than just using ‘fuck.’ Like, come on! The narrative is drawing, at least partially, from Shakespeare. Have at least a little fun with it.

Now for my biggest issue: the narrator. In the prologue, Mortal Follies is framed as a novel written by a now-mortal fae, Robin, (who, within the lore, is actually also Alexis Hall, and maybe also Puck?). Due to a quarrel with Oberon, they have to make a living by writing books.

Robin is obnoxious. While their humor is, I admit, sometimes clever, it often isn’t. Their humor--and thus, the novel's--relies too much on the whole quirky “wow being a human is sucks, what do you mean you have to pay rent, humans can’t turn into mist? that’s soooo silly” gimmick. I cannot stand it.

They also constantly insert themself into the narrative in a way that wore out my welcome as soon as it came through the door. I'm fairly certain this is to set up later books, as I believe Mortal Follies might be a series.

While Robin does follow the characters to whom the most interesting things are happening, they do not, in my opinion, follow the most interesting characters. Outside of her misfortune, Miss Mitchelmore is, quite frankly, boring, and so is Lady Georgiana Landrake (if to a slightly lesser extent). The side characters--such as Mr. Caesar, a gay man of color, and Tabitha, a trans woman and priestess--are so much more interesting. My favorite moments in the book were Mr. Caesar's visit to Serena's, a sort of gay gentlemen's club/salon/coffee house, and his subsequent visit to Tabitha, because those scenes explored what it meant to be queer in the novel's world in a really interesting, nuanced, genuine way, something completely lacking from the rest of the book, which overall came off as quite saccharine and shallow in comparison.

Anyway. Speaking of queerness and our leading ladies: their romance may be slow, but it does not burn. It barely sparked. I couldn’t give two hoots about their relationship and, quite frankly, do not ‘ting’ them. Especially since I'm not much of a fan of the age gap; Mitchelmore is 19, while Landrake is 24. Not the biggest age gap there is, but it's enough of a difference for me to get a little icked out.

Probably couldn’t identify much of a real personality trait for either of them. There’s lots of dialogue between them that’s good but is also clearly designed to be ‘shippable,’ if that makes sense, rather than creating any real, deep, or interesting bond between them. They barely know each other, and I barely know them, either. Quite frankly, I don't really care to.

I had a fun enough time with the first half (which focused on solving the mystery of Miss Mitchelmore’s curse). The second half (which sort of? focused on the romance and on Lady Landrake's backstory, which ended up being, in my opinion, boring) felt disconnected, dragged in pace, and fell flat. An astounding accomplishment, considering it contains an Orpheus-and-Eurydice mini-retelling.

FINAL THOUGHTS

The folklore/mythological elements and side characters, though far more interesting, were not the focus and thus did not compensate for the irritating, intrusive narrator and unengaging romance. While I’m sure others would like the humor, I don’t go for the type of quirky fandom-y humor often used. The second half dragged. And, in my humble opinion, the book had no business being over 400 pages in the first place.

Ultimately, this book just didn’t click with me. Maybe you’ll like Mortal Follies if you love Regency era romances and are itching for a sapphic one, but I’m not chomping at the bit to recommend it.

I’m not usually a romance reader, though, so it may be a matter of taste.

Thank you to Del Rey for providing a digital ARC via Netgalley. If you are interested in Mortal Follies, you can find more information from the publishers. If possible, support indie bookshops by purchasing the novel from your local brick and mortar or from Bookshop.org.

I was really excited by the premise of this book but unfortunately it did not click for me. My biggest issue was the voice which felt distant and stilted. I think that was on purpose by the author, but it just was not to my taste.

The narrator is the best thing about this book. But the narrator is also the worst thing about this book.

“Mortal Follies” is told by Robin, a Puck-ish former court jester for King Oberon who is currently on the outs with his patron. As a result, Robin has been sent to the mortal world where he’s living in a tiny Putney flat with leaky windows and must — gasp — pay rent, so he turns to selling his myriad stories to a publishing house. His first is one of a cursed young noblewoman, Miss Maelys Mitchelmore, who must team up with a scandalous and rumored witch, Lady Georgianna Landrake (aka “the Duke of Annadale”).

Robin’s storytelling starts strong — my notes were “Oh, I so hope this tone from the prologue carries throughout” — because it’s clever and mischievous and Robin enjoys causing chaos, such as turning himself into a fly, then wasp, then mouse, then rat just to annoy a maid. And using him as the narrator is an innovative way of telling a story, too, because Robin can interfere in certain ways and wants there to be a good story. But before too long, Robin becomes more than a little repetitive, and the book’s tone started to bug. He’s just always kind of there.

It’s also hard when a book’s characters have no voice and have characteristics and thoughts thrust upon them by a narrator who is peeking in on them and doesn’t actually know them. So I never understood why Miss Mitchelmore was smitten with the Duke, because Robin couldn’t really give me the emotion I craved. It didn’t help that the romance also moved quite fast, no historical romance–type slow burn here. The whole pace of the book moves quickly, but I never felt invested in the curse or any other shenanigans; thanks to Robin, it felt like the action happened a mile away. This isn’t a bad book, by any means — I just wanted so much more from it.

But I think everyone who reads this book can agree on one thing: the fanciful Miss Bickle with her dresses of mermaid hair and her whimsical, yet fiercely loyal personality deserves at least a 10-book series.

Just maybe not one narrated by Robin.

Thanks to NetGalley and Del Rey for providing me with an e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I have tried to start this book multiple times over the past few months and I just cannot get into it. I don't know if it's me that is not connecting or what, but I think this will be a DNF for now. I did snag a physical copy, so I do plan on eventually trying to finish it. Personally, I think it was getting a bit confused with keeping the characters separated while reading, so it was not making much sense and was taking longer than normal to read. If it would have been told in first person, that may have helped. Like I said, I will definitely be trying to read it again because I do generally enjoy Alexis Hall's books.

If you’re a fan of regency romance with a bit of fantasy narrated by the world’s best-known trickster, this book might just be for you! If you’re looking for Alexis Hall’s signature spice and well-thought-out plots, this book might not be for you.

Here we meet Miss Mitchelmore, a recently cursed young woman about to be introduced into high society and of course everything goes exactly wrong – though she does meet the mysteriously elusive “Duke of Annadale,” one Lady Landrake that sets her heart beating faster. But with a curse wrecking havoc across the season, the issue of romance can’t be at the forefront of Miss Mitchelmore’s mind.

I’ve enjoyed some of Alexis Hall’s other books and this one certainly bears their trademark wit and banter that I’ve come to enjoy. Narrated by Puck, the Bard’s famous imp, there’s no shortage of commentary on humans from the perspective of a fairy. It’s entirely delightful and unexpected – until it isn’t. There does come a point where I had a moment of “I get it, that’s enough” but Puck kept right on Puck-ing. Though entertaining, his narrative does get decently repetitive after a time, and though the story is supposedly the tale of romance between two women, we are never truly in either of their heads due to Puck’s presence. (And of course, they are never aware of this.) This gives the whole book a sense of distance, and I confess I was never much affected by the romantic aspect because I was watching it all unfold from the outside – and Puck doesn’t feel all that strongly about mortal love in the first place.

That being said, this was certainly a fun read. The magic and mythology are entertaining, if never quite explained, and the curse (curses, really) – and Puck’s appearance – insinuate a much larger magical world than the one with which we’re actually presented. The story could have ended at multiple points, but then yet another obstacle would be thrown in to keep things going, creating a plot that felt more cyclical than anything else.

Overall, it was a fun enjoyable read that I would have enjoyed more had it been cut a bit shorter; I had to remind myself how close I was to story’s end once I hit 70% or so. It’s well worth a perusal just for the sake of Miss Bickle, likely one of the best original book characters I’ve ever met. She is a HOOT.

Content warning: animal sacrifice, death, blood, violence, kidnapping.

I typically do not have issues with stories that are told from an omniscient point of view, but I really struggled here. It took me forever to adjust, and by the time I did, I just wanted it to be over. I never cared about the couple or any of the characters.

Thank you to Random House Publishing, Del Rey, and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I've read Alexis' other books before and I think I really enjoyed this one best so far. Witches/Jane Austen kind of vibe was a lot of fun. I'm also so glad that it was LGBT because that isn't something you get a lot of in a book set during that time period. Here for it!

I had to DNF this one. I just don't vibe with an Omniscient narrator. I can do both first and third person POV, but omniscient narration makes me feel like I'm being told when I'd rather be show.

Mortal Follies by Alexis Hall is a novel written with a storytelling narrator. The author uses the narrator, who we conclude is a Puck, exiled from Oberon’s side and forced to pen novels in order to support himself. He told the story of Miss Mitchelmore, during the year 1814, who found herself the victim of a supernatural curse. He follows her and her friends as they discover the cause of this curse and all the experiences that befell her as a consequence. This is an LTBQIAP+ novel.

I enjoyed this story. The narrative style was unusual, and I felt that it kept distance between myself as the reader and the characters of the novel. Nevertheless, it was a unique storytelling style that added to the overall story due to Puck’s inside information and personal commentary on the young woman’s experiences. Puck also extolled his own suffering as one who suddenly had to have money to pay for the things he had always taken for granted. The story described a world of gods, goddesses, fairies, and witches that existed alongside that of everyday mortals. In this world, the mortal characters had much more knowledge of the Otherworld than one would expect a story set in this time period to have. It seemed as if their normal everyday life of balls, picnics, and parties of the Season were interspersed with petitions to goddess’s to curse or remove curses. Characters who had chosen to dedicate themselves to the service of a goddess were in the realm of believable in their everyday world. Usually stories which tell of the Fae have most secondary characters being completely unaware of the existence of Otherworldly creatures. This book is also a love story, a coming old age story, and a coming out story all wrapped up into one. I think that the tale was very well told, but there remained a disconnect between myself and the main characters of the story, which I feel the narrator contributed to. I did enjoy the book and feel that it is well worth the read. I would recommend this book to readers who enjoy LGBTIAP+ fantasy or paranormal historical romance novels involving the world of the Fae as well as deities of a number of dead religions. I am voluntarily submitting this honest review after reading an advanced complementary copy of this book thanks to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Del Rey.

I had a lot of fun reading this! I think it’s the first time I’ve read a story told in this way, which I thought was interesting. I got really attached to the narrator and was sad I didn’t get to learn more. As for other characters I loved, Lizzie! She was the MCs friend and I honestly found her very charming. I’m hoping she got a happy ending. The story was very well told and the messages that came across, I felt, were very important. Def recommend

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a free ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately, I had to DNF this book. The beautiful cover is the only thing I enjoyed.

Mortal Follies by Alexis Hall is full of their trademark wit and humor. The story is narrated by a character, whose asides sometimes impeded the flow of the story. However, the story was a good one. There were plenty of plot twists and a lot of action. Hall's stories tend to have the "just right" mix of silliness and heart. Recommended for romance readers who like a little magic and a lot of humor.

Mortal follies is such a good read. I loved the plot, characters, witty banter (Lizzie is hilarious) and the mythology mixed in. I would love to read more stories told from the same narrator, and the narrators story itself!

Alexis Hall's books are always a delight, and I really enjoyed this one! The setting is regency England, but everyone knows about magic, and agrees that the old gods sometimes meddle in mortal affairs. The narrator is a hobgoblin named Robin who sprinkles the narrative with his wit as he omnisciently recounts mortal affairs. The main trio of Maelys, John, and Lizzie were all very fun characters. And Lady Georgianna, the Duke of Annadale, was sufficiently broody. A lesbian regency romance as told by a puckish fae creature isn't something I had even thought to wish for, but I'm so glad it exists.

Alexis Hall is an insta-buy for me. I loved the narrative structure of this story. Hall's writing is always stellar, managing to be both precise and lyrical, relatable and evocative.

Oh I LOVED this. The faerie narrator really sold me, she was so much fun.

I love this regency era world where homophobia is virtually nonexistent. While the book took place during the regency era, I would argue it had much more of an adventure plot, which I really enjoyed. Let more women in skirts have adventures, please.

All in all this was such a delightful read, if you're someone who is bothered by the mixing of contemporary language and regency language I'd advise you to approach with caution but it was obvious that Hall was not attempting to be historically accurate between the faeries and use of the word "fuck".

I enjoyed reading this book - I love a sapphic romcom, and the fantasy elements definitely made this one stand out. One of my favorite things about Alexis Hall's books is how consistently funny they are, and this one was for sure up there. For some reason, this book struggled to keep my attention - it ended up taking far longer for me to finish than I expected, since I ended up taking several weeks-long breaks from it. I don't think there was any one factor that made it less gripping than I expected, but I found that the narrator's interjections were sometimes irritating for me as a reader, and the narrative style left me wanting more depth in both the main character and the love interest. I did love the characterization of Miss Bickle - that was probably my favorite element of the book.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me an advance copy of this ebook in exchange for my honest review.