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3.57 AVERAGE
3.57 AVERAGE
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Murder
adventurous
emotional
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Oh mischievous puck. I enjoyed the choice of narrative. An enjoyable mix of fairies and Georgian Era England.
"mortal follies" is a sapphic romance that takes place in 1814 and that is... narrated by a hobgoblin. our main character, miss mitchelmore, is dealing with a curse at the beginning of the novel, and ends up needing to turn to "the duke of annadale" -- another young woman and potential witchy murderess -- for help. also featured is miss mitchelmore's friend, miss bickle, and cousin, mr caeser.
this book has a great start! it is fun, funny, bright, and has SUCH sexual TENSION like the WAY these WOMEN are FLIRTING!!!! ughhhhh it's delicious! i also loved the narrative voice for the majority of the book. i found it fun and ~quirky~ and nice for setting this book apart from the occasional monotony that occurs when reading similar plotlines over and over.
i ADORED miss bickle. as a neurodivergent,,,,,, i resonate so much with this woman. she is goofy and kind and makes no sense to anyone but herself. ADORE.
by about the 80% mark i slowed down a lot in my reading, partially because of my own ~personal life~ but also due to the unusual pacing of the novel. there were so many problems to overcome and the fact that things just... took longer... in 1814 did feel like it played in a bit. i don't know if this is a major issue or just from my reading experience though!
my largest problem was that i felt the ending fell a bit flat. the final problem and solution were just slightly contrived? for my taste? and felt clunky and rushed sadly. didn't ruin the book for me at all, but was a disappointment for sure.
overall, i had such a fun time reading this and i definitely recommend giving it a shot if you're open to lots of jokes about mortals and their behavior (i very much am. yippee!).
one final note: i wish i had looked up some trigger warnings before reading! off the top of my head, here are a few: stalking, transphobia from minor characters, threat of physical/sexual violence, death, animal sacrifice. i would certainly double check other reviews/sites for ones i may have missed as these were a bit off putting to read in a rom-com-esque setting :)
(as always, much thanks to the publisher and netgalley for providing me with a free eARC in exchange for my honest review.)
this book has a great start! it is fun, funny, bright, and has SUCH sexual TENSION like the WAY these WOMEN are FLIRTING!!!! ughhhhh it's delicious! i also loved the narrative voice for the majority of the book. i found it fun and ~quirky~ and nice for setting this book apart from the occasional monotony that occurs when reading similar plotlines over and over.
i ADORED miss bickle. as a neurodivergent,,,,,, i resonate so much with this woman. she is goofy and kind and makes no sense to anyone but herself. ADORE.
by about the 80% mark i slowed down a lot in my reading, partially because of my own ~personal life~ but also due to the unusual pacing of the novel. there were so many problems to overcome and the fact that things just... took longer... in 1814 did feel like it played in a bit. i don't know if this is a major issue or just from my reading experience though!
my largest problem was that i felt the ending fell a bit flat. the final problem and solution were just slightly contrived? for my taste? and felt clunky and rushed sadly. didn't ruin the book for me at all, but was a disappointment for sure.
overall, i had such a fun time reading this and i definitely recommend giving it a shot if you're open to lots of jokes about mortals and their behavior (i very much am. yippee!).
one final note: i wish i had looked up some trigger warnings before reading! off the top of my head, here are a few: stalking, transphobia from minor characters, threat of physical/sexual violence, death, animal sacrifice. i would certainly double check other reviews/sites for ones i may have missed as these were a bit off putting to read in a rom-com-esque setting :)
(as always, much thanks to the publisher and netgalley for providing me with a free eARC in exchange for my honest review.)
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This was really fun. It gave a fantastical, magical and fairy filled, sapphic Bridgerton vibes. I also very much enjoyed the ornery narrator. It’s been a long time since I’ve read anything with an omnipresent narrator and I quite liked it.
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
this was an alright read--I feel like Alexis hall is one of the greatest romance brains that has come to the queer romance genre based on what I've read, but this just fell very flat for me. I liked the idea, and I really wanted to love the characters, but it was so hard to connect to them or like them and every time I put the book down, I didn't feel a push to pick it back up. Overall, great writing as always Alexis, but this one didn't quite impress me.
adventurous
lighthearted
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
funny
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No