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purplepenning's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
Fans of India Holton's Dangerous Damsels series should definitely check this out — it's a sapphic regency romance adventure set in an England where the fae, the old gods, and the new gods all exist in active form. Principal action takes place in Bath and features Sulis Minerva, the Celtic-Roman goddess of the sacred springs that feed Bath's, well, baths. (This is, oddly, the second recently published book I've read to feature Minerva; the other is Garth Nix's The Sinister Booksellers of Bath.)
Mortal Follies is narrated by Puck / Robin Goodfellow (of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" fame) with lots of nods, winks, and digs about Shakespeare and Shakespearean faerie chaos. It follows the misadventures Miss Maeylis Mitchelmore, a young society darling who has had the mysterious misfortune of being cursed by a goddess. Miss Mitchelmore, to her friends' mixed reaction of dismay and delight, turns to the alluring society outcast, Lady Georgianna Landrake (the "Duke of Annadale"), for advice, protection, and what comfort a brooding heiress who is also a possible witch and murderer may give a stricken innocent with hidden strength and spirit.
This should've all worked for me, but alas — I found the main relationship to be somewhat tedious. The pacing and character development didn't work for me and there was entirely too much brooding and badgering for my taste. But I did love the whole idea of this book, enjoyed the heck out of the narrator's perspective, and am happy that Alexis Hall just keeps writing whatever they want and I keep reading it.
Check the content notes — there are some surprisingly brutal sacrifice scenes (old gods, you know), some inner LGBTQ transphobic nonsense, and a little murder and debilitating disease.
Mortal Follies is narrated by Puck / Robin Goodfellow (of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" fame) with lots of nods, winks, and digs about Shakespeare and Shakespearean faerie chaos. It follows the misadventures Miss Maeylis Mitchelmore, a young society darling who has had the mysterious misfortune of being cursed by a goddess. Miss Mitchelmore, to her friends' mixed reaction of dismay and delight, turns to the alluring society outcast, Lady Georgianna Landrake (the "Duke of Annadale"), for advice, protection, and what comfort a brooding heiress who is also a possible witch and murderer may give a stricken innocent with hidden strength and spirit.
This should've all worked for me, but alas — I found the main relationship to be somewhat tedious. The pacing and character development didn't work for me and there was entirely too much brooding and badgering for my taste. But I did love the whole idea of this book, enjoyed the heck out of the narrator's perspective, and am happy that Alexis Hall just keeps writing whatever they want and I keep reading it.
Check the content notes — there are some surprisingly brutal sacrifice scenes (old gods, you know), some inner LGBTQ transphobic nonsense, and a little murder and debilitating disease.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Murder
Moderate: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, and Classism
Minor: Gun violence, Racism, Terminal illness, Grief, and Death of parent
meganpbell's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
To survive a mysterious and malicious curse and find the figure behind it, a young noblewoman must encounter mischievous fairies, queer priestesses, ancient deities—and a strangely alluring, potentially “malign witch” (who may have murdered her own male relations to inherit her dukedom) in this feverishly fun sapphic fantasy wittily and wantonly narrated, of course, by Puck himself. Such fun!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Sexual content, and Murder
Minor: Ableism, Body horror, Racism, Terminal illness, Transphobia, and Medical content
arthur_ant18's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death and Murder
Moderate: Sexual content, Terminal illness, and Transphobia
Minor: Death and Sexual harassment
levesc17's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Buckle up for a romantasy— for a sapphic romance— for a grumpy sunshine trope— for a return to Bath (if you love Jane Austen that is). I’m a huge fan of Alexis Hall, and Mortal Follies had the whimsy and humor I have come to expect from all of Hall’s books. I’m not a huge Shakespeare fan so the allusion to Midsummer Night Dream was lost on me for the first half of the book— then I felt very silly. Now that I can appreciate it that Puck is our hobglobin narrator I want to reread this book to see what other things I may have missed! The narrative voice IS hilarious and I’m sort of hoping Hall writes more tales from my new favorite globetrotting hobgoblin’s point of view! Some other reviews mentioned the pacing of this book was surprising— I would just say that it’s a ride, and you should enjoy it. The arc is maybe not what you would expect but that doesn’t mean it’s not enjoyable. The romantic storyline happens more in the latter half than the first half and that’s all I’ll say! This isn’t the most romantic of Hall’s books; but it may be the most hilarious. I enjoyed an arc from NetGalley and this is an honest review.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Terminal illness
Minor: Death