Reviews with content warning for Gun violence - Mortal Follies

Mortal Follies is another excellent example of how Alexis Hall’s writing range is just damn impressive to me. After reading A Lady for a Duke and expecting another somber, emotional historical I was incredibly surprised at how jovial, magical, and unique Mortal Follies is.

The story is told to us through the narration of Robin - a fairy who has fallen out of favor with the courts and is sending a story to his Lord (take a guess who he might be). We get this story told in a first person POV as Robin follows around the characters in his story, his thoughts and feelings so much that he is a character all his own and I love him. The rest of the cast are equally as fantastic, some more than others. Our main two lady lovers are interesting and I felt for them and did cheer for them, however my favorite character by far was a side-character named Lizzie. I wonder if perhaps another future book may feature her as I got the feeling that Alexis Hall also enjoyed writing her.

The style is unique and the situations absurd as well. The setting is a Regency/Victorian feeling era, but mixed with fantasy as ‘Old Gods’ (pagan gods) and the Fairy are acknowledged and chased about from time to time. In fact our plot revolves around someone placing a curse upon one of Lady Lovers and their pursuit of clearing it. That made for an interestingly tense story at times, but always undercut with the humor and absurdity that really sold this for me.

I know a lot of people don’t enjoy a lot of humor or silliness in their stories - this would be one to avoid if you are that reader. However, if you enjoy the sly and some times childish humor of Fairy narrator then this is a must read. It’s hilarious at times and keeps it’s pace throughout. A big recommendation from me

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purplepenning's review

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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.

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