Reviews tagging 'Racism'

Mortal Follies by Alexis Hall

18 reviews

20sidedbi's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny mysterious slow-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? It's complicated

4.0

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hazel_oat's review

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adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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raptorq's review

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adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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biggshelf's review

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The third party narration was initially an interesting concept, but it was not executed well and ended up detracting from the story. The character’s decisions were so flakey that because the perspective wasn’t in their head, and context didn’t explain it, they ended up feeling annoying. Any driving action or engaging scenes were discussed for longer on-page time then they were even shown to the reader. As soon as something cool would happen, the chapter would end. 

The alternate history fantasy setting could’ve been so great, but amidst left-field mentions of slave trade and homo/transphobia and off-putting modern references, it was not nearly as fleshed out as it should’ve been to handle the topics well.  

The writing style was not for me, I understand repetition for emphasis and humor but “she drank the concoction her mother concocted”?! Like how did that get through editing. 

Believe it or not this is the abridged version of my review. This book could’ve been everything I needed in my life. Instead it became my worst enemy.
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lbelow's review against another edition

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4.0

It was a bit disconcerting to get to the halfway mark and have finished what I thought of as the plot, but the author managed to salvage the book in the end. I adored the whimsy of the tone and world building! 
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kylieqrada's review

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adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted 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

4.5

Alexis Hall just does it for me. At least his Regency romances, I have yet to try a contemporary from him. This would certainly not work for everyone, but the humor hit for me. 
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betweentheshelves's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted 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

4.0

Not my favorite of Alexis Hall's books, but this was still a fun time! I enjoyed the overall format of the book, and the inclusion of the fantasy/magical elements along with the romance. If you enjoy authors like Freya Marske, you'll definitely enjoy this book!

The romance at the core of this story definitely takes center stage, and I loved how it evolved throughout the book around all of these different curses and such. The pacing of the book does get a little weird by the end, but since we have a narrator telling us this story, she actually acknowledges that. Which I actually found to be fun! 

If you like historical fantasy romance, this is definitely the book for you. Plus, it has an absolutely gorgeous cover!
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emmy_award's review

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adventurous 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? It's complicated

4.25

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ladythana's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense fast-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

4.75

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readthesparrow's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

REVIEW

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 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.)

'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, you 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 this is going to 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 (especially in the context of a Regency era romance rather than a contemporary romance), 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.

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