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booksthatburn's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
MORTAL FOLLIES is a story of curses and romance, narrated by a faerie intimated to be Robin/Puck of A Midsummer Night's Dream. While it is set in 1814, Puck seems to be telling the story from some time further in the future, possibly in the 21st century. Maelys seems to be cursed, and keeps running into a woman nicknamed "the Duke of Annadale" who is rumored to have murdered her own father and brothers. She's also rumored to know magic, and seems to be Maelys's only chance at getting rid of the curse (as long as she's not really the one who cast it).
The romance was fun, and the stakes escalated appropriately. I liked the story but found Puck frustrating as a narrator. Because they are recalling these events from so far in the future, their interjections kept me from sinking completely into the 19th century setting. It seems like these may form some overarching story which moves between books, but it happened to hit upon a style I don't personally enjoy.
The romance was fun, and the stakes escalated appropriately. I liked the story but found Puck frustrating as a narrator. Because they are recalling these events from so far in the future, their interjections kept me from sinking completely into the 19th century setting. It seems like these may form some overarching story which moves between books, but it happened to hit upon a style I don't personally enjoy.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Drug use, Sexual content, Transphobia, War, Classism, Homophobia, Sexism, Misogyny, and Death
Minor: Sexual assault and Rape
bmaeus's review
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? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Transphobia, Violence, and Sexual assault
It's like if Bartimaeus of Uruk narrated your Regency era lesbian romcom. Perfect. Funny sexy and sillyartstitute's review
adventurous
funny
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Deadnaming, Murder, Animal death, Terminal illness, and Blood
Minor: Rape, Death of parent, Transphobia, Sexual assault, and Slavery
ctara2123's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Misogyny, Kidnapping, Blood, Animal death, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Fire/Fire injury and Sexual assault
seashel's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Confinement, Death of parent, Rape, Blood, Murder, and Sexual assault
emmy_award's review
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping and Murder
Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Transphobia, and Sexual content
Minor: Sexual assault and Racism
raquelraquel's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
The funniest book I've read all year, and the plot was incredible as well!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault, Rape, and Kidnapping
cleo_reads's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
B-/C+?
Odd, genre mashing fantasy ff romance set in alt Regency England, with magic and old gods. Narrated by Robin Goodfellow (aka Puck, the narrator of A Midsummer Night’s Dream), how much you like this book (imo) will come down to how much you enjoy/ tolerate the snarky, omniscient story telling style - it’s so very clever (this isn’t meant as a compliment btw), with lots of asides complaining about mortals, plus Shakespearean references. Read the sample!
I think the blurb does a disservice to the book. It sets reader expectations for a completely different book. Once I kind of relaxed into the narrator and the style, I ended up enjoying it more than I expected to, based on the first few chapters. But it’s a weird book. And the romance is definitely secondary to the plot. And the pacing is uneven.
Odd, genre mashing fantasy ff romance set in alt Regency England, with magic and old gods. Narrated by Robin Goodfellow (aka Puck, the narrator of A Midsummer Night’s Dream), how much you like this book (imo) will come down to how much you enjoy/ tolerate the snarky, omniscient story telling style - it’s so very clever (this isn’t meant as a compliment btw), with lots of asides complaining about mortals, plus Shakespearean references. Read the sample!
I think the blurb does a disservice to the book. It sets reader expectations for a completely different book. Once I kind of relaxed into the narrator and the style, I ended up enjoying it more than I expected to, based on the first few chapters. But it’s a weird book. And the romance is definitely secondary to the plot. And the pacing is uneven.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death and Kidnapping
Minor: Sexual assault
theoddduckling's review
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
Full of quipy lines, plenty of Shakespearean flourishes, and Regency drama, Mortal Follies tells the story of one young woman’s quest to know herself, find love, and survive the marriage mart.
None of these things go the way Miss Mitchelmore plans and when she finds herself the target of a curse, survival becomes a much more literal problem than she anticipated. But the cynical and mysterious (and mockingly named) Duke of Anadale, Lady Georgiana, steps in the save the day more than once. And this the two women find themselves thrown together on an adventure that will test them both to their limits.
The story, told through the framing device of a mischievous sprite recently exiled from Oberon’s court, starts as a fun period romance romp, but takes a turn for the serious that the narrator’s tone does not reflect. The narrator’s tone remains flippant and wry even as the events get darker and far more serious. This made it difficult to feel as though there were any real stakes for the characters and no real weight to the plot. Event at the end of the book rush to a conclusion that could have benefited from a few more pages to build tension and make the main characters struggle.
All in all, I found the tone of the book mismatched to the events, making for a discordant read.
However, this book begs to be performed. I truly think it would be better served as an audiobook book at least, if not a stage show. The narrator’s voice was funny, cutting and a bit Shakespearean. Performing this as a play would lend a separation between the narrator and the main characters in a way that would serve this story well and make it something spectacular.
None of these things go the way Miss Mitchelmore plans and when she finds herself the target of a curse, survival becomes a much more literal problem than she anticipated. But the cynical and mysterious (and mockingly named) Duke of Anadale, Lady Georgiana, steps in the save the day more than once. And this the two women find themselves thrown together on an adventure that will test them both to their limits.
The story, told through the framing device of a mischievous sprite recently exiled from Oberon’s court, starts as a fun period romance romp, but takes a turn for the serious that the narrator’s tone does not reflect. The narrator’s tone remains flippant and wry even as the events get darker and far more serious. This made it difficult to feel as though there were any real stakes for the characters and no real weight to the plot. Event at the end of the book rush to a conclusion that could have benefited from a few more pages to build tension and make the main characters struggle.
All in all, I found the tone of the book mismatched to the events, making for a discordant read.
However, this book begs to be performed. I truly think it would be better served as an audiobook book at least, if not a stage show. The narrator’s voice was funny, cutting and a bit Shakespearean. Performing this as a play would lend a separation between the narrator and the main characters in a way that would serve this story well and make it something spectacular.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault and Gaslighting
Moderate: Death and Death of parent
Minor: Slavery
brontesauruses's review
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
4.0
Thank you to the publisher and Edelweiss+ for letting me get at this one early in exchange for an honest review!
Ok, so before I start the actual review: please take a minute to look at the cover. It's so pink, I love it. 💕
Did you look at it? Ok good.
As for the book itself, it's so much fun. It's queer and silly and told in a way that I ended up really enjoying. Our omniscient narrator is a character in their own right: Puck (aka Robin Goodfellow aka Stanley Tucci* in A Midsummer Night's Dream (1999)), who has been kicked out by Oberon, and now has to find a way to, you know, pay for food. The tone is very chatty. At times it felt like the chattiness was at the expense of pushing the story along, and it took me a couple chapters to get into it (it might even have been worse towards the beginning), but in the end I don't think I would have enjoyed it as much if it had been told differently.
IfPuck Hall wants to write more books like this, I want to read them.
Idk that I have any readalikes per se, but I do think that if you like Emily Wilde you might like this one (and vice versa). Very different flavors of Faerie Nonsense, but yeah. Divine Rivals also maybe.
One quick bit of content warning: the Old Gods are still there causing problems, so there are three whole animal sacrifices in this one, each one more...well-described than the last. Lots of blood.
Also, there was a bit of virulent transphobia that was immediately challenged by the narrative and one of the main characters. OOF, though. Very jarring.
*I'm sure the audiobook narrator is very good, but as I was reading, I couldn't help wishing that they'd gotten my man Stanley in on this.
Ok, so before I start the actual review: please take a minute to look at the cover. It's so pink, I love it. 💕
Did you look at it? Ok good.
As for the book itself, it's so much fun. It's queer and silly and told in a way that I ended up really enjoying. Our omniscient narrator is a character in their own right: Puck (aka Robin Goodfellow aka Stanley Tucci* in A Midsummer Night's Dream (1999)), who has been kicked out by Oberon, and now has to find a way to, you know, pay for food. The tone is very chatty. At times it felt like the chattiness was at the expense of pushing the story along, and it took me a couple chapters to get into it (it might even have been worse towards the beginning), but in the end I don't think I would have enjoyed it as much if it had been told differently.
If
Idk that I have any readalikes per se, but I do think that if you like Emily Wilde you might like this one (and vice versa). Very different flavors of Faerie Nonsense, but yeah. Divine Rivals also maybe.
One quick bit of content warning: the Old Gods are still there causing problems, so there are three whole animal sacrifices in this one, each one more...well-described than the last. Lots of blood.
Also, there was a bit of virulent transphobia that was immediately challenged by the narrative and one of the main characters. OOF, though. Very jarring.
*I'm sure the audiobook narrator is very good, but as I was reading, I couldn't help wishing that they'd gotten my man Stanley in on this.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Blood, Medical content, Transphobia, and Violence
Minor: Death, Abandonment, Death of parent, Racism, Sexual assault, Kidnapping, and Slavery