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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. đź’•
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. đź’•
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
savvyrosereads's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Out now [Thank you so much the publisher for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review!]
Rating: 4/5 stars
Narrated by the hobgoblin Robin (better known for Shakespeare fans as Puck from A Midsummer Night’s Dream), Mortal Follies is the 1814-set story of a young woman cursed by a goddess and the suspected murderess who may be her best ally or her greatest downfall.
I’m obsessed with the narration and framing of this one, which is slightly bizarre (in the best way) and takes a bit to fully get into—but once it clicks it is, to my mind, absolutely brilliant. I also loved all the characters—especially the headstrong Miss Mitchelmore, the brooding and Byronic Lady Georgiana, the delightfully hilarious and deceptively ingenuous Miss Bickle, and Miss Mitchelmore’s loving-if-slightly-oblivious parents.
I did find the plot a bit predictable and slightly thin—I expected more of a mystery element from the synopsis and ultimately didn’t find it particularly mysterious. But, read as an almost-Shakespearean period comedy with fantastical and dramatic elements? Top notch. If you’re up for a book that’s slightly weird but totally captivating, go pick this one up.
Recommended to anyone, but especially if you like: historical fantasy; A Midsummer Night’s Dream; sapphic romance
CW: Injury/violence/mentions of death; mentions of sexual assault; homophobia and transphobia
Rating: 4/5 stars
Narrated by the hobgoblin Robin (better known for Shakespeare fans as Puck from A Midsummer Night’s Dream), Mortal Follies is the 1814-set story of a young woman cursed by a goddess and the suspected murderess who may be her best ally or her greatest downfall.
I’m obsessed with the narration and framing of this one, which is slightly bizarre (in the best way) and takes a bit to fully get into—but once it clicks it is, to my mind, absolutely brilliant. I also loved all the characters—especially the headstrong Miss Mitchelmore, the brooding and Byronic Lady Georgiana, the delightfully hilarious and deceptively ingenuous Miss Bickle, and Miss Mitchelmore’s loving-if-slightly-oblivious parents.
I did find the plot a bit predictable and slightly thin—I expected more of a mystery element from the synopsis and ultimately didn’t find it particularly mysterious. But, read as an almost-Shakespearean period comedy with fantastical and dramatic elements? Top notch. If you’re up for a book that’s slightly weird but totally captivating, go pick this one up.
Recommended to anyone, but especially if you like: historical fantasy; A Midsummer Night’s Dream; sapphic romance
CW: Injury/violence/mentions of death; mentions of sexual assault; homophobia and transphobia
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Homophobia, Transphobia, Racism, and Sexual violence
thiscryptidreads's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
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? No
5.0
Review of Mortal Follies- (please note this was given to me as an ARC but this is not a paid review)
Tags: Sapphic romance, historical fiction, fantasy,
Trigger warnings, mention of animal sacrifices, illness, family death, abduction,
I absolutely adored this book; it almost has grumpy/sunshine trope feels thanks to the close-knit group of friends alongside the main characters. It has fantasy, romance, whimsy, wonderful cast of diverse characters, and great queer representation. This is read via the perspective of a 3rd party fairy narrator and not the main characters which added an extra layer of fun and comedy to this beautifully told tale with the air of not so likely hero's facing off against the gods (or in this case goddess) if you love historical fiction this is absolutely a book to add to your TBR.
Tags: Sapphic romance, historical fiction, fantasy,
Trigger warnings, mention of animal sacrifices, illness, family death, abduction,
I absolutely adored this book; it almost has grumpy/sunshine trope feels thanks to the close-knit group of friends alongside the main characters. It has fantasy, romance, whimsy, wonderful cast of diverse characters, and great queer representation. This is read via the perspective of a 3rd party fairy narrator and not the main characters which added an extra layer of fun and comedy to this beautifully told tale with the air of not so likely hero's facing off against the gods (or in this case goddess) if you love historical fiction this is absolutely a book to add to your TBR.
Content Warnings
Minor: Animal death, Sexual content, and Kidnapping
ekchilton's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death
Moderate: Kidnapping
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