Reviews with content warning for Murder - Mortal Follies

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Mortal Follies by Alexis Hall

47 reviews

gbmillar2002's review against another edition

adventurous funny mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

The writing of this novel is lovely, the use of a sprite as a narrator and move alonger was perfect to keep the book along. Specifcally utilising the Bordem of the narrator to remove the boring plesentaries that often plague more historical books.

The romance aspect was also beautifully written; wherein the palpable chemistry between the two characters were fiery but not unnecessarily crude. Especially as an audiobook listener the dirty talk wasn’t cringy and vulgar but tantalising and engaging.

My only issue was how lady Georgina’s emotional withholding from maylis felt empty. Especially after the reveal that her house was cursed and therefore could never truly be with her, it fell very flat for myself. And therefore the last few chapters felt drawn out.

What I would really really LOVE is a book about the narrator, hearing about their court life and modern life and why their thrown out would be amazing

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rabblearouser's review

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adventurous emotional funny 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

4.5

Our world has been in dire need of a spritely, swoon-worthy sapphic romance– Alexis Hall has answered the call.

This journey into the fae-core romance space is an underrated, ambitious undertaking outfitted with a thoughtful and whimsical mosaic of fae & queer lore alike. As always, every character is intentionally crafted and delightful. Our love interests are a brooding Duke (f) who’s rumored to have wielded dark magic to commit grave crimes and a precious, flower-child damsel with terrible luck… or something like it. If you’re an ACOTAR stan who swooned at Azriel & Elain’s stolen moments but are impatient for Elain’s actual character development or perhaps just craving more of who she becomes when Azriel lends her some teeth (not to mention some queer characters who actually kiss), I might have a recommendation. Alexis Hall can’t help being charming and hilarious so there’s plenty of that, of course.

I imagine what puts people off is the unconventional narration. The point of view is not one of the main characters but, instead, a mischievous mythical creature who many of us first encountered when reading Midsummer Night’s Dream back in high school. Once you get past the initial novelty, this choice brings new life to some tired tropes and settings by filtering them through the scrutiny of an unimpressed and often peeved otherworldly perspective. I know it sounds odd but it works and, frankly, the book is all the better for it. Truly, what will always make a sapphic romance even more queer is an impish narrator rolling their eyes at lesbian nonsense, and perhaps, caring more than they’d care to admit by the end.

In a romance space where it can feel like we’re reading the same stories again and again, Mortal Follies is an eclectic and thoroughly queer love story that I’m proud to have on my shelf. Thank you to Alexis Hall for writing this and gifting it to the world.

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immyx13_tv's review

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adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

0.5

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artstitute's review

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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

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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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