A review by biggshelf
Mortal Follies by Alexis Hall

Did not finish book. Stopped at 26%.
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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