Mortal Follies: A Novel (The Mortal Follies series)
A young noblewoman must pair up with an alleged witch to ward off a curse in this irresistible sapphic romance from the bestselling author of Boyfriend Material.
“Fresh and delightful . . . All the interpersonal drama of Jane Austen meets all the complex treachery of Greek mythology.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
A KIRKUS REVIEWS BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR
It is the year 1814, and life for a young lady of good breeding has many difficulties. There are balls to attend, fashions to follow, marriages to consider, and, of course, the tiny complication of existing in a world swarming with fairy spirits, interfering deities, and actual straight-up sorcerers.
Miss Maelys Mitchelmore finds her entry into high society hindered by an irritating curse. It begins innocuously enough with her dress slowly unmaking itself over the course of an evening at a high-profile ball, a scandal she narrowly manages to escape.
However, as the curse progresses to more fatal proportions, Miss Mitchelmore must seek out aid, even if that means mixing with undesirable company. And there are few less desirable than Lady Georgiana Landrake—a brooding, alluring young woman sardonically nicknamed “the Duke of Annadale”—who may or may not have murdered her own father and brothers to inherit their fortune. If one is to believe the gossip, she might be some kind of malign enchantress. Then again, a malign enchantress might be exactly what Miss Mitchelmore needs.
With the Duke’s help, Miss Mitchelmore delves into a world of angry gods and vindictive magic, keen to unmask the perpetrator of these otherworldly attacks. But Miss Mitchelmore’s reputation is not the only thing at risk in spending time with her new ally. For the reputed witch has her own secrets that may prove dangerous to Miss Mitchelmore’s heart—not to mention her life.
“Fresh and delightful . . . All the interpersonal drama of Jane Austen meets all the complex treachery of Greek mythology.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
A KIRKUS REVIEWS BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR
It is the year 1814, and life for a young lady of good breeding has many difficulties. There are balls to attend, fashions to follow, marriages to consider, and, of course, the tiny complication of existing in a world swarming with fairy spirits, interfering deities, and actual straight-up sorcerers.
Miss Maelys Mitchelmore finds her entry into high society hindered by an irritating curse. It begins innocuously enough with her dress slowly unmaking itself over the course of an evening at a high-profile ball, a scandal she narrowly manages to escape.
However, as the curse progresses to more fatal proportions, Miss Mitchelmore must seek out aid, even if that means mixing with undesirable company. And there are few less desirable than Lady Georgiana Landrake—a brooding, alluring young woman sardonically nicknamed “the Duke of Annadale”—who may or may not have murdered her own father and brothers to inherit their fortune. If one is to believe the gossip, she might be some kind of malign enchantress. Then again, a malign enchantress might be exactly what Miss Mitchelmore needs.
With the Duke’s help, Miss Mitchelmore delves into a world of angry gods and vindictive magic, keen to unmask the perpetrator of these otherworldly attacks. But Miss Mitchelmore’s reputation is not the only thing at risk in spending time with her new ally. For the reputed witch has her own secrets that may prove dangerous to Miss Mitchelmore’s heart—not to mention her life.
BUY THE BOOK
Community Reviews
I'm giving this a 3 because I can see how it could work for the right reader, but unfortunately it didn't work for me. The fairy narrator's commentary is mostly what ruined my reading experience. I didn't find it funny or enhancing to the story, and it broke my immersion constantly. I feel like I can understand what it was going for, but it missed the mark in my opinion and as I was reading I wished it had been cut entirely. Due to the narration, I felt very removed from the human characters in the story and it was harder to get invested in them or their plot, which is paced erratically. In addition to the pacing feeling off, I thought the romance did as well. I did not feel the chemistry, and I didn't want these women to be together. It's lamp-shaded in the text that the Duke is a Byronic broody character, but she came off as dry and cold to me rather than mysterious and deep. I don't know if maybe this just needed some more time and editing, or I wasn't in the mood, but I didn't have the good time reading this that I had wanted to. I listened to the audiobook at 1.6 speed, if I had been reading it myself I probably would have taken weeks to finish because I wasn't into it. Still a big fan of Alexis Hall and I'll definitely be reading more of their books, just not more of this series probably.
Content Warnings:
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Animal death, Sexual content, Blood, and Murder
Minor: Transphobia, Death of parent, Slavery, and Violence
Content Warnings:
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Animal death, Sexual content, Blood, and Murder
Minor: Transphobia, Death of parent, Slavery, and Violence
I hated this book. I loved other books by this author so I was excited to read this one as well. And it just fell so flat for me.
1. The narrator. Cool concept but mostly his little side comments just took me out of the story. I don't care that you are a piece of dust or a flame. Just shh and tell the story. Also, by having a narrator, i feel like I never got to know the characters at all on a deeper level.
2. The plot. Yikes. So there was the curse storyline and then halfway through that was solved and then there was still half a disjointed book to go!
3. The love interest. I never really felt these women liked each other. One was lusty and curious. One was lusty and ..... bored? Idk. Just didn't feel it. I therefore couldn't get into the idea of them needing to rescue one another because of love or affection. They seemed so detached.
4. The humor. It tried soooo hard to be funny and it fell so flat.
I finished it because I bought it but ugh.
1. The narrator. Cool concept but mostly his little side comments just took me out of the story. I don't care that you are a piece of dust or a flame. Just shh and tell the story. Also, by having a narrator, i feel like I never got to know the characters at all on a deeper level.
2. The plot. Yikes. So there was the curse storyline and then halfway through that was solved and then there was still half a disjointed book to go!
3. The love interest. I never really felt these women liked each other. One was lusty and curious. One was lusty and ..... bored? Idk. Just didn't feel it. I therefore couldn't get into the idea of them needing to rescue one another because of love or affection. They seemed so detached.
4. The humor. It tried soooo hard to be funny and it fell so flat.
I finished it because I bought it but ugh.
See why thousands of readers are using Bookclubs to stay connected.