Mortal Follies by Alexis Hall

Genre: Romance, Historical Fantasy

Publishing Info: Audiobook by Gollancz, narrated by Nneka Okoye

Star Rating: 3/5

Back Cover Summary:

A young noblewoman must join forces with a rumoured witch to conquer an ancient curse in this devilishly funny and heartwarming sapphic Regency romantasy from TikTok titan and bestselling author of Boyfriend Material Alexis Hall – unmissable for fans of Juno Dawson’s Her Majesty’s Royal Coven, Sophie Irwin’s A Lady’s Guide to Fortune Hunting, and Freya Marske’s A Marvellous Light.

It is the year 1814 and Miss Maelys Mitchelmore finds her entry into the highest society of Bath hindered by an irritating curse. It begins innocuously enough, with her dress slowly unmaking itself over the course of an evening at the ball of the season, a scandal she only narrowly manages to escape.

However, as the curse progresses to more fatal proportions, she realises she must seek out urgent assistance, even if that means mixing with the most undesirable company – and there are few less desirable allies than the brooding Lady Georgiana Landrake – 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.

Having seen mixed reviews for this book, I was unsure whether to give it a go. However, when I listened to the audiobook sample, I found myself completely drawn in by the author’s writing style and the audio narration, so when it came to the end of the sample, I was eager to continue reading.

The novel is narrated from the perspective of Robin, a hobgoblin who decides to follow Maelys in the hopes of collecting a good story. This is an unusual narrative device that will definitely not click with all readers. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I ended up really enjoying this aspect of the story and think it worked very well. The only time I didn’t enjoy the magical narrator, was during spicy scenes. It felt a little strange, intrusive almost, to be seeing these intimate moments from the perspective of a third-party observer.

Although I was never bored, the pacing was slow at times, and for reasons I can’t quite put my finger on, I just wasn’t keen on a lot of the plot choices. It felt meandering. There are also a lot of similar scenes in the second half which made it drag a little. If this book had been shorter, it would have been a much more engaging read. While I was happy enough to continue reading, I was never excited to. Apart from, perhaps, the midpoint which did provide some suspense and tension.

While I liked Lady Georgiana when we first meet her character, her continued meanness and mockery of the protagonist began to grate. Reasons for her to push Maelys away of course come to light, but even so, there was something about her attitude and treatment of Maelys which, rather than being attractive or sexy, was just nasty most of the time.

Read More »