Reviews with content warning for Animal cruelty - Mortal Follies

In many ways, this read like a sapphic story by someone who was uncomfortable with telling a sapphic story. The romance was poorly developed, the characters were flat and unlikeable as romantic leads, and the fade to black for sexual content was awkward to me.

I also felt really uncomfortable with the narrator being a person spying on the romantic leads throughout, including during intimate time between them.

With this said, it is a funny book and a good satire. If you go into it expecting that instead of a romance, you might like it more than I did.

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garbage_mcsmutly's review against another edition

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adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

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

4.25

A delightful adventure of two young women's love, in a magical version of regency England that's full of witches and fairies and old gods and magic. I sometimes have trouble getting into sapphic romances but this one was a quick easy read that grabbed me right away. The narrative framing was great.

The whodunnit that we start with seemed very obvious, but then it turned out to not be the real focus of the story, so I was more okay with it having been obvious. The rest of the story was well done.

And Alexis Hall always treats the characters (especially the queer ones) with the respect and nuance they deserve, which I really appreciate.

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immyx13_tv's review against another edition

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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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musebeliever's review against another edition

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3.0

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ehmannky's review against another edition

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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

3.0

A fun read of two women falling in love in magical Regency-ish England with Puck from A Midsummer's Night Dream narrating the tale. I don't think that this is one of Hall's better works, and the story does drag at times. There is enough delight to make up for it (the two different climaxes are fun on their own, though I don't know if they quite work as a whole), but the pacing is uneven. I would love to see more stories where Hall's interpretation of Puck is front and center, because they are a delightful narrator.

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