Mortal Follies

This follows Maelys Mitchelmore in 1814. As if she doesn't have enough going on with the balls and other high society events, it appears she's been cursed by a goddess. She needs to find out why she was cursed and fix it before her reputation is ruined or possibly kills her.

I enjoyed this, but it's definitely not a new fave. It's perfect to read in between chunky fantasy books. It's fast and it's fun. I liked the characters.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for an e-arc.

I feel genuinely sorry for anyone who skips prologues and happens to read Mortal Follies. The book’s prologue provides an important introduction to our narrator, a hobgoblin who has been cast from Oberon’s court. Not only is he an amazing storyteller, worthy of Oberon’s forgiveness, but he’s extremely funny, and I was already laughing before chapter one began.

The way the Mortal Follies was written—excuse me, told by a hobgoblin, it reads a bit like an Austen novel but with magic. There are curses, old gods, sacrifices, witches, and there may or may not be kelpies.

The narrator wasn’t the only reason Mortal Follies was funny. I was laughing the whole way through, at the narration, the hijinks of the characters and the situations they found themselves in, and, well, Miss Bickle. Miss Mitchelmore’s best friend, Lysistrata Bickle, is an absolute delight and I will fight anyone who tries to harm a hair on her head. She’s a great friend and though she’s more than a bit naive, she’s quirky in all the best ways. She needs her own book about her adventures. I can’t decide if I wanted a friend like Miss Bickle, or I wanted to be a friend like Miss Bickle. The answer is both. I want both.

One of my favorite bits of the book was Miss Mitchelmore’s character arc. The ways in which she changes from the beginning of the story, when she’s a prim and proper young lady of high society who finds that she’s been cursed, to the end of the story when, well, she’s in love with a woman and shit is seriously going down… it’s impressive.

I loved that the story was told by this hobgoblin, who added in his own thoughts and opinions as events unfolded. By doing that, he became a character in his own right, and I really enjoyed getting to know him. I look forward to hearing his next story, Confounding Oaths (which, let’s be real, I’m going to start reading as soon as I’m done writing this 😂).

(DNF, tws)

I can see why a lot of people would like this! <3 A sapphic regency romance/fantasy with dark themes and complex characters! Wonderful! My favourite character by far was Lizzie, she seems like a lovely friend for our protagonist <3
Unfortunately, I, personally, don't like reading books with this type of narration style. This isn't to say that the book is bad, not at all, I'm obsessed with the concept and some themes involved (magical curses, regency romance, etc.).
I also didn't read the trigger warnings, which I should have! (I'll be including them below.)

This book was lovely in some parts, I just wasn't the target audience <3

TWS:
- Near Drowning
- Animal Sacrifice/Death
- Transphobia
- Homophobia
- Slavery (Mentioned)
- Sexual Harassment

All in all, if you like sapphic regency romance/fantasy novels told from the perspective of a third-person narrator with dark themes, this a good book for you! Heed the trigger warnings, though! If you're able to withstand those topics, you're all set! <3