Book Review: Mortal Follies by Alexis Hall

 I promised myself that I would do more book reviews, and more reading in 2024. The reviews are mostly because I still miss the Casing the Cover podcast but I know Mary and I are way too busy with so many other things, that it is unlikely we will return to the studio anytime soon. For those who are just starting to follow my madness and chaos, all the Casing the Cover episodes are available on YouTube and various audio platforms. 

So, what did I kickoff 2024 with? A Sapphic Regency romance, with magic, curses, and elder gods. 

Mortal Follies by Alexis Hall was mostly what I expected it to be. It was a lighthearted romp of a tale, with a few unique characters and enough frustrating plot twists to keep me plodding through to the end without feeling like I already knew every beat. I will say the ending felt a bit rushed, and more than a little crammed with the final pieces of the story slamming together in a hurried wrap up. But then, I had pretty low expectations, so I still enjoyed the ride. 

I consumed the audiobook during my daily commutes and a few housework stints, and it certainly made the time pass. I wouldn’t put this in the deep and moving category, but it was fun, and for someone who is not a typical fan of romances in general I did find the plot and characters enjoyable, and I will likely seek out Alexis as an author in the future. 

This was also a great read to prime my muses for the fae and fantasy serial stories I will be working on in 2024. This seems to be the theme for the year, which tracks with my muses’ mood cycles. 

Next on my audio read list is Poor Things by Alastair Grey, mostly because I saw the trailer for the upcoming film adaptation and felt the need to get ahead of the trend and read the book first. So we shall see how that goes. 

In the print book category, I am finally picking up Nightmares and Stars by Kat Satava. It has only been sitting on my TBR shelf for almost a year, so that’s a pretty solid vintage at this point. 

Ebook slots are exclusively filled by Vella episodes, and of those I am most looking forward to catching up on all things Jen Sequel including Pandora’s Legacy. 

So yeah, between my own stories, and those of friends, I think I’ll stay pretty well booked for the year.