vibes: Shakespeare x Jane Austen, a man in uniform, WHIMSY

Heat Index: 2/10

The Basics:

Mr. John Caesar is escorting his sister Mary through the marriage mart–avoiding his parents’ own desires to see him settle down, because, like, that’s not John’s goal. Things get a bit more complicated when Mary accidentally ends up with an evil fairy godmother, which leads John to work with Orestes James, a war hero who’s ready to leap into action. (Perhaps in more ways than one.) As they attempt to rescue Mary, Orestes and John grow close; but even if they do live through this, is John ready to commit wholeheartedly to anyone?

The Review:

Another fun, whimsical, magically-narrated fairy tale/Jane Austen romcom from Alexis Hall! These books are quite unique, to be honest. Not only in terms of the narration–which is delightful–from Robin, a literal omnipresent immortal, but just… the world? Early in the book, we have a discussion about Jane Austen fandom and writing fanfic? From a couple of Regency-era girlies? It’s so fun, so lighthearted, so completely itself.

And in general, Alexis can always write the fuck out of a book. The way he shifts between styles is honestly so impressive to me. Dude can turn a phrase, and that makes his books just… a pleasure to read for the sake of reading. The uniqueness of these particular novels only adds to it. (Do you need to read Mortal Follies before this one? Not exactly, but it might help; and to be real, you should just read it anyway, as it’s a good work.)

Where I will say this book does fall a little behind MF for me is that the romance feels a bit less prominent. This is probably because John and Orestes are essentially trying to save someone for much of the book, whereas the last novel had more direct peril for the heroine. So it does feel a little more “save the day forward” versus “romance forward”. Not that there isn’t romance. There is, and it’s lovely, and I also really liked that Alexis gave them breathing room and didn’t act as if these were two guys lacking life experience simply because they were queer in a homophobic society.

Speaking of, both Orestes and John are Black (John is biracial) and this fantasy world of Hall’s doesn’t just throw racism out the door. It’s not heavy, but it is thoughtful… and comes with a rather snarky remark alluding to the deplorable treatment of a certain duchess. And I did appreciate that. I don’t know if Alexis was responding to some of the… less than perfect choices of a certain big time Regency romance show. I don’t want to say he was. However, I did find this book’s observations much more interesting and insightful.

The Sex:

This is a closed door romance–sex is definitely alluded to, but because our narrator is a third party, he doesn’t just sit there and perv on everyone. Which makes sense. I support that choice. Alexis Hall is one of the only writers who can make closed door work for me.

All in all, this is a fluffy yet adventurous Regency-ish fantasy romance with a lot of humor, a good bit of sweetness, and a fuckton of wit. It’s a good time, as most Alexis Hall books are a good time. Is it my absolute favorite of his? Maybe not, but a good book by Alexis Hall is better than a lot of other people’s best books, to be real.

Thanks to NetGalley and Del Rey for providing me with a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

**I was provided an electronic ARC from the publisher through NetGalley.** Alexis Hall returns to the world of Mortal Follies with the sequel, Confounding Oaths. Mischievous Robin Goodfellow narrates the events as Ms Mary Caesar falls into an unfavorable fairy bargain as her brother, John, attempts to assist her despite the interventions of a regiment of soldiers, military cult, Faerie Queen Titania, and dashingly handsome Captain James. I waited until after the book's release to have access to the audiobook once I realized there was a third party narrator that breaks the fourth wall. This is my own fault, but I had not read Mortal Follies prior to reading this book. It stands alone reasonably well, but I don't doubt the books would be better in sequence. This is a playful twist on A Midsummer Night's Dream, and is clearly inspired by but NOT a retelling. Unfortunately for me, one of the things I like best about Alexis Hall's writing is the character work from the characters directly engaged in the story. Which, of course, with our Robin character narrating, I do not have access to. As such, I recognize that this book was objectively fine, but it simply wasn't for me. On to the next from Alexis Hall's backlist!