Reviews tagging 'Racism'

Mortal Follies by Alexis Hall

20 reviews

garbage_mcsmutly's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Death, Murder, and Animal death

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Classism, Gun violence, Blood, Kidnapping, and Racism

Minor: Abandonment, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, and Rape

Despite all the content warnings, this was a pretty easy, low-to-medium stakes read; nothing terribly traumatic to most readers.

dragongirl271's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny lighthearted mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Sexual harassment, Death, and Murder

Minor: Death of parent and Racism

20sidedbi's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious slow-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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death and Blood

Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, Murder, Violence, Transphobia, Sexual content, and Kidnapping

Minor: Classism, Sexual violence, and Racism

hazel_oat's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness, Animal death, Medical content, Kidnapping, Violence, Abandonment, Death, and Murder

Moderate: Body shaming, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Homophobia, Sexism, and Sexual content

Minor: Racism, Transphobia, Lesbophobia, and Slavery

raptorq's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death

Moderate: Sexual content and Medical content

Minor: Sexism, Transphobia, Homophobia, Racism, and Sexual harassment

biggshelf's review against another edition

The third party narration was initially an interesting concept, but it was not executed well and ended up detracting from the story. The character’s decisions were so flakey that because the perspective wasn’t in their head, and context didn’t explain it, they ended up feeling annoying. Any driving action or engaging scenes were discussed for longer on-page time then they were even shown to the reader. As soon as something cool would happen, the chapter would end. 

The alternate history fantasy setting could’ve been so great, but amidst left-field mentions of slave trade and homo/transphobia and off-putting modern references, it was not nearly as fleshed out as it should’ve been to handle the topics well.  

The writing style was not for me, I understand repetition for emphasis and humor but “she drank the concoction her mother concocted”?! Like how did that get through editing. 

Believe it or not this is the abridged version of my review. This book could’ve been everything I needed in my life. Instead it became my worst enemy.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Transphobia and Homophobia

Minor: Racism and Slavery

lbelow's review against another edition

4.0

It was a bit disconcerting to get to the halfway mark and have finished what I thought of as the plot, but the author managed to salvage the book in the end. I adored the whimsy of the tone and world building! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Racism, Homophobia, Transphobia, Blood, Animal death, Death, Cursing, Murder, Sexual content, and Misogyny

kylieqrada's review against another edition

adventurous funny hopeful 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

4.5

Alexis Hall just does it for me. At least his Regency romances, I have yet to try a contemporary from him. This would certainly not work for everyone, but the humor hit for me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Murder, and Death

Moderate: Transphobia, Blood, and Sexual content

Minor: Slavery, Death of parent, and Racism

betweentheshelves's review against another edition

adventurous funny 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

4.0

Not my favorite of Alexis Hall's books, but this was still a fun time! I enjoyed the overall format of the book, and the inclusion of the fantasy/magical elements along with the romance. If you enjoy authors like Freya Marske, you'll definitely enjoy this book!

The romance at the core of this story definitely takes center stage, and I loved how it evolved throughout the book around all of these different curses and such. The pacing of the book does get a little weird by the end, but since we have a narrator telling us this story, she actually acknowledges that. Which I actually found to be fun! 

If you like historical fantasy romance, this is definitely the book for you. Plus, it has an absolutely gorgeous cover!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Death, and Animal death

Moderate: Blood, Sexual content, and Transphobia

Minor: Slavery, Racism, and Death of parent

emmy_award's review against another edition

adventurous 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? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping and Murder

Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Transphobia, and Sexual content

Minor: Sexual assault and Racism

Abduction with threat of forced marriage/ threat of rape, escaped