Confounding Oaths
Ratings2
Average rating4
15
Ratings2
Average rating4
It is the year 1815, and Mr. John Caesar is determined to help his sister, Mary, successfully navigate the marriage mart. A high-stakes endeavor at the best of times, this task is made slightly more difficult by his family’s nontraditional background, the pernicious whimsof the ton, and the ever-present complication of living in a world full of scheming fairies and capricious gods.
Despite all that, John knows that his parents wish to see his sister comfortably settled. He also knows that the sooner he sees Mary’s future secured, the sooner he can get his own wish—returning to an aristocratic life of leisure. And as for Mary? Sweet, sensitive Mary just wishes gentlemen would pay as much attention to her as they do to her younger sister.
When Mary’s all-too-literal wish puts her squarely in the sights of a malicious fairy godmother, John sets out to save her. This choice throws him into the path of Captain Orestes James—the handsome up-from-the-ranks hero of Wellington’s armies—and his ragtag band of misfits. Together, John and the captain will venture into a vicious world of fey bargains and sacrificial magic as they draw ever closer to rescuing Mary—and to each other.
While John is no stranger to casual dalliances with soldiers, until now he’s never expected one to last—or wanted one to. He and the captain come from different worlds, and even if Orestes feels the same, John knows there’s no point in wishing for something more between them.
After all, John has learned firsthand that getting what you wish for can be a dangerous thing. . . .
Featured Series
2 primary booksMortal Follies is a 2-book series with 2 primary works first released in 2023 with contributions by Alexis Hall and Alexis Hall.
Reviews with the most likes.
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!
Solid 4 stars. This is great as a fantastical historical comedy that has a little romance in it! However, I don't think it works as a genre romance. So, depending on what you want this book to do, it might be a hit or a fail!
Tonally and story-wise, this felt more like a cross between The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels and Terry Pratchett's Witches books, with a tiny dash of genre Regency romance thrown in the mix, than like a true romance novel, to me. Which was great! Just not what I had expected going in!
I adored the narrative structure and writing style of this! By far the best part of the book for me. The story is told from the perspective of a snarky Fae. (Think Puck from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream.) His narration is truly hilarious and brilliantly done!
And although, said snarky narrator calls out the reader for potentially not having read the first book in the series—Which was such a funny moment!—I think it works perfectly well on its own!
Overall, it felt a tad too long and the romance could have been a bit stronger, but I had an amazing time with this book until the ending. That sadly knocked it down from a low 5 stars to a middle-of-the-road 4 stars. I am kind of angry at it. I just felt that several of the things that happened were truly unnecessary and I could see parts of it being genuinely upsetting for other readers. SPOILER: On-page animal sacrifice.
I didn’t love Mr. Caesar in Mortal Follies but I was still happy for the chance to get to know him as the main character Confounding Oaths. Unfortunately I’m still not his biggest fan, but even he openly admits to being a shit, so perhaps I have the right idea.
Mr. Caesar isn’t the only carryover from Mortal Follies. Several characters from the first book make an appearance, including my favorite: Miss Bickle. She’s just as ridiculous as ever, with the added bonus of having become an author of Jane Austen fanfic. Alexis Hall—excuse me, the fairy hobgoblin narrator—seems to only tell queer stories, which I both love and respect, but it really is a shame that Miss Bickle is decidedly straight because I’d really love to be told a story in which she is the main character. Fingers crossed she’s a part of the queer community after all!
As for the story, I liked that it wasn’t strictly about Mr. Caesar saving his sister Mary, but also about Mary herself. She has a full-fledged character arc that is extremely relatable and reads a bit like a fairytale. Meanwhile, unlike Mortal Follies, Mr. Caesar’s romantic relationship with the captain isn’t front and center as much as it is in the background. Saving Mary is more important and all the crazy magical hijinks are distracting. I think it works for this book because I really liked Mary and for me personally, the romance between Mr. Caesar and Captain James wasn’t as captivating as the romance in the first book.
And so, my favorite hobgoblin narrator once again did a fantastic job of observing a great story, being 100% reliable, and making me laugh. I truly can’t believe Oberon hasn’t forgiven him yet, but I’m selfishly glad because he all but promised he has more stories for us and if he were to return to Oberon’s court, he would no longer have need to publish any more books.
Confounding Oaths could probably be read as a standalone, but there are enough characters from and callbacks to Mortal Follies that I highly suggest reading it first. It’s also a fantastic book, so it’s worth it!
I’d like to thank NetGalley and Random House / Del Ray from whom I received an ARC of Confounding Oaths.
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