Hello Everyone :)
As it gets closer and closer to Christmas, I've noticed that I've mainly been in the mood to read festive titles.
However, for the month of November, my friend and I selected a non-holiday title to read for our monthly book club, and it was a great choice.
Today I'd like to share with all of you what I thought about it.
My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows:
Source: Christmas Gift
Publisher: Harper Teen
Publication Date: May 9th, 2017
Genre: Young Adult Fiction/Historical Fiction/Comedy
Series: The Lady Janies
Synopsis:
This comical, fantastical, romantical, New York Times bestselling, (not) entirely true story of Lady Jane Grey is “an uproarious historical fantasy that’s not to be missed” (Publishers Weekly, starred review). In My Lady Jane, coauthors Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows have created a one-of-a-kind YA fantasy in the tradition of The Princess Bride, featuring a reluctant king, an even more reluctant queen, a noble steed, and only a passing resemblance to actual history—because sometimes history needs a little help.
At sixteen, Lady Jane Grey is about to be married off to a stranger and caught up in a conspiracy to rob her cousin, King Edward, of his throne. But those trifling problems aren’t for Jane to worry about. Jane gets to be Queen of England.
Like that could go wrong.
(synopsis from goodreads)
My Review:
If you're on the lookout for a historically accurate telling of Lady Jane Grey, then perhaps My Lady Jane is not for you. However, if you're looking for a hysterically funny retelling that gives Lady Jane Grey a much better ending then the one she actually ended up with, and has some magic and romance thrown in for good measure, then this might just be the book you've been looking for.
I honestly didn't know too much about this one going into it. I wasn't overly familiar with the authors, as the only book I'd read by any of them was The Afterlife of Holly Chase by Cynthia Hand, (which I loved by the way), and although I'd heard lots of good things about it, I hadn't really heard specifically what it was about. So I'm going to admit that for whatever reason, I wasn't expecting this to be a comedic retelling, and that came as a pleasant surprise. From start to finish I found myself cracking up over the witty characters, the well developing plot, and the nod to a darker time of history told in a much wackier round about way.
I'm always blown away by authors that can blend their voices together so well that you can't even tell when one is writing or another. My Lady Jane is told in the viewpoints of Lady Jane Grey herself, King Edward, and Gifford, who's Jane's intended. It's stated that each author wrote a different viewpoint, and I couldn't tell who's was who's from my initial read of this book, a fact that I definitely applaud them on.
While the author's themselves state throughout the story that this is not a historically accurate retelling, I did appreciate the way that they wound their own stories into and around the historical facts, like the use of the Edian magic being the true reason many were exiled from court or assumed dead. Lady Jane Grey is a bookish kindred spirit, and her love of her books was probably my favorite part of the overall story.
I couldn't have adored this anymore than I did, and I can't recommend it enough. It was a fun, pleasant roller coaster ride from start to finish, and was everything I was hoping for and more. The romance, the magic, the nod to a strong female protagonist in a time when women were usually oppressed, and the witty banter that takes place throughout the entire story, all made this a win win in my eyes. I look forward to continuing on with the next story in this series, and reading more titles from all three of these authors in the future.
Final Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Thanks so much for reading guys! Have a great rest of your day :)
This is not a sponsored post. All thoughts and opinions are my own. The photo does not belong to me, and all rights to the respective owners.
As it gets closer and closer to Christmas, I've noticed that I've mainly been in the mood to read festive titles.
However, for the month of November, my friend and I selected a non-holiday title to read for our monthly book club, and it was a great choice.
Today I'd like to share with all of you what I thought about it.
My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows:
Source: Christmas Gift
Publisher: Harper Teen
Publication Date: May 9th, 2017
Genre: Young Adult Fiction/Historical Fiction/Comedy
Series: The Lady Janies
Synopsis:
This comical, fantastical, romantical, New York Times bestselling, (not) entirely true story of Lady Jane Grey is “an uproarious historical fantasy that’s not to be missed” (Publishers Weekly, starred review). In My Lady Jane, coauthors Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows have created a one-of-a-kind YA fantasy in the tradition of The Princess Bride, featuring a reluctant king, an even more reluctant queen, a noble steed, and only a passing resemblance to actual history—because sometimes history needs a little help.
At sixteen, Lady Jane Grey is about to be married off to a stranger and caught up in a conspiracy to rob her cousin, King Edward, of his throne. But those trifling problems aren’t for Jane to worry about. Jane gets to be Queen of England.
Like that could go wrong.
(synopsis from goodreads)
My Review:
If you're on the lookout for a historically accurate telling of Lady Jane Grey, then perhaps My Lady Jane is not for you. However, if you're looking for a hysterically funny retelling that gives Lady Jane Grey a much better ending then the one she actually ended up with, and has some magic and romance thrown in for good measure, then this might just be the book you've been looking for.
I honestly didn't know too much about this one going into it. I wasn't overly familiar with the authors, as the only book I'd read by any of them was The Afterlife of Holly Chase by Cynthia Hand, (which I loved by the way), and although I'd heard lots of good things about it, I hadn't really heard specifically what it was about. So I'm going to admit that for whatever reason, I wasn't expecting this to be a comedic retelling, and that came as a pleasant surprise. From start to finish I found myself cracking up over the witty characters, the well developing plot, and the nod to a darker time of history told in a much wackier round about way.
I'm always blown away by authors that can blend their voices together so well that you can't even tell when one is writing or another. My Lady Jane is told in the viewpoints of Lady Jane Grey herself, King Edward, and Gifford, who's Jane's intended. It's stated that each author wrote a different viewpoint, and I couldn't tell who's was who's from my initial read of this book, a fact that I definitely applaud them on.
While the author's themselves state throughout the story that this is not a historically accurate retelling, I did appreciate the way that they wound their own stories into and around the historical facts, like the use of the Edian magic being the true reason many were exiled from court or assumed dead. Lady Jane Grey is a bookish kindred spirit, and her love of her books was probably my favorite part of the overall story.
I couldn't have adored this anymore than I did, and I can't recommend it enough. It was a fun, pleasant roller coaster ride from start to finish, and was everything I was hoping for and more. The romance, the magic, the nod to a strong female protagonist in a time when women were usually oppressed, and the witty banter that takes place throughout the entire story, all made this a win win in my eyes. I look forward to continuing on with the next story in this series, and reading more titles from all three of these authors in the future.
Final Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Thanks so much for reading guys! Have a great rest of your day :)
This is not a sponsored post. All thoughts and opinions are my own. The photo does not belong to me, and all rights to the respective owners.
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