Good Choice Reading: Review: My Lady Jane by Jodi Meadows, Brodi Ashton & Cynthia Hand

MY LADY JANE
by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows
Kindle Edition, 491 pages
Published June 7th 2016
by HarperTeen

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The comical, fantastical, romantical, (not) entirely true story of Lady Jane Grey. In My Lady Jane, coauthors Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows have created a one-of-a-kind 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.

What do you get when you mix history with fiction and a touch of magic? My Lady Jane!

This bright and funny book is written from the POV of three main characters; Jane, Edward and Gifford. The authors, Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton and Jodi Meadows were responsible for writing the view of one character each throughout the book. You could worry this might lead to a book feeling disjointed and choppy but it was just the opposite. The story flowed beautifully between each character and it was impossible to say which author wrote for which character. The writing truly delivers and never feels forced.

Though Lady Jane Grey suffered from a tragic ending in history, the authors offered, and delivered, a light-hearted and comical take on her story by giving her the ending they felt she deserved. With the kind of humor you’d find in Monty Python and The Princess Bride, they’ve given us a unique story that is sure to be enjoyed by all. I laughed out loud many times and most of the time those moments garnered questionable looks from those around me. The comedy does not waiver at any point during the story and the plot is exceptional and stands on its own, outside the comedic bits.

I thoroughly enjoyed and adored this book much more than I anticipated. It is funny, endearing and magical. Loveable heroes, despicable villains and shape-shifting magic are combined to bring a quirky yet charming 5 star tale that’s sure to make its way into your heart. Inconceivable!

Here’s a few (because there were so many) of my favorite quotes:

“Books were Jane’s great love: history and philosophy and religion, mostly, but anything she could get her hands on”

“My lady, please! I am indecent!” “You are.“ Jane agreed. “Not to mention the fact that you are also unclothed.”

“Jane had always resisted the notion that women were weaker than men, not just physically, but intellectually.”

“Who on earth could feel comfortable enough to sleep in a room with no books?”

“I’m so hungry I could eat a horse. Oh. Sorry, G. Not you, of course.”

Exciting news announced 7/28/16 on the My Lady Jane website: Two more Jane books are in the works. You can add them to your Goodreads now: My Plain Jane and My Calamity Jane.