My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, Jodi Meadows Published by HarperTeen on June 7th 2016
Source: Author Review Copy
Genres: Young Adult, Historical, Romance
Amazon | Book Depository | Publisher
Add to Goodreads
For fans of The Princess Bride comes the comical, fantastical, romantical, (not) entirely true story of Lady Jane Grey.
Lady Jane Grey, sixteen, is about to be married to a total stranger—and caught up in an insidious plot to rob her cousin, King Edward, of his throne. But that’s the least of Jane’s problems. She’s about to become Queen of England. Like that could go wrong.
Are you looking for a book that will make you giggle until your sides hurt?
One that is extremely witty, with the most hilarious dialogue?
One where you fall in love with each and every one of the ridiculously awesome characters?
Then congrats, because you’ve come to the right place.
My Lady Jane was full of wit, on both the characters’ and the narrators’ side, and I couldn’t stop reading. It is hands-down, one of my favorite rewrites of history. Hand, Meadows, and Ashton did a FABULOUS job in using both real parts of history and revised versions, that all mashed together to make a beautifully-crafted story.
I could spend days describing how perfect everything fit in the end, and how the history geek in me was ecstatic about the parallels in history. Remember Henry VIII, the English king with a bunch of wives (six, to be exact) and essentially created another religion? (Fun fact: to attain an annulment with his first wife, he created the Anglican church, which put the king at central authority instead of the Pope.) This story is about his children. And a couple of nobles, and with a smattering of magic that’s added to create a bit of flare.
‘I’m marrying off my cousin to a horse,’ he muttered.
I’m not going to talk much about the magic/sorcery that the authors added in here. It’s something that you have to experience yourself, while reading! It’s super fun, and I love how it fueled certain events in the story, rather than be an awkward add-on that was just randomly inserted in the story to make it more interesting. The world and this magic is quickly explained in the prologue of the book, in a way that really fit the writing style. We’re basically told a story, where sometimes the narrators will insert a little aside to the readers that breaks the fourth wall to add their own little explanations. It’s simply ingenious, actually. The story lends a very light-hearted feel this way, and once the witty interactions with the characters are added, you get a very entertaining and humorous read.
BUT LET’S TALK ABOUT THE HUMOR. Holy crap – I love these characters to bits. They felt oh-so-real, and were a blast to read about. The dialogue was absolute perfection, and I can recall stopping for five minutes JUST TO LAUGH about a certain scene. Multiple times throughout the story. I honestly can’t stress how much I loved the characters’ internal dialogue and how down-to-earth their thoughts and feelings were. Not to mention it also showed really amazing character development as well.
‘My lord, I apologize for the horse joke. If you put down the book – unharmed! – I will give you a carrot.
He brandished the book at her. ‘Was that a horse joke?’
‘Neigh.’
‘Was that a horse joke?’
As for the characters themselves, well, they’re freaking superb. Lady Jane Grey is super intelligent, which certainly reflects what we know from history. She’s forward thinking and doesn’t need a man to boss her around. SHE LOVES BOOKS. You can always find her nose in a book! (Sounds like some people we know?) And she’s not afraid to say what she thinks. Unfortunately for her, young ladies did not have much autonomy of their lives during that time, and thus she gets into an arranged marriage with a guy she’s set to marry – in a week.
Arranged marriage is a trope that I simply love to read about in romance. So it isn’t surprising that I loved how it went with this book, too. But there’s a tiny problem… Her husband, Gifford (but call him G!) isn’t exactly human during the day. *ahem* Now that that cat’s out of the bag, more about him: he certainly doesn’t want to marry a girl like Jane (even though he didn’t really know her), so we get a pretty antagonistic relationship in the beginning of the marriage. Ensue the most comical dialogue you can think of. He’s always been the second son, possible bastard, and overall disappointment of the family. But with Jane, he can actually be his own person. And possibly break a curse that may or may not exist on him. 😛
But in the midst of all that are assassination attempts, successions to the throne and de-throning, and running away from the crown. Another POV we get to read about is Edward, who is the king. Also, please note, young king that is ingenuously backwards-thinking in an adorable way that changes throughout the course of the book. It all begins with him finding about his assassination attempt, of course.
I’m smiling as I write this review, because thinking of this book makes me all bubbly inside. Are you ready for a wild ride that revisits the best side of history? One that deviates from what we originally thought happened, with the addition of magic and down-to-earth characters that are so easy to love? Then be prepared for My Lady Jane, because this stupendous book is all that and more.
Rating: 5 out of 5
Thank you Lady Janies for the giveaway!
Aila J.
Latest posts by Aila J. (see all)
- Eclipse the Skies Review: Sequel that left me wanting more - October 15, 2019
- The Lady Rogue Review: What Kind Of Secrets Can We Find, Dashing Through Romania? - September 20, 2019
- Serpent & Dove Review: A Witch & Hunter, Brought Together By (Un)Holy Matrimony - September 10, 2019
YAAAAAAS MY LADY JANE IS TIED FOR THE BEST BOOK I'VE READ IN 2016! I absolutely adored My Lady Jane and will be sure to recommend it to EVERYONE. It's just such a unique book and A;FGAGHAOSHG I'm a total fangirl for it.
I'm so happy it lived up to my expectations! (Which were indeed pretty high) 😀 Definitely one of my favorite historicals of this year as well.
Oh this is such a great review, and I'm so happy to hear you enjoyed it so much. I don't read a lot of historical fiction, but I do think that this one might be right up my alley anyway, it seems like a lot of fun 🙂
My recent post Souvenirs from across the world : Hidden Gems From France
Yes! I would recommend this for readers, even if you aren't that big of a fan of historical fiction. It's still definitely worth the read!
I wanted to read a book with some comedy! (And I'd heard about this one, but had NO IDEA what it was about.) So thank you!
You're very welcome! I hope you get the chance to pick it up and enjoy it as much as I did. 😀
I checked it out from the library! It was perfect. I needed some fun and wit, and the magical aspect was a great bonus 🙂
I'm always in need of a good historical read and I heard this book is quite hilarious to boot which makes it a bajillion times for intriguing for me haha. I'm a sucker for the arranged marriage trope, too and the two of them sound pretty funny (: I'm glad to see that you loved it! Definitely can't wait to start this guy! Great review, Aila!
My recent post Review: Ivory and Bone by Julie Eshbaugh
OMGG if you love arranged marriages, you'll definitely enjoy this one! All the characters in this story were pretty witty, and the historical aspects were really well done too. 😉 Hope you can pick it up soon!
I feel really really bad that I originally wrote this book off, it just didn't seem like the thing for me (despire the fact that I Love the authors attached to this one). I love your review and thoughts on this one. I'm definitely regretting my past decision and looking to fix that now. Lovely review!
My recent post One True Loves: Review
Ooh I'm so glad I could change your mind Lily! 😀 Yeah originally I wasn't so sure of it because I didn't know how they would go about rewriting history… but it certainly has a happy ending (even if the real history's ending was tragic) with the most adorable characters and banter. Totally recommended!
I hear SUCH great things about this book! Now I really want to read it. It's on my wishlist, huzzah!
HUZZAH is right! I can't wait for you to read it- the characters, plot, and setting were all top knotch, with the most WICKED humor 😀
Oh YAY! I was hoping this one would be hilarious, and I'm so glad it is! I can't wait to read it. 😀
My recent post June Goals
Oh yeah, the hilarity is off the charts in this one. 😀 Hopefully you laugh out loud as much as I did while reading!
I had a blast with this one too! My favorite is when she wrote to Edward telling him she married a horse. This is so so funny!
My recent post A Shot of YA: My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, Jodi Meadows
Hehe, I'm so glad you liked this book as well! OMG THE DIALOGUE IS JUST HILARIOUS, ISN'T IT? I seriously couldn't stop laughing and smiling when reading it. 😀
I've been checking out reviews for this, so it's definitely on my top reads list at the library.
Woot woot, I'm glad! 😀 Hope you can pick it up from the library soon!
This sounds like such a lovely book! 🙂 I'm so glad you liked it! I don't think I've heard one bad thing about it yet as I've read other reviews for it. 🙂 Im going to add this to my TBR because lately, I've been needing a good laugh or two. *sighs*
Epic review as always, Aila! <3
Yay Keionda, I can't wait for you to pick it up!
I've read of some reviews that talk about how it was too long for them (whoops LOL) but I loved the narration and dialogue so much I hardly noticed. 😛
Yay, I'm thrilled you loved MY LADY JANE, Aila! The humor and the dialogue sound so fun and entertaing and I'm in the perfect mood for this. Thanks for the lovely review – can't wait to grab this up : )
My recent post Wonders of the Invisible World by Patricia A. McKillip
Yayy for humor and witty banter! <3 The characters are absolutely lovable, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did when you get the chance!
Reading your review makes me want to read this book even more! I really like this time period of England, since Henry VIII was the first monarch of England that I knew (that's right, I knew him first then Elizabeth II). This book just sounds really perfect, with the historical aspect and the humor! I can't wait to read this one. Thanks for the review!
P.S: You might want to read The Prince and The Pauper by Mark Twain. It's not exactly funny book, it's more serious, but it's also set in Henry VIII era 😀
My recent post ARC Review: The Whispering of Trees by C.Y Bourgeois
Ooh I'm definitely thinking of picking up The Prince and the Pauper! I know the general premise, but have never stopped to actually read the book. I must do so when I get the chance! 😀
And yaas Tasya, I hope you love the book as much as I did! The history and humor was such a delightful combination, the long length will go by in a flash!
I just read another review of this and now I know that I need to pick it up. It just sounds damn adorable and funny. Sometimes you need thoses types of books.
Thanks for the review.
My recent post Book Review: The Girl from Everywhere by Heidi Heilig
Too true Angel! It's definitely a feel-good book that still had lots of action and intrigue and magic and fun. 😀
Oh, wow. A five-star review! I'm surprise to find humour as a major element of the writing. Not that I'm complaining. Heck, I can't resist books that will have me in stitches! I'm so glad you loved this, Aila. I can't wait to read it!
Yup yup, I enjoyed every moment of reading this one 😀 And yesss, the dialogue and narration was absolutely hi~la~rious! Totally recommended if you love laughing out loud while reading.
I'm just counting down the hours till my copy of Lady Jane downloads to Kindle so I can start reading it, and your review made me even more sure that I'd love it, and made me even more impatient, Aila!!
My recent post Mark This Book Monday: Two Hundred and Twenty-One Baker Streets Anthology!!
YAYY PILI I hope you get the chance to read it soon!! And fingers crossed you loved it as much as I did. 😀
We're review twins today! 🙂
I liked this one a little less than you did, mostly because the length started to bog me down a bit, but adored the characters and the romances so much. Super adorable!
The supernatural twist was also really intriguing. I wasn't sure of it at first, but it was done well.
I'm happy this was a hit for you, Aila! 🙂
My recent post Review: My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton & Jodi Meadows
Haha we certainly were! <3
And yeah, I'm sorry the length seemed to drag on! I think more readers would've liked it too if it weren't so long. 😛 Nevertheless, the witty banter and lovable characters definitely made it worth the read.