My Lady Jane
Rating: 5/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher!
Edward (long live the king) is the King of England. He’s also dying, which is inconvenient, as he’s only sixteen and he’d much rather be planning for his first kiss than considering who will inherit his crown…
Jane (reads too many books) is Edward’s cousin, and far more interested in books than romance. Unfortunately for Jane, Edward has arranged to marry her off to secure the line of succession. And there’s something a little odd about her intended…
Gifford (call him G) is a horse. That is, he’s an Eðian (eth-y-un, for the uninitiated). Every day at dawn he becomes a noble chestnut steed—but then he wakes at dusk with a mouthful of hay. It’s all very undignified.
The plot thickens as Edward, Jane, and G are drawn into a dangerous conspiracy. With the fate of the kingdom at stake, our heroes will have to engage in some conspiring of their own. But can they pull off their plan before it’s off with their heads?
I totally should have read this sooner, and I'm kicking myself for not doing so! I would have been out of my reading slump a lot faster! Despite reading the synopsis, I still wasn't entirely sure what to expect. I've not read anything by the authors individually, although I do have Jodi's book on my shelves! The synopsis intrigued me, and everyone was raving about the book when the ARCs where released....so I couldn't resist reading it. I'm such a history nerd and I loved the idea of this! Once I started reading...I was blown away! Like I said...I wasn't sure what to expect but it wasn't this book! I couldn't put this down and I read it in one go, and I loved every page. There where so many things in this book that I love, and I'm kind of hoping the authors will make this a series, with like different historical events or something!
My Lady Jane is genuinely hilarious, like laugh out loud funny! I was snorting, and cackling away as I was reading! There where so many pop culture references slotted in and I enjoyed spotting them and having a chuckle, although "we're going to need a bigger sword" made me snort like an actual pig, before keeling over sideways and laughing (quietly because people where asleep!). Also the dedication was A+! But back to the pop culture.....yeah. I don't want to spoil it so I won't list the ones I spotted, but I will say there's Monty Python and I wasn't expecting it and I stared at the page like "OMG I KNOW YOU!" and it was brilliant.
I loved Jane, she was a bookworm so obviously I was like "HELL YES SISTER!" and connected to her immediately! She's smart, and courageous and she threw out wardrobes because she wanted bookshelves. SHE IS ALL OF US. She had all these book rules and I can't even. I loved her. I was rooting for her and cheering for her and I think the authors did a brilliant job of bringing her to life. I may be a history nerd, but I don't know too much about Jane Grey, and they've taken her, and given her a personality and brought her to life off the page!
Edward....what can I say about Edward. He was sexist, and kind of a spoiled brat because of the fact he was handed the throne at such a young age and everyone pandered to him and so on. I'm sure you can imagine, and he's a product of his time really. I wasn't too sure on him at first, he did make me laugh, and I wanted to like him especially as we got his POV a lot and he met Gracie. I loved Edwards development over the course of the book, I started to think of him as a loveable idiot towards the end!
Now, I just mentioned that we get Edwards POV, and obviously we get Jane's...but we also get a third! The third POV is Gifford. Or rather G as he prefers to be known! I wasn't too sure about G in the beginning, but once it became apparent what was really up with his late night dalliances, I was like okay dude...I like you. I can root for you. He was kind of adorable when he wanted to be too! I loved getting all three POVs, the changes where well done and it kept the book going at a good pace, and I loved the insight in to each of the characters. I think it helped make Edward in to a more likeable character, if you hadn't had his POV he might not have been as well liked! In the case of Jane and G, it helped to understand both characters and their motivations, and what was going on romance wise!
Now that we've talked about our three main characters we need to talk about the supporting characters. Now Bess and Mary are well known, historical figures, and I loved how they where characterised in this book. Much like Jane, I didn't know much about Gifford, I knew that wasn't his real name, his real name was Guildford, and I didn't know much about Edward either! But I knew a lot about his sisters and I liked how Mary was exactly as I always imagined her to be, and I really didn't like her! Bess on the other hand I really did like, she was determined to help her brother and she was such a kind person. Unlike Bloody Mary. Mary Queen of Scots makes an appearance too and all I could picture was a mash up of the portrait of her I've seen and the version of her from Reign! I totally got where she was coming from though!
There's plenty of characters in the book to get to know and like, or know and hate. G's dad anyone!? Totally not satisfied with his status as "Living" rather than "Head on pike". I cheered stupid amounts at Peter, and I loved Pet! Granny was hilarious too. Gracie...I loved Gracie! She was freaking brilliant, and badass and the perfect person to help Edward change his ways! I really loved Gracie's interactions with Edward, especially when she quotes Monty Python at him! I shipped them so badly, and I was like "Come on Edward GROW SOME BALLS!" This book made me sing "Kiss the Girl" in my head SO MANY times because of both my ships!
I loved the romance in the book, Jane and G...I shipped them so damn hard. I completely loved watching their romance develop, and like I said, there was much mental singing going on! I wasn't sure what was going to happen with the romance because they had to get married without even seeing each other, and I wasn't sure in the beginning, but their banter about rules started the ship sailing...and then I was fully on board. I loved how they bonded, I loved how protective G was and his encounter with Edward on the hunt was HILARIOUS. It was adorable, it brought the warm and fuzzies and I just loved them together!
I enjoyed the writing style, with the narrators occasionally dropping in to check in, and to drop some tidbits of information. I think it worked really with the story the writers where telling, and I loved it in combination with the three different narratives! I loved the plot. It followed history to an extent and then it went off the beaten path! I loved the originality to the book, and the twists that the authors gave historical events. I don't want to say too much because going in blind plot wise made it even better for me, but like, Mary and her "reign" and what she was doing to certain people and why...loved the twist! There where plot twists everywhere, knowing history I saw some of them coming, the history I knew was in the back of my mind the entire time, BUT I didn't see how they came about, or they had a twist to them that I didn't see coming! SO MANY PLOT TWISTS!
My Lady Jane is a genuinely funny, brilliantly written book with characters that come to life, and that are memorable, both historical and otherwise! I couldn't stop reading, it was history, but it was funny and brilliantly twisted and I completely got wrapped up in the book and the world of the book. It's one of those books that you just fall in love as you read, and it's definitely a favourite of mine! Thanks to the romance, it'll be one that I think I'll keep re-reading whenever I need a pick me up or a laugh! I'm so hoping the authors are going to write more books, not necessarily about Jane but about other historical figures because I need MORE!
