Hey ForeverBookers,
How are you all doing today? I hope you’re all doing great 🙂.
I’ve just finished reading My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton and Jodi Meadows and I really enjoyed it.
I read this for the Popsugar Challenge of “A novel based on a real person” because although some of the characters are fictional as well as the magic obviously, Lady Jane Grey existed. When I say magic, I don’t mean spells. I mean a curse called the Eðian (eth-y-un curse. The “magic” stems from creatures called Eðians that are human part of the time and animal for the rest and vice versa.
My Lady Jane is told in two parts. I thought the second half was more fast paced than the first half but both were entertaining in their own ways. The book certainly has lots of funny moments. It’s like a comic take on history.
The POV’s we follow switch between Jane, Gifford or G (Jane’s husband), and King Edward VI of England (Jane’s cousin and best friend). The authors play a part in My Lady Jane, as well. There are paragraphs that use “we” meaning The Lady Janies. This is pretty unique in a historical fantasy, I think. In the “we” sections, The Lady Janies are just telling us why they changed certain elements of history or certain characters to make the story better. For example, none of the characters were truly Eðians, of course. They did this to provide an amusing twist in the story.
We have our good characters and our bad characters in My Lady Jane. Every character has a role to play in the story. Even Bess, Edward’s other sister. No character was glossed over.
There is some derogatory language in My Lady Jane because of the time it’s set in. There’s also talk of sex and babies, although we don’t see any graphic language. I therefore don’t think this book should be read by under 15 year olds.
Spoilers Below...
We start the novel with a chapter from Edward. We learn that Edward is the King of England but that he’s very ill. The reason as to why he’s ill is that he’s being poisoned by Gifford’s father, who wants his son to rule next to Lady Jane Grey. He also pushes for those two characters to get married quickly, when at first Edward considers himself a good match for Jane.
“Everything was lost. Jane. Bess. His crown. The kingdom. What was he going to do?”
This is what happens when Edward discovers that he is in fact an Eðian. One of his sisters, Mary, hates Eðian’s. She wishes that they didn’t exist. She thinks they’re vile creatures. When Mary gets the crown, because Edward had to go on the run to escape captivity, she plans to kill all the Eðians. How long does Mary have power for, though? Does she remain Queen of England? You’ll have to read to find out. Bess, his other sister helps him to work out what’s going on, along with Jane and Gifford.
I enjoyed the made up characters. Gifford or G, is a horse Eðian. He’s really funny.
“G leaned down to whisper in Jane’s ear. “Your Majesty.”
Her eyes flashed. “Don’t you dare ‘Your Majesty’ me”
He smiled.”
This is Jane’s reaction to G calling her your majesty. It’s a cute moment that sees them get closer, as well as a comic moment.
I also really enjoyed the romantic parts to this novel. Gifford and Jane are set up so G can rule, by his father but do they find true love in the end? And Edward meets Gracie, an Eðian fox. Do they find true love? Gracie is a Scottish girl, who thinks it’s improper to kiss a King of England, even if he’s not “King” at that moment in time, with being on the run.
“Damnit,” he breathed. “Call me Edward.”
“I can’t,” she said, her voice wavering. “I know you want me to. But I can’t forget who you are. You will always be the king.”
This is Gracie being stubborn and not doing as Edward commands. She doesn’t think it’s right that she be offered any privileges. Gracie is a very stubborn character, as is Jane. Jane must have her books with her at all times, at the start of My Lady Jane.
“You won’t be carrying your books during the wedding, after all.”
is what Jane’s mother thinks of Jane’s first love, her books. Jane’s mother is a horrible woman who doesn’t want what’s best for Jane. She’s only concerned with herself. She goes into exile later in the novel when she sees that Jane is just fine on her own.
Jane learns that loving others is really important. She doesn’t want to become like her mother or Mary. She wants to be free to do as she Wishes, to make mistakes and just love openly.
What did I like about My Lady Jane?
I liked how the characters were written. They were written comically. This worked for this novel, as it gave the reader something to laugh at and be entertained by.
I liked the romances that happened. Obviously, Jane and G but Edward and Gracie, too. I wasn’t expecting two potential romances.
I liked how this was a standalone novel. Yes, The Lady Janies are adding to this series. But the novels will be concentrated on completely different Janes.
What didn’t I like about My Lady Jane?
I wish that the evil Queen Mary had had a bigger role. She was a little too much on the sidelines to be considered significant to me.
I thought Part 1 was a little slow paced. I wasn’t going to stop reading but it was really only the talk of the Eðians that kept me intrigued.
Overall then, I loved My Lady Jane. It’s getting a 4.5 star rating from me! Have you My Lady Jane? What did you think if you have? Will you be reading it and My Plain Jane (#2), when it releases in June 2018. I will, that’s for sure!
Stand by for my next review, coming soon!
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