My Lady Jane! A better title would have been Teens Messing with Henry VIII’s Succession Plans. Lady Jane Grey is a rather tragic figure in English history: ruled England for only 9 days before she was beheaded by her cousin Mary Tudor in the Tower of London. (And then Mary was overthrown by her half-sister Queen Elizabeth.)
The authors decided to give this an alternative history spin, with magic and humor. This is how the succession feud should have gone on. The split between the Roman Catholic Church and Church of England became the split between Eðians (people with shapeshifter abilities) and the non-Eðians.
“Bloody” Mary is, of course, the villain of the piece. She has a zero-tolerance policy towards the Eðians and will stop at nothing to get the throne. Everyone else in the family is an Eðian too, and firmly on the opposing side. More importantly, they all live. In particular, Lady Jane Grey gets to keep her head (and her horse-shifter husband).
The authors have managed the alternative history parallels quite well. But this period of history (~Year 1553) had so much going on, that I suppose it’s impossible to close all plot threads. So, while the first half was breezy, the second half tried too hard to wrap up everything in a neat bow.
What’s the humor quotient like? I wouldn’t say it’s a “hilarious” book. But the book has its amusing moments, mostly of the macabre pun variety and jokes about the shapeshifting. For example:
He could practically hear the ballads the minstrels would sing about him, the great king who had died too soon.
Poor King Edward, now under the ground.
Hacked his lungs out. They’ve yet to be found.
He smoothed his hand over his hair before he caught her smile. “No horse jokes.”
“Never! But I wanted to ask: are you catching a chill? You sound hoarse.”
Overall, if you’re looking for something meatier, this isn’t the book. But if you’re a diehard fan of Tudor history, then this is a book to add to your TBR. Again, you may need to adjust your reading lens a bit: light, amusing, make-believe YA.
Rating: 6.5 of 10
Have you read My Lady Jane? Or is there any another book on Jane Grey that you would recommend?
17 replies on “My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton & Jodi Meadows”
I like the idea, but not sure I would love it too much either
First half was good, second half was way too rushed so I ended up not liking it much. 🙁
I think the sad story of Lady Jane would definitely be improved with a large dose of magic and humor. 🙂
Well, so they’ve definitely tried to do…
Ok so the shapeshifting elements sound interesting! I always have a hard time with alternate histories when they incorporate magic or whatever- sometimes I like ’em, sometimes I don’t, 🙂
Exactlt. The authors have given it a believable twist, but ultimately came off as a bit bland~
Yes! I love Tudor history! And I actually have My Lady Jane on my TBR. Perhaps on my kindle too! I will take a look. Love your review and no nonsense point of view. Yes, I want to read it now too!
Elza Reads
Sounds funnish, but I don’t think I know enough about Tudor history to really enjoy it.
I am a huge Tudor history fan so this does intrigue me, even if I am not sure I would like it. I will think about it.
My favorite Lady Jane Grey book is called Another Spring by Katherine Wigmore Eyre. I think my mother must have bought it for my aunt years ago and I snagged it as a teen. Some of Eyre’s other books are worth hunting down as well.
That sounds like something I’d like to try. Lady Jane Grey is such a tragic but also such an intriguing figure.
Well, the authors do give a chapter at the start to explain the real history and how they are changing it all. So even if you’re a newbie to Tudor history, that allows for a good starting point.
I do like books set in this period but I don’t think this one is for me – I read a lot less YA these days and this one doesn’t really grab my attention.
Lynn 😀
Yeah, YA isn’t working for me these days either. Well, maybe some of the YA thrillers, but definitely not the YA SFF stuff.
I really had fun with this one. Have you tried My Plain Jane yet? 🙂
Nah, I think I won’t be continuing with this series. Too YA-ish for me. 🙁
Who doesn’t love Tudor history! Actually, it is amazing just how many re-tellings there are right? I think this would be kind of a fun read. I hadn’t heard of it so really enjoyed your review!
The book definitely makes Tudor history more accessible, and very inventive too.