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 is about to become the Queen of England.
This was one of those books that I was hesitant about. Why did I pick it up? Well, one of the books in the criteria of Book Battle (a Facebook group I’m a part of) wasn’t grabbing me and I needed to use a substitute. I was still hesitant going in, but the first chapter quickly smoothed out that worry.
Note. I’m not a fan of historical fiction. There are some I like, but I don’t go out of my way to find a historical fiction. The cover also misled me. Here I am thinking it has a contemporary feel to the historical fiction (again, a genre I don’t care for).
Like I said before, it was the first chapter that got me. Or, really, the introductory from the narrators. I loved that there were narrators. It gave the book a movie like quality. One that you see in Monty Python’s Search for the Holy Grail or The Princess Bride or Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. In fact, the writing is very similar to that.
What about the historical fiction value about it? It does have a historical spin. The characters are historical figures and the story does go down a similar vein as the factual events. However, there is magic in this book. And it’s the magic that added both laughter and interest.
All in all, I was surprised by the book. I was laughing out loud all the time. I loved all of the characters involved. And, I kept thinking of cult classics as the book went on. This is definitely a book that I would recommend. Now I can’t wait for the next one!
Note. Next one is different time period with a fictional character as a main character who knows a historical figure. Is it the same world? No idea. Do I care? Nope.
Casia's Corner 