My Lady Jane gets 4.5 Stars {ya lit, historical fiction, fantasy}

I wasn't sure if I was going a little crazy, hadn't had enough sleep, or the latest book I finished was captivating.  To be honest, it's probably a little of them all, but for sanity sake I'll just say that My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows was a well writing fabulously fun story.  

It's not every day you look at a bird and think Edian, aka a person, that turns into an animal. However, after walking out of Physical Therapy one day last week Edian came to mind after seeing a bird on my car.  

I give My Lady Jane 4.5 out of 5 stars.  This book has great character development, the writing is funny and well paced, and the story is creative, interesting, and unique.  Plus, I am really baffled and impressed that three different authors wrote this story.  The writing seemed quite cohesive, and that is usually not the case when it comes to multiple authors. The only way I think they pulled it off so seamless was having each author write the different chapters from the different character viewpoints.  However, the writing style seemed all very similar.  Basically, I was impressed.  

Overall, this story is a fun read.  My Lady Jane is definitely a stretch to be called a historical fiction, but I actually loved the stretch and the creative twist on the history of the English Tudor time.  Any one high school age and up, boys and girls alike, could enjoy this story if they have an interest in fantasy and/or alternative history stories with humor and romance thrown in there as well.  

This is a clean read with no language, but there is a situation where characters are naked for a time after changing form from an animal.  They also mention love and sex, but the use the word "consummate" and refer to it being a "very special hug."

There were many times in reading this story that I laughed out loud and truly enjoyed the creativity.  The narrator notes are fun and don't take away from the story.  Some of the notes told the reader that people could die, or them being the type of narrators that wouldn't kill a dog.  I like that Jane at the end picked a frying pan to fight guards and others in the tower; it reminded me of the movie Tangled.  I thought it was funny when the author wrote that Edward was the inventor of the arm stretch over a girl's shoulder.  I found it interesting how the author included why Mary was known as Bloody Mary got her name, and that she turned into a Donkey aka an Ass to never be seen again.  Really, the entire book was witty and fun, but yet it still taught me more about the English Tudors.  

The only reason I took off a half a star in my ratings was because I found a typo/editing mishap on page 458.  It says "who win will" when it should read as "who will win."  I feel that if I find an error in the editing that the editors went too fast and that does reflect on the story in my view.  

Amazon has the following book review from School Library Journal: 

"In real life, Edward VI and Lady Jane Grey died young in 16th-century England. Here, Edward and Jane get another chance at happiness thanks to the irrepressible imaginations of the authors. Adventure, intrigue, humor, and romance abound—so, too, does high fantasy. England is a place where people (including royalty) are either EÐians (those who can shape-shift) or Verities (those who cannot). Because many Verities believe EÐian magic is evil, they set about to obliterate it. EÐians retaliate. Also, someone keeps poisoning the king's food. The plot, then, involves Edward, Jane, and their allies trying to figure out how to keep peace in the kingdom, find out who is poisoning the king's food, and restore Edward to the throne (he is presumed dead and gads about incognito for part of the book). EÐian "facts" are woven in with such subtle assurance that they come across as a genuine part of English history. For instance, the year the volatile Henry VIII discovered his leonine animal form and devoured the court jester is known in the kingdom's collective memory as the Year of the Lion. Wisecracks are prevalent, which would be grating after a while if the characters did not fairly sparkle with the complete array of honest human qualities. Readers will need to know the basic backstory of Lady Jane Grey and Edward VI. VERDICT A great choice for those who enjoy lighthearted, alternative history adventures and romance."

Though, I disagree with the end.  Readers do not need to know any backstory; you may actually enjoy it more if you don't know the backstory.   

Have you read My Lady Jane?  What did you think? 

Happy Humorous Alternative History Young Adult reading!  

    
This book came with one of my Owlcrate boxes last summer.  For my review of that box click here.