Synopsis from Good Reads:
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?
What a delightful surprise this book was! I have to admit that I was originally not the least bit interested in this title. I am not a fan when fiction focuses on real historical figures. I’m not a history buff by any stretch of the imagination (I could not tell you one single thing about the real lives of the inspiration for these characters), but it just always bugs me when fake words and situations are given to real people. I also thought the whole fantasy element of people turning into animals (Eðians) was just weird to have in historical fiction. But then I kept seeing glowing review after glowing review and decided to finally see what the fuss was about. And now I understand!
I have never read anything by any of these authors before, but if the rest of their writing is as clever as this I am definitely checking them out. I laughed so much during this book! Out loud even, which almost never happens. Each chapter is given to Edward’s, Jane’s, and Gifford’s point of view and the narrators of the story would occasionally interrupt with some (often humorous) insight, explanation, or random comment. Though I did enjoy the Edward and Gifford’s chapters a little more than Jane’s for the most part, I was never sad when it came time to shift POVs.
I loved the friendships and the romances. Gifford and Jane were so easy to ship and their interactions were always so humorous and/or sweet. I liked the friendship between Jane and Edward and how much they cared about each other. I also liked the growing relationship between Edward and Gracie, who Edward meets when he’s forced to flee the castle.
The only thing that kind of brought the book down for me was that the pacing got a little slow at times. Though I enjoyed the characters so much that it didn’t really matter what they were doing, I did wish the plot would advance a little more quickly on several occasions.
Overall, I really loved this book. I absolutely loved the humor and the banter between characters. Though I was initially hesitant of the historical components and the Eðians, both ended up really working for me. I definitely plan on checking out more from these authors (I did see on Good Reads that though this book is a standalone, they are planning on collaborating on more books about other famous Janes). I think My Lady Jane is one of my favorite books of the year and definitely recommend it!
Overall Rating (out of 5): 4.5 Stars
Wow, what a nice surprise. While I do like historical fiction, your initial description of characters turning into animals did not appeal to me. Just a little too strange. So glad you found out how great it was – I’m going to look for this one!
Yeah, it may not be everyone’s cup of tea. I didn’t think it would be mine, but it totally was so you never know!
I have passed on this book too because it didn’t seem like it would be for me. Your star rating and review has definitely changed my mind! I am glad you decided to try it and liked it.
Thanks! I really did enjoy it! I think you might too since we generally tend to agree on these type of books. It didn’t sound like I would like it all from the description so I’m really glad I decided to give it a try.
I want to read this even more now! I’ve been eyeing it because of the beautiful cover, but you’ve made it sound so good!
It was really good! So funny! I hope you get to give it a try soon!
So glad you loved this one, I did as well! I’m usually not one for historical fiction either but this book was so much fun that I’m glad I decided to read it. 😁
I am too! It definitely didn’t sound like a book I would really like, but I’m so glad it surprised me!
Great review! I have also been putting this book off because I wasn’t sure it’d be for me. But after reading your review, I think I may have to try it!
Thanks! I hope you decided to give it a try! I was so surprised with how much I loved it.
I would’ve never considered this book at all. But if you’re giving it high praise, I wonder what I’m missing out on! I will have to check this one out.
Yeah it wasn’t one I think I would like, but it surprised me! I’m not sure what you would think as this has some paranormal type of elements and you don’t seem to read that many of those type of books. But the humor in it may draw you in! It has really great writing and characters, as well.
I’m very curious about this one, especially because of the humor 😀 😀
The humor is definitely worth checking it out for! I just loved it!
Wow, thanks for this review now I’m going to read it! I got this book through my uppercase box subscription and I wasn’t interested in it for the same reasons as you shared, even though I love Cynthia Hand and Jodi Meadows. I recommend Hand’s Unearthly series and Meadows’ Orphan Queen.
It’s definitely worth a try – especially if you already own it! I’ll need to check out those books because I definitely want to read more from these authors!
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