Changes in History, Horses, Ferrets, and a lot of Humor (Review of My Lady Jane by Brodi Ashton, Cynthia Hand, and Jodi Meadows)

📖 My Lady Jane by Brodi Ashton, Cythnia Hand, and Jodi Meadows 🐴 Read May 24-26

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"Shall I compare thee to a barrel of apples?

Though art more hairy, but sweeter inside. 

Rough winds couldn't keep me from taking you to chapel,

Where finally a horse could take a bride..."

-This quote is utterly brilliant. 

The original Lady Jane Grey.

This book was very funny. I have been looking forward to reading it for a while. The Tudor family, with Henry VIII and his children have always interested me. I remember learning about their lives in my history class back in ninth or tenth grade and thinking that their story could be an interesting story. What a tale that was actually reality. I wondered if I would ever find a fictional version that made it even more interesting. Guess who predicted this book? I loved reading this  and the three different perspectives, Edward, Gifford, and Jane. 

What actually happened to Jane Grey is not a funny or glamorous story. Jane became the Queen of England after her cousin Edward died. She was given the throne in an attempt to keep a Protestant ruling over England. Jane does not last long as the queen, nine days to be exact. Her and her husband Guildford (a name that was changed for My Lady Jane) are later executed. Jane quite literally loses her head. This is the start of Mary's reign as queen. She is later known as Bloody Mary.

The first part of the novel sticks close to the original, though instead of religion being what splits the country, it's the idea of people being able to turn into animals. They are called E∂ians(pronounced eth-ee-uhn). The three authors added in this bit of magic into the story. Instead of the battle between the Catholics and Protestants we get a story of the E∂ians and then those that cannot change. Each chapter switches between the three perspectives, which was a great idea. I loved seeing the story from all of these. Jane is a smart, well-read sixteen year old girl, who would much rather read a book than associate herself with anything dealing with the kingdom. Except for her cousin Edward. Edward is the young king dying from "the affliction" though this may not be what it seems. Then there is Gifford who is a horse half of the day. All three of them work together to save the kingdom and also themselves from the fate that history has given them. 

I have always loved the story of the Tudors and have hoped for a book similar to this for a long time. It did not disappoint. The humor in this book had me laughing loudly out loud and really I am not afraid to admit that. Great novel. I cannot wait to see the next tale from The Lady Janies.