Wednesday, March 30

Audiobook Review: My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, & Jodi Meadows



Author: Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, Jodi Meadows
Narrator: Katherine Kellgren
Title: My Lady Jane
(The Lady Janies #1)
Genre: YA, Historical Fiction, What-if, Retellings, Humor, Fantasy, Romance
Format: Audiobook
Published: June 7th 2016
Where I got It: Audible

Summary: 
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?

Review:
Been meaning to give this book a try for a while. Decided to just get the audiobook and go. 

This is a what if tale. We follow King Edward, Lady Jane Grey, and Gifford. In this version of their story, King Edward is still dying but is he truly sick? Lady Jane is forced to marry Gifford but there is something off with her groom. Gifford, who goes by G, is in fact a Eoian...he turns into a horse. Sadly, he can't control this gift. At dawn he transforms to a horse and at dusk wakes back up as a man. The three are drawn into a dangerous conspiracy with the fate of the kingdom at stake. Will our heroes be able to save the kingdom from Mary's grasp or even save their own lives?

This was a lot of fun. What-ifs are always a good time. In this world, there are shapeshifters running around. Some are royal like King Henry and pretty much all his wives. Then there are the regular humans who are scared and want to see the Eoians burned....like Princess Mary. 

I love the twist of fate for our characters. In real life they all end up dead. Edward from being sick and then Lady Jane and Gifford were executed. Here...they are able to escape and fight another day against the blood-thirsty Mary. I loved this. I always felt so for them...especially Lady Jane Grey. 

Also, I really loved the blend of genres here. It is a historical fiction, romance, YA (which didn't feel too YA), and fantasy. I loved, loved, LOVED the idea of the shapeshifters. They take place of the Protestants and Catholic issue. Very clever indeed.  

This is a YA but don't let that scare you off. It wasn't YA cheesy or annoying. Sure there is a maybe love triangle here and there, but it wasn't serious and didn't take over the plot. These are teens running around with new adult feelings. Crushes happen. But yes, I'm glad the YA curse didn't happen here. 

Oooo yes there was humor here and I found myself chuckling a lot.

That was a good ending. I'm glad it ended the way it did. I won't spoil anything but I did cheer a little bit. And I laughed because of the fate of a certain character was perfecccccccct. Again....you shall not get spoilers from me!

Now, I did do the audio version of this. The narrator did a good job. Her voice fit the characters and she really did bring everything to life. However, there were times I felt she got WAY too into it. There were times when a character would exclaim or yell...and the narrator would quite literally YELL. Ouch! There goes my ears! I loved how she got into it, but there were times I just wanted her to take a couple steps back. Good thing I mainly listened to this on my speaker instead of my earbuds. Other than that, she did a fine job indeed. 

In the end, this was a lot of fun. Humor, love, drama, battle, shapeshifting, and a what if that I wish was real! I for sure recommend this. The audio is fun, but be prepared for some actual yelling. ;) hehe But yes, fun for sure. I'll give this 4 stars.








Challenge(s):
- #16 for Audiobook challenge


4 comments:

Melliane said...

It looks good. I saw this one around but haven't tried it

Jen Twimom said...

I love twists on real-life history like this. Sounds like a lot of fun.

Blodeuedd said...

The library seems to have it

Carole Rae said...

Melliane, same! I have seen this everywhere but never tried it.

Jen, me too! This was fun.

B, ooo! You'll have to check it out ;) Mine didn't have it sadly.