My Lady Jane (The Lady Janies #1)

Or, alternatively, because it's a perfect opportunity to … well, you'll see:

My Lady Jane (The Lady Janies #1) by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows

Blurb:

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. 

Review:

Then he reached down and felt for the dagger at his hip.
Public poetry readings were known to be a rough business, especially when presenting new material. A man could lose a lot more than just his pride.

This book was such a delight! I did expect to enjoy this story but it put my expectations to shame – I couldn't help falling in love with everything My Lady Jane has to offer: The humor, the characters, the whole E∂ians-thing, and basically the entirety of the plot (except maybe for the ending a little bit but I'll come to that later).

G took another gulp, and thought about the best way to break the equestrian news. My dear, you know those four-legged majestical beasts of the land? Well, you married one!
No. That could not be the right approach. My sweet, have you ever had a difficult time deciding between man or beast? Well now you don't have to!
Again, he thought better of this tactic. Sweet lady, there are those of us who sleep lying down, and those of us who sleep standing up. I can do both.
No. You know how some men claim to have another, perhaps hairier side?
Have you ever cursed the fact that your loved one has just two legs?
Did you know that horses have incredible balance?
Hey! What's that over there? And then he would gallop away.

Honestly, this book was incredibly funny. The characters were witty and silly, the authors interacting with the narration was (mostly) hilarious (I'm especially fond of the whole Midlogue-idea and the authors' dedication to finding the absolute and ultimate TRUTH), and the story generally didn't take itself too seriously, which makes for quite a bit of fun on that department, too. Frankly, a book that starts with an inscription such as this one has already won me over from page one:

And for England. We're really sorry for what we're about to do to your history.

I also want to mention that this was the first book in a long time that had me genuinely invested in its romance. It was rather slow burning, which I generally like, and so, soo cute. I never enjoyed wedding-scenes before, but this one pulls them off magnificently.

Jane narrowed her eyes. "Are you sure your true E∂ian form isn't a jackass?"
"Very funny, my lady. And that reminds me" – he pointed a finger at her – "no horse jokes."
He was making it too easy. "Ah, my lord, why the long face?"

But, alas, this book wasn't perfect. Especially nearing the end there are a few jumps in time which really threw me off, the action in general just didn't seem threatening (which you could still enjoy if you like books of the non-threatening variety) and, well, I guess this book is best described as a little bit bland and pretty superficial. I, personally, don't mind that but it truly isn't a book that's going to appeal to everyone ever. (Also, the romance, while I did immensely enjoy it, could very well be conceived as off-putting and way too sweet/cheesy.)

You'd imagine that lots of practice unknitting would mean lots of practice – and improvement – knitting, but your imagination forgot to account for Jane.

(I could definitely include more excerpts/quotes but I'm making myself stop because I can't just copy the entire book, can I? You'll have to read it for yourself.)

Oh, I almost forgot to mention the awesomeness that were the women in this book. (Yes, the men were awesome too but I loved, loved, loved all of the women. Yes, even Mary.) They all had their flaws and strengths and individual motives and they were all so charming in their own ways. Honestly, I was even swooning over Gran.

Rating:

For a romance well done and all of the giggles this book has to account for: 4/5 stars.

Details:

Name: My Lady Jane

Series: The Lady Janies (definitely an incredibly dignified name for a series)

Authors: Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows

Publisher: Walker Books

Pages: 414