I so wanted to love this book! I'm really interested in the Tudor era, and I loved My Lady Jane, but this book fell so flat. The characters were annoying, their actions were stupid, and there was almost no plot. The audiobook wasn't very good either, with all of the voices sounding exactly the same, and it was very monotonous.

After completing a trilogy of historical Jane retellings, Hand, Ashton, and Meadows have set their sights on Marys. The very first, My Contrary Mary, is a Mary Queen of Scots retelling. Get ready to be transported to Renaissance France where Mary is a ward of the French Court!

The book's narration comes from several shifting POV's (primarily Mary), as well as some third-person narrator comments. The narrator's are really what makes this book so special. They are absolutely hilarious, providing a 'so-here-is-the-scoop' tone. They are terrible gossips, but charmingly witty at the same time. They are that friend in college/high school that you always turned to when you wanted to hear about the latest scandals without going through the effort of snooping things out for yourself. Before the book even properly started I was cry-laughing at the dedication: "For the people who feel like they have to be perfect; and for France. We're sorry for what we're about to do to your history, but it was your turn."

I found myself enjoying the return to the Eðian/Verity dynamic (shapeshifter/pure humans) as a metaphor for the disparity and tensions between Catholics and Protestants at the time. It is a cool way to reframe this time period, and was pretty genius!

On top of the comedy, the characters were so well developed. I truly felt for Mary and Francis, and even the side characters like Mary Livingston and Ari. Their actions and motivations felt real, and the stakes and betrayals in court were gutting. While of course this is a series of Marys, in a sense each book is also a stand alone, which I think is a boon to the work. Readers don't necessarily have to read The Lady Janies series to enjoy this latest work. Comedy and Historical Fiction blend together effortlessly in this gem of a book. Bonus points? Bonus points! On top of everything, I actually feel like I learned a lot reading this book. The plot was surprisingly historically accurate, if we overlook the whole fantasy shapeshifting element haha.

All in all, My Contrary Mary is a must-read, and I impatiently await the additions of Marie Curie and Mary Mallon to the new Mary series!

I was lucky to be able to listen to an advanced audiobook of My Contrary Mary and I really enjoyed this, not surprisingly considering that I loved Hand, Meadows, & Ashton’s Jane books. I knew I’d love this one as well. Their books are just so much fun! Thank you so much to Netgalley, the authors, and the publishers!!

Side note: After reading this, I need to rewatch the show Reign. Haha!

My Contrary Mary is featuring Mary Queen of Scots, but...she’s....not entirely...human? Nope, she’s not because this is a Hand, Meadows, & Ashton novel! If you have not yet been introduced to their fun novels, do yourself a favor and correct that. You must be open minded and willing to just accept the strange and funny twists on the characters in these books. So, as I said, Mary is not entirely human as we know from our history books. She is a shapeshifting mouse! Of course this must be kept secret to protect Mary, naturally. We all know Mary is married to King Francis, that is in the book, but what political schemes and conspiracies are Francis and Mary in for? How will her shapeshifting abilities turn this historical tale around?

I mean come on! Too funny. I did like the Jane tales more, but this was also great and I can’t wait to read more in the series.

This book... THIS BOOK! I can't tell if I was just away from this series for too long and missed it or if this is truly the BEST the Lady Janies have cooked up yet! As always, their writing blends together seamlessly and is so chock-full of charming characters and hilarious wit that you can't help but be enamored. I loved this book so much that it made me start rewatching Reign on nextflix because I needed more Mary and Francis in my life (spoiler alert, I was disappointed when Francis was taller than her on the show), If this is a taste of what's to come for the Mary trilogy, then I'm ready to devour them all!!

First of all, I just have to say how excited I was when I saw I was approved for this ARC. Not even a few days after receiving it, despite being it the middle of a readathon and being busy with midterms I started this audiobook and immediately loved it. Overall score: 4.5/5

This is my second time reading a book co written by these three authors and I think I loved this one even more than the first one I had read if it is possible. The story follows Mary the queen of Scotland who also happens to be a shapeshifter...

This book was so funny and lovely, Mary's character was lovable and flawed in ways you can connect with and the story as a whole was just a really great one. I absolutely enjoyed my time reading this book and I highly recommend you pick it up if you like historical fiction, funny characters, potion making and shape shifting. Super excited to purchase myself a physical copy when it comes out and highly anticipating the release of book two!!
Thank you netgalley for sending me an ARC!

I was a huge fan of the humor and fourth wall breaking in the Jane series, so when I found out they were writing a book for Mary Queen of Scots, I knew I had to read it! Mary is my favorite Scottish Queen, and I just love Scotland in general, so I had high hopes, and I was not disappointed! The same humor and combination of history with a sprinkle of magic made this such a perfect read. Highly recommend for anyone look for a fun read to indulge in!

SIGH. Now this is how history should have ended for Mary Queen of Scots and King Francis Valois II. I grew obsessed with these two when watching the show Reign but I couldn’t get over the untimely death and mostly cruel fate that they were both dealt so I stopped watching it shortly after season 2.

This book though, the plain magic of the ethians intertwined into such a historic and humorous tale was wonderful. I’ve previously read a book by this trio of authors and the movie anecdotes that they add into their stories are hilarious and make each of their books even more enjoyable than the last. Mary as a mouse with her ladies each having their own ethian form lose in the French court with the same intrigue and deception that we’ve all grown to love from the royals was just so incredibly entertaining and fun to read. Who knew that to fix history, all we needed was a mousey queen & a quirky seer that wasn’t much of a seer.

I had the pleasure of receiving an early audio galley of this book and I couldn’t think of a better time spent than listening to this book. I so hope that these authors grant us another glimpse into this world that we’ve all grown to love so much!

I loved reading the Jane series from these authors and I was so happy that this first book in the Mary series lived up to their greatness. Mary was an excellent character and I loved that they had her as a shapeshifter. Each character felt unique to me, and I was happy when Frances finally grew a bit of backbone. As I’ve come to expect from these historical fiction novels, the humor was perfect, and, as always, I enjoyed the jabs at the some of their ways back then. This was a great start to this next series, and I’m stoked to see who will be the next Mary!

This was a great historical reimagining of Mary Queen of Scots ! Both heartfelt and funny, you can't help but fall in love for the characters and their quirks.

The humor has to be the best part of the story ! The authors really know how to playfully tell what can be a very dark story. I particularly enjoyed Aristotle's predictions; it was a great way to insert some pretty funny pop references.

I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

4.5 stars

*NOTES ON THE AUDIOBOOK:
I personally felt like the narration was too much the same across the board. The characters weren't distinct enough and started to blend together. This narrator may not be the final one, as I am reviewing quite early.*

I adored being back in this world. We met Mary, Queen of Scots in the first Janies book, My Lady Jane. It was fun to get her story. I can't wait to see what other Mary stories we get! I adored our characters. There is some Sapphic elements within the ladies in waiting, but it was fun to see this take on the history of the time.

Mary was quite the queen, and I adore her and Francis together in the book. They had a really sweet childhood friends to lovers vibe about them, and I was all for it. How they discovered it was beyond friendship was also a lovely touch.

The references to pop culture through Aristotle and their "visions" was hilarious, and brought some really fun elements into the story. I loved the book a whole lot. Definitely can't wait to add it to my collection from this trio.

I was ecstatic to read this new addition to what has become a wildly outlandish fun series of books by these authors. I adored My Lady Jane and while the other books in the Lady Janies were also fun nothing held my attention quite like the first book, until this one. My Contrary is a welcome return to what I loved about the series and I guess this time period and royal intrigue is my favorite thing they write. Full of betrayals and secrets and magic and light sabers...no really, you have to read it to see. This brand of ridiculous with a heart makes for a delightful read during these troubling times.

Mary and her group of ladies are strong willed, intelligent, and full of secrets. They are surrounded by people wanting to control and manipulate them but hold fast to each other. I love female friendships displayed and to see Mary evolve throughout the story was great. Her childhood friend/fiancée Francis is another fun character and he definitely goes through a great transition to the character he winds up as in the end, sometimes against his will. The story is told mainly from both of their points of view, along with one other.

I found the pacing quick and smooth so it's an easy read. I will always recommend the audiobooks for this series because they are always so great. There is a scene where old characters reappear and fans will love it but you do not need to read the previous books to understand this one. I would actually suggest reading My Lady Jane first to get a familiarity with this world and have a greater appreciation.

My only complaint with the book is the character of Ari...can't say that I was a fan of her. Her visions were some of my most favorite parts of the whole book but her as a character? No. Her and her choices? No. I didn't like her part of the story and can't really say I cared what happened to her.

In the end though would recommend this book for people who like romantic comedy with a fantasy element. I will definitely be continuing this series.

I think I might be as obsessed with this one as I was My Lady Jane! That’s saying a lot because I ADORED the Lady Janie’s so so much!

Filled with fun pop culture references, a clear and fantastic voice, a fun twist of the story of Mary Queen of Scots, and even a little glimpse of some old friends I couldn’t be more happy with this newest installment!

Fantastical, light, fun, adventurous, and imaginative! I highly recommend this YA read!

Really love the re-telling of the story of Mary, Queen of the Scots. I love the difference portrayed between Protestants and Catholics but seen in a fantasy way.

As usual, the Janies have produced a sharp, witty alt-history novel, this time about Mary, Queen of Scots. Cleverly weaving a brilliant fantasy into familiar history, this book drew me in from the moment it started!

Mary is such a brilliant character - a woman who knows her worth and isn't afraid to fight for what she wants. Betrayed at every turn by those she trusted, she takes matters into her own hands (paws?) to protect her throne. Action packed, with a little bit of romance, some magic and A LOT of snark, this is a book for anybody looking for strong and interesting characters and a fast paced plot.

I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Okay, first things first, while reading my review, keep in mind that : being an ARC, the content was generated by a synthetic voice. Which means the voice is flat, and since this particular trio of authors is known for its humour, those moments were actually kinda hard to distinguish 😅

As always, these authors did a fantastic job of including modern pop culture references, puns, and humour in their retold version of Mary Queen of Scots' life. I always enjoy it when they also include themselves in the book (ex : voicing their thoughts regarding something a character did or said) ALSO, some characters from My Lady Jane (def my fave book by these authors) were included and now I definitely want to go reread that one hahah!

Overall, fun and enjoyable, and I'd definitely reread this in physical form or listen to this again with a HUMAN narrated audiobook 😅 3.5⭐

I loved this book. I loved My Lady Jane and was so happy to be back in that time period. The writing is spot on. I love the humor and that is what has me coming back every time. I think my favorite part of the book are the prophecies. I don't want to spoil anything for anybody, but definitely watch out for those as they are a hoot. Great job ladies, cannot wait for the rest of the Mary's series.

It was so fun reading a book by these three wonderful authors again! Mary was a fun leading character and I loved all the twist and turns she goes through. Francis was a great character as well and I really loved watching him come in to himself. The humor is on point and par with the Jane novels. If you enjoyed the Jane novels, especially My Lady Jane, you will love this one!

I listened to this as a text to speech audio, and I don’t feel like this format hindered my enjoyment of this novel at all.

To preface this, I loved My Lady Jane and My Plain Jane by these authors, so I was so excited to dive into another book in the same vein of those. This one follows Mary Queen of Scots and her tumultuous rise to power...with a little bit of a spin on it! I found the premise so fun, even though historically this account can feel sluggish. The authors never let the tedious facts of the history affect the excitement of the plot of this novel. Mary, Ari, and Francis are all great characters to follow with distinct voices and personalities, and the other Marys are also so fun as well. The retconning of the history of events was a refreshing delight, given the brutal reality of Mary’s story.

As long as you are not a stickler for sticking to historical accuracy, I would thoroughly recommend you check out this book, along with the “Janes” series.

Summary:
This is the first book in a new series from the same group of authors that brought us “The Lady Janies” trilogy. It follows Mary, Queen of Scots. If you have already read the previous trilogy, expect much of the same in terms of tone and humor as well as a re-visitation of the “Edian’ world.

Characters:
The book follows multiple points of view: Mary Queen of Scotts, Aristotle (Ari) Nostradamos, and Francis, the Dauphin of France.

Positives:
+ Very amusing and light-hearted. The overall tone of the book was entertaining and fun. It’s a fairly quick read/listen and the quips and pop culture references sprinkled without were hilarious - many of them had the perfect timing to just break whatever serious tension was currently happening.
+ The romance in the book was adorable. A lovely ‘friends to lovers” and two miss-miss’s falling in love.
+ The nod back to the previous series was lovely. It’s always great to see an old friend you met in another book.
+ The temper tantrums from the various characters were some of my favorite scenes in the book. A++

Final Thoughts:
Nefarious plots, navigating through court intrigue, magic, and first loves; this Audiobook had me laughing in surprise and delight with all its witty little zings from the narrators and the wonderful “visions’. While I absolutely would not recommend this book to anyone that is a huge history buff, I would suggest it to anyone wanting a fun interesting reinterpretation of what “could have been” had there been a splash of the fantastical.

First of all, thank you to Netgalley, HarperCollins, and Harper Audio for gifting me an audio ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

My Contrary Mary is the beginning of a new series within a larger series by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows. What started with My Lady Jane, and continued through My Plain Jane and My Calamity Jane, now continues here. This series is all about alternative (read, fake) takes on well known historical or fictional characters. I love the others and this new installment is no exception. If you like crazy adventures, pop culture and historical references, and don't mind historical inaccuracies, you'll probably really enjoy this.

Mary Queen of Scots is such a well-known character, beloved or hated depending on which historian you ask. This book is closer to the CW's Reign than to actual history, but I don't turn to fiction for history lessons. In this story, she's still a teenager, having fun with her ladies in waiting, ahead of marrying the French dauphin, Francis. So far, probably so true. However, in this story, she's also an Eðian, aka someone with the power to turn into an animal. In her case, a rat. And that's where the similarities with history end, as far as I know, Mary was no rodent. She's supposed to be a Verity, aka someone who cannot turn into animals. These two groups hate each other and persecute each other. This is the fun way in which the authors avoid discussing the Protestant and Catholic wars. Why be a Catholic when you can be a shapeshifter, right? (I can hear my Grandma in Heaven berating me for my cheek. "Less of the cheek, girl").

Mary's caught in a complicated web of complots and power struggles involving French Queen Catherine de Medici, deliciously villainous as always, the French King Henry, her De Guise uncles, her mother who's ruling Scotland for her, and Queen Elizabeth of England. Or as we knew her in My Lady Jane, Bess.
Prince Francis, Mary's betrothed, is another POV. He's in love with her, but thinks he's not corresponded. They are best friends, and that's a great part of the story. He's also quite meek and whiny and entirely too naïve. Very green (if you get it, you get it). He gets caught in his mother's grand plans to retain power and grows a bit as a character, but not much. He was by far my least favorite POV.

A fictional addition to our three main characters is Ari, or Aristotle, daughter of Nostradamus, seer of Queen Catherine. Ari is spunky and has her own powers of foretelling and potion-making. She's also a spy, not going to tell you for whom. And she's also in love with one of Mary's ladies, who is also in love with her. LGBTQIA+ representation in historical fiction is always refreshing to see.

I really enjoyed the little cameos of characters from My Lady Jane, the adventures, and all the fun references. It was a fun read, a perfect escape from this longest of Januaries.

Why not give it 5 stars, then? Honestly, I'm sure it'd be a 5-star read in physical form. The audio suffered from, in my humble opinion, miscasting. The narrator read in quite a monotone, and often times, the pop culture references, or cheeky asides were said in a way that missed the mark. Those fun references are half the magic of these series.

I'll definitely be buying this book and re-reading it when it comes out.