**** ARC provided in exchange for an honest review******
I really enjoyed this retelling of the history of Mary Queen of Scotts. I am very much into both history and fantasy so adding the Edian angle had me hooked from the start, so if you are the same this is a must read!
I very much enjoyed the relationship between Mary and Francis and how it all bloomed from a childhood friendship. (Friends to lovers is a favorite genre of mine) Being a High school English teacher I would recommend this to my students especially those who also have an interest in history. I did not realize the author had more books like this and look forward to reading those she has already written and those to come.
I enjoyed the voice that was used for the audiobook as well and it was very easy to listen to and follow along which is not always the case with audiobooks.

Thank you so much to Harper Audio and Netgalley for providing an ALC of this book (synthesized voice).

The Lady Janies did it again with a hilarious and charming retelling of well known historical events! If you've read My Lady Jane, you already know about the world of Verities and Edians that these authors have concocted, further complicating the historical setting with an extra layer of politics and fantasy! This time, instead of focusing on England we are focusing on France and Scotland during a time soon after the events of My Lady Jane.

Note that you do not have to have read the 3 My Jane books in order to read and enjoy this one, but it will be a richer reading experience if you have read My Lady Jane in particular.

Mary, Francis, Aristotle, and their friends have to navigate courtly intrigue, deadly uncles, grief, and ruling in a world where everyone wants a piece of the throne...all while hiding the fact that Mary is....a mouse?

This book was quite charming and I really enjoyed the characters. I loved Ari and Liv the most and was so happy to see the queer representation in this book. I also enjoyed Mary and Francis' story and watching them grow together, apart...back together.

Sometimes I feel like the authors are trying a little too hard with the amount of modern day references and fourth-wall breaking they cram into this book. I think it would be funnier if they went for these humor devices less frequently.

I enjoyed this book and look forward to seeing what The Lady Janies come up with next!

Pub Date: June 22, 2021
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Kidnapping, and Grief

I really wanted to like this book. I love the idea of this story, it's a great concept but I am just not a fan. This is the second book from Hand, Ashton, and Medows and their writing style are just not for me. I always go into these expecting historical fiction and it's more like historical make-believe (Doesn't help that I am a historian). I personally don't like the addition of modern pop culture wedge into the story in spots where it does not belong like someone keeps having visions of modern movies.

However personal opinion aside it is a good story I will give it that, though moved really slow until the halfway point, and then it sprinted to the finish. I think if you can go into the story without feeling like this will be a historical fiction retelling and see it all its own story I think you'll enjoy it. Again I like the idea of these stories and I think it could be great it isn't my cup of tea, however.

I am however very thankful to Netgalley for this adance audiobook of My Contrary Mary only asking for my honest opinion of the story.

It physically hurts me to write this because I LOVED the other books. I mean LOVED LOVED them!! This one just fell short, and I pushed myself until I gave up at 70%. I feel like it didn't have as many pop culture references as past books (aside from Ari's premonitions which left me in stitches), I didn't fall in love with the characters, and I got annoyed that the main focus for a good chunk of the book was about sex (I wanted more of a plot).

With that being said, please please please pick up any of their other books, and you will be amazed! They are so funny! These girls write the best books (aside from this one). I am still looking forward to the other books they will put out, and I secretly hope they never stop writing these masterpieces (as long as they mimic their other books)!

What an interesting and original take on the historical romance format. I really enjoyed the strong female lead and the supportive strong no need to press down the queen male lead. I loved how all the people managed to work together despite the older generations press for discord and destruction with their selfish short sighted goals. This is a book I would want my child to read. One I would encourage others to read. Thank you for the chance to read this.

My Contrary Mary is truly the author team known as the Lady Janies really hitting their stride in being the most ridiculous and the most magnificent. Choosing to return back to the time frame and magic system from their first joint venture of My Lady Jane was truly an inspired decision. Equal parts irreverent and amusingly anachronistic as ever, My Contrary Mary tells the story of Mary Queen of Scots against the backdrop of the struggle set up in My Lady Jane of the Verities versus the Eðians instead of the Catholics and protestants of our history which is much more fun because Eðians are people that can transform into animals. My Contrary Mary sees the faithful and witty narrators try to give Mary and her husband Francis a better and happier ending than what they got and honestly adore that that is their standard mission statement.
I'd been a little disappointed with My Plain Jane by the same author team but that was mostly because I'd loved the book Jane Eyre and I'd not been as fond of some of the changes but in this case, I welcomed their meddling with open arms and joy in my heart. I had such a good time with this book, it was fast-paced, exciting, and funny.
I particularly enjoyed Ari Nostradamus who I believe was a character the author's made up. She was funny and to my extreme delight, queer! it meant a lot to me to have her queer storyline and relationship in this book and it made me very happy. Ari is the daughter of famed prognosticator Nostradamus who really excels at potions but, without giving anything away, her visions were one of my favorite parts of the book. It was such a fun touch that was so on-brand with what I've come to expect from this team of wonderful writers. They also did a good job at balancing all the various characters who had such similar names (like 6 different Marys, at least 2 Francis, and so on) and managed to keep them fresh and distinct. Also my hearty thanks for giving us that cameo with some certain familiar characters. I squealed with delight when I realized.
Even if it was only a synthetic galley, I was so happy to have been granted access to this audiobook arc, it was such a fun time and just what I needed after my last disappointing read. My Contrary Mary was a certified good time full of romance and laughs and adventure and one I definitely recommend.

3 STARS

So, I'm new to these authors and these books, so maybe this wasn't for me. BUT, I like the overall concept of taking a historical figure such as Mary, Queen of Scotts, and making the story fun and relevant for young adults today. There were a lot of pop culture references sprinkled in this book and I found that kinda cute. However, making Mary, Queen of Scotts a shapeshifting teenager was a bit bizarre to me. The overall book seemed like a historical tabloid - it didn't really seem very believable. I did also find myself rolling my eyes sometimes...sorry guys.

Thank you to NetGalley, Harper Teen/Harper Audio, and the authors for providing me with an ARC copy in exchange for a review. This book will be available on June 22, 2021.

I am so sorry I did not mean to request the audio of this title. We will be covering the eARC of this title soon.

I liked all of the Jane books and looked forward to getting my hands (and ears) on the first in the Mary series. Although there are a lot of liberties taken in these books, they are still loosely based in facts and give an inside look at how these people might have been. Unfortunately for me, I felt like this book, though still entertaining, drifted too far from history.

As always, the characters were well developed and had great voices. Each point of view that was given was unique and easy to switch between. The characters themselves were mostly believable and preformed expectantly in each situation.

The fantastical storyline and a happy ending put me off in this book. I was alright with the magical beings in the previous book, but, for a reason I can’t quite put my finger on, it bothered me here. Maybe it was just used to much. The happy ending? It just seemed to forced and an what pulled the story forward rather than the story leading to an ending.

I did enjoy this story and will still look forward to the next two books in this series, but I hope that they are more like the originals than this. I also would have liked so historical references at the end.

The audio was well done, even though artificial. It was a bit grainy, but clearly audible and paced well.

I enjoyed My Contrary Mary. It is just as fun and quirky as the other books by these authors. I loved the Princess Bride references. This book made me laugh out loud. It is a fun twist on history. This book is full of historical references, puns, mystery, action/adventure, romance, friendship, deceit, I thoroughly enjoyed it and can't wait to recommend it to my students.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and Net Galley for an audio ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The first in a new series of books from the team that brought us the Jane series. This book tells the story of Mary, Queen of Scots with some fantastical elements brought in. Mary is an E∂ian with the ability to turn into a mouse. which is not in the history books. I do like like it when writers take actual historical events and weaving in fantastical elements to create new stories. This book was a great example of that. The version I am reviewing was a Voice Galley version which turn out much better that I expected as far as expression of emotion and pacing.

"Imagine if you will, dear reader, the Louvre in Paris, France in the days before it became a museum. An enormous marble palace stretching along the banks of the Seine. Then imagine a garden behind that palace; a large expanse of meticulously upkept greenery, fountains, and courtyards. In the back of one such courtyard was a... butt. No, dear reader, not a backside type butt, but an archery butt, which is the thing with the bullseye on that archers shoot arrows at" -page 1.

My Contrary Mary is absolutely filled with just the right sort of humor. It's loosely based on the story of Mary Queen of Scotts, but brings new life and a much more interesting ending to this highly-romanticized tale. I loved how key historical facts sneaked into the magical realism, which led me to do more research myself. I was already recommending this one to my book club before I'd even finished it, and my recommendation still stands. It includes themes such as growing up, choosing what's right, judging people by their character rather than looks or reputation, discovering what true love is, and recognizing that racial and sexual diversity has a place even in formal societies. It's rather amazing how all of this is wrapped into one little book and pulled off with humor and style without resorting to inappropriate or gory scenes. this might be one of my favorite books of the year and I can't wait for the sequel.

This audiobook had a synthetic voice robot narrator so it's not the final version yet. I kind of liked the robot voice though because it made all the sarcastic humour in the book so much better. There were so many little quips and jokes that made the story very entertaining to listen to. However, for some reason it felt like the audiobook dragged on forever so I ended up listening to it at 1.5X the speed. The plot seemed a little bit like a slice-of-life manga with lots of big events happening throughout. It fit together well but felt so long and dragged out. There was a ton of plotting and intrigue though which is typical of the location and time period. I wasn't a huge fan of Mary, Francis, and Ari but I guess they all went through some character growth and redeemed themselves by the end? My favourite character was definitely Flem though. Overall this was a pretty interesting story but just felt really long.

I really enjoy these books. the author team has a very seamless flow, and their pacing on the stories is always great. I love hearing alternative history retellings, and if you want to throw in some shapeshifters, I'm down with that!! adds more fun :)
the way these books are written make me feel like I know more about the historical events and people, but also makes me want to investigate more. thanks to Netgalley for an opportunity to listen to this audiobook

We all know the story of Mary Queen of Scotts, and My Contrary Mary adds a fantasy shapeshifting twist. Think Muggles vs. Marauders. There is a war within the castle walls. Our omniscient and modern narrators add tongue-in-cheek humor and joy to this story. It is self aware and does not take itself too seriously, knowing that it is toying with history. I laughed aloud a hundred times. I had a few issues with the pacing, and one of the narrator's choices were so infuriating that it took me a long time to get through the story. This was almost too effective in its execution. Yet, the ending was both tantalizing fun, and fulfilling.

Thank you to NetGalley, the authors, and Harper Audio for allowing me to read this voice galley in exchange for an honest review.

As with her other books, Cynthia Hand cleverly and enjoyably puts a twist on history to make a thoroughly fun and funny book about Mary, Queen of Scots. So enjoyable, I will definitely recommend.

I recieved an advanced audiobook copy from the publisher via Netgalley for an honest review.

This novel took me a little bit to get into it because I love history at this time frame and it felt jarring since they were re-writing history a bit! However, then I really started to enjoy the novel and I like that the narrator is not involved in the story, merely telling it! The quirky remarks and references to modern day pop culture was quite funny. And probably my favorite thing was all of Aristotle's visions....pay attention when she references them, it will make you laugh out loud!

A fun enjoyable book and I appreciate the change in history and it makes you wonder what would have happened in the history books if it ended up in real life like it did in this novel.... super fun and I am excited to explore all their other novels!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an audiobook ARC of My Contrary Mary.

As someone who really liked the Lady Janies trilogy, especially the first book, My Lady Jane, I was thrilled to find out not only are the authors starting a new trilogy dedicated to the Marys throughout history, but that My Contrary Mary returns to the world of Eðians and Verities.

It is a clever and fun premise, changing history to give historical figures happy endings, and adding magic into it. So many times books with magic tend to be dark, but this series/book is lighthearted and you'll smile throughout.

Brief book synopsis:
Mary is the queen of Scotland, engaged to Francis, the future king of France. She is also hiding that she is an Eðian, a dangerous thing to be when living in a Verity-loving kingdom, from everyone sans Francis and her ladies in waiting. Francis and Mary must battle scheming courts and relatives, with the help of their friends, if they want to keep their thrones and lives.

I liked the new characters we were introduced to - Mary Queen of Scots, Francis, and Ari. Ari was my favorite because her (pop culture) visions of the future made me chuckle and I enjoyed the potion making. It was enjoyable to read how these main characters are able to battle conniving villains and gain their agency and confidence in the end. I also enjoyed how there's more pop culture references/dialog sprinkled throughout the final battle.

Anyone who loved My Lady Jane is going to enjoy stepping back into the world of Eðians and Verities. And while I don't think you have to read My Lady Jane first in order to enjoy or understand this book, it will make certain cameos more exciting. It made me so very happy to see the cameos.

This was my first installment of these fantasy retellings of historical woman by these authors, and I enjoyed it so much more than I thoughts I was going to.

The first thing to comment on is the way they tell the stories. The writing is humorous, and while it felt like at times it took away from the importance of the story, for the most part it added a lot of interest to what could have been a dull historical event.

Mary was a great characters (all of them). They helped show the many sides of this queen while also explaining why should would have made some of the choices we see today as being dumb. She was well rounded and a great perspective for us to follow through most of the story.

My favorite part was the magic that they threated throughout. Not only did it add so much more to the story, but it also helped explain some of the political intrigue that was going on at these courts. Of course the magic was all made up, but it blended with the story so well there were times it was hard to believe that the authors added it in.

The ending was wrapped up too quickly for my taste. Everything was done well, no major ex machines to speak of, but I felt like we covered a lot in the last 5 chapters and it would have been nice to spend a little more time coming to grips with what was happening. The romance also escalated so quickly in the end, whereas through most of the book it was believable, here it just seemed to come to a head.

As I received an ARC, the narrator was a robot and I cannot judge how well that did on telling the story. I also think it would have been nice to have a part at the end of the book talking about the real history, and where the authors chose to change it (and why). There are a few hints to the real story throughout the book, but a part at the end could do some real justice to the real heroic women.

Overall I really enjoyed this story, like I said earlier so much more than I thought I would, and I am grateful to have received and ARC so early.

Thanks to Netgalley and Harper Audio for giving me a free copy of the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

This was the first of Hand, Ashton, and Meadows' books that I have read and it has definitely piqued my interest. My Contrary Mary is a historical fiction with inventive fantastical elements which take the Queen of Scots story to a whole new leave.

While the life event of Queen Mary are rather somber and dispiriting these three authors keep things light with witty writing, hilarious characters, and a few creative liberties that are sure to keep you guessing. I love their nod to a few classic fair tails while highlighting the most important events that lend to the Queens untimely demise... or did they?

Although I found the plot dragged a bit in the middle it never lost me completely and then end pulled me right back in. The narrators injected references to modern day pop-culture where so fun really adding to the overall charm of the novel. The final scenes felt a bit abrupt however I largely enjoyed listening to My Contrary Mary.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4 stars for this witty, hilarious, and fantastical twist on a fascinating historical figure with a G rating

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, Harper Collins, for providing me with AUDIO ARC prior to publication for an honest review.