Every time I tried to download the audiobook it would get to about 10% and then time out. Sad I didn't get a chance to read it, though I will check it out when it publishes later this year. I rated 3 stars because I can't tell if this will be good or bad.

It was a nice return to the world of my lady Jane. It served as both a sequel and a starting point for the next series. I enjoyed the weaving of the lady janies throughout the book. I enjoyed how it separated itself but not entirely from its predecessors. There is a clear direction that this series is going in.
The authors provided historical context and content while making some of it unfactual they provided both comedy and commentary woven throughout the text

Thank you Net Galley for a copy of this audiobook. I been wanting to read this for a while, as I am acquainted with the series. However, I was disappointed. I probably won't be reading the rest of the series.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Audio for the advance reader copy, My Contrary Mary by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, & Jodi Meadows in exchange for an honest review. I have listened to and loved the 3 previous audiobooks from Hand’s Jane series. When I saw the NetGalley email about My Contrary Mary, I jumped on to listen to this new series. But I did not see that this book was a voice galley with a synthetic voice until I tuned in to listen. I definitely would not recommend this way to listen to the book! The pacing was off, there was no tone and inflection, and was not a great way to listen to this book.
That said, I am going to ignore all the ways to review this book as an audio book and will just review the story which was so awesome! Hand, Ashton & Meadows really know how to re-write interesting history, making it funny yet true to history with a few differences. The plot line continues from previous books using the exciting, humorous, and fantastical Ethyans who shapeshift from human to animal. Also ingenious is the is the authors’ (as narrators) comments throughout the book. The many puns and references to modern day phrases and songs were perfect and added so much to my enjoyment of the book, the characters, and their lives in history. Mary Queen of Scots was sent at a very young age to live in France and always knew she was to marry her childhood friend, Francis, Dauphin of France. With villainy and much conspiracy, both Mary and Francis have many plotting against them as rulers. Luckily Mary has her ladies in waiting (all shapeshifters) who try to protect her, and what a job it is! Luckily Mary has Ari and her father who use potions and can see into the future or foretell danger. The drama and excitement in this first of another series by Hand will surely turn history on its head and have teens totally enjoying and understanding the history of royals. Highly recommended!

Just, no! The readers of the audion book were fine, but the story's narrator was poorly written. Changing the Protestants and Catholics into shape-shifters or non-believers was a ridiculous addition to the story. Mary, Queen of Scots was such an interesting character in history that there was no need to retell her story in a fantasy setting.

I love Tudor / Stuart history, so I was skeptical before I read My Lady Jane, but I ended up enjoying it, I thought it was fun and fantastical, so I was pretty excited to read this book.

Unfortunately while I did enjoy it, I didn't think it was as good as My Lady Jane.
The writing is cutesy and borderline cheesy which is usually fine, but I couldn't get into it with this book.

I think the worries I had before reading My lady Jane influenced my enjoyment of this book.
I am so familiar with the real story, that I couldn't get into this fantastical retelling.

I was required to download this book as part of a test for NetGalley and will not be reviewing it.

I agreed to a one-hour test to assist NetGalley, but because that test required me to download audiobooks I will not be covering professionally and have no interest in and then placed them on my shelf, it created almost 20 hours of work in order to listen to the book and review it. I agreed to one hour, not 20. This is a terrible system to employ when asking users for a favor. It creates a tremendous amount of work which the user did not agree to but which will have to be completed in order to not damage feedback percentage.

I completed the test as required because I agreed to do so, but I will not be giving 20 more hours to reading and reviewing books I did not request and have no interest in purely because the testing system was poorly designed.

I received an advanced copy of My Contrary Mary through NetGalley so that I can share my review with you!

The Eðians (folks who can shapeshift into animals) and Verities (folks who can’t shapeshift into anything) have been at odds for countless years, dividing kingdoms with the sheer force of their animosity. Mary is an Eðian Queen in a Verity kingdom, a fact which she must keep hidden from everyone around her. Everyone except Francis, her husband-to-be and the future King of France, who has known her far too long not to have figured out her shapeshifting secret. As the Queen of Scotland, Mary and Francis have been engaged since their childhoods, and have become extremely close friends, if not romantic partners. The only problem with their arrangement is that France is a staunchly Verity kingdom, which threatens any person with Eðian shapeshifting powers with death or imprisonment. But when the two are thrust into the kingdom’s spotlight after the untimely death of Francis’s father, Mary and Francis will have to find a way to navigate the trecheries of court life quickly if they want to survive.

You can get your copy of My Contrary Mary on June 22nd from HarperTeen!

Cynthia Hand, Jodi Meadows, and Brodi Ashton return to the world of the Eðians and Verities in this fantastic reimagining of the life of Mary Queen of Scotts! In this story, they once again fuse history, humor, and magic to create a whole new version of the life of Mary Queen of Scotts! My favorite part of this book by far was Aristotle’s perspective, as it was so fun to get to read through the eyes of a queer character in a historical fantasy setting. With that being said, I enjoyed all of the character perspectives in the book, which twisted together to create a well-crafted story. I found the romance between Francis and Mary to be sweet and believable, and I found myself rooting for each of the protagonists to find their happy endings!

My Contrary Mary has some fun tie-ins to My Lady Jane from the authors’ earlier series, but it is not strictly necessary to read one before the other. If you’ve got time, I would highly recommend starting with My Lady Jane, since both are such fun books!

My Recommendation-
If you love stories that don’t take themselves too seriously, you won’t want to miss My Contrary Mary! Every book by this trio of authors has tons of fantastic humor blended together with classic and historical tales in a way sure to delight readers of all ages!

DNF. I love audiobooks, but between the app taking over 20 minutes to download the book and the Alexa-sounding synthesized voice that was chosen I couldn’t read it. Maybe when the real audiobook is released I’ll give it a second choice. 2 stars because I’m sure the actual book is better than what I experienced.

Thank Harper Teen for this early sneak peek. The cover and description made me extremely interested but I wasn't sure if the description of Historical YA. I had no reason to worry because I absolutely loved this book!

This book has fantasy, royalty, drama, love, and is hilarious!Mary Queen of Scotland is one strong independent intelligent woman and her lifelong friend turned husband King Francis is a kind, supportive and loving partner. Just their love story made me want to give the book 5 stars but then you touch on gender identity, sexual orientation, murderous family members, ladies in waiting, kidnapping, and just crazy antics and this book truly becomes over the top fun! I never read a book twice but I can't wait to read the final version when it comes ok out as well as the rest of the series!

I received this book in exchange for an honest review.

I was so excited to read this book and it didn’t disappoint! I have read all the Jane books so I just had to read this one. I thought this book was very good, but not as good as the other ones.

I loved the characters and how they were portrayed. I felt attached and connected to them! I also loved how there were little cameos of characters from a previous book. I liked the storyline and how easily it flowed. Everything made sense and I wasn’t confused at all. I did not get into this book very easily though. I had to get about a third of the way through it before I was very interested in finishing it.

Overall I would definitely recommend this book to those who have read the Jane books and just historical fiction lovers. The authors have outdone themselves again and I am so excited for the next book in the series!

Loved this mythology twist to the Mary story. If you liked the show Reign, then you will LOVE this book. I loved how the narrator was telling you a story and would chime in with funny facts. Francis finally found his backbone at the end too, and ended great. Would definitely read more!"

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

A disclaimer. I LOVE My Lady Jane. It’s one of my go-to reads. I have read and/or listened to all the Janies.

That being said, whether you coming to My Contrary Mary as a fan of the Janies or starting fresh, this is a solid choice to check out involving a fantasy twist on history filled with emotion and humor. As with the formatting of the Janies, the story follows three primary characters in telling the story of Mary Queen of Scots in the Eðian world created in My Lady Jane. Plotwise you’re going to get some court politics, character development as our characters navigate those politics and the world, and then the Janies trademark humor.

For the new readers... I personally would recommend reading My Lady Jane first, but in listening I did try to keep my mind thoughtful of what if I HADN’T known that story. There ARE nods to My Lady Jane, but you shouldn’t find yourself lost. So, if you want to check this one out first because Mary is the historical figure that intrigues you more and you want to see if the story jives with you, that should be doable.

What you need to know is the Janies, and now My Contrary Mary, are funny reads with a lot of heart. The jokes, even if the story is set in the past, project into current times. They do rewrite history. They put in a lot of research into the history they are rewriting, so you’ll get all kinds of nuggets and fun things to explore, but it is still a rewriting of history due to the fantasy elements and plot in general. If you do NOT read My Lady Jane first, there are going to be a few “oddities” because of the rewritings that occurred in My Lady Jane. In this world, however, it’s accurate. We have people turning into animals, just go with it!

Seriously. There is a reason a second trilogy is being written. These books are amazing! I look forward to the next two Marys!

For the return readers... Make sure to grab this when you can! You won’t be disappointed.

I was provided a “synthesized voice” audio version but am really looking forward to the final production!

This is my first read from this group of authors but it will not be my last. My Contrary Mary is an entertaining and magical reimagining of Mary Queen of Scots. Fans of historical fiction, fantasy and romance will all find something to love!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my advanced copy of this audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

well i really didn't enjoy this one, just not my cup of tea, thank you netgalley for the opportunity to read this audiobook

I read My Lady Jane and really loved it.
My Contrary Mary is also a great story, I just thought that the narrator was a little linear and at times I could not feel the emotions or the impact of what was happening in the story.

This is a beautiful twist in history. There is a girl girl relationship that was well written. There is a touch on racism and how cruel people can be in their beliefs. Though I have no experience in either case, it was written and represented well in my opinion. Mary, Queen of Scott’s, story is well know. The authors did their research and gave a nicely written fun fantasy version of her life and experiences. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher/author for the chance to read this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

This was my first book by the trio and it will definitely not be my last. I loved the re-writing of history along with the witty narration.
I was fairly familiar with Mary Queen of Scot's from the Reign TV and this Mary seemed very similar. I loved the addition of a queer relationship among her ladies.
Francis was the most annoying in the story, his character arc was my least favorite and there was a part about 75% in where I was bored. It did rebound and I did really enjoy the story.
The narrator and Ari both made the story for me. The witty antidotes and side comments were hilarious and Ari's premonitions were the best. I am so excited to see what Mary is next (and to go read the Jane's)

My Contrary Mary is the first book in the Mary series by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows. A young adult, fantasy, romance that is sure to sweep you away to another place, another time. Long may she reign. My Contrary Mary basically reminded me of the TV show Reign. The characters are well-written with intriguing backstories that pull you in and hold your attention until the very end, all while leaving you wanting more!

I absolutely loved this audiobook! I really enjoyed the Jane novels and this one was no exception to the amazing content they write and publish!