After much struggle, I"m throwing in the towel on this one at about 70% of the way through and tossing this in my DNF pile.

I think this concept of having three different writers do a mash-up reimagining of different historical and fictional characters was fun at first, but now it is just disjointed and hard to follow. All the pop culture references that are meant to add humor just pulled me out of the story and frustrated me instead.

Here we get Mary Shelley (a real person), a Frankenstein origin story of sorts, Ada Byron (maybe a real person?) who is Lord Byron's daughter and an inventor, and her automaton named Pan who they bring to life with their newly discovered fairy magic and call Peter Pan. Idk, I was kind of lost and disinterested the entire time. There wasn't a good romance to root for to keep me tuned in and turning pages. There are a bunch of secondary characters who were confusing to keep straight and slowed the story down as well.

Having read several of the other books in this series, I thought I'd like this one too, but perhaps I have just "grown up". Sorry Peter.

Another fun entry in this "alternate" history series. I love Mary Shelley and ragging on Percy Shelley and Lord Byron, so much of this book was right up my alley. The book did drag at times but I enjoyed the journey.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publishers for providing an ARC for me to review. All opinions are my own.

I absolutely loved this book. The characters were kind and easy to relate to. The character Pan is what the world needs right now. His childlike wonder and appreciation of the world was a pleasure to read and made me feel comforted. The book was clever, silly, and lighthearted. I have been a fan of the series since the first book and I will look forward to the next installment.

This was probably my favorite in this series. I liked the gothic setting and Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is one of my favorite books. I liked the updates and commentary about the men of this time especially Percy Shelley and Lord Byron---news flash they sucked! I did, however, find the writing style tiresome after some time. But these are always quick fun---if not ridiculous--reads. I will probably not continue in the series.

I received an ARC of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really loved the premise of this book. I know that it is loosely historical fiction based on reading previous stories from these authors. Mary was a likable character and her friendships were interesting. As an educator reading the book, I didn't love it. It was too juvenile for me, even though I normally love YA. The characters were immature and the general tone was too much like a teen gossip magazine for me. I could see some of my students really loving this book, but for the most part I think I would pass.

I just love the writing style of these books. They are modern spins on real historical figures, with some sass and comedy thrown in the mix. This one is the story of Mary Shelley and Ada Lovelace (Byron) and is a creative take about how the Frankenstein story may have come about. You meet so many fun characters and learn some real actual history also. It might even make the reader want to go learn more about those actual people…and anything that makes us want to learn more is always a bonus. These are a definite pick for school libraries and anyone else who just likes something not so serious.

My Imaginary Mary is the newest collaboration for these authors and this one is about Mary Shelley and Ada Byron with a many new twists (and magic) to change history. I thought this installment was just okay, it was not my favorite of the books in the series but it wasn't horrible either. There were parts that I enjoyed like the change of history at the end but there were to many parts that I was unfortunately just bored reading.

This read was just what I needed to get out of a slump I have been in! It was engaging, easy to fall into and kept me thoroughly entertained. I love it when a story becomes like an afternoon spent with a good friend and "restores your soul" with its goodness and delight. This is a book of that nature. It is sure to bring a smile to your face and it will not disappoint!

This novel is the second in the Mary series by the Lady Janies (Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows). This book follows two main characters with alternating narration; Mary Shelley and Ada Lovelace. In this novel, Mary and Ada meet through a sort of fairy godmother. She trains them to use the magic of creation. The two girls become fast friends and accidentally bring a mechanical young man to life. Add in a nasty villain, some morally gray characters (who happen to be men), and a dash of magic for a fun adventure through Victorian Europe with the amazing humor that has come to be associated with these three authors. This book may not teach you accurate history, but it will inspire you, make you laugh out loud, and believe in magic. I would recommend this book for teenagers and adults who want a good read with them laugh out loud moments.

This was so fun! While I enjoyed the first book in this series more, I still had a good time reading this. There's very little romance in this book, especially compared to My Contrary Mary. Definitely will be recommending this.

This was such a fun installment of this series!! My favorite thing about this series is that I also Google history at the same time so I learn a thing or too in addition to the whimsical retelling. Please never stop writing these books.

I adore this series. The Jane books were a delight, and the Mary books are no exception. While I did initially think this one got off to a bumpy start with some of the dialogue at the party at Mr. Babbage's, it soon got off to it's normal witty and tongue in cheek filled dialogue. I found it just as exciting and funny as the other books in the series.

This time, our faithful narrators are writing about Mary Wollstonecraft Shelly and Ada Byron Lovelace. In reality, the two never met. Mary is 18 years older than Ada. The famous party were Mary writes Frankenstein is at Lord Byron's Geneva Lake House in 1816, a year after Ada was born. But as usual, history means nothing to our narrators as the set out to correct the wrongs of history and give our heroines happy endings rather than the tragedies or near tragedies they suffer.

The girls use science and their fae magic (the ability to imagine things to existence/life from base materials) to bring Ada's automaton, PAN (later Pan), to life during a lightening storm. Literally. Ada even shouts the famous "It's alive!" line. Pan becomes our third Point of View character as he navigates his newfound life with innocence and a few social miss steps. Unfortunately, the magic is unpredictable and there is no way to tell how much life Mary gave him so the three set out to find a way to save Pan from dying.

The story has allusions to Cinderella and Pinocchio, with references to Narnia, Peter Pan, and more. Mary has an older half sister, Fanny, and a younger step-sister, Jane/Claire, both of which are kind and loving and take part in the adventure. Her step-mother though only seems to care about her biological daughter and not the daughter's of her husband's first wife. Pan is brought to life first as an automaton, and then turned human by Mary's fae magic and says the line "I'm a real boy" like Pinocchio. Pan's alias is Peter Pan and the girls' fae godmother visits through a door at the back of the wardrobe.

The villains of the story are Percy Shelley, a married poet, the playboy Lord Byron, and an Italian scientist Aldini who attempt to replicate the girls' experiment to bring a man to life an in so doing kidnaps Ada and then holds the whole party hostage. In this version, Aldini serves as the inspiration for Dr. Frankenstein with Pan being a loose inspiration for the creation.

I give this one Four Lightsabers. I quite enjoyed it. I can't wait to which Mary the next one is about.

The stories in the series are always so much fun to read. They have a comedic aspect to it that I just find entertaining and I love the author’s commentary to certain parts. Ada and Mary were such fun characters to read about and connecting their stories with Fae was a different than the other stories. I love how Ada was all about the math and science while Mary was just trying to do her best with something knew and be an author. I also loved Pan! He was such a kind soul and just wanted to learn about everything and anything.

This is one of the funniest stories I’ve read in awhile. The witty observations of the patriarchy to pop culture references. This story unlike anything I’ve read.

I don’t know what I was expecting, but it wasn’t what I got. This story easily could have been a semi-realistic historical fantasy; however, I don’t think I would have loved it as much if it was.

I loved most of the characters, and I loved to hate the rest. The authors fully embraced the style, and I think the narrator was my favorite character of them all.

A historical twist centered around Mary Shelley and Ada Lovelace, yes please! After the Lady Janies, the series of standalones continues with the Marys. Although they can be read in order, it is not necessary which is great for those are a just stumbling onto these novels. I really enjoyed the turn that this book took with the introduction of fae. I would recommend this book to those looking to dive into historical fiction with a twist. As always Cynthia, Brodi, and Jodi has excelled at what they do best.

Thank you NetGalley! What a wonderful read. Since reading this book, I am definitely going to have to read the first. I look forward to finding other books by these authors.

I received an advanced audiobook of this story from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This audiobook was a computer voiced narrator so I cannot comment on the quality of the narration in the finished audiobook.

Mary Godwin is the daughter of a famous feminist writer. Ada Byron is the daughter of the well known poet Lord Byron. In this story, the two girls discover they are descended from fae and may or may not have powers of their own. Ada is a brilliant inventor and Mary longs to be a writer. This story is a madcap adventure full of pop culture references, twisted history, and monsters.

This is my first book written by this writing team, and I loved it!! It was absolutely hilarious, and a fun, exciting story. I imagine it’s not incredibly historically accurate (while I am a history teacher, I am not very familiar with the stories of Mary and Ada), but it’s a fun take on how the story of Frankenstein came to be. I would highly recommend this to my students and anyone interested in history, science fiction, and coming of age.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Publishers for this eArc of My Imaginary Mary. All opinions are my own!

I have consistently enjoyed the Janies books and hadn't yet experienced any of their Mary magic, but when I saw the summary of this book (Mary Shelley? Ada Lovelace? Some kind of math/magic/Frankenstein mash-up? YES PLEASE!) I just knew this was going to be good. I absolutely adored the creative spin the Janies took on these two women's true histories, Shelley as the famed author of Frankenstein, of course, and Lovelace as a mathematical genius and essentially the inventor of computer programming. It actually now seems almost inconceivable to me to know that they hadn't met and instantly become BFFs in real life.

One of my favorite parts of this book was the call-out to the hypocrisy of the times where women would never be taken seriously by their own achievements and merits (and for certain, whenever people spoke of Shelley's mother Mary Wollstonecraft, it was always with a tint of disdain that she dared to have opinions about being a woman). Ada and Mary's characters work together to solve problems (granted, they sort of created them accidentally, but still) and figure out together how to create responsibly and be taken seriously. It takes them shuffling off some of the supports they were raised to believe were needed in order to become successful. Both young women grow and learn what is essential and needed in their lives to become whole and complete individuals and not just someone to be married off.

As an educator, I would definitely recommend this to students who I know enjoy history, have read and enjoyed Frankenstein, or just in general like a good little historical fantasy book. Reading this was a good time and a wonderful addition to the My...Jane and My...Mary series.

One of my most anticipated books of the year, and I'm happy to say that I received a review copy of the book.

I have read every Lady Janies' book and have loved almost all of them. Their sense of humor is some of my favorite in books. This book was the one that I was looking forward to the most because I love Mary Shelley and Frankenstein. The fantasy and science fiction elements were some of the best aspects of the story.

Also, the friendship between Mary and Ada was just wonderful to read. I have always loved how the Janies took historical characters in their books, but this one was the best. Mary and Ada were such strong characters, and I loved learning more and more about them throughout the story. The changes made to the historical aspects were perfect, and adding the magical elements was a significant part of the overall story.

The allusions to other works of fantasy such as Narnia, Peter Pan, and many other works were just the right amount. I am always a fan of good uses of references in literature. The best was the way the story of Frankenstein was used in the plot. I won't spoil any of that because I think it's best not to know much.

I will always love how the Janies write characters and their humorous takes on historical stories. The characters of Mary, Ada, Pan, and Mary's sisters, Fanny and Jane (oh, I mean Claire, haha), were just great, and I loved following them through England, Paris, and beyond. Also, I could not believe Percy Shelley; what a piece of work. Oh, and also Lord Bryon.

Overall, I loved this book so much and am looking forward to seeing which Mary, the Janies write about next. I hope it's Marie Antoinette.

*Thank you to the publisher and also NetGalley for my ARC of this book. All opinions are my own. *

This series is so unique and fun! Clever quips, snappy dialogue, and crisp characters provide the framework for the re-imagined lives of Ada Lovelace and Mary Shelley. What if the two were friends…what if the two worked together…how would things have been different? If you haven’t experienced one of the Mary or Jane tales written by three extraordinary authors, you are missing out.