My Contrary Mary

4.5 - What a RIDE. Loved all the pop culture references ESPECIALLY The Princess Bride ones. Historical fiction isn’t always my go to but a fantastical twist on real history is just too good. Plus the narration is perfect - Fiona Hardingham crushed it.

Started off kinda slow and I wasn't sure I would even finish it but once Mary & Louis got married the storyline improved a lot! Not sure how historically accurate this is (even if you ignore that there are people who can morph into animals at will) but I enjoyed the mystical/fantasy injection into what otherwise would have probably been a boring retelling of a story we all sort of know. I listened to the audiobook and enjoyed the narration a lot! Great accents and the characters were distinctive and fun. Finished it in a day!

My Contrary Mary by Brodi Ashton, Cynthia Hand, and Jodi Meadows is a cute and fabulously fun way to explain the Protestant versus Catholic monarchies and subsequent power struggles. Plus, it is a much happier reimagining of a historical figure who really could be nothing but a pawn in a greater struggle. I don’t know what it says about me, but I particularly enjoyed Francis as a frog, delighting in the obvious ode to the generic French nickname. The entire book is an absolute blast to read, which only reminds me I need to go back and read the two Jane books I missed.

These books are are just pure breaks of joy to read. My husband and I read them one after another and then spend the whole time quoting the laugh out loud passages to each other. We wish to thank the narrators for their invaluable assistance in the telling of the tales.
Plus, bonus on being able to answer questions about this period in history FINALLY. And we totally agree with the righting of the histories.

My Contrary Mary is set in the same world as My Lady Jane. It recaptures all the fun in that book as it explores a fantasy world with a similar history (but not the same) as our own. As the authors put it, "And for France: we’re sorry for what we’re about to do to your history, but it was your turn."

The authors deftly set up the world. "In those days (think 1560), the world was sharply divided between two groups of people: E∂ians and Verities. The E∂ians believed that inside every person was an animal—a creature you could become whenever you wished...The other faction—the Verities—was not amused by these shape-shifting shenanigans. They believed that people should be people, period."

We meet Mary, Queen of Scots, just before her marriage to the future Francis II. There are her four ladies in waiting, the plotting Catherine de' Medici, the daughter of Nostradamus, and Francis. All have important roles to play in the political machinations of the time. Of course, there is romance. What kept me laughing were the observations of the authors and the pop culture references.

I thoroughly enjoyed the book and highly recommend it. If you liked My Lady Jane, then I feel certain you will like this book. If you liked CW's Reign, you might give this book a whirl.

3.5

The brilliant authors of [book:My Lady Jane|22840421] now turn their talents towards various Marys of history beginning here with Mary Queen of Scots.

Mary has been living in France pretty much her entire life. Waiting for the day she can claim her throne while betrothed to the Dauphine, Francis. But Mary has a secret. She's a mouse. Yep a mouse. Meaning she's an Ethian (shapeshifter) living in a Verity (non-shapeshifter) court where her very existence is means for execution. But keeping her true self a secret isolates her from other Ethians within her kingdom who think Mary is a Verity like all the other rulers. Soon Mary and Francis find themselves embroiled in court intrigue and conspiracies after Francis is forced to take the throne upon his father's untimely death. Luckily Mary has a confidant in Francis as well as Aristotle, the daughter of Nostradamus.

If you haven't read the previous series by these authors, I note here that these are historical retellings and quite frequently do not play out with how actual history played out. They take a more tongue-in-cheek approach and I find them a fun read. I love how the authors do incorporate true events into the more fantastical and I like the creative license they take in changing a few events to suite the needs of a more Happily Ever After-type ending.

This time around I especially like Ari's premonitions particularly regarding certain pop culture phenoms and loved how the authors fit them into the story.

But this time around, I just couldn't get into the story as much as I did with previous books. I think it's because there's this certain level of disconnect between Mary and Francis. They're supposed to be best friends and confidants. But they're rarely on the same page and it take almost the whole book of missed connections and mixed messages until they finally get to the point where they are equally together. It was slightly frustrating. But I think this kind of speaks to the weight that was on both of their shoulders and at such a young age too when you think about it. Adding to that all the scheming going on around them, and I completely understand how things get muddled. I just wish it was one area the authors had chosen to make that one of the creative changes of the story.

Also, Ari was a wonderful character, but I almost wish she had gotten her own story separate from Mary and Francis. I guess maybe there was someone needed to break up the sections between Francis and Mary and offer a perspective of someone who was not of royal blood, but past a certain point in the book I felt like Ari was completely underutilized as a character. I wanted a bit more from her when all was said and done and I feel like she fulfilled that in the first half of the book moreso than in the latter half.

Overall, while this one was a bit more difficult for me to get through, I enjoyed many parts and pieces of it. As even referenced in the book there are A LOT of Marys in history. So I'm looking forward to who will be the next featured Mary. I do like that this book kind of brought things back to the very beginning in terms of chronological timeframe and setting even going so far as to feature characters from that very first Lady Janies book. If you've enjoyed other books in the series, you will love getting back into the same fictionalized history again.

Series Info/Source: This is the first book in the “Mary” series and takes place in the same world as the “Lady Janies” books. I got a copy of this book through NetGalley to review.

Story (3/5): This was okay. The last book I read by this author trio was "My Plain Jane" which was also okay. I keep thinking I am going to love these books but they are always kind of mediocre. This has the same light-hearted tone as "My Plain Jane" but follows Mary Queen of Scots. One of the Janies is in the story a tiny bit towards the end. Like The Lady Janies books this book is told from three viewpoints; Mary, Prince Louise, Ari (daughter of Nostradamus). Because of this type of layout the story feels a bit disjointed, drawn out, and long.

Characters (3/5): The characters are very over stereo-typed and the story is pretty simple and predictable. I didn’t really enjoy any of the characters all that much. There was too much lying to each other and sneaking around. All the characters are pretty shellfish and fall in kind of a grey morale area. Maybe it’s a good reflection of the times but I just felt kind of “eh, whatever” about them all. The lighthearted tone used throughout doesn’t lend itself to any sort of character depth and, as such, these characters feel very shallow.

Setting (3/5): The setting takes place in Renaissance France. We journey a bit between Scotland, England and France, but the vast majority of the story is in the French court. The history in here isn't all that accurate, which is fine. Don’t come into this thinking you’re going to learn a lot about the history or the time of the era. A lot of the settings are a bit over-modernized and made cutesy and YA friendly.

Writing Style (3/5): This is a cute, light-hearted, little read and ends well but is longer than it needed to be. Having the three viewpoints fractures the story and draws things out. Of course, of all of the books by this author trio have felt a bit disjointed and drawn out, so I should have expected that coming in. Technically it’s written fine and parts of it are entertaining, there just isn’t a lot of substance here and it’s not the most engaging read.

My Summary (3/5): Overall, aside from the above I don't have much to say about this, it was completely “eh, okay...moving on” to me. If you enjoyed the format and tone of the The Lady Janies books (which I wasn't a huge fan of) you will probably enjoy this book because it's very similar. I don't plan on reading any more of these types of books from this trio, I just don't think they are that well done. I knew that going in, but kind of forgot it, and really keep thinking I will love these books...which I know I won't but whatever, maybe this time I will learn from my mistakes.

This book is apparently the first in a new series of "Mary" books or at least I hope so. If you've read the Jane books, you'll love this as well. My favorite Jane book was My Lady Jane. I thought it was the most humorous and the most fun. My Contrary Mary revisits the time period, so there are brief appearances from our friends in My Lady Jane, which made me smile.

Mary has grown up in France in the King's palace, the Louvre, knowing she would marry the King's son, Francis, as an arranged marriage. Thankfully, they have been friends for years. The do feel a little awkward about getting married and doing what married people do, but they know they like each other. Mary's self-assured behavior contrasts to Francis who doubts himself. His father wants to party most of the time and has a larger than life presence. His mother possesses a mean streak and plays "jokes" on others. She also has a very strong presence. Between Mary, his father, and his mother, Francis never makes many decisions himself. He also knows Mary's darkest secret.

The time has come, according to the King, that they must wed. In just a few days. Okay--Mary can do this feat. Never mind--she isn't consulted. The King will plan it all. The marriage takes place at Notre Dame. Lucky girl! News arrives that Scotland, where Mary is technically the queen, is experiencing some skirmishes. The Edians wants more rights. Edians can turn into an animal. The Verities believe the Edians are lower class citizens and shouldn't have rights or even be in the country. In addition, Mary's mother rules Scotland for Mary, but she has disappeared. Mary must return. Besides her mother ruling Scotland, her two uncles make decisions for Mary. She finds herself married, worrying about her mother, and questioning some of her uncles choices. She and Francis need to decide what to do.

It's a fun novel with wonderful characters. How can one not adore Francis? Mary does have some contrariness in her, which makes handling her more challenging. Her ladies in waiting are perfect loyal friends. I love the history rewrite--so much more enjoyable that the history recorded in the books for Contrary Mary.