Count me a sucker for a good comedic historical fiction, which is a very underutilized genre in my opinion, but My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand, Jodie Meadows, and Brodi Ashton was one hilarious ride.
Edward (long live the king) is the King of England. He’s also dying, which is inconvenient, as he’s only sixteen and he’d much rather be planning for his first kiss than considering who will inherit his crown…
Jane (reads too many books) is Edward’s cousin, and far more interested in books than romance. Unfortunately for Jane, Edward has arranged to marry her off to secure the line of succession. And there’s something a little odd about her intended…
Gifford (call him G) is a horse. That is, he’s an Eðian (eth-y-un, for the uninitiated). Every day at dawn he becomes a noble chestnut steed—but then he wakes at dusk with a mouthful of hay. It’s all very undignified.
The plot thickens as Edward, Jane, and G are drawn into a dangerous conspiracy. With the fate of the kingdom at stake, our heroes will have to engage in some conspiring of their own. But can they pull off their plan before it’s off with their heads?
This was my first book from any of these three authors, so I wasn’t really sure what to expect. With that being said – the writing far exceeded my expectations. The pacing was nice and steady, the plot was insanely clever and fun, and there tons of quotable moments. I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed this story. I was afraid I would find some parts too boring or that it wouldn’t be funny to me. Luckily, that was never the case as I was laughing aloud the entire time! I’m also a bit of a history buff so it was fun to see the authors choose the often ignored Lady Jane Grey.
Our 3 main characters were each completely different with their own personalities so it was easy to switch POVs every chapter. Jane was the ultimate booknerd, who let’s be honest, is probably the twin of all of us book bloggers. She’s smart with a head full of a bunch of random trivia knowledge (basically her name is Larkin, shhhh!), and she’s got the sarcastic bit down to a T. As for G, well he’s full of witty comments and is an interesting male character, as he isn’t particularly good with the very mannish characteristics typically associated with YA novels – such as the fact that he has no talent for swordplay. He will be a breath of fresh air for those of you readers who are over the typical macho-hero type. It made him a much more relatable male protagonist in my opinion. And Edward, well reading about his attempt to get his first girlfriend was about the most amusing story I’ve read all year. He’s so goofy and a bit of an idiot. I was dying over his misogynistic thoughts and comments, seriously, they were hilarious (and no they weren’t offensive so don’t get all upset about it).
All in all, this was an incredibly fun read. It’s fairly fast paced and is pretty quick to get through even though it’s almost 500 pages long. I highly recommend it, even if historical fiction isn’t your thing as it is written with a pretty modern twist that will appeal to everyone. If you’re looking for a funny and light-hearted book, then you have definitely come to the right place.
Wonderfilled Reads 
Good review! I think I need to give historical fiction a chance. I might check this book out.
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It’s definitely a fun read! If historical fiction isn’t something you typically read, this book is a good choice to start with!
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I just finished reading MLJ this morning! I also have never read anything by any of the authors, and I wasn’t sure what it would be like since there were three authors all writing the same book. But I ended up really liking it 🙂
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