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've been meaning to read these co-authors' other series "The Lady Janies" for a while now but hadn't gotten around to it. So, I jumped at the chance to read an ARC of the first book in their new Mary themed series and I'm so glad I did!

I've always been a fan of Mary Queen of Scots so I was excited to read a new book about her. However, I was also a little wary as I thought how many times can you read the same story and still find it entertaining? Boy was that not the case with this retelling of Mary's story! Right from the very beginning, the narrators tell you that they are changing the story to give Mary a happy ending and I was intrigued to see how they would manage this. Then instead of tensions between Catholics and Protestants as you would expect, there is conflict between Eðian, individuals who can turn themselves into animals, and Veritie people, who cannot. This adds a much more magical and fantastic element to what is otherwise a historical retelling.

My Favorite part of this book is the narrators. Throughout the story, they address the reader and add their own thoughts and comments. The tone of the book is incredibly witty, sarcastic, and irreverent. It's really a breath of fresh air in the YA genera, which I find can sometimes take itself a bit too seriously. It's a different type of story writing than I have experienced before and I quite appreciated that. Although, I can see how if you were expecting a more traditional historical fiction novel it could be frustrating to read.

In this past year where the real world seems so dark, I have increasingly found myself drawn to light-hearted stories with happy endings and that is exactly what this book provides. It is a page-turning adventure, that had me legitimately laughing out loud. If you are looking for a happy ending to a traditionally dark tale this is the book for you.

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.

This was a lot of fun!!! It's the same formula as their other series, the Lady Janies, which I have no complaints about because let me tell you, that formula WORKS for them. I also can see that their writing has improved so much over time and given that I loved all their other books it's no surprise that this one was a riot as well.

Hand, Ashton, and Meadows' My Contrary Mary was a wild, hilarious, and all-around enjoyable read.

It follows Mary Queen of Scots, King Francis, and Aristotle, a potion-maker who can see the future, as they navigate the European Geo-politics in a fantastical setting. As the authors mention before the story begins, they took many creative liberties with Mary's history and completely reinvented her story. I really liked this reinvention because there are many stories about Mary in all different kinds of media, so it allows this one to stand out. The fantastical element is also well-done and made this a very enjoyable read.

Part of the reinvention of Mary's story is the way she and Francis are characterized. It was easy to love Mary and Francis's characters. Specifically, the scenes in the beginning of the book, showing Mary's life before the plot, do a good job of crafting her as an interesting and admirable character.

That being said, as the plot moved on, there were a few problems that arose. Many of the actions that Mary took did not seem in line with the rest of her characterization. She makes many decisions that someone that grew up in the French Court would not have made. This book does not pretend to be historically accurate, which I appreciate because it made the story enjoyable, but regardless, Mary would not have been as dumb in a lot of scenarios as she was. There was payoff in the third act, but the ending felt a little bit rushed too. This problem with the plot and the way it related to Mary's characterization is the reason my review was lower.

In regards to the writing style, it was witty and fun. I particularly enjoyed how the authors interwove humorous allusions to modern day-pop culture into this old story.

Overall, if you read The Lady Janies books and liked them, I think you will thoroughly enjoy this book. It was creative, witty, and hilarious. Although the problems with the plot did distract from the reading experience, overall, I would still recommend it to these readers and anyone that loves reading about this era.

The Jane series by this trinamic trio of authors are the most hilarious YA books I've ever read, so I was excited to read something about Mary for a change. The name may be different, but the writing is still as reference-laden and hilarious. A laugh out loud read for all ages!

Okay, I have to start by saying that when I saw this available on NetGalley, I SQUEALED. I am a big fan of The Lady Janies, and My Lady Jane is my favorite of that series, so this was truly a gift to discover.

In My Contrary Mary, we return to the world of My Lady Jane and hop on over to France, where Mary, Queen of Scots is set to marry Francis II.

I absolutely adored both Mary and Francis! I could read an entire series following their friendship and later marriage. They both have solid character arcs, and while I don’t always need that in this type of book, I certainly appreciate it.

Ari is a bit insufferable, which is sometimes fun but often annoying. Her side of the story becomes more interesting once she’s with Francis and isn’t focused solely on being a lovesick pup.

The rest of the characters are lots of fun. Especially Nostradamus!

The tone, humor, and style that makes The Lady Janies series such a delight is also present here. And thank goodness, really, because couldn’t we all use a little levity right now? Rich in pop culture references and historical references, this is a great read for anyone who lives for endless research into random topics.

I’m excited to do a re-read of My Lady Jane and then My Contrary Mary. That sounds like a very enjoyable weekend!

Another great book by these wonderful ladies! I love that we were taken back to the Lady Jane universe. I was so interested in Mary's story from My Lady Jane and I love that we got a chance to see her story unfold. Can't wait to have a copy of this book in my hands!

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC (Voice Galley)!

Hand, Ashton, and Meadows just rock this set up. Set in the same world of Edians and Verities as My Lady Jane, this book follows Mary (Queen of Scots), Francis (dauphin -> king of France), and Ari (daughter of Nostradamus).

It has the same levity, wit, and willingness to eschew facts for happy endings as they showed In the My Lady Janies and books. It’s not longer a novel writing style, so some of the magic is slightly lost. However, I greatly enjoyed reading it and will continue to read all such books by these lovely authors!

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.

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!

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!