I am a huge fan of My Lady Jane, and was intrigued to see what lies in store for Mary, Queen of Scots! I have to say I was not disappointed! This novel was full of humor and magic in Catherine de Medici’s court. I like how it focused on Francis and Mary. I’m also glad to see Mary become the queen she was meant to be! This, this is given a more happy ending than she was in real life! Overall, I recommend this fans of alternative history! I can’t wait to see what’s in story for the next Mary!

**Thanks NetGalley for the chance to review this complimentary voice galley. These are my honest thoughts on this selection.**

Let's just jump right in! The cover is gorgeous and that was the first thing that caught my attention followed pretty quickly by the title. Once I read the description as a retelling of the story of Mary, Queen of Scots....I was all in. The premise of this book was refreshing and thoroughly enjoyable. I loved that Mary and her friends were shapeshifters and also that 1 of her inner circle happened to be the daughter of Nostradamus.

Even though this copy was not representative of the final audiobook I really enjoyed it and can't wait to add it to my collection!

My Mary Contrary is the story of Mary queen of Scotland. She is betrothed to Francis, heir to the throne of France. And Mary believes she is the rightful heir to the crown of England. Mary is also a mouse. She is a shapeshifter in a world led by Verities, non shapeshifters. Luckily Mary has a lot of support from her ladies in waiting and Francis. King Henry dies and Mary and Francis ascend to the throne and with that comes lots of political trouble, traps, conspiracies and treason, least of which is that if the people of France find out that Mary is a shapeshifter, she could lose her crown and her head.

This book definitely needs to be listened to on audiobook. Fiona Hardingham is a terrific narrator and there are many cheeky asides for the reading ywhich she delivers perfectly. I really felt like I was listening to the TV show Reign with the addition of shapeshifters, I can’t wait until book two in the series comes out and I will also check out the Janes series.

I received this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

We found the same humor in this story as in the previous three books written by this trio. I absolutely adored this book. I would definitely recommend it to everyone

A fun twist of history, fits well with the rest of the books in this series. Will be purchasing this for our collection

My Contrary Mary was everything I wanted from the fourth book in this series. I loved revisiting the world of My Lady Jane and, as always, I couldn’t stop laughing all the way through. Highly recommend!

From the imaginations and fine penmanship of Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows is : My Contrary Mary. Continuing their blend of historical-fiction, supernatural elements, and meta-humor , My Contrary Mary follows the tale of Mary, Queen of Scots. Their story following Mary’s climb to become the famed “Queen” was enjoyable and had me laughing along the way. In this novel you learn of Mary’s dedication to her role as Queen, closest relationships, and that yes she is an Eðian or shape-shifter! If her secret is out it could cost her head or as she is a mouse her tail. The narrator of “My Plain Jane” Fiona Hardingham narrated the audiobook and did a superb job. I have heard her narrate other stories and have come to enjoy her narrative style. In reviewing this audiobook I would like to thank the publisher for giving me an advanced copy and in exchange I provide this review. Out of five stars on goodreads I give the novel a strong four out of five and give the audiobook a strong 4 out of five as well.

I absolutely love these authors. My Contrary Mary is such a good book. Filled with fun and humor. I love these rewrites of history. they are so entertaining and joyous. The characters are fantastic. The plot keeps moving forward. This book was paced perfectly. I am ready for the next one.

I had already loved the story of Mary Queen of Scots because of Reign, but I thought this book brought my love for her to a whole new level. The authors' twist of having shapeshifters was insane!!! Mary can turn into a mouse and SPY on people????!!!! Amazing! I also loved how they kept the same historical figures like Francis, Catherine and Nostradamus because they added some fun historical elements to the story. Catherine was my favorite character because of how clever she is and how many schemes she makes. I honestly love this author trio and the cool and wild stories they create.

Step aside Lady Janies, the Marys are coming for ya!

I fell head over heels for this author trio when I listened to "MY LADY JANE" in 2020, recommended by a friend.

I have since devoured the other two books in the "Lady Janies" series (although they totally work as stand-alones) and could not wait to read the first book in the "Mary" series.

MY CONTRARY MARY is the epic, historically accurate...

(er, not so accurate)

...the epic, totally embellished, barely factual tale of Mary, Queen of Scots 😆

Do you need to be a history buff to read this? Absolutely not (although you find yourself down an online rabbit hole trying to remember how the history actually went 🙋🏻‍♀️).

* but sense of humor, lover of cheeky behaviors, tickled by random pop culture references with a dash of fantasy, and desire for happily ever afters is recommended *

I can officially announce that I now use the phrasing, "Oh, droppings" in my every day life 🤦🏻‍♀️ #IYKYK

If you are a fan of audiobooks, LISTEN TO THIS BOOK!!! As much as I want to physically read these books (because they are just so goooood), I always have to listen. The narrator, Fiona Hardingham, was an absolute gem with not only voice inflections but the accents! *chefs kiss*

I love a good historical fiction and this one had me laughing out loud. The commentary by the authors adds another layer to the humor in this book. I know nothing about Mary, Queen of Scots outside of this book but the authors do a good job of filling the reading in on important information, but also turning the story on its head. This trio just knows how to write a fun book.

So excited for another series to follow up the Lady Janies series! The narrator is always fantastic and I love the humor the authors add in.

I love these authors so much! I definitely think this one had less humor than their other works and didn’t like the setting and overall plot as much. Will continue to read anything the lady Janie’s come out with!

I loved this one as much as I expected to! Growing up I had an obsession with the Tudors and I'm a big fantasy fan so this is just the best of both worlds. It was fun and witty and I can't wait to read more in this world. I already own two books in the Jane series but during my pregnancy (my daughter is 6.5 months old) I was having a hard time paying attention to physical books so I loved getting to listen to this one. The narration was awful but this wasn't an actual audiobook it was just like text to talk so I obviously won't be taking any points off for that.

I enjoyed this book! The narrator was great and the story was fun. It is the first of a new series written by the authors but also included characters we have seen in their previous book “My Lady Jane” from a few years ago. I like when authors include things like that it makes me feel like I’m “in the know”. I also liked the modern day references to movies like The Terminator and Princess Bride (though they were a little cheesy).

I am a super fan of altered historical pieces. I love everything and Tudor and Mary is connected to that making her one of my favorite people in history. I thought I'd have a problem with the whole mouse thing but I liked it. It's so easy to put people of history as vampires/monsters but I would have never expected a mouse. Lovely retelling!

4/5⭐ to My Contrary Mary by the Lady Janies (Cynthia Hand, Brodie Ashton, and Jodie Meadows). Thank you very much to Harper Audio/HCCFrenzy for an audio egalley to review! I love this series so much for its combination of historical fiction, fantasy, and contemporary elements! Basically, this story is a whimsical reimagining of the story of Mary, Queen of Scots if she had a less tragic ending. This world, which was also explored in the book [book:My Lady Jane|22840421] which has an overall conflict between Eðians (people who can shapeshift into an animal form) and Verities (non-shapeshifter, normal humans). The story overall is whimsical and enchanting, and I adored all our characters, especially Queen Mary! We even got an adorable romance between her and Francis (the dauphin of France) which brings some angst as court politics turn potentially deadly and they must be separated in order to save Scotland & France. This tension, along with the overall atmosphere, really makes this story something special! This would be absolutely a perfect series to start for someone who is getting into YA Fantasy, especially someone who has an interest in history and loves the feeling of fairy tales. There isn't any foul language or explicit content which makes it a wonderful transition for younger readers (even 12+, though they may find it a little difficult relating to a character who is 4-5 years older than them). Truly a joy, I await the next "Mary" story!

Look, I waited to0 long to read this and if you’re still waiting, I highly recommend you pick it up. Especially for all you Reign fans out there. The first of the Marys kept my attention the WHOLE time and it was as funny and charming as the other books in the series.

Well, that was entertaining! History, but fun... and also not always all that accurate in the best ways! Also loved the Princess Bride references! These authors consistently write entertaining books. And they are great on audio.

Mary Queen of Scots has a secret. She’s secretly an Eðian (a shapeshifter), who can turn into a mouse. Her best friend, and betrothed, Francis knows her secret and is keeping it for her. However, when Francis’s father, the King of France, dies suddenly, Francis is put on the throne. Francis and Mary have to navigate this political world, while also facing supernatural threats.

This book is the first in a trilogy which continues from The Lady Janies books. One thing that I love about these books about historical figures is that they alter history to have the outcome everyone wants. There are some things in Mary’s real life story that I would have liked to be different, and they were written that way in this story.

I love the hilarious narrators with clever references. There were numerous references to the TV show Reign, which was about Mary Queen of Scots. I learned a lot of that history from the show. There were many references to the show that weren’t necessarily historically accurate, such as characters who didn’t really exist, but I loved how that show was tied into the story. There were also jokes about modern day things which were hilarious. One character who could see the future would have visions of movies or inventions from our time. The characters in the story didn’t understand, but it was a hilarious break from history in this story.

I listened to the audiobook edition of this book and I loved it! The jokes were so fun to listen to. I highly recommend this austiobook.

My Contrary Mary is a great historical retelling!

Thank you HarperCollins Audio for providing a copy of this book.