Thanks to the publisher for providing an eARC of In My Lady's Chamber in exchange for an honest review.

I'm dumb and assumed the female-female writing team paired with the use of "my" and "chamber" in the title meant this was sapphic but it's a perfectly fine non-sapphic historical romance which isn't and never has been by jam. Please read someone else's review.

An imaginative and charming twist on the beloved tale of The Goose Girl. Although I would have enjoyed the story to be a bit longer to allow for optimal character development, I do think it was a sweet romance and had enough tension to keep me intrigued. I would recommend the book to anyone interested in a short yet adventurous read.

As described, this is the “true” story of the goose girl. It’s a light, short, shallow piece but not bad. I wanted to roll my eyes at the princess’s behavior. But the maid is discrete and kind.

The romance isn’t very deep but both parties are worthy folks. Not a bad book. Would I recommend it as a can’t miss? Nah. But good enough? Yes.

Pamela Sherwood and Isobel Clary have written such a triumph in In My Lady's Chamber: A Tale Retold. In it, they reimagine the fairy tale of the Goose Girl, stripping away the fantastical talking animals and spells and enchantments, to create a story that rests on real magic -- friendship, loyalty, honor, and love. In their retelling, Princess Helen is betrothed to a king of a far-away land whom she has never met. She travels to marry him in his kingdom, accompanied by her best friend, Alyne, who is also her secret half-sister. Raised within the castle by the kind queen who knew her parentage was no fault of her own, Alyne knows her place but also knows the etiquette, customs, and responsibilities of Court. On the way to meet her fiance, Princess Helen loses her courage and begs Alyne to take her place. Alyne refuses, and in the morning, Helen is gone, along with Alyne's common clothing and horse. Alyne must make all the decisions, balance all the pressures, and hold the situation together while the guards search for Helen without allowing the fiance king to know. While she plays the role of Helen, Alyne finds herself falling in love with the king, and her traitor heart knows her feelings are wrong. If only she could find Helen, set the royal marriage rolling, and flee to mend her hurting heart!

In this tale, Alyne's voice is clear and strong and authentic. She so clearly is strong and smart, brave and kind, honorable and human. Helen, too, is real and credible, living her princess life without any desire to hurt others but also without knowing whether she is hurting them. And perhaps most enchanting of all is the King Sherwood and Clary have given us: kind, strong, humble, grand, powerful, gentle, and handsome.

The plot is quick and smart, giving readers enough information without stagnating on any points. My only criticism is actually the highest praise: I wish it were longer! I want to live in Alyne's world a bit longer to see more of her strength and integrity.

In My Lady's Chamber is a rare book that enthralls readers with its pace and plot while also celebrating the virtues of honesty and honor. Alyne is a paragon of integrity, battling her own soft heart to remain true to her duty and to her friend and sister. Helen is a bit selfish, but honest and courageous; she protects her own interests first, but she takes the consequences of her actions on her own shoulders. The midwife, the aging queen, and the fiance king all show compassion and goodness to the people around them, regardless of status, birth, or wealth. I love the idea of reading this story as a companion volume with Karen Cushman's The Midwife's Apprentice or Catherine, Called Birdy for a unit on medieval class and society.

Readers from middle grade through young adult will race through this well-crafted story. I appreciate the authors' efforts to breathe new life into a fairy tale, and, in doing so, give readers role models and an important moral. While talking animals and spells are not a part of life, magic is, in the form of friendship and love.

This is a sweet and short retelling of The Goose Girl, which is one of my favourite fairy tales. As always with Pamela Sherwood, the main character has lots of emotional depth, and I always enjoy when the twist is that the princess, not the maid, wanted to make the switch.

I liked that the story included ace representation, but I'm not totally sure it was executed in the right way (apologies for getting slightly spoilery): a major character believes she is "incomplete" (a direct quote) for being asexual and aromantic, and apologises for it at some length, and though another tells her not to be ashamed, I didn't think that this was enough to contrast the amount of negative description. I just found the whole discussion of it to be a little bit shallow and dismissive - the ace character herself only talks about it negatively and is not given even a moment of acceptance in her own words, though she does end up with a nice ending of her own. Still, I appreciate that this is a shorter book and perhaps they didn't feel this character needed more page space, and it was nice to see asexuality factored into a fairy tale, which are so often obsessed with marriage and romantic love!

Several pages at the end of the book are given over to a discussion of the authors' writing process and inspiration; this kind of thing for me would be better as something separate that belonged in a newsletter or a social media post. It made the end of the book a bit underwhelming for me and meant it didn't just stand alone as a story.