My Contrary Mary

By: Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, Jodi Meadows

Narrated by: Fiona Hardingham

Long live the queen: The authors who brought you the New York Times best-selling My Lady Jane kick off an all-new historical trilogy with the classy, courtly tale of Mary, Queen of Scots.

Welcome to Renaissance France, a place of poison and plots, of beauties and beasts, of mice and...queens?

Mary is the queen of Scotland and the jewel of the French court. Except when she’s a mouse. Yes, Mary is an Eðian (shape-shifter) in a kingdom where Verities rule. It’s a secret that could cost her a head - or a tail.

Luckily, Mary has a confidant in her betrothed, Francis. But things at the gilded court take a treacherous turn after the king meets a suspicious end. Thrust onto the throne, Mary and Francis face a viper’s nest of conspiracies, traps, and treason. And if Mary’s secret is revealed, heads are bound to roll.

With a royally clever sense of humor, Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows continue their campaign to turn history on its head in this YA fantasy that’s perfect for fans of A Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue.

©2021 Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, Jodi Meadows (P)2021 HarperCollins Publishers

Sweet

Sweet. The Narrator gave everyone their own voice, with just enough whimsy to match the story. The multiple POVs gave just enough zaniness to match the many (sometimes delightfully corny, sometimes laugh-out-loud) references to other stories. I especially enjoyed the Princess Bride nods.
Listener, try this one!

So Enjoyable!

I read My Lady Jane and loved it! So, naturally, I was curious about the companion. Although I prefer the Jane's story, I cannot say enough about how wonderful the performance was for this book. Absolutely delightful! Perfectly read and acted, with various accents throughout that make it so immersive. Well Done!

The Performance was Excellent…

The performance was excellent. I liked the story as well. I would have liked to see it extended to cover more of the history that we know of Mary Queen of Scott’s. Maybe fodder for a sequel…

performance was outstanding

wow! all the voices and accents! very talented reading!!!!!! I will look for more by this narrator.

Another Fun, Silly Ride

honestly, I came for a good time & this was the break from reality filled with foolishness that I need. I love a crazy book that doesn't take it self too seriously & Aria's "predictions " show that. and loved how the authors completely upended European History once again. this book and the others like are completely self-aware that they are not here for historical accuracy!

Not Quite as Good as Jane, But Still Good!

This book didn't quite live up to the Jane books for me. I don't know if it's just that the premise is getting old or if it really just wasn't as good, but I had a really difficult time getting into this book. For the first 90% of the book, it felt like none of the main characters had an ounce of common sense and were all just puppets in someone else's game--maybe accurate to life, but infuriating to read. Mary was stubborn to the point of ridiculousness, Ari was blindly naïve, and Francis was the only saving grace.

At the end, it did finally pick up, and that's the only reason I'm bumping this book up to a 4.

I'll still give the next one a read, but I'm definitely not as excited for it as I was before. Hopefully, this one was just a fluke.

The narration was absolutely excellent, thought! Even the array of accents was clear and entertaining to listen to.

disappointed

Didn't like the story. Im kinda tired about reading about lesbian love stories. To be honest, when you are straight, its not a comfortable place to go. Didn't even finish the book. But if that is what you like, and prefer, im sure you will enjoy the book.

Stretch

Was expecting this to be a bit more historical. My mistake. Definitely could’ve done without lesbian relationship in what i believe was supposed to be a fun and fanciful story