My Contrary Mary (Mary #1)

 Synopsis

Mary is the queen of Scotland and the jewel of the French court. Except when she's a mouse. Yes, reader, Mary is an Edian (shapeshifter) in a kingdom where Verities rule. A small obstacle, to be sure, but one that could cost her a head-- or a tail.

Francis is Mary's betrothed and next in line for the French throne. But what used to be a pleasantly far-off prospect is suddenly too close for comfort. You see, he has a secret of his own: no matter how much he loves Mary, a king is the last thing he wants to be.

Ari is the daughter of Nostradamus, the world's greatest seer. A position as one of Mary's ladies-in-waiting seems like the perfect opportunity to prove herself worthy of her father's legacy, but she never predicted she'd stumble upon the kingdom's mousiest secret.

When the king meets a rather suspicious end, things at the gilded court take a treacherous turn. Mary and Francis are thrust onto the throne, and Ari must decide whether to save her own head or help her royal mistress navigate a veritable viper's nest of conspiracies, traps, and treason. And if Mary's secret is revealed, heads are bound to roll.

Loved

• The narration. Ah, these authors (ahem, narrators) just kill me. This is their fourth book and they haven't disappointed yet with hilarious storytelling involving wit, deadpan, irony, puns, references, and just straight-up slapstick humor. I've laughed out loud through all of their books, and this one delivered! I read this while sick with COVID with my baby, and a many times I had to stifle a snort or a giggle to not wake her up ;)

• The history. Another element I love about the Lady Janies' stories is that they take real history and make it FUN! Mary Queen of Scots really had a tragic and really quite terrible life- but these authors take history into their own hands and give her justice and a happy ending. This time period in history is fascinating with Mary balancing between Scotland and France, trying to reconcile the Catholics and Protestants (in this case Edians and Verities), and preparing for her arranged marriage with Francis. Although this story doesn't stay true to history, it gives us an appreciation of these people- that they were real people experiencing crazy, horrible, and just everyday things. This fictionalized version of history also incites curiosity about how things really happened, which is fun to research and google about these different people and events.

• The relatable characters. This story is so vivid because all the characters are real historical figures whose names we have heard, but don't know much about. And although the events aren't all true to history, it helps us get an insight into these people and what they may have been feeling or experiencing. All of the sudden Francis goes from another name in a textbook to a young king who is in love with his betrothed, but terrified to be king. Mary Queen of Scots goes from a painting in a museum to a young teenager trying to reconcile intrigue, betrayal, and death while balancing two countries with her one crown. 

• The references! Yet another wonderful thing about the Lady Janies books is that they always have pop culture references! In this case- Ari (Aristotle) was able to have visions, but only about things in the future that she didn't understand (movies!) I about died at her prediction of Titanic and the other movie references. So fun to have some easter eggs from our world mixed in with the medieval setting.

• Cameos. Speaking of easter eggs, I also loved getting some cameo appearances from some certain characters that we already know and love! That's all I'll say . . . ;)

Didn't Love

• My only complaint about this story is that the end wrapped up really quickly and a tiny bit sloppily it felt like- but I wasn't bothered because I adore these books! I don't come to them for complex plots, but for a good laugh and a little history trivia, so it's okay if the plot isn't perfectly tied up!

Content

• Language: 
• Occasional uses of "damn."

• Sexual content: 
• Two main characters are betrothed- there is much talk about the wedding night. The king insists on being present to watch the consummation- lots of talk about how to distract him from being there. On the actual wedding night the couple jumps on the bed and make noises, instead of consummating. The person listening on the other side of the door says the consummation sounded more "enthusiastic" than normal. Lots of speculation and talk about wedding nights and consummations.
• A passionate kiss, not described much except his hands pulling her into him, her hands in his hair, etc.
• A kiss between two females- not described much.
• King Henry makes many comments and jokes about his mistresses and about his son's upcoming wedding night. Offers to send someone in to help him practice for the wedding night. Lots of innuendo, references to women's bosoms, etc. Much talk about the king sleeping with many different women.

• Violence
• Constant threats of mobs, factions, and other royalty wanting to kill Mary and Francis.
• Edians are imprisoned and tortured.
• A main character is kidnapped and throne taken away.
• The king dies and much speculation about his murder.


• Other themes:
• LGBTQ: A main female character and secondary female character are in a relationship- they hold hands and have a short kiss.

Overall Thoughts

Ever since reading My Lady Jane, I have been in love with the Lady Janies' books and have greatly anticipated each one. My Contrary Mary delivered everything I hoped for: humor, action, romance, and history- all narrated hilariously with wit, sarcasm, deadpan, irony, wordplay and slapstick. The context of this story presented fascinating history that had me researching Mary Queen of Scots and all the other historical figures we learn about, and it was satisfying to see them get the happy ending they didn't get in real life :) This was a delight to read- a perfect balm and escape for real-life stresses. If you enjoyed the other books from these authors then definitely don't miss out on this one, and if this is your first-- jump on this train! I promise you will laugh out loud, smile, and find yourself googling historical figures and appreciating them a little more than you did in your high school history class :)