Book Smart Kate

Book: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 Audiobook: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟  Spice: Closed Door

by @cynthiahand @brodiaston @unicornwarlord – OMG, this book! It is a riotously great time. I inhaled the new TV series on @primevideo last weekend, immediately downloaded the book on KU, and got myself the audiobook. 

In this delightful revisionist look at the reign of Lady Jane Grey, we get a magical, comical, and romantic tale that starts with a weakened King Edward arranging the marriage of his cousin (and best friend) Jane to Gifford Duddley. Jane is more interested in books than marriage and is pretty pissed. Even more so when she discovers Edward didn’t disclose some crucial details, such as her husband transforming into a horse, and she is about to become QUEEN OF ENGLAND. 

From political maneuvering for royal succession to understanding the magical ability to transform from human to animal, the authors draw you in with wit and charm through actively serving as narrators, constantly referencing modern history, and speaking directly to the reader. I laughed out loud frequently and at an embarrassing volume, reading passages to my perplexed family and genuinely having the most fun reading this book. Told through the POV of Jane, Gifford, and Edward (and with our narrators constantly critiquing circumstances directly to the reader), we join an adventure to save England.

I have now read the book, listened to the audiobook, and watched the TV show. I loved them all. The book and audiobook are YA, while the TV show is more mature, but they are all an absolute blast. The audiobook, narrated by Katherine Kellgren, is an outlandishly good time. Her comic timing is impeccable.

Do you like retellings? I’d love your recommendations!