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Mary #2
My Imaginary Mary
It’s aliiiiiiiive! The bestselling authors of My Lady Jane are back with the electric, poetic, and (almost) historical tale of the one and only Mary Shelley.
Mary may have inherited the brilliant mind of her late mother, Mary Wollstonecraft, but she lives a drab life above her father’s bookstore, waiting for an extraordinary idea that’ll inspire a work worthy of her parentage—and impress her rakishly handsome (and super-secret) beau, Percy Shelley.
Ada Lovelace knows a thing or two about superstar parents, what with her dad being Lord Byron, the most famous poet on Earth. But her passions lie far beyond the arts—in mechanical engineering, to be exact. Alas, no matter how precise Ada’s calculations, there’s always a man willing to claim her ingenious ideas as his own.
Pan, a.k.a. Practical Automaton Number One, is Ada's greatest idea yet: a machine that will change the world, if only she can figure out how to make him truly autonomous . . . or how to make him work at all.
When fate connects our two masterminds, Mary and Ada learn that they are fae—magical people with the ability to make whatever they imagine become real. But when their dream team results in a living, breathing, thinking PAN, Mary and Ada find themselves hunted by a mad scientist who won't stop until he finds out how they made a real boy out of spare parts.
With comic genius and a truly electrifying sense of adventure, 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 The Princess Bride and A Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue.
Mary may have inherited the brilliant mind of her late mother, Mary Wollstonecraft, but she lives a drab life above her father’s bookstore, waiting for an extraordinary idea that’ll inspire a work worthy of her parentage—and impress her rakishly handsome (and super-secret) beau, Percy Shelley.
Ada Lovelace knows a thing or two about superstar parents, what with her dad being Lord Byron, the most famous poet on Earth. But her passions lie far beyond the arts—in mechanical engineering, to be exact. Alas, no matter how precise Ada’s calculations, there’s always a man willing to claim her ingenious ideas as his own.
Pan, a.k.a. Practical Automaton Number One, is Ada's greatest idea yet: a machine that will change the world, if only she can figure out how to make him truly autonomous . . . or how to make him work at all.
When fate connects our two masterminds, Mary and Ada learn that they are fae—magical people with the ability to make whatever they imagine become real. But when their dream team results in a living, breathing, thinking PAN, Mary and Ada find themselves hunted by a mad scientist who won't stop until he finds out how they made a real boy out of spare parts.
With comic genius and a truly electrifying sense of adventure, 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 The Princess Bride and A Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue.
496 pages, Hardcover
First published August 2, 2022
138 people are currently reading
10344 people want to read
About the author
Cynthia Hand
30 books9,913 followersCynthia Hand is the New York Times bestselling author of several books for teens, including the UNEARTHLY trilogy, THE LAST TIME WE SAY GOODBYE, MY LADY JANE, MY PLAIN JANE, MY CALAMITY JANE, MY CONTRARY MARY, and MY IMAGINARY MARY (with fellow authors Brodi Ashton and Jodi Meadows), THE AFTERLIFE OF HOLLY CHASE, THE HOW AND THE WHY, WITH YOU ALL THE WAY, and the upcoming TIMELESS and MY SALTY MARY (also with Ashton and Meadows). Before turning to writing for young adults, she studied literary fiction and earned both an M.F.A. and a Ph.D. in fiction writing. She currently resides in Boise, Idaho, with her husband, two cats, one crazy dog, two kids, and mountain of books.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 617 reviews
August 30, 2022
4.5 Stars
It was good and fun!
Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾
It was good and fun!
Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾
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October 20, 2021MARY 2 will be titled MY IMAGINARY MARY and it will be about Mary Shelley and Ada Lovelace.
(Sorry, Marie Curie fans! We still love her, but for reasons we needed to move in a different direction.)
--
5/15/21
Gold star to the GR librarian who changed the title to My Imaginary Mary! Thanks, GR librarian!
--
10/20/21
Oh look, a cover!
(Sorry, Marie Curie fans! We still love her, but for reasons we needed to move in a different direction.)
--
5/15/21
Gold star to the GR librarian who changed the title to My Imaginary Mary! Thanks, GR librarian!
--
10/20/21
Oh look, a cover!
October 9, 2022
My Imaginary Mary is part of a YA historical fantasy series which reimagines the lives of different women from English history and English literature with the addition of a little magic. We've had My Lady Jane (Jane Grey), My Plain Jane (Jane Eyre), My Contrary Mary (Mary Stuart), and so on.
Overall, I've really enjoyed this series--spicing up history with magic is one of my favorite things ever. But I think I would have enjoyed My Imaginary Mary more if it hadn't been based on the life of a real person, Mary Shelley. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely loved the concept of a young girl who discovers she has fae powers, helps her best friend build a metal robot, accidentally brings said robot to life and makes him a "real boy" a la Peter Pan, and later writes a novel inspired by the experience. I love robots!!! I love the notion of conveying personhood on an impersonal object!!! And this particular robot-turned-real-live-boy was absolutely adorable, sweet and caring and earnest. I just wanted to give him a hug.
The problem is, the particular girl in question is Mary Shelley, a real historical figure, and the authors' constant fourth-wall breaking and narrative commentary never allows you to forget that. They are telling the story of MARY SHELLEY. Okay, well and good. Except they keep pushing you to see Mary Shelley (the real woman) the exact same way they do... as an innocent, virtuous girl corrupted and victimized by the poet Percy Shelley. They hate Percy Shelley, and they never let you forget it. According to them, Percy Shelley is the unmitigated villain, not just of this re-imagined fantasy story, but of Mary's real life.
I'm not sure I agree with that.
If you don't know the story of Mary Shelley, she fell in love with Percy when she was sixteen and he was twenty-one. This was a fairly normal age dynamic for the time period (1814). Percy Shelley was already married, but he and Mary began a sexual affair almost immediately, which they carried on very publicly for several years, despite widespread scandal. They both believed in "free love" and open relationships, and Percy had several affairs with other women while he was carrying on this affair with Mary... she was jealous, but still (as I understand??) continued to preach free love at least in theory. Idk, the Romantic era was wild. :-P Anyway, Percy's original wife (remember her?) COMMITTED SUICIDE, upon which Mary proceeded to MARRY Percy Shelley now that they were legally free to do so. Mary had several miscarriages and suffered from depression, and Percy eventually drowned in a boating accident. Wild ride from start to finish.
My point is, if you sleep with another woman's husband, publicly, for years, and that woman commits suicide, and even after the suicide you don't step back and go "whoa, was I partly responsible for this? Have I been cruel and selfish? Was this adulterous affair *gasp* a MISTAKE?" Which Mary Shelley apparently did not do, given that she married Percy almost immediately after his first wife killed herself... What I'm saying is, under these circumstances, you are no longer a completely unproblematic victim. You've made some Choices.
And that's my biggest issue with My Imaginary Mary; the authors aren't willing to acknowledge Mary's choices and mistakes. They want her to be sweet and perfect and innocent, the Model Heroine we can all look up to. They don't want her to be the bold, unconventional woman who lived a wildly unconventional life which, yes, sometimes involved her being selfish and hurtful to others.
I also didn't like how the authors keep throwing shade at Percy Shelley's poetry. They keep calling him a mediocre author and saying his poems are silly, which feels awfully petty and childish to me... *middle school girl voice* "Ugh, he's not even that good." And I'm sorry, but Percy Shelley was a good writer. In fact, he was more than a good writer. He was a great writer. Even if you hate him and disapprove of him as a person, you have to recognize his talent... just like you have to recognize Mary Shelley's talent even if you disapprove of her life choices.
I mean, you don't "have" to. You don't "have" to do anything. But especially as a fellow author, if you don't respect the guy who wrote "Ozymandias," I really don't know what to say to you.
(They also threw shade at Byron's writing too?? DO THEY JUST HATE POETRY? WHAT IS GOING ON HERE--)
Overall, I've really enjoyed this series--spicing up history with magic is one of my favorite things ever. But I think I would have enjoyed My Imaginary Mary more if it hadn't been based on the life of a real person, Mary Shelley. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely loved the concept of a young girl who discovers she has fae powers, helps her best friend build a metal robot, accidentally brings said robot to life and makes him a "real boy" a la Peter Pan, and later writes a novel inspired by the experience. I love robots!!! I love the notion of conveying personhood on an impersonal object!!! And this particular robot-turned-real-live-boy was absolutely adorable, sweet and caring and earnest. I just wanted to give him a hug.
The problem is, the particular girl in question is Mary Shelley, a real historical figure, and the authors' constant fourth-wall breaking and narrative commentary never allows you to forget that. They are telling the story of MARY SHELLEY. Okay, well and good. Except they keep pushing you to see Mary Shelley (the real woman) the exact same way they do... as an innocent, virtuous girl corrupted and victimized by the poet Percy Shelley. They hate Percy Shelley, and they never let you forget it. According to them, Percy Shelley is the unmitigated villain, not just of this re-imagined fantasy story, but of Mary's real life.
I'm not sure I agree with that.
If you don't know the story of Mary Shelley, she fell in love with Percy when she was sixteen and he was twenty-one. This was a fairly normal age dynamic for the time period (1814). Percy Shelley was already married, but he and Mary began a sexual affair almost immediately, which they carried on very publicly for several years, despite widespread scandal. They both believed in "free love" and open relationships, and Percy had several affairs with other women while he was carrying on this affair with Mary... she was jealous, but still (as I understand??) continued to preach free love at least in theory. Idk, the Romantic era was wild. :-P Anyway, Percy's original wife (remember her?) COMMITTED SUICIDE, upon which Mary proceeded to MARRY Percy Shelley now that they were legally free to do so. Mary had several miscarriages and suffered from depression, and Percy eventually drowned in a boating accident. Wild ride from start to finish.
My point is, if you sleep with another woman's husband, publicly, for years, and that woman commits suicide, and even after the suicide you don't step back and go "whoa, was I partly responsible for this? Have I been cruel and selfish? Was this adulterous affair *gasp* a MISTAKE?" Which Mary Shelley apparently did not do, given that she married Percy almost immediately after his first wife killed herself... What I'm saying is, under these circumstances, you are no longer a completely unproblematic victim. You've made some Choices.
And that's my biggest issue with My Imaginary Mary; the authors aren't willing to acknowledge Mary's choices and mistakes. They want her to be sweet and perfect and innocent, the Model Heroine we can all look up to. They don't want her to be the bold, unconventional woman who lived a wildly unconventional life which, yes, sometimes involved her being selfish and hurtful to others.
I also didn't like how the authors keep throwing shade at Percy Shelley's poetry. They keep calling him a mediocre author and saying his poems are silly, which feels awfully petty and childish to me... *middle school girl voice* "Ugh, he's not even that good." And I'm sorry, but Percy Shelley was a good writer. In fact, he was more than a good writer. He was a great writer. Even if you hate him and disapprove of him as a person, you have to recognize his talent... just like you have to recognize Mary Shelley's talent even if you disapprove of her life choices.
I mean, you don't "have" to. You don't "have" to do anything. But especially as a fellow author, if you don't respect the guy who wrote "Ozymandias," I really don't know what to say to you.
(They also threw shade at Byron's writing too?? DO THEY JUST HATE POETRY? WHAT IS GOING ON HERE--)
Want to read
October 20, 2021Mary Shelley AND Ada Lovelace AND fae AND it's compared to The Princess Bride and The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue? Thank you Lady Janies for writing a book specifically catered to me <3
October 15, 2022
4 out of 5 stars.
******************
I’m currently going to take a break from this book, because it seems a bit too long for my liking. But I’m definitely going to pick it up again as soon as I’m in the mood for it, hopefully before the year ends.
Confession time:
I was beyond happy and excited whena while long time ago this book was supposed to be about Mary Curie, that has sadly changed and to be honest I was a bit devastated. But alas, turns out (after discovering about the cover and blurb reveal) the authors decided to write this book about Mary Shelley and Ada Lovelace instead, which is making me feel a bit less devastated and am actually looking forward to how the authors are going to combine these two masterminds together in one book.
******************
I’m currently going to take a break from this book, because it seems a bit too long for my liking. But I’m definitely going to pick it up again as soon as I’m in the mood for it, hopefully before the year ends.
Confession time:
I was beyond happy and excited when
January 14, 2023
#1 My Contrary Mary — 3.5 stars
all the male characters were jerks who wanted to take advantage of the female main characters for their brains and beauty, and the only one who wasnt was an adorable, sweet, and caring metal robot. admittedly, he (Pan) was the best character in the whole book, and his existence truly proved what made one human and showed the difference between them and monsters. however, it was disappointing (and sad) that no men/very few were decent even since the 1800s, or maybe especially during that time period.
Mary & Ada were this duo of bright, unconventional geniuses who displayed great support, solidarity, and friendship/sisterhood between two women living in an era where their gender was looked down upon and their works were stolen/taken credit for by the opposite sex. Ada loved to build useful automatons while Mary brought them to life with her magic. honestly, i kinda wanted the magic element to be removed from the story cause like, if the girls were brilliant on their own, why did they need magic?
idk a lot about history, so i cant judge this book on the accuracy or how this reimagining diffred from the actual events, but i feel like the plot had no clear direction. i thought it would end once the girls defeated the villain. but then they went on this adventure to find Adas father. i dont really remember what happened after that. this book is a retelling of Mary Shelley & Ada Lovelace (with a Peterpan twist) and said to be perfect for fans of The Princess Bride and A Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee though i dont quite see the resemblance.
(read as an audiobook)
all the male characters were jerks who wanted to take advantage of the female main characters for their brains and beauty, and the only one who wasnt was an adorable, sweet, and caring metal robot. admittedly, he (Pan) was the best character in the whole book, and his existence truly proved what made one human and showed the difference between them and monsters. however, it was disappointing (and sad) that no men/very few were decent even since the 1800s, or maybe especially during that time period.
Mary & Ada were this duo of bright, unconventional geniuses who displayed great support, solidarity, and friendship/sisterhood between two women living in an era where their gender was looked down upon and their works were stolen/taken credit for by the opposite sex. Ada loved to build useful automatons while Mary brought them to life with her magic. honestly, i kinda wanted the magic element to be removed from the story cause like, if the girls were brilliant on their own, why did they need magic?
idk a lot about history, so i cant judge this book on the accuracy or how this reimagining diffred from the actual events, but i feel like the plot had no clear direction. i thought it would end once the girls defeated the villain. but then they went on this adventure to find Adas father. i dont really remember what happened after that. this book is a retelling of Mary Shelley & Ada Lovelace (with a Peterpan twist) and said to be perfect for fans of The Princess Bride and A Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee though i dont quite see the resemblance.
(read as an audiobook)
November 12, 2025
This is a funny retelling of Mary Shelley's brilliant novel Frankenstein: The 1818 Text and in my opinion in a way , Pinocchio...
What this book contains:
- a lovely friendship between Mary Shelley and Lord Byron's daughter, Ada;
- a loveable and innocent automaton named Pan who highlights all the wrongs of our world through his innocent thoughts
- 2 step sisters that are different but in the same time the best sisters in the world.... P.S: Jane is the most funnier;
- Shelley is a stalker 😂
- Ada has daddy & mommy issues
-Mary has a imagination that can bring things to life
- A villain that reminds us of Victor Frankenstein
- And last but not least rich humor
What this book contains:
- a lovely friendship between Mary Shelley and Lord Byron's daughter, Ada;
- a loveable and innocent automaton named Pan who highlights all the wrongs of our world through his innocent thoughts
- 2 step sisters that are different but in the same time the best sisters in the world.... P.S: Jane is the most funnier;
- Shelley is a stalker 😂
- Ada has daddy & mommy issues
-Mary has a imagination that can bring things to life
- A villain that reminds us of Victor Frankenstein
- And last but not least rich humor
August 26, 2022
Thank you to the publisher for sending me an copy to review!
What can I say about this book? It was a fantastical retelling of Frankenstein? That it was hilarious in all the right places and still had impactful insight on topics we still deal with today?
Yes, to all the above!
I am a total fan girl when it comes to The Janies (My Jane/Mary books). I love when they take a pretty serious story and add things like animal shifters, werewolves, ghosts and this time, fae! Not the typical fae that everyone reads about, but people who can do MAGIC. So think people who can do magic, but also Frankenstein (and honestly a little Peter Pan too).
For those who love romance, there is a pinch in here, but I would say this is more of a platonic friendship book. The relationship between Mary and Ada was so pure and I love women supporting women. And then they supported Pan (the Frankenstein of the story) with such ferocity, UGH.
There's also a disability representation and I would say it was super well done. Ada doesn't let it hold her back and she is still the smartest, most intelligent person in the room. Then there is Pan who believes he is a human boy and by golly the girls are like "okay great, you are a human boy". And then Mary, who was looking for love in all the wrong places, realizes her worth in just the nick of time. And then her sisters? 10/10.
Highly recommend all of these books by these three ladies. They write so well together. I love that there is magic AND wit. Like it isn't a heavy read, it's more something you read when you want to read but nothing dark.
This review is all over the place, but I just have so much to say and no cohesive way to say it.
What can I say about this book? It was a fantastical retelling of Frankenstein? That it was hilarious in all the right places and still had impactful insight on topics we still deal with today?
Yes, to all the above!
I am a total fan girl when it comes to The Janies (My Jane/Mary books). I love when they take a pretty serious story and add things like animal shifters, werewolves, ghosts and this time, fae! Not the typical fae that everyone reads about, but people who can do MAGIC. So think people who can do magic, but also Frankenstein (and honestly a little Peter Pan too).
For those who love romance, there is a pinch in here, but I would say this is more of a platonic friendship book. The relationship between Mary and Ada was so pure and I love women supporting women. And then they supported Pan (the Frankenstein of the story) with such ferocity, UGH.
There's also a disability representation and I would say it was super well done. Ada doesn't let it hold her back and she is still the smartest, most intelligent person in the room. Then there is Pan who believes he is a human boy and by golly the girls are like "okay great, you are a human boy". And then Mary, who was looking for love in all the wrong places, realizes her worth in just the nick of time. And then her sisters? 10/10.
Highly recommend all of these books by these three ladies. They write so well together. I love that there is magic AND wit. Like it isn't a heavy read, it's more something you read when you want to read but nothing dark.
This review is all over the place, but I just have so much to say and no cohesive way to say it.
September 20, 2022
4.5 Stars for My Imaginary Mary: The Lady Janies (audiobook) by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows read by Morag Sims.
This was a fun take on the Frankenstein story. And it may have a little bit of Peter Pan thrown in too. The characters are so witty and interesting. I’m looking forward to the next book in the series.
This was a fun take on the Frankenstein story. And it may have a little bit of Peter Pan thrown in too. The characters are so witty and interesting. I’m looking forward to the next book in the series.
September 30, 2025
It took me a bit to get into this one, mainly because I'm not one of those people who seem to think that Mary Shelley needs me to defend her from Percy. Was he a trash human? Absolutely. Was he also a talented poet? Absolutely. Did Mary love him? Absolutely. Me spitting on his grave feels unnecessary and also a little weird. I've often wondered what Mary thinks about that. She kept his calcified heart on her desk, for heaven's sake!
But this book not only celebrates Mary's genius and imagination, but also pairs her up with Ada Lovelace, a woman equally brilliant and fascinating. I never thought I would need to see Mary and Ada teamed up, but now I know that I really, really did. I kind of wish they would go on to have other adventures . . . maybe solve mysteries?
And of course, as usual, the song lyrics and movie quotes were on point.
But this book not only celebrates Mary's genius and imagination, but also pairs her up with Ada Lovelace, a woman equally brilliant and fascinating. I never thought I would need to see Mary and Ada teamed up, but now I know that I really, really did. I kind of wish they would go on to have other adventures . . . maybe solve mysteries?
And of course, as usual, the song lyrics and movie quotes were on point.
April 21, 2023
Still not as good as the first Lady Janie book. A lot of this made no sense, and anachronisms were flying around willy-nilly, but I had a good time.
My Imaginary Mary is what you get when you mix light fantasy (there are fairies! and Mary Godwin (Shelley) is one! (different kind of fairy than you'd expect)), alternate history (what if Mary met Ada Lovelace?), and a truly ridiculous sensibility (they invent the name Peter Pan for some reason?) with egregious unconcern for historical accuracy.
The plot kicks off when Mary attends a show (? they call it something else in the book) by a dirtbag scientist who seems to be attempting to reanimate the corpse of frogs by electrifying them. Mostly this just means there are a lot of crispy dead frogs, but when Mary accidentally brings one of the frogs back to life for real—in front of the audience, though they don't know it was her—she makes herself a target. Meanwhile, Ada Lovelace (daughter of Lord Byron) is also an inventor/scientist, and she has created an automaton. When the two girls meet and become friends, one thing leads to another and whoops, PAN is a real boy now.
The whole point of this series is to give famous historical women better stories, to fix history, but I find myself wishing here that it was less fantastical, and that they would have fixed history for Mary Shelley in a more realistic way. This is probably unfair of me, because it feels a lot like wanting it to just be a different type of book.
Worth noting, the real Mary Shelley lived a messy, complicated life, and this book de-complicates her in a way that is semi-troubling. Yes, it's YA, but maybe don't write about a messy young woman if you don't want to write about a messy young woman. And as much as I personally think Percy Shelley and Lord Byron were terrible people, they also caricaturize them, as well.
[3.5 stars]
My Imaginary Mary is what you get when you mix light fantasy (there are fairies! and Mary Godwin (Shelley) is one! (different kind of fairy than you'd expect)), alternate history (what if Mary met Ada Lovelace?), and a truly ridiculous sensibility (they invent the name Peter Pan for some reason?) with egregious unconcern for historical accuracy.
The plot kicks off when Mary attends a show (? they call it something else in the book) by a dirtbag scientist who seems to be attempting to reanimate the corpse of frogs by electrifying them. Mostly this just means there are a lot of crispy dead frogs, but when Mary accidentally brings one of the frogs back to life for real—in front of the audience, though they don't know it was her—she makes herself a target. Meanwhile, Ada Lovelace (daughter of Lord Byron) is also an inventor/scientist, and she has created an automaton. When the two girls meet and become friends, one thing leads to another and whoops, PAN is a real boy now.
The whole point of this series is to give famous historical women better stories, to fix history, but I find myself wishing here that it was less fantastical, and that they would have fixed history for Mary Shelley in a more realistic way. This is probably unfair of me, because it feels a lot like wanting it to just be a different type of book.
Worth noting, the real Mary Shelley lived a messy, complicated life, and this book de-complicates her in a way that is semi-troubling. Yes, it's YA, but maybe don't write about a messy young woman if you don't want to write about a messy young woman. And as much as I personally think Percy Shelley and Lord Byron were terrible people, they also caricaturize them, as well.
[3.5 stars]
Want to read
December 11, 2020Look at the comments about the book—Jodi Meadows has amended that the book will be about MARY SHELLEY and ADA LOVELACE instead of Marie Curie!!! Marie Curie is fantastic, really! The thing is that I wrote my senior honors thesis on Mary Shelley in college and I NEED more people in the world to realize how INCREDIBLE she was!!! And ADA!!!! The first computer programmer?!?! THIS DUO IS EVERYTHING I HAVE EVER NEEDED?!?!
I don’t mean to set my expectations too high, but this book is like...my heaven.
I don’t mean to set my expectations too high, but this book is like...my heaven.
July 17, 2022
Honestly, if you haven't started this funny, unique and smart series of books by these authors, then I can't stress enough - PUT EVERYTHING DOWN AND START NOW!
The first book was just as fun, quirky and sassy as this one. This one has Mary Godwin, better known in our time as Mary Shelley, author of Frankenstein. It also has Ada Byron , loosely based on Ada Lovelace (who I didn't know before starting the story). Both are smart, spunky and just on the brink of needing to make their way in the world. Ada is an advanced mathematician and Mary wants to be an author and excels at thinking on her feet and having an elaborate imagination. I loved learning their world, how they work and how their lives are smashed together.
There is a bit of magic in this story. I loved how the magic transformed the story from one I thought I was getting to suddenly realizing I was getting another! It was so well done that I didn't even see it creeping up until suddenly I saw who everyone else could be, if I just looked at them a little different.
I love the silly references to songs and stories. I also always love the little comments from the narrator straight to the reader that were in both stories in this series. I loved the details and all the fun in the story. Honestly, this one was so enjoyable I just might read it again (and I never re-read!) I hope there are more in this series! I will absolutely read them!
A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.
The first book was just as fun, quirky and sassy as this one. This one has Mary Godwin, better known in our time as Mary Shelley, author of Frankenstein. It also has Ada Byron , loosely based on Ada Lovelace (who I didn't know before starting the story). Both are smart, spunky and just on the brink of needing to make their way in the world. Ada is an advanced mathematician and Mary wants to be an author and excels at thinking on her feet and having an elaborate imagination. I loved learning their world, how they work and how their lives are smashed together.
There is a bit of magic in this story. I loved how the magic transformed the story from one I thought I was getting to suddenly realizing I was getting another! It was so well done that I didn't even see it creeping up until suddenly I saw who everyone else could be, if I just looked at them a little different.
I love the silly references to songs and stories. I also always love the little comments from the narrator straight to the reader that were in both stories in this series. I loved the details and all the fun in the story. Honestly, this one was so enjoyable I just might read it again (and I never re-read!) I hope there are more in this series! I will absolutely read them!
A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.
August 12, 2022
Its ALIVE...its ALIVE!!!
Once again, this delightful author trio have put on their mad scientist caps to create a tale that fans will truly love. My Imaginary Mary takes on the world of automatons, fae, steam punk, historical "accuracy" to give you a fresh spin on Mary Shelly's, Frankenstein.
I thought this was an absolute delight and only made better by the audiobook. It weaves between multiple POV's but one never outshined the other.
Mary - the one who wants to write but can't find the right story, beau to Percy Shelley
Ada - daughter of Lord Byron, mechanical genius, held back by "the man" and also her mother
Pan - Ada's greatest creation...but she has to figure out how to make him work first...baby steps.
This one is full of humor, friendship, humanity and absolute lunacy and I loved it. I love the pop culture references that make me laugh out loud and all the funny moments that you can expect when reading a mary or jane book by these authors.
A fun, zany fantastical book for all ages. Thank you @epicreads for my gifted copy. I love these covers and can't wait to have this one on my shelves.
Nothing tops MY LADY JANE for me BUT I think this is my next favorite in the series.
AND FUN NEWS! My Lady Jane is in the works for a screen adaption and I have never been more shocked or excited by an announcement. Dreams do come true!
Once again, this delightful author trio have put on their mad scientist caps to create a tale that fans will truly love. My Imaginary Mary takes on the world of automatons, fae, steam punk, historical "accuracy" to give you a fresh spin on Mary Shelly's, Frankenstein.
I thought this was an absolute delight and only made better by the audiobook. It weaves between multiple POV's but one never outshined the other.
Mary - the one who wants to write but can't find the right story, beau to Percy Shelley
Ada - daughter of Lord Byron, mechanical genius, held back by "the man" and also her mother
Pan - Ada's greatest creation...but she has to figure out how to make him work first...baby steps.
This one is full of humor, friendship, humanity and absolute lunacy and I loved it. I love the pop culture references that make me laugh out loud and all the funny moments that you can expect when reading a mary or jane book by these authors.
A fun, zany fantastical book for all ages. Thank you @epicreads for my gifted copy. I love these covers and can't wait to have this one on my shelves.
Nothing tops MY LADY JANE for me BUT I think this is my next favorite in the series.
AND FUN NEWS! My Lady Jane is in the works for a screen adaption and I have never been more shocked or excited by an announcement. Dreams do come true!
October 2, 2022
I was so excited for this one, but Mary and Ada’s story just didn’t deliver like the other redone stories of famous tragic females by these authors. I was enjoying it until about halfway when it started to feel too long, and I just didn’t find a point to where the story was headed. I set it down and started reading another book, hoping the break would make me more excited to come back to it, but reading the last half felt quite laborious. I found the humor awkward and the author interjections annoying. The characters weren’t memorable, and the story itself was somewhat random. 2.5 stars
March 19, 2023
DNF 50%
This is the second book of this project that I have DNFed. It was just a little “too much.” The story was just going in way too many directions. They tried to stuff it full of a ridiculous amount of twists, additions and tropes, and they were just making me frustrated instead of intrigued.
This is the second book of this project that I have DNFed. It was just a little “too much.” The story was just going in way too many directions. They tried to stuff it full of a ridiculous amount of twists, additions and tropes, and they were just making me frustrated instead of intrigued.
May 16, 2023
Peter *PAN* comes alive with Frankenstein writer Mary Godwin and scientific friend Ada. What will happen when nasty men try to take credit for their work and want more of it?!?
As usual, I very much enjoyed this book!!
As usual, I very much enjoyed this book!!
March 18, 2022
Totally clever and funny read. This book had sarcasm, history, and a whole lot of 1800s fun that made for a entertaining read!
September 8, 2022
I wanted to love this, but it was just too long and took forever to get going. It's not bad, it's just not on the same level as My Lady Jane.
February 3, 2023
This was the best one yet I loved everything about it from the romance to the great story that had many funny and serious moments always broken up by amounts of hilarity. I loved the characters especially Ada, Mary and Pan all shined so well in the story a girl who wants to invent one who wants to write and a boy made real by a thought of a girl. I loved Ada for her analytical mind her want for her work to be recognized and not passed off as someone else's she has no want for romance she would rather invent things I loved reading from her point of view. I also loved Mary for her love of books and her want to write I really loved her romance with Pan they just hit it off so well she made him real after all also he is a gentle soul much better than a certain other character who I shall not name. I loved Pan so much a kind and gentle soul with a thousand questions about many things who doesn't understand some things but makes up for it with his wonderful personality. I loved the plot it starts with two girl Ada who is overlooked in a man's world when it comes to inventing things and Mary a girl with many dreams of writing and being recognized for her work it moves on them being fae and many an interesting thing happens like a metal boy becoming real I just loved this book so much looking forward to more from the authors.
January 28, 2023
4.5 stars.
May 23, 2023
3.75
Least favorite, but still good.
Least favorite, but still good.
March 12, 2025
A fun read, pretty average. Not as good as the first book in the series, but still inventive and quirky.
January 2, 2023
My Imaginary Mary was so much fun. They weren't kidding when they compared it to The Princess Bride and The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee. It was so cool to see Mary Shelley and Ada Lovelace, and so many other well known figures. I just wish Mary and Ada got to do everything without the help of magic. As always, I loved the sense of humor in this story - and all of those references. The Monty Python's Flying Circus and Monty Python and the Holy Grail really got me!
February 17, 2023
I always somehow manage to forget how much I love the books in this series until I read another one of them.
Like the others, this book dazzles. It is marvelous. And magnificent. I loved every second of reading it.
I wrote my masters thesis on Mary Wollstonecraft and her influence on her daughter, so I knew a lot about Mary Shelley going into this novel. I also had a brief time where I was reading everything I could find about Ada Byron Lovelace, and it was just so much fun to read again about these women that I already know and love. The plot in the novel, is of course, fantastical, but that did not detract from the joy and wonder I experienced while reading.
The writing style is such a blast. I love the allusions to song lyrics, movies, and other pop culture things sprinkled throughout the book, which makes it even more fun if you know what they are, while not detracting if you don't. The portrayal of women in this book is wonderful, and I really felt like they did so much justice to the real-life women they wrote about.
I love every book in this series. I can't wait for more. And I cannot wait to recommend this book to the teens in my community that I know will love it.
Appropriate for ages 13+. Some kissing.
Like the others, this book dazzles. It is marvelous. And magnificent. I loved every second of reading it.
I wrote my masters thesis on Mary Wollstonecraft and her influence on her daughter, so I knew a lot about Mary Shelley going into this novel. I also had a brief time where I was reading everything I could find about Ada Byron Lovelace, and it was just so much fun to read again about these women that I already know and love. The plot in the novel, is of course, fantastical, but that did not detract from the joy and wonder I experienced while reading.
The writing style is such a blast. I love the allusions to song lyrics, movies, and other pop culture things sprinkled throughout the book, which makes it even more fun if you know what they are, while not detracting if you don't. The portrayal of women in this book is wonderful, and I really felt like they did so much justice to the real-life women they wrote about.
I love every book in this series. I can't wait for more. And I cannot wait to recommend this book to the teens in my community that I know will love it.
Appropriate for ages 13+. Some kissing.
February 28, 2022
Thank you to Edelweiss and the Publisher for an ARC of My Imaginary Mary!
Unfortunately, this book did not hold my interest very well.
I felt the humor in this one was stilted and awkward; it didn't have the charm that My Lady Jane and even My Contrary Mary had. The storyline itself was okay, but I felt like the characters needed to be fleshed out a bit more.
Overall, it was just a 3 star read for me--perhaps even lower.
Unfortunately, this book did not hold my interest very well.
I felt the humor in this one was stilted and awkward; it didn't have the charm that My Lady Jane and even My Contrary Mary had. The storyline itself was okay, but I felt like the characters needed to be fleshed out a bit more.
Overall, it was just a 3 star read for me--perhaps even lower.
July 7, 2025
Thank you NetGalley and publishers for the ARC!
This book was incredible! I've read the other books these authors have all cowritten and My Imaginary Mary is no exception to how brilliant these three are together. I thought the magic was inventive and different, I laughed and didn't realize how much I wanted to slap Percy Shelley.
This book was incredible! I've read the other books these authors have all cowritten and My Imaginary Mary is no exception to how brilliant these three are together. I thought the magic was inventive and different, I laughed and didn't realize how much I wanted to slap Percy Shelley.
January 6, 2025
Still, it was enough that Shelley wanted to kiss Mary. Their time would come. Of this, she had no doubt. Her lips meeting his felt as inevitable to her as death and taxes.
[This review is vaguely spoilery any big plot-related spoilers will be hidden.] I have been both excited and nervous when I learned this installment was about Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley - if you know me you might have noticed my slight obsession with MWS and as such I was probably entering this read with more knowledge about it's protagonists and side characters then an average reader. It wasn't exactly for the better...
Before this one, I only read My Lady Jane and My Contrary Mary from this series and both of those books were fixing stories of women who were executed. There is no ethical dilemma there - getting executed young is tragic and wouldn't it be better if everyone got along! Pretty straightforward there. Here though, I found myself repeatedly questioning whether Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley really was in need of rescuing. Don't get me wrong, her like was full of hardships and tragedies, but it was based on choices she made and making different choices for her just takes her agency. So the question is, if Mary was given a choice to change something about her life, what would she change? I think the best answer would be "not inviting Jane-Claire to the elopement" because that seems to be at the root of at least half of her problems. Would Mary decide not to elope if she knew all the consequences? It's really hard to tell, but I think she would...
Moving on to the actual topic of the book.... right at the beginning you have to suspense a lot of disbelieve because this book bends time pretty ruthlessly. Mary Shelley was born in 1797, Ada Lovelace in 1815 - in this book they are roughly the same age. The book is set in the year without summer, but the Greek fight for independence already happened and Byron died and was resurrected (don't ask). Byron is therefore moved one generation back, but Jane/Claire still flirts with him, although they don't end up having a child together which is a relief. Byron and Shelley know each other previous of the book plot-line, which also wouldn't be the case in real life. If you are able to roll with all of this, you are pretty much set.
I personally didn't really mind most of the above things that much, I was more upset with the changes to the personalities to most of the character. William Godwin gets to be kind and openly affectionate father who treats all of his daughters the same (sure...). Mary-Jane, only referred to as evil stepmother in this book gets to be... yeah, evil stepmother. It kind of makes sense since Mary is narrating and I'm pretty sure that's how she saw her, but I would have like it if the narrative gave a bit of pushback against this. Mary herself is... a bit bland to be honest, she was a messy teenager and quite eccentric person in her youth. Nothing of that is really there, her character is mostly "she's kind and less sciency than Ada so we can understand what she's saying".
The character that resembles his real-life counterpart the least is Percy Bysshe Shelley... *sigh* I really don't want to spend too much big of a chunk of my review defending the guy that did a lot of questionable shit in his life, but here is the thing. [Little more specific spoilers ahead!] He didn't really gain anything by eloping with Mary and he wasn't motivated wanting to gain something. He never stole Mary's creative ideas. I don't even think he really put his artistic career above hers. (She did take care of the children and household and therefore didn't have that much time to write and he did nothing to remedy that, but I feel like that was just the typical thoughtlessness, not intentional sabotage.) He was generous and kind and he often gave more than he had. Which is leading us to his worse parts - he was extremely impractical and unwilling to focus on practical questions. He wasn't patient and wasn't able to support his partner when she needed his support the most - when she was pregnant with his children, when she lost most of said children. And then there is the question of whether he'd been faithful to Mary (he probably wasn't) and whether he fucked her step-sister (I really hope he didn't).
Why am I talking about this... if the authors wanted to show that Percy was no romantic hero and unworthy partner to Mary there was enough existing material that could have shown it. Instead, the authors chose characteristics that he didn't have. He was Mary's first reader and one of the biggest fans of her work, they worked together and some of the topics show in both of their works, but that's not poaching, that's artistic dialogue. He never tried to slow Mary's career down, quite the opposite he helped get her works published.
I also wasn't very keen on the drama surrounding the scene where Mary learns that Shelley is already married. It wasn't a secret that she would learn this late in their relationship. The book makes fun of it a little, but Mary actually didn't believe in marriage - although she did enjoy the advantages of it when she got married. I think that the ultimate prove of this is that in her diaries, she wrote wrong date to her own wedding.
Also, the scene where Percy swims?! Although Percy loved water he never learned to swim! I shouldn't probably be this miffed about this.... Or is this the author's way of fixing his story? It might do the trick...
Okay, enough about Shelley... I could go into similar essay on the topic of Byron who actually helped out Mary a lot after Percy died and although he treated his lovers horribly he actually was a decent friend, but... you know, I don't care enough about him to waste the effort and I also feel like he was written a little better than Shelley.
The person whose story has actually been fixed here and I believe quite well was Fanny Imlay/Wollstonecraft/Godwin. Out of all the characters of the circle of people mentioned in this book, I believe she's the one who needed her story to get fixed and who got justice in this book. The real-life Fanny was an illegitimate daughter of Mary Wollstonecraft and her American lover. William Godwin accepted her as his own daughter when he married her mother, but after Wollstonecraft's death he... probably didn't really care about her enough. She was the quiet and forgotten sister and she took her own life when she was just 24. She is still quiet and quite forgotten in this book, but she does seem happy and she tags along on the adventure and in the end it .
To get to the actual book... I thought the story was okay. It was funny, although not as funny as My Lady Jane. I enjoyed the friendships and the sisterly dynamics at the heart of the book and the romance was pretty sweet, although it took me pretty long time to definitely ascertain between which characters was the romance supposed to be.
What I didn't know going into this book, was that one of the MCs of the book - Ada
Overall, this was an enjoyable read, but it didn't feel like a book about actual Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley. Which is a shame, because she and the people around her are such interesting individuals. Ultimately, this just kind of felt like making Mary more conventional and... that's not something that I'm super interested in...
My Plain Jane is on next!
July 11, 2025
This was heaps better than the other recent books of the series. That said, I did get tired of the plot near the end as we had already gone over it before. A little more editing could have gone a long way.
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