We’re both a big fan of The Lady Janies trilogy and have already read and reviewed My Lady Jane and My Plain Jane. After a long wait, we both finally bought My Calamity Jane! This was an anticipated release for both of us, so we read it almost right away. Today we want to tell you what we thought of the third and final book in this trilogy.

Welcome ​to 1876 and a rootin’-tootin’ America bursting with gunslingers, outlaws, and garou.

JANE (a genuine hero-eene)

Calamity’s her name, and garou hunting’s her game—when she’s not starring in Wild Bill’s Traveling Show, that is. She reckons that if a girl wants to be a legend, she should just go ahead and be one.

FRANK (wolf whistle)
Frank “the Pistol Prince” Butler is the Wild West’s #1 bachelor. He’s also the best sharpshooter on both sides of the Mississippi, but he’s about to meet his match. . . .

ANNIE (get your gun!)
Annie Oakley (yep, that Annie) is lookin’ for a job, not a romance, but she can’t deny there’s something about Frank she likes. Really likes. Still, she’s pretty sure that anything he can do, she can do better.

A HAIRY SITUATION
After a garou hunt goes south and Jane finds a suspicious-like bite on her arm, she turns tail for Deadwood, where there’s been talk of a garou cure. But things ain’t always what they seem—meaning the gang better hightail it after her before they’re a day late and a Jane short.

Cover

Candyce Even though I’m normally the first person to say that I don’t like people on covers, this trilogy has covers that catch my eye. I love how the title just pops and the little notes written that relate to the story. I hope the next trilogy has the same type of covers!
Isabelle I completely agree with Candyce. Normally I don’t like people on covers but somehow it really fits here. And the little notes already give off that funny vibe. I also enjoy the colors of all the typography and I can’t wait to see what the new series will look like.

There were whispers of an evil garou gang known as (wait for it) the Pack, which was headed up by a mysterious figure called (you guessed it) the Alpha.

Review

Candyce If I’m honest, I’m not much of a western person, but My Calamity Jane may have just changed my mind about it. This book is almost 600 pages and still wasn’t enough! I’m still amazed that these three authors are able to write a book together, because the writing flows so well. I seriously couldn’t tell multiple authors did this together.

History is interesting, but this book gives history a twist. My favorite part about this book is when the authors involve themselves in the story. They’ll give information about how things actually went or when things were discovered. Add some sarcasm with lots of witty dialogue and this book had me laughing out loud a lot while reading.I was even surprised by some of the events and twists while reading this book.

Our main characters all (well except for Annie in the beginning) perform in a show. This is already ahead of its time with women that steal the show. Add the hunt for the garou and things get really interesting. I loved the take on the garou and how that aspect of the story played out. The action and mystery part of the story definitely had the most attention and it was nice that the romance wasn’t the aspect of the story that got the most attention. I enjoyed the romance, but it tends to be the biggest part of the plot in most books, so this was refreshing!

Jane is a feisty one with an attitude. She knows she’s good at what she does, but she really does have a heart of gold. She just wants to provide for her family and is determined to make sure she does that. Annie was my favorite I think. Another character that wants to provide for her family, even if they don’t approve of how she wants to do this. Annie made me laugh and I loved how determined she was. Her past influenced her in many ways and it was really interesting to see her thoughts changed as they traveled through the country. Frank was a sensitive one with a secret of his own. He was going to take over the show, even though he wasn’t sure he was ready for it yet. All of these characters had a lot of development and were such a fun book together.

I don’t want to give too much away, because I really think these are stories you need to experience for yourself. The change in POVs, witty dialogue, sarcasm, characters, elements of history and the adventure we read about really takes us on a ride! I can’t wait to read the next book these authors write together!

Isabelle I went into this book without knowing that much. Of course I knew the book was about Calamity Jane but that was pretty much it. I didn’t read the synopsis, or at least not that carefully and I’m glad about that. Beforehand I didn’t know that much about westerns and that part of history. But I am somewhat interested in them.

I love how these authors ‘rewrite’ history. They take some historical figures and events and add in a couple of fantasy elements and all of sudden you get an amazing story. Throughout the story they inserted themselves to give some commentary on what was happening and that was just so well done. These ladies are seriously funny and I kept on laughing out loud while reading this book.

The humor is probably the best part of this book. I laughed out loud so many times! The characters are hilarious and like I said, the commentary by the authors is super funny. Because I didn’t read the synopsis I was also surprised by some of the plot points and twists in this story. It’s always nice to be surprised when reading a book and I’m glad I went in knowing so little. I think the plot of the story was pretty entertaining and it made for a good stand alone story.

Jane was probably my favorite character (although Jane from My Lady Jane will always be my favorite Jane). She has a good heart and she speaks her mind. No, she definitely doesn’t make the best decisions but I loved getting to know her. I also really enjoyed her little romance side-plot. Annie was my least favorite character, I was a bit annoyed by her at times. But I did love that she wanted to do what she was best at to provide for her family. She is not interested in finding a man to marry but in getting a job and sending money back to her family. Our last POV is Frank and I really liked him. I was suspired by his secret, although that is totally on me haha. He has his insecurities but really grows during the course of the book.

These characters found a place in my heart with their witty comments, their adventure and their own good hearts. I loved this last installment of the Janies trilogy and I can’t wait to read about all three Maries coming up next.

We are both really sad that this trilogy is now complete, but we enjoyed every minute of us. Luckily, these authors are writing a new trilogy together about three famous women named Mary. We should be getting the first book next year. If you’ve read any of the book in The Lady Janies trilogy, we’d love to hear from you in the comments!