MY LADY'S CHOOSING is a choose-your-own-adventure regency romance novel and, as someone who grew up reading the classic CYOA stories, I had a lot of fun with it. Before I get into the review - I rarely recommend a specific format, but I do think the experience would be better if I was reading it in paper rather than clumsily attempting to swipe to the correct page.



The Romantic Options

When you open up the book, you are presented with a cast of characters. One of them is you: a plucky but penniless young woman who currently serves as a lady's companion to a woman not-so-affectionately nicknamed "The Dragon." The others are...

Lady Evangeline - Your friend and female potential romantic partner. You're given a choice at one point to accompany her to Egypt, to a scandalous women's club, and on other adventures.

Sir Benedict - This romantic path is something more of a Mr. Darcy trope. He's uptight and always must do The Done Thing. You get to ruffle his feathers, which is pretty amusing.

"Mac" - A retired Scottish soldier who has dedicated his life to widows and orphans. He's the nice cuddly cinnamon roll you want to take to bed.

Craven - The bad boy of the bunch. This is the hero you'd never want in real life but maybe want to read about? (IDK, I didn't spend much time in his story.)

That's three gentlemen and one lady for you to choose from, all white. Regency readers will quickly recognize the archetypes they often see in popular novels, which makes for some entertaining satire as you read on. (One of the estates is called "Manberley.")



The Reading Experience

If you're familiar with CYOA novels, you'll easily pick up the rhythm of the story. Every couple of pages you're either directed to another scene (Turn to page 126.) or given a choice to make, with two different page directions. (If you want to go to Egypt, turn to page 93. If you want to go to London, turn to page 240.)

The full book is 352 pages, including a few illustrations, so you can imagine just under 1/4 of the book for each romance if you'd like. All of the storylines share a few pages at the beginning as you meet characters, but they quickly diverge and take you through any number of tropes and situations.



Should You Read This?

If you're looking for a long, emotionally evocative story, this isn't the book for you. If you're a longtime romance reader, you'll find a lot of jokes and references to love.

I picked this book up at exactly the right time. I've had a hard time really sinking into a book lately, and the quick and lively storytelling in these stories was diverting but didn't require much of me. I look forward to buying the completed version in paperback so I can enjoy all of the illustrations.



CW for some scenes of attempted assault or coercion.

This is a super fun idea, and the elevated tone and tongue-in-cheek humor really entertained me. It's definitely a different reading pace, but overall, just a cute book.

However, I didn't anticipate that this book is simply just better suited to a paper format. The flipping back and forth on digital pages wasn't as fun, and one of the things I loved about choose your own adventure stories as a kid was that I could "cheat" by flipping back and forth between both options before deciding which path to take. I think I'll definitely be paging through this one at a bookstore once it's released. Format does matter, and this story is ill suited to an eBook.

At this point I've gotten I think most of the endings that involve Benedict (my fav bachelor), so I feel competent to comment on it.

This is mad fun. It's ridiculous and bawdy at times, silly and charming at others. As a long time fan and reader of romances from the Regency era I found a lot to be familiar tropes - the dragon dowager, marriages of convenience, seedy theatre type folk, secluded corners and potted plants large enough to hide you from view as you passionately make out.

Regency England had A LOT of large potted plants that enabled you to hide behind for trysts.

The writers also had a lot of fun with the flowery language of the old and current books. "Her dewy core", "a sheath for his sword"...yeah sounds about right. It's amazing how many words can be used to described the act of sex.

The book doesn't pretend seriousness-not when your life is in danger (roll for seduction wiles!) or the poor souls the heavily brogued Mac wants to help save.

As a CYOA type book it can feel disjointed, as some paths/choices lead to the same establishing outcome, but largely it's just good fun and who doesn't need that?

This was great fun! Choose your adventure for grownups with an added bonus of the regency period.

I picked up this book because I am huge sucker for historical fiction, and I love the concept of interactive content! It all started with an adventure book that I once found in my sport's club library. Then came Carly Rae Jepsen's interactive music video for " Run Away with Me" (Watch it here!), so when I read the description of My Lady's Choosing, I had to pick it up.

At first, I was enjoying it. I loved the characters and their unique way of running things. The storyline I decided to follow was really interesting and full of events. However, I began to notice things I didn't like.

Not that Interactive

1) By the end of some chapters, I was offered two choices to pick from. Usually, they were mostly about either picking your love interest, or deciding who you should trust & and giving them a 2nd chance. I found that to be a bit annoying that a lot of my choices were limited to that only.

Also, I didn't get to choose what happens next very frequently. I was forced to follow whatever page number was left for me by the end of the chapter.

2) Apparently, I ( my character) was able to solve mysteries that I never saw coming as I read the book. The character I was supposed to be knew things I didn't know, and that simply doesn't mesh well with the concept of Interactive turn of events.

Characters

Like I said, I loved the unique characteristics of each character, but that didn't last for long. The characters, including mine, would act a certain way, then during the next chapter, they would think and act like the exact opposite.

Romance

The romance was a bit raunchy for me, especially because the romance escalated very quickly, and the number of people that the main character, yours truly, got to mingle with were just too much. That left me feeling uncomfortable, and made me stop reading the remaining possibilities.


If this sounds like your cup of tea, then you are definitely going to enjoy it.

I received a review copy in exchange with an honest review.

Whisk yourself away on this adult “choose-your-own adventure" romance! As a retired children’s librarian, I am quite familiar with this genre. Unfortunately, I am not a fan nor do I find it interesting! Sorry!

My Lady's Choosing by Kitty Curran will be available April 3, 2018 from Quirk Books. An egalley of this book was made available from the publisher in exchange for a honest review

Delightfully tongue in cheek. Brilliant idea to make a choose your own adventure romance.

This book is essentially a ‘choose your own adventure’ type of story where you decide which path your character is about to take. Readers who have read many literary romance novels might find this book equally charming and amusing. Needless to say, expect regency era tropes and a couple of illustrations that brings the story (more like its characters) to life. You’ll see some Jane Austen references, for instance. Once you’ve completed a journey and reached its ending, you can start all over again and choose another adventure. This book isn’t short on strong-willed heroines. And in the end, it becomes a clever but rather repetitive humorous novel.

The downside to this book is the pacing and the writing (its diction). The pacing is slower in some places. The first time I read this book, I find myself choosing the path with the shorter chapters (less pages). Other times I choose the path that does not seem boring. Because the writing and diction was reminiscent or slightly similar to old English, some terms were unfamiliar to me. Also, I was too lazy to keep looking it up on online (I could care less). If you’re that type of person, I suggested getting this on kindle so you can just highlight the word and quickly search for it. Otherwise, the cover of this book is aesthetically pleasing so it could be a perfect gift for Jane Austen fans.

Another reviewer did this and I thought it was a good idea. Rating for concept: 4 stars. Rating for execution: 2 stars. Rounding to 3 stars.

This is a great gift book for anyone who reads romance and/or classic romantic literature (think Austen, the Brontes, etc.). It reminds me a lot of Lost in Austen or Austenland. In that way, I could be entertained enough to pick it up but not enough to really enjoy it. The gimmick got old fast. Too obvious and tongue in cheek to really keep me wanting but I smiled throughout.

Who, of a certain age, doesn't look at a "choose-your-own-adventure" book with a certain wistful nostalgia? Who is now into historical romances?

Who didn't know that one could combine the two and come up with literary (or humorous at least) gold?

I didn't know that, but this book has taught me something. That bosoms heaving and Scots who perpetually manage to lose their shirts can be delivered in a down-right hysterical fashion.

I love Regency era romances, but they can be rather formulaic. This book pokes gentle and not so subtle fun, at those tropes. I read bits of it out loud to my Roomie and we were practically rolling on the floor with laughter. It was even funnier when I flipped to and read the wrong page and didn't notice until halfway down, because it was so incredibly similar. That's not a neg, that is a brilliant understanding of the genre and ability to mimic it in a laughing so hard I am crying while reading it by the authors.

So kudos to you. 5, I can't breathe through the laughter, stars. Recommend for those who appreciate the poking of fun at Regency romance tropes, those who enjoy Regency romance and choose your own adventure books AND who don't mind things steamy in a rather silly way. I would say upper YA to adult on this one. I have a few friends I will be recommending this one to, as well as customers. : )

My thanks to NetGalley and Quirk Books for an eARC copy of this book to read and review.

I will be honest and admit I have never been a huge fan of choose your own adventure. When two choices for a character lay before me I have a hard time knowing which choice will lead me to the ending I want. It's taken me a while, but I finally understand that is the whole point. A book that can be different each time you read it? That's pretty much the dream. My Lady's Choosing isn't just a regency era romance book (it definitely is that as well), but it's also a book full of possibility. You are the main character, you make the choices, and you choose what the right course is, so your happily ever after is all in your hands.

Creative, fun, and steamy. For all those kids who grew up reading choose your own adventure novels, only to be hemmed in by choice-less books as they grew up. I loved my adventure through the highlands, and look forward to buying a paper copy when it comes out. That way I can experience London, Egypt, and espionage, all while holding my last choice with my fingers, so I can go back and choose again!

Interactive bodice ripper. That was all that was needed to sell me on this book, to be honest, and it is definitely worth it. Anyone who has read a decent amount of Gothic and romantic literature will spot the tropes, not to mention recognise where the heroes of this story came from. A fun way to spend a few hours and the best part is, there's so many ways you can go with it, so rereading is more than worthwhile.

I normally don't read romance books, but the idea of a choose your own book with a Jane austen flair was intriguing. It was fun and witty. My only issue is that I'd like more options and like many choose your one books once I read the path I chose I didn't feel like looking at the others. But I'd recommend it if you want a fresh take on the romance genre.
Thanks to Netgalley for providing a copy for an honest review.

A Regency take on the ‘choose your own adventure’ type book, this book places the reader as the leading lady in a story involving Regency ballrooms, espionage, and trips to the Scottish Highlands, or perhaps Egypt depending on which way you choose to take the story.
Essentially, the plot begins in a ballroom and you have to choose between becoming a governess to a Lord, becoming a companion to Lady Evangeline on her travels, or becoming a teacher to a group of orphans at an institution run by a mysterious Scotsman. Depending on your choice, the story will take you on an adventure (in my case, to the Highlands), and the story reaches pivotal points where you need to choose what you, as the heroine of the book, do next. There are plenty of opportunities to change your mind as the story tries to turn you away from your chosen path by making you mistrust the characters you are on your journey with, and there’s always the option to leave behind your choice and take that trip to Egypt after all.
Light-hearted, something different, and a bit of fun, this book is good for whiling away an hour or so, and the good thing is, when you get to the end, you can always start again and make a different choice. Indeed, it’s probably worth starting again, just to see if you missed a more exciting adventure if you’d made a different choice earlier on.
As an e-book, the PDF version worked fine, allowing you to jump to the appropriate page easily by selecting the appropriate option at the bottom of the page.

Received an electronic ARC through NetGalley. I am not generally a romance reader, but I couldn’t resist the novelty of choosing the adventure. This will not be mistaken for great literature, but it was fun.

This was so delightful! To no one's surprise, I was tempted by the mysterious man and ended up with the charming lesbian, which is also the plot of my real life. It's clever and self-aware, and I'll have fun going back and exploring the other options!

This is such a great concept! I loved the various characters and all the twists this book can take. After working through the story two different ways, I skimmed some of the other chapters and was amazed with how many directions this book is able to take. It is well done and silly. You cannot take this book too seriously as a romance, but it is so much fun!

Why aren't there more books like My Lady's Choosing?
And, what I mean by that?
Interactive novels, where you are the heroine and choose your own path among sometimes hard options, dealing with action, sexy potential romantic interests and a lot of suspense to see where your next move will take you.

I decided to write my review after the very first adventure I went on, because I was very impressed by this book, but I definitely know that it can offer whole evenings full of endless adventures and steamy interactions.

In fact, the very first adventure I embarked on included a sexy Scots man, whose motives and actions weren't always clear, a lot of intrigue with dangerous and tricky (and very, very hard) options available (I honestly still wonder how I made it out of all this alive AND with a happy ending), intelligent dialogues, a big mystery and a lot of action.

You might wonder how it is possible for a single path of this book to end up being so full of adventure that kept me glued to it until the (happy, thankfully, in my case) end.
And, this is exactly the magic of this book.
When you first open it, read the introduction and meet the characters you never imagine the completely unexpected plot twists appearing before you, as well as the big journey you have just embarked on.

If you love interactive novels, this one won't disappoint you. On the contrary, it will prove to be a totally amazing experience.
If you haven't tried interactive novels before, or even if you do not usually enjoy them, I can assure you that this book is so full of story and intrigue and the fact that you can decide what you want your heroine to be, from a witty and intelligent woman to an adventure-seeking person travelling in the wildest places with the wildest people, will surely blow you away.

All in all, 5 stars because this was amazing and I want to wrap up the review because I can't get early enough back to this novel, explore all the possible options and head on new and exciting adventures.

3.5 stars for this interactive romance.

I was intrigued by the fact that this is a book where you choose your own romantic adventure. Despite not being a reader of many romantic novels, on the whole I enjoyed this book because of its great humour. My Lady's Choosing is funny - it is arch, knowing, ironic and gleeful, and it is a fun-filled pastiche of literary creations and writers such as Austen's Mr Darcy and Lord Byron. I have not read all of the options in the book but I can vouch for the Darcy-esque story as being good fun and not too explicit until the very end of the story. Personally, I am not a fan of sex scenes in books (to me, it is similar to watching an old horror movie but then they spoil it all by showing you the monster/vampire/zombie and it is ridiculously unbelievable and twee. Allusion can be far more effective than show and tell). Perhaps any follow-up books could give readers the additional option of whether they want to choose explicit scenes or not?

I received this ebook free from NetGalley in return for an honest review.