I love Regency Romance novels. It doesn’t bother me one little bit that there are more Dukes in these stories than people in my hometown, the stories are lovely and sometimes all I want to read is something lovely. So, when I saw My Lady’s Choosing by Kitty Curran and Larissa Zageris I had to read it.
My Lady’s Choosing is a Choose Your Own Adventure novel that stars you as a plucky, penniless, Regency-era London lady. You begin your adventure as a companion to your dragon Aunt and through a series of choices end up in a wide variety of situations and endings.
For those who don’t remember these books, Choose Your Own Adventure novels typically give you two avenues and your selection takes you to a certain page. This continues until the end of the chosen story-line. I loved them as a kid. A number of years ago I discovered that there were adult versions out there but I never really enjoyed them like I did the juvenile versions. Many of the adult choices were daunting and I kept dying or getting kidnapped. The adventure part was missing. I didn’t want to chose whether to take a job or go back to college – I was actually making those decisions already.
This is what makes My Lady’s Choosing so fun for me. Finally I get to participate in a Regency romance from inside the story. I get to decide whether to slap the gentleman caller or kiss him. One path had me taking a position as a companion to an older gentleman or choosing to teach orphans. I decided whether to help the insufferable Lord or travel to Egypt. All paths obviously included romance.
My one complaint is that I felt at times that the authors were overly mocking regency romances. I accept that this book as a parody but still, names were frequently too silly and the characters could be inconsistent in their historical accuracy. But, I let many of the details pass as the Choose Your Own Adventure stories of my childhood were riddled with similar issues.
If you enjoy historical romances this book is a fun way to participate in the story. I had a great time working my way through the book five times already and I know that there are several other paths I have not yet taken!
Tell me, please!
What do you think of Choose Your Own Adventure novels?
Silver Button Books 
Good review! I had no idea choose your own adventure books existed for adults. I really liked the few Goosebumps books I read that were like that, though I got annoyed sometimes because some branches completely changed the context of the scenario.
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Oh my goodness, do you remember reading those books and being blindsided by a shark or something similar? Thanks for the comment!
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I remember one in particular had you pinned by a mechanical monster. If you try to hit it again and break it like the others it’s a real monster and eats you. If you don’t it’s actually the park owner in an elaborate costume and he let’s you go because it was just a spooky joke or something.
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Hah! You have to wonder what those authors were doing when writing the options.
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I had no idea this kind of books exist. My history of reading is to blame. When I started reading novels, I was 8 and I started with Thrillers. It’s a miracle I didn’t grow up an outlaw… hahaha
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You’ve never read any choose your own adventure books? At all?!? They are ridiculous and that makes them fun. This one is great because you can go on a LOT of different adventures with the same characters. In the ones written for kids I was always getting eaten by sharks or abducted by aliens so this one seemed must more rooted in reality (Victorian reality but who is counting?)
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They’re in my TBR now. I swear I have to read them… They really sound ridiculous but I’m sure it’ll be fun as it would be a new reading experience for me. 🙂
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