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antimony's review against another edition
3.0
took like roughly a million years (2/3 of the book) to pick up and get good (like it's all suppsoed to be about her killing men and getting revenge....why did it take HALF the book for her to kill her first guy. and she kind of only really killed 2 guys i think.) but i did like the end. but GODD the first half was boring. maybe it's because ive never read jane eyre but i don't get why this story had to be a pseudo retelling? it could have stood on its own without the framework of jane eyre at the beginning and then maybe we could have gotten to the interesting part a lot faster.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Sexual assault
maddiereadswords's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I'll admit, it took me a few chapters to really get into this book, but once I did, I couldn't put it down. I've loved Jane Eyre for years, and this felt like such a worthy sequel/spin-off. My favorite aspect of it by far is the amount of friendships and community between women and girls. At no point does this book play into mean girl stereotypes; Adele grew up in a community of women who looked out for each other, and that's the energy that's woven into the entire book. There's even a pub run by a trans man that caters primarily to queer women (that I would pay good money to read a spin-off about!!), and the feeling of sisterhood, and community was such a highlight for me. All of the characters felt real and developed, the relationships were sweet, and I think Adele was a great protagonist.
My biggest gripe was with the pacing of the book. Most of the first third of it was a prequel to/retelling of Jane Eyre from Adele's POV which was interesting enough, but it isn't until a good way into the book that the action really starts. I would have liked a little more development of Adele's midnight training sessions with Nan and their escapades as that aspect felt rather rushed. Also pay attention to the content warnings for this one! It's a YA book and there's nothing too horribly graphic that happens, but it is really dark at points.
Also, I personally really like the twist at the end when Rochester confesses to writing the letters from Eric and tries to assault Adele, which leads to Adele killing him not because I like the twist, but because quite frankly, yeah I believe it of one of my personal worst literary enemies, Edward Rochester. I love Jane Eyre in spite of him; I've always hated that man so much, so like, good for Adele. (Also worth noting that the author's note at the end really expands on why she made the choices she did with respect to the source material, which I personally found really interesting, and a compelling interpretation of the text.)
Overall, I really loved this book!! I totally understand that it's not for everyone (once again, please check the content warnings!!), but if you're a fan of Jane Eyre, I would still highly recommend giving this a try.
My biggest gripe was with the pacing of the book. Most of the first third of it was a prequel to/retelling of Jane Eyre from Adele's POV which was interesting enough, but it isn't until a good way into the book that the action really starts. I would have liked a little more development of Adele's midnight training sessions with Nan and their escapades as that aspect felt rather rushed. Also pay attention to the content warnings for this one! It's a YA book and there's nothing too horribly graphic that happens, but it is really dark at points.
Also, I personally really like the twist at the end
Overall, I really loved this book!! I totally understand that it's not for everyone (once again, please check the content warnings!!), but if you're a fan of Jane Eyre, I would still highly recommend giving this a try.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Murder, Rape, and Death of parent
toorsdenote's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Death of parent, Grief, Murder, Terminal illness, and Violence
Moderate: Rape, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Abandonment, Confinement, Violence, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, and Forced institutionalization
tlholmes's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Grief, Domestic abuse, Murder, Sexual violence, Violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Death, Mental illness, Classism, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Misogyny, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, and Incest
cboddie's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
9th & up
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault and Gaslighting
bobblemoples's review against another edition
dark
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault, Incest, Sexual harassment, and Sexism
avidreaderandgeekgirl's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I haven't read any of Jane Eyre or any of those books. But I know enough from retellings to say that this was kind of a second book/retelling but from the daughter's perspective. And so I'm not sure how many elements were changed. But I did like what she did with the characters. That being said I did figure out one major "twist" pretty early, but I didn't predict everything about it, just the who. I enjoyed the feminism and the powerful women. Overall a good book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Grief, Misogyny, Death, and Murder
Moderate: Sexual content, Sexual assault, Alcohol, Death of parent, Violence, and Vomit
emily__michelle's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pedophilia, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, and Murder
Minor: Child abuse and Classism
edoherty's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Adèle Varens, Rochester's ward, grows far beyond the pages of Jane Eyre in this book. It is angry and passionate and I loved it tremendously.
My only criticism, and it is a significant one, has to do with the climax of Part 4 and what it does to the book overall.I really hate that Rochester becomes just another violent predator. Plotwise, it comes out of nowhere, and themewise, it oversimplifies the danger presented by those with power by making them only rapists. I would have preferred that he instead announce his intention to use his control over Adèle's inheritance and ability to marry to control her life and dictate her future. They could have argued and he could have died of a stroke, or he could have had a heart attack upon attempting to rise from his sickbed to strike her, and the resolution of the story could play out very similarly to how it already does - instead of making Fairfax a creation of Rochester's, make him untrustworthy and/or weak, a pawn of his father's, who withdraws his proposal in a letter that Rochester shows Adèle: Jane wouldn't know about it, and Adèle could still leave with Nan. It bothers me a lot that the book acknowledges only one sort of villainy.
Despite that, I loved the rest of the book enough that it overcomes my reservations about that aspect.
My only criticism, and it is a significant one, has to do with the climax of Part 4 and what it does to the book overall.
Despite that, I loved the rest of the book enough that it overcomes my reservations about that aspect.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual harassment
Moderate: Sexual assault, Child abuse, and Sexual violence
lizgriffinwords's review against another edition
DNF at 52%
Thank you NetGalley for the e-audiobook preview.
Like Jane Eyre itself, this retelling is so… very… slow. Bravo for emulating the style of the classic, but perhaps too well. The first several chapters catch the reader up on Adele’s view of the events of Jane Eyre, but the catchy hook/premise of this retelling doesn’t occur until about the 50% mark.
Thank you NetGalley for the e-audiobook preview.
Like Jane Eyre itself, this retelling is so… very… slow. Bravo for emulating the style of the classic, but perhaps too well. The first several chapters catch the reader up on Adele’s view of the events of Jane Eyre, but the catchy hook/premise of this retelling doesn’t occur until about the 50% mark.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse and Sexual assault