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kblincoln's review
5.0
One of the reasons I read Connolly's work is for the somewhat madness-tinged darkness she brings to characters in her stories.
You're never quite sure what horrific thing will happen to a character you've just grown fond of-- and it's that edginess she brings to Ironskin that makes it so worth reading.
That-- and dreamy passages where small things from the story become metaphors in clever ways.
Jane is an Ironskin; her face permanently scarred by a feybomb from the Great War. She wears an iron mask to hide the damage and to bottle in the curse that came along with the damage. Fey rage fills her and those around her without the mask.
She takes a position at an isolated estate only to find out her young charge is also changed by the fey. Can she help Dorie enter human society? What does Dorie's father do with all those beautiful society women who come to his house?
The story is loosely based on Jane Eyre, but if you're looking for a retelling that is just a twist on the original, this book is not what you're looking for. Ironskin takes some characters and loose plot outlines from Jane Eyre, but Connolly has made it totally her own by adding the mysterious fey and a country recovering from the loss of fey-run tech and war. But most of all, and this is what I look for in a book, Ironskin is about Jane and how she takes her disfigurement and her own, crippled self-image, and makes something strong.
The romance is not the focus of this book (sadly.) I would have enjoyed more repartee between Edward Rochart and Jane, but Jane's own transformation as well as her work with Dorie kept me plunging along in the story.
And also the aforementioned metaphor passages such as this one where Jane first sees herself as desirable:
"She was not trying to seduce Edward, not trying some ploy to entrap him in the night. No, it was more the thought that with her face turned away perhaps he would see her as she should've been, a girl in a blue dress with embroidered dots like stars."
Or this one where Jane, ashamed she thought of herself as beautiful, compares herself to an abandoned book in the library no one has read:
"Maybe she was worth speaking to when she stood there, but when she was gone? Then, she was like the book she had taken from the library and still not returned. Because would you notice if "Ilhronian History of the 16th Century" was missing from a shelf? Not very likely. It was the sort of book you wouldn't even remember owning, seeing, or reading. And it certainly wouldn't lure you with a pretty blue spine, not when its contents were so unspeakably dull."
So come to Ironskin for the fey and the Jane Eyre allusions, but stay for the horror of what Edward Rochart does and for the lovely prose.
This Book's Snack Rating: Dark chocolate with cocoa nibs and chili pepper for the dark, sweet prose and the hot spice of gothic horror
You're never quite sure what horrific thing will happen to a character you've just grown fond of-- and it's that edginess she brings to Ironskin that makes it so worth reading.
That-- and dreamy passages where small things from the story become metaphors in clever ways.
Jane is an Ironskin; her face permanently scarred by a feybomb from the Great War. She wears an iron mask to hide the damage and to bottle in the curse that came along with the damage. Fey rage fills her and those around her without the mask.
She takes a position at an isolated estate only to find out her young charge is also changed by the fey. Can she help Dorie enter human society? What does Dorie's father do with all those beautiful society women who come to his house?
The story is loosely based on Jane Eyre, but if you're looking for a retelling that is just a twist on the original, this book is not what you're looking for. Ironskin takes some characters and loose plot outlines from Jane Eyre, but Connolly has made it totally her own by adding the mysterious fey and a country recovering from the loss of fey-run tech and war. But most of all, and this is what I look for in a book, Ironskin is about Jane and how she takes her disfigurement and her own, crippled self-image, and makes something strong.
The romance is not the focus of this book (sadly.) I would have enjoyed more repartee between Edward Rochart and Jane, but Jane's own transformation as well as her work with Dorie kept me plunging along in the story.
And also the aforementioned metaphor passages such as this one where Jane first sees herself as desirable:
"She was not trying to seduce Edward, not trying some ploy to entrap him in the night. No, it was more the thought that with her face turned away perhaps he would see her as she should've been, a girl in a blue dress with embroidered dots like stars."
Or this one where Jane, ashamed she thought of herself as beautiful, compares herself to an abandoned book in the library no one has read:
"Maybe she was worth speaking to when she stood there, but when she was gone? Then, she was like the book she had taken from the library and still not returned. Because would you notice if "Ilhronian History of the 16th Century" was missing from a shelf? Not very likely. It was the sort of book you wouldn't even remember owning, seeing, or reading. And it certainly wouldn't lure you with a pretty blue spine, not when its contents were so unspeakably dull."
So come to Ironskin for the fey and the Jane Eyre allusions, but stay for the horror of what Edward Rochart does and for the lovely prose.
This Book's Snack Rating: Dark chocolate with cocoa nibs and chili pepper for the dark, sweet prose and the hot spice of gothic horror
ewalrath's review
4.0
Just really enjoyed it- although it was a bit more disturbing than I had thought it would be. Which might be a plus to some people.
cakereads's review
3.0
I STILL CAN'T GET OVER THE ENDING - JANE STUMBLING AROUND WITH HER FACE RIPPED OFF????? EDWARD JUST SLAMMING THE WINDOW DOWN ONTO HIS HANDS INTO IRON NAILS????? It was such a WTF moment as I was reading it... I cannot even imagine if someone attempted to turn that scene into something visual...
greenldydragon's review
4.0
This book is really interesting from the start based off of the unique twists the author has made to the standard fantasy/alternative reality world. The fae do not have actual bodies, but rather can steal the bodies of humans that they have killed. If you are only injured, then you are left with a fae curse. I won't go into too much detail, as that'd be "spoilers", but wearing a mask of iron helps the main character control her curse and its' effects on the people around her. This sets up a curious background for the Jane Eyre-like plot. It took only one chapter to start to feel connected to the main character, Jane, but the overall star (in my mind) is Poole (the butler). Poole is awesome. She only really comes into focus the last half of the book, but I'd love to read an entire novel about her! We only learn a small amount about her background, but what she does reveal is extremely interesting (at least to my over-exuberant imagination).
I would definitely recommend reading this book if you are into fantasy, steampunk or jane eyre.
I would definitely recommend reading this book if you are into fantasy, steampunk or jane eyre.
mjfmjfmjf's review
3.0
An Endeavour Award submission. An okay fantasy. Yet another faerie world intermixing with the real world but in this one the Fae were at war and apparently lost or at least withdrew to fight a quieter war. Basically a Victorian novel with magic and a governess and a young charge, which also basically means I didn't like it much. However the details of the Faerie technology had potential. 3.5 of 5.
jazzrj's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
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
ladyhighwayman's review
3.0
3.5
If you haven't guessed by the synopsis, this is a sort of Jane Eyre retelling. I didn't realize it was when I requested it, so I was stuck with it, hoping that it was a decent story.
And it was. I was surprised. I usually don't read these kinds of fantasy stories, but I think the 'Eyreish' qualities of the story is what kept me focused. And somehow, the book managed to pay homage to Jane Eyre, while still being its own story. Also, the story seems to take place in an alternate past setting. Although never specified, it definitely doesn't take place in current times.
The book was slow going at first, but a little more than halfway through, it started to pickup, and then the action didn't stop. There were a lot of 'holy crap, did that just happen?' moments.
There will be a sequel, and I'm interested in how that's going to go. Perhaps that will be even more of its own story, and less Jane Eyreish.
If you haven't guessed by the synopsis, this is a sort of Jane Eyre retelling. I didn't realize it was when I requested it, so I was stuck with it, hoping that it was a decent story.
And it was. I was surprised. I usually don't read these kinds of fantasy stories, but I think the 'Eyreish' qualities of the story is what kept me focused. And somehow, the book managed to pay homage to Jane Eyre, while still being its own story. Also, the story seems to take place in an alternate past setting. Although never specified, it definitely doesn't take place in current times.
The book was slow going at first, but a little more than halfway through, it started to pickup, and then the action didn't stop. There were a lot of 'holy crap, did that just happen?' moments.
There will be a sequel, and I'm interested in how that's going to go. Perhaps that will be even more of its own story, and less Jane Eyreish.
rachel_abby_reads's review
2.0
I want to review this carefully, because I honestly feel that 2 stars is a little generous.
First: Jacket cover blurbs compare this to Beauty and the Beast and Jane Eyre, with a steampunk edge. The author even makes a reference in her acknowledgements that people kept telling her that "your book wants to be Jane Eyre," which she denies knowledge of, and then disingenuously praises Charlotte Bronte's Vilette.
Her book has some pretty serious plot similarities. Jane Eliot, protagonist, falls in love with her employer (Edward Rochart) while being governess to his child. He has a hideous secret, there's a Blanche Ingleby roaming around here and there, and Jane has a sister named Helen. She's fired from a Lowood style school (the name is even similar, though I wouldn't swear to it without the book actually being in hand). Rochart even has his own variety of shocking marital partner.
You don't get to pretend you aren't copying a classic work just because you don't devotedly hit every plot point.
For me, the power of Jane Eyre is in a woman making decisions based on what is right, not what seems easiest or most comfortable. That element is utterly absent from this book.
Second: Jane Eliot is the beast - at least physically. She was caught in a bomb blast that marred her face, and she can either wear an iron mask and be a freak or leave it off be a nightmare. Either way, she is focused intently on her appearance. And it isn't true love that restores her beauty, either. It's a desperate vanity and an ill-advised magical plastic surgery. Since the novel is rife with Jane's snide contempt of other women seeking surgical improvement, her eager participation feels hypocritical.
Third: The romance that isn't. There's minimal conversation and interaction. There are just a handful of conversations that indicate interest between Jane and Rochart. The romance doesn't even feel like the point of the story, which makes its presence even more lame.
Fourth: Heavy handed references that fail to deliver. Edward Rochart, in two conversations with Jane, references both Beauty and the Beast and Tam Lin fairy tales. There are hints and elements of both, without really honoring either.
Fifth: Tell me why the fey are the bad guys again? War, sure- but the person telling the story usually gets to decide who the good guys are. As I understood it: 1) humans were polluting pigs (which is a common modern theme); 2) the fey offered fey tech so humans could stop polluting; 3) it worked for a while; 4) humans built more factories, with more pollution; so 5) the fey went to war, with bombs, decaying tech, and a zombie-like habitation of dead human bodies. I'm pretty sure a modern sensibility includes caring about the environment (and that zombies are cool). In fact, inhabiting a dead body is just the ultimate in recycling.
This isn't a focused review- but it's an accurate reflection of the unfocused feel of the book. It looked and felt as though she couldn't decide what she wanted it to be, so she did a fey-zombie like cannibalization of the works that she referenced, without including any of their best moments.
First: Jacket cover blurbs compare this to Beauty and the Beast and Jane Eyre, with a steampunk edge. The author even makes a reference in her acknowledgements that people kept telling her that "your book wants to be Jane Eyre," which she denies knowledge of, and then disingenuously praises Charlotte Bronte's Vilette.
Her book has some pretty serious plot similarities. Jane Eliot, protagonist, falls in love with her employer (Edward Rochart) while being governess to his child. He has a hideous secret, there's a Blanche Ingleby roaming around here and there, and Jane has a sister named Helen. She's fired from a Lowood style school (the name is even similar, though I wouldn't swear to it without the book actually being in hand). Rochart even has his own variety of shocking marital partner.
You don't get to pretend you aren't copying a classic work just because you don't devotedly hit every plot point.
For me, the power of Jane Eyre is in a woman making decisions based on what is right, not what seems easiest or most comfortable. That element is utterly absent from this book.
Second: Jane Eliot is the beast - at least physically. She was caught in a bomb blast that marred her face, and she can either wear an iron mask and be a freak or leave it off be a nightmare. Either way, she is focused intently on her appearance. And it isn't true love that restores her beauty, either. It's a desperate vanity and an ill-advised magical plastic surgery. Since the novel is rife with Jane's snide contempt of other women seeking surgical improvement, her eager participation feels hypocritical.
Third: The romance that isn't. There's minimal conversation and interaction. There are just a handful of conversations that indicate interest between Jane and Rochart. The romance doesn't even feel like the point of the story, which makes its presence even more lame.
Fourth: Heavy handed references that fail to deliver. Edward Rochart, in two conversations with Jane, references both Beauty and the Beast and Tam Lin fairy tales. There are hints and elements of both, without really honoring either.
Fifth: Tell me why the fey are the bad guys again? War, sure- but the person telling the story usually gets to decide who the good guys are. As I understood it: 1) humans were polluting pigs (which is a common modern theme); 2) the fey offered fey tech so humans could stop polluting; 3) it worked for a while; 4) humans built more factories, with more pollution; so 5) the fey went to war, with bombs, decaying tech, and a zombie-like habitation of dead human bodies. I'm pretty sure a modern sensibility includes caring about the environment (and that zombies are cool). In fact, inhabiting a dead body is just the ultimate in recycling.
This isn't a focused review- but it's an accurate reflection of the unfocused feel of the book. It looked and felt as though she couldn't decide what she wanted it to be, so she did a fey-zombie like cannibalization of the works that she referenced, without including any of their best moments.