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3.21 AVERAGE
3.21 AVERAGE
I never liked Jane Eyre.
Call it snobbery - call it lack of appreciation for the finer things. Whatever you'd like to call it, I always disliked it. Going into this, I probably should've known better solely because of that correlation BUT I wanted to try Ironskin. Now, fans of the original Jane, you might truly enjoy this. The world building is actually quite fantastic. The steampunkish elements were riveting/broke the norm. The main characters were even interesting and likeable. I can't really give you a solid reason why this didn't hit home for me but I struggled a bit with it.
Maybe it's time to go back and reevaluate my opinion of Jane Eyre, though. Possibly that might make Ironskin ring a little more true?
Call it snobbery - call it lack of appreciation for the finer things. Whatever you'd like to call it, I always disliked it. Going into this, I probably should've known better solely because of that correlation BUT I wanted to try Ironskin. Now, fans of the original Jane, you might truly enjoy this. The world building is actually quite fantastic. The steampunkish elements were riveting/broke the norm. The main characters were even interesting and likeable. I can't really give you a solid reason why this didn't hit home for me but I struggled a bit with it.
Maybe it's time to go back and reevaluate my opinion of Jane Eyre, though. Possibly that might make Ironskin ring a little more true?
Jane Eyre rewritten with fairies, magic, sci-fi evil, oh my!
Beauty and the Beast along with the story of Jane Eyre are two of my most favourite things. When combined together in this steampunk world, where the fae and the great war blend together, the story of Jane Eliot is one that I will read and re-read again.
I was instantly hooked from the very first page I loved the parallels and the intriguing twists and turns. Finding out that this story is the first in a trilogy is absolutely thrilling!
I highly recommended this book to anyone who loves fairy tales and faeries.
I was instantly hooked from the very first page I loved the parallels and the intriguing twists and turns. Finding out that this story is the first in a trilogy is absolutely thrilling!
I highly recommended this book to anyone who loves fairy tales and faeries.
Ironskin, based on many of the reviews from Goodreads, is supposed to be a retelling of Jane Eyre with steampunk and fantasy elements. Now, let me admit rather quickly that I have never read Jane Eyre. Okay, so I get the basic premise and I know I need to read it one of these days and it's a great literary classic... I just haven't read it yet.
So, Ironskin is a story about Jane, a governess who wears an iron mask to hide the scar she received during the Fey Wars. She's lost her job in the city and gets a new one at a manor in the middle of nowhere. The story is set in an alternate universe, amd during regency times, but beyond that the only hints of steampunk are in the iron items people wear to cover up Fey scars. These scars are curses, you see, and without covering them up the curses would effect everyone around the bearer and not just the bearer themselves.
I'm a little disappointed about the lack of steampunk elements, but at the same time I loved the electricity in the story itself. In this alternate universe we used to get out power and technology from the Fey. Until, of course, the war. Now humans are struggling and trying to get by... but we don't know how. I would have loved more of an explanation, but since Jane doesn't know it makes sense that the readers don't know.
Jane didn't come across as a very strong, independent woman, which I wasn't too fond of. But she was consistent. She was a woman who had been damaged by the war and the loss of her family. The only person left to her was her sister Helen who had moved on with her own life and was getting married so Jane moved on and got a job far away from her sister. She wore her iron mask, she took care of her charge, and she was stubborn. She wasn't a weak woman. Don't get me wrong, she wasn't the strong independent woman we expect to see today, but for the time the book was set in, she was a very independent woman who was just trying to get by in the world, and that was the best part of the book.
The romantic relationship in the story felt forced. Jane and her employer were never really even in the same room together for very long, they had very few conversations even when they were in the same room, yet somehow they both fell in love with the other? I'm not so sure I can believe it, and while I do think there needed to be a relationship for the story I don't like a forced relationship.
The ending felt rushed, and while it was an ending, I was hoping that there would be a sequel (Goodreads says there's supposed to be one, at least) because there are so many unanswered questions that I didn't find it satisfying at all. I'm hoping that the sequel will answer those questions and provide that satisfaction.
So, Ironskin is a story about Jane, a governess who wears an iron mask to hide the scar she received during the Fey Wars. She's lost her job in the city and gets a new one at a manor in the middle of nowhere. The story is set in an alternate universe, amd during regency times, but beyond that the only hints of steampunk are in the iron items people wear to cover up Fey scars. These scars are curses, you see, and without covering them up the curses would effect everyone around the bearer and not just the bearer themselves.
I'm a little disappointed about the lack of steampunk elements, but at the same time I loved the electricity in the story itself. In this alternate universe we used to get out power and technology from the Fey. Until, of course, the war. Now humans are struggling and trying to get by... but we don't know how. I would have loved more of an explanation, but since Jane doesn't know it makes sense that the readers don't know.
Jane didn't come across as a very strong, independent woman, which I wasn't too fond of. But she was consistent. She was a woman who had been damaged by the war and the loss of her family. The only person left to her was her sister Helen who had moved on with her own life and was getting married so Jane moved on and got a job far away from her sister. She wore her iron mask, she took care of her charge, and she was stubborn. She wasn't a weak woman. Don't get me wrong, she wasn't the strong independent woman we expect to see today, but for the time the book was set in, she was a very independent woman who was just trying to get by in the world, and that was the best part of the book.
The romantic relationship in the story felt forced. Jane and her employer were never really even in the same room together for very long, they had very few conversations even when they were in the same room, yet somehow they both fell in love with the other? I'm not so sure I can believe it, and while I do think there needed to be a relationship for the story I don't like a forced relationship.
The ending felt rushed, and while it was an ending, I was hoping that there would be a sequel (Goodreads says there's supposed to be one, at least) because there are so many unanswered questions that I didn't find it satisfying at all. I'm hoping that the sequel will answer those questions and provide that satisfaction.
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Fantastic read. Really great, and has me thinking about things still. Will likely reread.
That being said, it doesn't get a five star (which I usually give to books I'll read more than once) because I feel this books should have some content warnings. That may not have been such a big trend when this book came out, but in all honesty, chapter sixteen had me squicked way tf out, and it wasn't even that gory.
I listened to the audiobook, and Rosalyn Landor's performance was phenomenal. All the stars for her.
That being said, it doesn't get a five star (which I usually give to books I'll read more than once) because I feel this books should have some content warnings. That may not have been such a big trend when this book came out, but in all honesty, chapter sixteen had me squicked way tf out, and it wasn't even that gory.
I listened to the audiobook, and Rosalyn Landor's performance was phenomenal. All the stars for her.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Gaslighting, War
IRONSKIN took an…interesting approach to retelling Jane Eyre with fantastical elements. Inconsistent with everything from its plot to its characterization, IRONSKIN will probably be a temporarily intriguing but ultimately forgettable entry in the category of classic retellings.
Readers who love Jane Eyre will probably find fewer things objectionable in IRONSKIN. I, however, was never a fan of the bland heroine, brooding, self-deprecating hero, and the melodramatic secrets unveiled at the end of the story. IRONSKIN actually does quite a good job of sticking to the original and necessary elements of JE. Mr. Rochart channels all of Edward Rochester’s self-deprecating comments and tortured moodiness. Which, you know, if you like that sort of self-pitying thing is all well and good. The setting of the house and the mysterious woods and moor surrounding it are played up and given dark life of their own. Surface-wise, things look good for IRONSKIN to be a great, loyal retelling.
It’s when the fantastical elements are added in that IRONSKIN loses some of its credibility with me. The tricky thing about retellings is that the progression of the characters’ decisions and actions has to make sense independent of the story it’s retelling. This is why superficial retellings of Pride and Prejudice have always bothered me: one can’t just “conveniently” bring up the existence of an impending high school “ball” in order to bring the separated lovers back together, or have one if the characters arbitrarily do something inconsistent to his or her character, just to set them back onto the path of the original story. IRONSKIN suffers from this in some regard too: little happens in the first half of the book besides for Jane struggling to teach Dorie and having cryptic encounters with the moody Mr. Rochart, which means that the book had to make lots of dramatic events happen in order to bring everything to its proper, dramatic conclusion in time. The pacing was clumsy, which resulted in some of the characters’ decisions feeling contrived for the sake of sticking to the original. It really took me out of the story, the constant awareness that IRONSKIN was adhering to the plot of Jane Eyre at its every twist and turn, and kind of smushed the original JE elements and new steampunk fantasy elements together when necessary.
I realize that I talked about a lot of my critiques of this book in my review, but really, IRONSKIN wasn’t a bad read…except for that I was a bit confused about some messages regarding beauty and “normalcy” that this book seemed to be sending. The trajectory of characters’ outcomes seems to suggest that it’s okay for women to base their worth upon their physical looks. Or something. I don’t know. I couldn’t quite put my finger on the implications. IRONSKIN was an interesting steampunk fantasy take on Jane Eyre, but I think I won’t be picking up the next book, because I felt myself skimming, my eyes wandering, too often for me to feel emotionally connected enough to the characters and their story.
Readers who love Jane Eyre will probably find fewer things objectionable in IRONSKIN. I, however, was never a fan of the bland heroine, brooding, self-deprecating hero, and the melodramatic secrets unveiled at the end of the story. IRONSKIN actually does quite a good job of sticking to the original and necessary elements of JE. Mr. Rochart channels all of Edward Rochester’s self-deprecating comments and tortured moodiness. Which, you know, if you like that sort of self-pitying thing is all well and good. The setting of the house and the mysterious woods and moor surrounding it are played up and given dark life of their own. Surface-wise, things look good for IRONSKIN to be a great, loyal retelling.
It’s when the fantastical elements are added in that IRONSKIN loses some of its credibility with me. The tricky thing about retellings is that the progression of the characters’ decisions and actions has to make sense independent of the story it’s retelling. This is why superficial retellings of Pride and Prejudice have always bothered me: one can’t just “conveniently” bring up the existence of an impending high school “ball” in order to bring the separated lovers back together, or have one if the characters arbitrarily do something inconsistent to his or her character, just to set them back onto the path of the original story. IRONSKIN suffers from this in some regard too: little happens in the first half of the book besides for Jane struggling to teach Dorie and having cryptic encounters with the moody Mr. Rochart, which means that the book had to make lots of dramatic events happen in order to bring everything to its proper, dramatic conclusion in time. The pacing was clumsy, which resulted in some of the characters’ decisions feeling contrived for the sake of sticking to the original. It really took me out of the story, the constant awareness that IRONSKIN was adhering to the plot of Jane Eyre at its every twist and turn, and kind of smushed the original JE elements and new steampunk fantasy elements together when necessary.
I realize that I talked about a lot of my critiques of this book in my review, but really, IRONSKIN wasn’t a bad read…except for that I was a bit confused about some messages regarding beauty and “normalcy” that this book seemed to be sending. The trajectory of characters’ outcomes seems to suggest that it’s okay for women to base their worth upon their physical looks. Or something. I don’t know. I couldn’t quite put my finger on the implications. IRONSKIN was an interesting steampunk fantasy take on Jane Eyre, but I think I won’t be picking up the next book, because I felt myself skimming, my eyes wandering, too often for me to feel emotionally connected enough to the characters and their story.
3.5 STARS
Jane Eliot wears an iron mask over half her face to both conceal the fey curse that scarred her, and to keep its' effects within. Jane was cursed with uncontrollable rage when she tried to save her brother during the fey wars. In the years since, Jane has survived but is not really living.
Jane finds a position working with a child with "special needs" in the home of the enigmatic widower Edward Rochart. While caring for young Dorie, whose problems are very unique indeed, Jane notices that women cycle in and out of the Rochart home quite frequently...each leaving more beautiful than when they came. Jane is determined to find out what's going on, but the truth is far more macabre than she could have imagined.
Apparently this story is a retelling of Jane Eyre. I might get my book lover card revoked for this confession, but...I've never read Jane Eyre. So I'm not really sure how this book stacks up against it. As a story on its' own merits, well...
Jane is 21 years old, and the only family she has left is her younger sister, Helen. Because of her curse, Jane is extremely self conscious, a trait that does not couple well with her fey-induced rage. When Jane gets angry (which sometimes doesn't take much), her anger is like a red hot fire that she can feel inside. It's sometimes hard to keep it contained. Not only is Jane self conscious, she;s also a bit paranoid.
Edward is a young widower who lost his wife in childbirth. He loves his daughter Dorie, but is somewhat removed from her because of the things she can do. Still, I must ask, is bringing in a nanny who ADMITS that she is cursed with fury the best thing to do for your five year old daughter? This is just something that occurred to me while reading. I found it very interesting that Edward chose to surround himself with an all female house staff.
Even though he barely talks to her and is rarely there for his daughter, Jane falls for Edward. This was probably the most annoying thing to me in the entire book. They spent so little time together, to me it was like Jane's feelings for him came up absolutely out of nowhere. Despite the way he speaks to her, and all the women she saw coming in and out...Jane still fell in love with him. I didn't get it, at all.
I did very much enjoy the evil fey elements of the book. In fact, the supernatural parts were the most intriguing to me, and are what kept me reading. The book takes place in what sounds like an alternate post-Industrial Revolution dystopian period. Fey magic used to power the world, but after the war nothing was left and everyone is quite poor. I have very rarely seen fey as the evil entity in a book, so that was unique and appreciated.
As I got to the end of the book, I could see what was coming but the details surrounding everything were a little horrifying. I definitely applaud the author for creating such a cool background story for Edward. The events at the end moved pretty fast, but I was satisfied with the way the book closed.
I'd recommend this book for anyone who wants a different twist on a fey story--but don't read it for the romance.
Jane Eliot wears an iron mask over half her face to both conceal the fey curse that scarred her, and to keep its' effects within. Jane was cursed with uncontrollable rage when she tried to save her brother during the fey wars. In the years since, Jane has survived but is not really living.
Jane finds a position working with a child with "special needs" in the home of the enigmatic widower Edward Rochart. While caring for young Dorie, whose problems are very unique indeed, Jane notices that women cycle in and out of the Rochart home quite frequently...each leaving more beautiful than when they came. Jane is determined to find out what's going on, but the truth is far more macabre than she could have imagined.
Apparently this story is a retelling of Jane Eyre. I might get my book lover card revoked for this confession, but...I've never read Jane Eyre. So I'm not really sure how this book stacks up against it. As a story on its' own merits, well...
Jane is 21 years old, and the only family she has left is her younger sister, Helen. Because of her curse, Jane is extremely self conscious, a trait that does not couple well with her fey-induced rage. When Jane gets angry (which sometimes doesn't take much), her anger is like a red hot fire that she can feel inside. It's sometimes hard to keep it contained. Not only is Jane self conscious, she;s also a bit paranoid.
Edward is a young widower who lost his wife in childbirth. He loves his daughter Dorie, but is somewhat removed from her because of the things she can do. Still, I must ask, is bringing in a nanny who ADMITS that she is cursed with fury the best thing to do for your five year old daughter? This is just something that occurred to me while reading. I found it very interesting that Edward chose to surround himself with an all female house staff.
Even though he barely talks to her and is rarely there for his daughter, Jane falls for Edward. This was probably the most annoying thing to me in the entire book. They spent so little time together, to me it was like Jane's feelings for him came up absolutely out of nowhere. Despite the way he speaks to her, and all the women she saw coming in and out...Jane still fell in love with him. I didn't get it, at all.
I did very much enjoy the evil fey elements of the book. In fact, the supernatural parts were the most intriguing to me, and are what kept me reading. The book takes place in what sounds like an alternate post-Industrial Revolution dystopian period. Fey magic used to power the world, but after the war nothing was left and everyone is quite poor. I have very rarely seen fey as the evil entity in a book, so that was unique and appreciated.
As I got to the end of the book, I could see what was coming but the details surrounding everything were a little horrifying. I definitely applaud the author for creating such a cool background story for Edward. The events at the end moved pretty fast, but I was satisfied with the way the book closed.
I'd recommend this book for anyone who wants a different twist on a fey story--but don't read it for the romance.
2.5 A re-imagining of JANE EYRE that is at times far too close to the original, and at others far too distant. Most disappointing is the flatness of the central romance. A book with a lot of potential, only part of it realized.
A book that has some great ideas that aren't quite executed correctly.
Positives: In theory, Jane is a really cool main character. Her connection to rage allows for a lot of depth, and her ability to resist it makes her more intriguing. I think she has a pretty decent head on her shoulders, except for, perhaps, when it comes to Edward. I think Helen is also an interesting character and am looking forward to exploring her more. I think the beginnings of the Nanny story is very interesting, and it is a fun thought experiment to try and determine how one might teach a child with extraordinary powers lessons in normalcy. The ultimate antagonist is also quite cool, and the fae become quite menacing.
Negatives:I wish the exploration of the Ironskin had more pages devoted to it, and I wish the way that revelations were presented was a bit more skillful. The fact that Jane essentially stumbles into everything doesn't feel quite right. Edward is also utterly undesirable as a romantic interest and what is revealed later only compounds this sentiment for me. However, I really do love the idea of ironskins and how the fae function in this book. I just wish the author had identified the work's strengths and played into their hands.
Positives: In theory, Jane is a really cool main character. Her connection to rage allows for a lot of depth, and her ability to resist it makes her more intriguing. I think she has a pretty decent head on her shoulders, except for, perhaps, when it comes to Edward. I think Helen is also an interesting character and am looking forward to exploring her more. I think the beginnings of the Nanny story is very interesting, and it is a fun thought experiment to try and determine how one might teach a child with extraordinary powers lessons in normalcy. The ultimate antagonist is also quite cool, and the fae become quite menacing.
Negatives:I wish the exploration of the Ironskin had more pages devoted to it, and I wish the way that revelations were presented was a bit more skillful. The fact that Jane essentially stumbles into everything doesn't feel quite right. Edward is also utterly undesirable as a romantic interest and what is revealed later only compounds this sentiment for me. However, I really do love the idea of ironskins and how the fae function in this book. I just wish the author had identified the work's strengths and played into their hands.
What a beautifully layered story! For what seemed like a Jane Eyre retelling with supernatural elements, I was expecting something more straightforward and recognizably similar to the plot structure of Jane Eyre, but this novel was full of the unexpected! It does not directly follow the arc of Jane Eyre, but infuses the spirit and romance of the original novel into a new story. I found the relationship between Jane and her pupil, Dorie, unexpectedly complex, as Jane struggles to get through to her and in the end through Dorie, Jane comes to realize something very important about herself. The author also sets up a strong history in the narrative, with the Great War, and the influence of the ultimately treacherous fey adding to an intricate fictional/ alternate reality where humans are still struggling to recover from the effects of war and the loss of the fey-technology. The details of this history and Jane Eliot’s involvement is slowly meted out however, so there is a feeling of tension as you try to catch up on what everything means.
What I liked best about this story is how the author weaved in many elements - fantasy romance with touches of steampunk, and nods to Beauty and the Beast as well as elements of Jane Eyre - to create a heavily atmospheric, dark tale of love and beauty and secrets. The nature of the secrets are very unpredictable, just like Edward Rochart, the mysterious widower artist, who sees Jane Eliot not as fey cursed, but as a brave, strong woman. And yet Jane struggles to cope with her past, and her curse, and to find the self-respect she needs to accept love, making this novel a gloriously touching romance between two damaged people. Although I could have used a little more development between Jane and Edward’s relationship, and there are still some unanswered questions as to the nature of the fey (but this is the first book in a series), I loved this intricate, intelligent, Gothic tale and I highly recommend it to fantasy and Jane Eyre fans!
What I liked best about this story is how the author weaved in many elements - fantasy romance with touches of steampunk, and nods to Beauty and the Beast as well as elements of Jane Eyre - to create a heavily atmospheric, dark tale of love and beauty and secrets. The nature of the secrets are very unpredictable, just like Edward Rochart, the mysterious widower artist, who sees Jane Eliot not as fey cursed, but as a brave, strong woman. And yet Jane struggles to cope with her past, and her curse, and to find the self-respect she needs to accept love, making this novel a gloriously touching romance between two damaged people. Although I could have used a little more development between Jane and Edward’s relationship, and there are still some unanswered questions as to the nature of the fey (but this is the first book in a series), I loved this intricate, intelligent, Gothic tale and I highly recommend it to fantasy and Jane Eyre fans!