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dexkit10's review
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Confinement, Death of parent, Sexual assault, and Murder
Moderate: Gaslighting and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Mental illness, Colonisation, and Child abuse
lilyfugita's review
- 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? It's complicated
4.0
Moderate: Sexual assault, Rape, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Blood, and Incest
Minor: Ableism
ladylothlorien's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Overall, I very much enjoyed this book. I loved the queer representation and the very happy, very queer ending for Adele. I also enjoyed her as an avenging angel, especially as the time period was so very restrictive for women (and queer people!). I want to join Nan's family as it is just a lovely example of why having a place where you can be entirely yourself with zero judgment is so important. The main issue I had was
I struggled to see how Adele had always known this "darkness" in Rochester, even how he might have planned this from the start of taking in Adele. Reading the author's note at the end and her story of being sexually abused by her father helped me understand it better. I can understand now why the author saw a similar darkness in Rochester in Jane Eyre that she saw in her own father. I don't know that I see the same thing, but I can appreciate the author's perspective and how she channeled her story into Adele's.
Moderate: Incest, Child abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Murder, Pedophilia, Gaslighting, and Domestic abuse
Minor: Death of parent
Some of these content warnings are specifically about the ending of the story (gaslighting, incest, pedophilia). If you want to know what happens:greatexpectations77's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Death of parent, Abandonment, and Classism
Moderate: Bullying, Confinement, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Murder, and Misogyny
Minor: Blood, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, Sexual content, and Terminal illness
emily__michelle's review
- 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
Graphic: Pedophilia, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, and Murder
Minor: Child abuse and Classism
edoherty's review
- 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
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.
Graphic: Sexual harassment
Moderate: Sexual assault, Child abuse, and Sexual violence
lizgriffinwords's review against another edition
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.
Moderate: Child abuse and Sexual assault
betweentheshelves's review against another edition
- 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
But Adele can’t escape the shadows when she’s in London. Adele realizes that a lot of the men looking for favors from her friends don’t have the best of intentions. After a particularly violent assault, she teams up with another woman to extract revenge. Adele is determined to save her friends from a dark fate. But will she have the courage to save herself?
Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins for an advanced copy of Reader, I Murdered Him by Betsy Cornwell to review! I knew from the title that this would have some hints towards Jane Eyre; I didn’t realize how much it was going to be inspired by it! Told from Rochester’s adopted daughter’s eyes, we also get a glimpse into what happened after Jane Eyre. Since it’s one of my favorite classics, I thoroughly enjoyed it!
Not only do the events align with the classic, the overall tone and voice also mimics Jane Eyre. We all know that Rochester was…not the greatest man, and this book just really confirms it. So often throughout the book, Adele mentions how much of a prison marriage was for women at the time. I loved that she got to work outside those confines, as a sort of vigilante. It’s such a great twist on the classic we all know.
And the characters! Adele has a strong voice from the get go; and she isn’t afriad to tell it like it is. The group of friends she makes at the boarding school were also well fleshed out; we get to see how society is affecting all of them differently. And the romance! Adele pairs up with a girl to get justice, and they fall in love. Honestly, it’s beautiful.
The only reason this isn’t getting five stars is that I do wish there was a bit more vigilantism. It’s pitched as a large part of the book, but it doesn’t really come in until later in the narrative. Expanding that would have pushed it over the edge for me.
All in all, if you love interesting twists on classics, you’ll love this book!
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Oh, I really enjoyed this! Didn't realize it was actually going to be so connected to Jane Eyre, but I loved that. Stay tuned for a full review to come next week!
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship and Murder
Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Sexual assault
Minor: Sexism, Sexual harassment, and Sexual violence
alannadoucette8's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship and Murder
Moderate: Sexual assault, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Death of parent, Grief, Child abuse, Classism, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Misogyny, Pedophilia, and Sexism