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dexkit10's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
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
4.75
Content Warnings
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
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
fast-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? It's complicated
4.0
Really drew me in. The ending was surprising but at the same time expected and well built. Relatable, a little bit too much modern language for the time
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault, Rape, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Blood, and Incest
Minor: Ableism
saintswitchblade's review
adventurous
dark
hopeful
tense
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? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Murder
e_bee's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Rape, and Sexual content
growintogardens's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
This was a solid 3 for me until the twist. I liked the queer rep, but the relationship needed fleshed out more imo. It was also fairly slow for the first half of the book. Loved the idea and the title.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Death, and Sexism
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Incest, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Rape, Death of parent, Violence, and Murder
Minor: Pedophilia, Infidelity, and Injury/Injury detail
maleika's review
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
Don’t read this if you like Jane Eyre.
The concept of this book is great: examining how Adèle Varens might have turned out after her unique upbringing. Especially in the first quarter of the book, this is the main focus of the story. I really like how the author describes Adèle’s experiences as a little girl raised in a Parisian brothel, who suddenly has to adapt to life in England with her cold, harsh father.
However, I feel like the author took way too many creative liberties with the original story, all in order to make the rest of the book plausible.
There are lots of little differences to „Jane Eyre“ that just irked me, notably:
- In this book, Mrs Fairfax is basically not mentioned at all, even though in „Jane Eyre“, she was portrayed to be a sort of grandmotherly figure to Adèle
- Adèle‘s maid and only french companion, Sophie, does not exist at all???
- This book’s Adèle acts VERY different to the original Adèle (tbh they’re basically entirely different people)
I could have overlooked all those little changes, but what I can’t overlook is this: the character of Jane Eyre herself gets fundamentally changed and mischaracterised in a way that had me horrified.
This book‘s version of Jane is everything the original Jane is not:
1. She seems insecure about her looks in comparison to Adèle’s??? 💀💀💀 This makes me mad tbh, because yes the original Jane is not pretty, YES she is aware of is and YES she feels insecure about that at one point in her life - when she is directly compared to BLANCHE INGRAM, who is an ADULT WOMAN, and (from Janes perspective at the time, at least) A ROMANTIC RIVAL. The original Jane at no point feels threatened or intimidated by the looks of Adéle, a little girl who she loves and cares for in an almost motherly way.
2. She is in a strange, codependent relationship with Rochester. I cannot stress enough how much this MISSES THE POINT OF THE ENTIRE ORIGINAL STORY??? 😭😭😭The original Jane goes back to Rochester in the end because she WANTS to, not because she can’t live without him. There’s literally like 200 pages showing us that while she is hurt and misses him, she CAN AND WILL absolutely prioritise herself and live without him just fine.
⚠️Dear Betsy Cornwell: YOU CANT JUST ERASE THE FEMINIST MESSAGE OF A STORY SO THAT IT SUITS YOUR OWN FEMINIST MESSAGE BETTER!⚠️
I think the biggest flaw of “Reader, I murdered him” is the fact that the author tried to tell two stories at once, and could not find a way to make them fit together.
The first story (the original Adéle’s story) would have worked better without all the changes. There are still so many interesting factors to focus on, for example how much exactly she knew about Bertha Mason.
The second story (the story of Betsy Cornwell’s Adéle) would have been completely fine without her being Jane Eyre’s Adéle. She could have been a girl with a similar story, and it would be fun to read about her life and her murderous antics.
But in trying to make those two Adéles be the same person, the author just ruined two perfectly good stories that would’ve been fun to read on their own.
The concept of this book is great: examining how Adèle Varens might have turned out after her unique upbringing. Especially in the first quarter of the book, this is the main focus of the story. I really like how the author describes Adèle’s experiences as a little girl raised in a Parisian brothel, who suddenly has to adapt to life in England with her cold, harsh father.
However, I feel like the author took way too many creative liberties with the original story, all in order to make the rest of the book plausible.
There are lots of little differences to „Jane Eyre“ that just irked me, notably:
- In this book, Mrs Fairfax is basically not mentioned at all, even though in „Jane Eyre“, she was portrayed to be a sort of grandmotherly figure to Adèle
- Adèle‘s maid and only french companion, Sophie, does not exist at all???
- This book’s Adèle acts VERY different to the original Adèle (tbh they’re basically entirely different people)
I could have overlooked all those little changes, but what I can’t overlook is this: the character of Jane Eyre herself gets fundamentally changed and mischaracterised in a way that had me horrified.
This book‘s version of Jane is everything the original Jane is not:
1. She seems insecure about her looks in comparison to Adèle’s??? 💀💀💀 This makes me mad tbh, because yes the original Jane is not pretty, YES she is aware of is and YES she feels insecure about that at one point in her life - when she is directly compared to BLANCHE INGRAM, who is an ADULT WOMAN, and (from Janes perspective at the time, at least) A ROMANTIC RIVAL. The original Jane at no point feels threatened or intimidated by the looks of Adéle, a little girl who she loves and cares for in an almost motherly way.
2. She is in a strange, codependent relationship with Rochester. I cannot stress enough how much this MISSES THE POINT OF THE ENTIRE ORIGINAL STORY??? 😭😭😭The original Jane goes back to Rochester in the end because she WANTS to, not because she can’t live without him. There’s literally like 200 pages showing us that while she is hurt and misses him, she CAN AND WILL absolutely prioritise herself and live without him just fine.
⚠️Dear Betsy Cornwell: YOU CANT JUST ERASE THE FEMINIST MESSAGE OF A STORY SO THAT IT SUITS YOUR OWN FEMINIST MESSAGE BETTER!⚠️
I think the biggest flaw of “Reader, I murdered him” is the fact that the author tried to tell two stories at once, and could not find a way to make them fit together.
The first story (the original Adéle’s story) would have worked better without all the changes. There are still so many interesting factors to focus on, for example how much exactly she knew about Bertha Mason.
The second story (the story of Betsy Cornwell’s Adéle) would have been completely fine without her being Jane Eyre’s Adéle. She could have been a girl with a similar story, and it would be fun to read about her life and her murderous antics.
But in trying to make those two Adéles be the same person, the author just ruined two perfectly good stories that would’ve been fun to read on their own.
Content Warnings
Minor: Incest, Murder, Rape, and Sexual assault
uncreativeoops's review
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
This is a sort of Jane Eyre-retelling/sequel from Adèle's (Rochester's daughter) point of view which was a nice surprise. I always love retellings and reexaminations of characters offering a different perspective on the original plot. Some of the character's behaviour didn't fit with my reading of Jane Eyre, but it was an interesting interpretation and definitely worth for the story the author wanted to tell (though if you consider Jane Eyre to be the greatest romance of all time this is probably not the book for you. I've always loved it for Jane's determination and less for Rochester, which made the plot in this one much more logical). There's a lot of female solidarity and rightful anger, sometimes to the point of cheesiness, and I felt some of the conflicts were too easily resolved. A few more chapters wouldn't have been a bad idea, giving the problems more time to unfold and allowing the side characters to be more complex; some of them seemed to be not much more than plot devices whose motivation were only hinted at but could have been interesting. The novel wants to tell of so many lives that the protagonist encounters and somehow never finds the space to do so satisfactorily. On the other hand, this plus the very nice and flowing writing means that it's the perfect novel to be finished in one rainy day.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Abandonment, and Death of parent
Moderate: Incest, Sexual assault, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Murder, Sexual violence, Pedophilia, Sexism, Classism, Domestic abuse, Rape, and Physical abuse
Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Colonisation
ladylothlorien's review
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- 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
I had to sit with this one for a little bit before reviewing it because the ending was like being bucked off a horse without any warning.
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 wasthe sudden reveal of Rochester as an incestuous would-be rapist who had been masquerading as Adele's beloved pen pal Eric for years. It was a huge shock to me. I've read other Jane Eyre-adjacent adaptations such as Wide Sargasso Sea, so I fully realize a lot of people hate Rochester (with good reason). I've just never seen him as irredeemably bad and Cornwell's Rochester is absolutely irredeemably bad. Which is why Adele kills him with her now trademark "toss man from a great height" MO (really appreciated the realism of this being the most effective way for her to kill).
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. I was leaning towards three stars but having sat with this for a while, I'm upgrading to four because overall this was a very good story and even if I may disagree with the author's interpretation of Rochester, I appreciate the interpretation. It's one of the things that I enjoy most about retellings and adaptations: the differences in how people interpret characters and plot points. Definitely want to read more from this author!
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.
Content Warnings
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
adventurous
dark
sad
medium-paced
- 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
I'm such a huge fan of Jane Eyre, and I'm not sure why this book just didn't grab me. I am very pro Rochester-is-trash, but I don't think I liked seeing him as like a disgusting predator. I guess because I really like Jane, and I don't want to think that she ended up with just a true sack of moldy potatoes. I would like to give this author another attempt though, because I may have just come in with too many of my own feelings on the original text!
Content Warnings
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
antimony's review
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