Reviews with content warning for Sexual harassment - Reader, I Murdered Him

Reviews tagging 'Sexual harassment'

Reader, I Murdered Him by Betsy Cornwell

10 reviews

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

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saintswitchblade's review

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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

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e_bee's review

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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

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growintogardens's review

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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.

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kekepania's review

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Excellent writing and very mood-matched to Jane Eyre. The sexual abuse undertones became too central and as problematic as Mr Rochester is in the original Jane Eyre, the implications felt like an unfair twist. Reading Jane Eyre prior to Reader I Murdered Him will help the reader immensely!

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bobblemoples's review

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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

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edoherty's review

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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.

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betweentheshelves's review against another edition

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adventurous dark 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? Yes

4.5

Being sent to boarding school is a dream come true for Adele. She’s always felt like she was in the background. Her father’s manor never really felt like home to her, especially after having to leave their original home. Boarding school in London seems like the perfect place for a fresh start.

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!

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alannadoucette8's review

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious fast-paced

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

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gothamballer39's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective 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

"Jane Eyre" is one of my favorite novels, so it took me some time to get in to a twisty sequel that paints some beloved characters in a different light. However, once I got into Adele's story, I couldn't help but root for her and her staunch defense of the women in her life. This story went in directions I genuinely did not see coming, but it ended up being delightfully timely in a less dark, "Promising Young Woman" kind of way. Highly recommend.

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