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3.91 AVERAGE
3.91 AVERAGE
Loved this audio. The voice is pitch perfect for England sometime after Jane Eyre is published, but the events move forward with time and in good speed and flair for modern readers. Also I loved the East India Company mystery and all the curry flavor. So glad LITSY told me about it!
adventurous
dark
funny
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:
Yes
Well this was an absolute, unexpected delight! I think maybe the description of “serial killer meets Jane Eyre” is not truly representative of what this is, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was gothic and ridiculous and over the top, and it completely swept me up. I loved the smart fierce protagonist (and the fact that I didn’t really have to spend much time handwringing over her morality). I loved the interesting men, who so clearly fell into either “totally evil and gross” or “handsome and charming and insightful and respectful”. I was engaged without having to actually think much. Just what I needed at the end of January 2025. The perfect gothic escapism, like a really well-written and interesting soap opera.
3.5 Don't expect this to be very dark in the murder aspect. For a book about a murderer, it's very safe. I thought it would be about a somewhat morally corrupt character but that wasn't what it was about. Though there is a lot of dark stuff that the character experiences that were hard to read at times. I did like it and enjoy it. It could've been so much more though.
3 1/2. Could have used an edit. I found it hard to pay attention to but it picked up at the end. It was ok but I feel it could have been so much better.
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
What an intriguing ride! Lyndsay Faye has much to commend her with Jane Steele, a vastly creative and compelling reimagining of Jane Eyre. The heroine of this book follows a lifeline similar to Eyre's in many ways... except this time, she is - gasp! - more prone to actually murdering those who have wronged her! And with blood on her hands, she still appreciates the finer things in life - nice clothes and jewels, her potential inheritance of her family estate - and ultimately finds her way to love with a dashing man named Charles Thornfield; reminiscent of - who else? - Eyre's beloved and mysterious Edward Rochester.
I really got swept up in this story more than I initially anticipated I would. Long being a fan of Jane Eyre as a classic, I was skeptical of a "re-telling" or "re-hash". My fears were quelled when I realized, as Jane Steele progressed, that Faye was indeed taking Steele's story in a slightly different direction from Eyre's. In fact, she subsequently reveals how Steele becomes, herself, a fan of Jane Eyre while reading it in the midst of her wild adventures.
This book plumbs some pretty deep depths at times, and I frequently found myself wishing I could have read it in a binge. It's not a book that is easy to pick up again if you have to put it down from time to time. Faye writes with a language quite similar to Charlotte Brontë's, so when re-commencing my reading of it, it always took me a few pages to get back into the groove and feel of it. This slightly spoiled what I think could have been a better appreciation of the book for me, had I the chance to devour it whole over the course of a couple days rather than in fits and starts. (Life gets in the way, ya know?)
I won't go into too much detail of the plot, lest I give too much away. Needless to say, it's an interesting and fun read, even a bit of a mystery with a big reveal at the very end. Faye was successful with the experiment! If you're a fan of suspenseful, Gothic fiction, give Jane Steele a try.
I really got swept up in this story more than I initially anticipated I would. Long being a fan of Jane Eyre as a classic, I was skeptical of a "re-telling" or "re-hash". My fears were quelled when I realized, as Jane Steele progressed, that Faye was indeed taking Steele's story in a slightly different direction from Eyre's. In fact, she subsequently reveals how Steele becomes, herself, a fan of Jane Eyre while reading it in the midst of her wild adventures.
This book plumbs some pretty deep depths at times, and I frequently found myself wishing I could have read it in a binge. It's not a book that is easy to pick up again if you have to put it down from time to time. Faye writes with a language quite similar to Charlotte Brontë's, so when re-commencing my reading of it, it always took me a few pages to get back into the groove and feel of it. This slightly spoiled what I think could have been a better appreciation of the book for me, had I the chance to devour it whole over the course of a couple days rather than in fits and starts. (Life gets in the way, ya know?)
I won't go into too much detail of the plot, lest I give too much away. Needless to say, it's an interesting and fun read, even a bit of a mystery with a big reveal at the very end. Faye was successful with the experiment! If you're a fan of suspenseful, Gothic fiction, give Jane Steele a try.
3.5 stars. Clever enough to smooth over rougher patches, if a bit overwrought at times, I ended up enjoying it after a slow start.
adventurous
dark
adventurous
dark
medium-paced