You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.91 AVERAGE
3.91 AVERAGE
Confession: I've never read Jane Eyre (I know, I'm horrible), so I cannot make comparisons between this novel and that. However, I can say that this stands alone as a clever work of dark fiction grounded in historical research and references back to Jane Eyre. This Jane is ill-used but clever, a survivor no matter the circumstances, and thoroughly human. I appreciated Faye's attention to making it sound as though it were written in the period as well, something that she excels at in so much of her work. Another solid novel from her.
A really interesting idea to retell Jane Eyre differently, but not as well executed as I hoped. The themes started out intriguing but then sort of distilled down to the simplest version. I did like the combination murder/mystery/love story/historical fiction and the part about the girls school was one of the best parts (and I ended up looking up to see if girls schools were like that and maybe they were, which is horrifying).
3.5 - it starts off okay. I didn’t start enjoying the book till after Jane returns to Highgate House and, even then, I can’t say I loved it.
I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway and I am so glad I did!! This book had a million twists and turn in it and also had a lesbian and an asexual character??? I may have to reread this book again because I simply loved it so much! Also the twist at the end was wild and it had like 400 pages of sexual tension which was crazy. 10/10 would recommend
I loved Lyndsay Faye's Timothy Wilde series (and was sad to see it end). This new novel is every bit as good as I expected. I love it's patterning tie back to Jane Eyre and very much enjoyed the core mystery and characters. I find myself wanting to learn more about the history she writes off as well as re reading Jane!
Imagine if Jane Eyre had inspired a more vengeful, deadly version of herself. What you'll have is this book's heroine: Jane Steele, an orphan turned vigilante seeking revenge against those who kept her from her rightful inheritance. Raised by an artistic and mentally frail mother after her father's death, Jane resides in a small cottage near the estate that is rightfully hers. Her aunt and cousin live in extravagant Highgate House and hold nothing but disdain for Jane and her mother. As Jane blossoms and her cousin becomes strangely attached to her, a deadly accident motivates her aunt to send her away to boarding school, where she crosses paths with other unwanted girls and a sadistic headmaster. Once again, Jane must flee after something dreadful occurs, this time to London and all of its dark crevices. When she sees an opportunity to return to her childhood estate, Jane follows her destiny and befriends others who harbor their own secret past. Can Jane set aside her desire for justice and open her heart, even after the crimes she has committed? Reader, she just may.
Flirting with the style of both gothic literature and detective novels, Jane Steele provides a clever retelling of Brontë's classic with an added dose of darkness, murder, and revenge. The quick pacing and twists yield more of a suspenseful thriller than subdued Victorian literature, but the book has enough of both to satisfy fans of the original and those who love a pastiche.
Flirting with the style of both gothic literature and detective novels, Jane Steele provides a clever retelling of Brontë's classic with an added dose of darkness, murder, and revenge. The quick pacing and twists yield more of a suspenseful thriller than subdued Victorian literature, but the book has enough of both to satisfy fans of the original and those who love a pastiche.
After several DNFs in a row I was beginning to think I just didn't like books any more. Had I lost the ability to enjoy stories? Good news! I just needed a different book.
While I am only giving this book 3 stars because it wasn't a stand out, I did enjoy my read and am glad I found it. It was a recommendation from a youtuber who LOVED it.
This is basically a retelling of Jane Eyre if Jane had been able to murder the people who wronged her, and it was quite enjoyable. While it does switch in tone rather drastically once she meets her Rochester, from the adventures of a put upon murderess, to an odd little love story, I still enjoyed both. The author did use a lot of purple prose and a style that was clearly meant to mimic the older styles in which the original Jane Eyre was written. Unfortunately she also used quotes from the original book at the head of chapters, and honestly, even with those snippets you can see how much more smoothly the original writing flows, while the prose in Jane Steele can seem a little bit "try hard" to me. Sometimes the turns of phrase even made me cringe just a little bit. But it didn't turn me off the book. I did listen to it on audio. If I was reading it I think the style would have made me stop.
Look for a review coming on my channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtrwu4TzHUKh3kbCZZvX_4A
While I am only giving this book 3 stars because it wasn't a stand out, I did enjoy my read and am glad I found it. It was a recommendation from a youtuber who LOVED it.
This is basically a retelling of Jane Eyre if Jane had been able to murder the people who wronged her, and it was quite enjoyable. While it does switch in tone rather drastically once she meets her Rochester, from the adventures of a put upon murderess, to an odd little love story, I still enjoyed both. The author did use a lot of purple prose and a style that was clearly meant to mimic the older styles in which the original Jane Eyre was written. Unfortunately she also used quotes from the original book at the head of chapters, and honestly, even with those snippets you can see how much more smoothly the original writing flows, while the prose in Jane Steele can seem a little bit "try hard" to me. Sometimes the turns of phrase even made me cringe just a little bit. But it didn't turn me off the book. I did listen to it on audio. If I was reading it I think the style would have made me stop.
Look for a review coming on my channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtrwu4TzHUKh3kbCZZvX_4A
Stating up front that I loved the Timothy Wilde trilogy. LOVED! I obsessed over it. I wept when I realized that no, there really weren't going to be more books, this really was only a trilogy. So I'm probably not being entirely fair to Jane Steele because frankly? It just suffers in comparison. While both the Timothy Wilde books and Jane Steele are written in first person - Jane lacks the depth of characterization and the characters in this story don't have the same complex personal relationships with each other as they did in the Wilde books. Honestly? The best parts of Jane, for me, was the boarding school "stuff" and her relationship with Clarke. I could have read a whole book of that. Instead we end up getting a romance in the second half featuring a hero whose dialogue and manner are mired in Victorian melodrama (although I'm not sure if my reaction is from the story itself or the fact that I listened to this on audio. Seriously, this guy was SO blah!).
So....yeah. I really didn't love this. And I can't decide if that's because I have too much baggage leftover from my Timothy Wilde obsession. How would I feel about Jane Steele had I read/listened to this first? We'll never know.
So....yeah. I really didn't love this. And I can't decide if that's because I have too much baggage leftover from my Timothy Wilde obsession. How would I feel about Jane Steele had I read/listened to this first? We'll never know.
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
mysterious
tense
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