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3.91 AVERAGE
3.91 AVERAGE
Reader, I LOVED this book. Jane Eyre is one of my favorite books and I'm on a gothic kick. This book was the perfect storm. The mystery aspect was a bit far-fetched and some of the events couldn't have realistically happened during the time period in which this book is set, but WHO CARES. This book was fun.
If you love Jane Eyre and boarding school-ish tales (preteen Maddy definitely did), this one is for you. I liked it so much. I listened to it on audio, which I think was the better way to do it, because it ended up being such a wonderful, intriguing story that I could just listen to and get lost in. Such a clever story. I was really transported into that world (similar to how I remember reading as a kid was) so this was just so enjoyable.
emotional
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
Audiobook narrated by Susie Riddell
3.5***
Opening line: Of all my many murders, committed for love and for better reasons, the first was the most important.
Thus begins Lindsay Faye’s re-imagining of [b:Jane Eyre|11016|Jane Eyre|Charlotte Brontë|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1479652506s/11016.jpg|2977639]. Readers of the classic will recognize some plot elements: an orphaned Jane, a mean guardian and her children, a stay in a boarding school, work as a governess, fascination with the lord of the manor, a dark secret (this time in the basement rather than the attic), etc. However, Faye has let her imagination run wild.
The story is still set in the same era as Bronte’s classic novel, but this Jane is a serial killer. If that makes you gasp is horror … well give the book a chance. It’s great fun to read, especially if you’ve read the original (though I think those who haven’t read the classic, will still find this enjoyable). The classic [b:Jane Eyre|11016|Jane Eyre|Charlotte Brontë|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1479652506s/11016.jpg|2977639] has been adapted to film several times; I would definitely watch a film adaptation of THIS work!
Susie Riddell does a marvelous job of voicing the audio book. She has good pacing, and I just love her Jane Steele characters.
3.5***
Opening line: Of all my many murders, committed for love and for better reasons, the first was the most important.
Thus begins Lindsay Faye’s re-imagining of [b:Jane Eyre|11016|Jane Eyre|Charlotte Brontë|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1479652506s/11016.jpg|2977639]. Readers of the classic will recognize some plot elements: an orphaned Jane, a mean guardian and her children, a stay in a boarding school, work as a governess, fascination with the lord of the manor, a dark secret (this time in the basement rather than the attic), etc. However, Faye has let her imagination run wild.
The story is still set in the same era as Bronte’s classic novel, but this Jane is a serial killer. If that makes you gasp is horror … well give the book a chance. It’s great fun to read, especially if you’ve read the original (though I think those who haven’t read the classic, will still find this enjoyable). The classic [b:Jane Eyre|11016|Jane Eyre|Charlotte Brontë|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1479652506s/11016.jpg|2977639] has been adapted to film several times; I would definitely watch a film adaptation of THIS work!
Susie Riddell does a marvelous job of voicing the audio book. She has good pacing, and I just love her Jane Steele characters.
Wow, so this took me some time to get through. It's a very good retelling (inspired by?) of Jane Eyre. Having recently read Jane Eyre made this even more enjoyable, but it did take some time to get into and it gave that "this is starting to get a little long when will it end" vibe towards the end.
adventurous
dark
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
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I'm quite torn on this one. It's basically "What if Jane Eyre's early life was just a little more awful and Mr. Rochester had substance to go with his angst?"
I am all for the second part, and I loved Jane's murdering. What I didn't love was the ending.
I also wasn't pleased that the negative consequences of the ending fell on the non-white characters alone. Not to mention that after pages and pages about Jane's languishing in anguish over her unrequited love, the novel's treatment of gay characters isn't great. It's pretty gross to elicit the specter of centuries of pain endured by women forced into the closet just to help the straight MC feel good about herself.
I am all for the second part, and I loved Jane's murdering. What I didn't love was the ending.
Spoiler
Everything came together far too neatly: The Inspector turns out to be anachronistically feminist, the Director of the EIC is on their side, Jane's inheritance means she is not financially dependent on Charles, and Jane's bastardy means she doesn't need to worry about fighting Charles for ownership of the house.I also wasn't pleased that the negative consequences of the ending fell on the non-white characters alone. Not to mention that after pages and pages about Jane's languishing in anguish over her unrequited love, the novel's treatment of gay characters isn't great.
Spoiler
We learn late in the novel that Jane's estranged childhood friend Clark is in love with her. The fact that Clark is just as in love with Jane as Jane is with Charles is used to help Jane realize that she is fundamentally lovable... and that's about it.
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
Absolutely loved this
Best review would be the summary I used to convince others to read this: it’s a meta Jane Eyre but if she was chill with murder. Absolutely gorgeous, following the basic plot of Jane Eyre but with the very welcome additions of realistic sexuality and POC characters. All of the agency you’ve ever wanted for a heroine is present in this book.