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3.91 AVERAGE
3.91 AVERAGE
A moment of serendipity brought to this book, and though it took me awhile to get consistently into it (no fault of the author’s), I’m glad I stuck with it.
It is tough to characterize this book, and I will not do it the injustice of trying. I will say that anyone who likes dark humor, or a good thriller, or a good mystery, or can enjoy any of that mixed with a dramatic romance than it is worth a read. I know that the quality of the story, and the quality is the prose will have me hunting down more novels by Ms. Faye.
It is tough to characterize this book, and I will not do it the injustice of trying. I will say that anyone who likes dark humor, or a good thriller, or a good mystery, or can enjoy any of that mixed with a dramatic romance than it is worth a read. I know that the quality of the story, and the quality is the prose will have me hunting down more novels by Ms. Faye.
Really enjoyed this! It took a few readings to get into the way the book is written, but overall, it was a fun, dark, and quick read.
My only complaint is that the back story of Mr. Thornfield was a bit difficult to follow. I kept confusing the numerous Company men and their role in the situation, but that's more the fault of my lack of attention to names than it is of the book itself.
My only complaint is that the back story of Mr. Thornfield was a bit difficult to follow. I kept confusing the numerous Company men and their role in the situation, but that's more the fault of my lack of attention to names than it is of the book itself.
4.8/5 stars
Y'all..... I love this book.
Plot: 5/5 - It's really difficult to talk about the plot of this story without spoiling the latter two-thirds of the novel, and the premise itself is a little weird to explain. Jane Steele is about the titular main character, whose story is a gothic sort of retelling of Jane Eyre, whose story happens to exist within this book and be a favorite of our protagonist. Are you still with me? Great. Jane Steele also murders people (but like, really awful people, so even though it's pretty dark and twisted you're rooting for her every time she does it). The rest is just a journey, really, so I don't want to say much more ;)
Characters: 5/5 - I LOVE THIS CAST OF CHARACTERS. Jane is a darling of an antiheroine, a girl who just wants to be loved despite believing she isn't worthy of anyone's love. She's fiercely loyal, an absolute sap when it comes to romance, and has quite the potty mouth for a lady of her time. As for characters we meet along the way... The villains were perhaps too straightforwardly villainous, but I think it suited this type of story.
Pacing: 4/5 - This is just me being nit-picky, frankly. 400+ pages is longer than my typical book, and often I would muse that the first third of the story almost seemed like something else I had read entirely, until one of the threads would weave it's way back into the story. I would say the last half of the book was the most compelling to read for me, but I also find great appeal in the type of narrative that occurred in the beginning of the book- it just kept me engaged for shorter periods of time.
Writing: 5/5 - Oh my lord is this book beautifully written. About 90% of my "updates" are just direct quotes because there were so many sentences I wanted to keep with me and to share with others. I will so eagerly pick up other works by Lyndsay Faye because her use of words was an endless delight for me.
Enjoyment: 5/5 - I mean, need I say more? I just loved this book a lot. I loved the characters, I loved the romance, I loved the crime aspects, I loved the diversity (yeah, you heard me. I just said I love the diversity of a historical fiction novel that takes place in Victorian London), and I loved the writing. My only issue with this novel is I'm afraid when I finally read Jane Eyre I'm going to be disappointed by it in comparison.
Y'all..... I love this book.
Plot: 5/5 - It's really difficult to talk about the plot of this story without spoiling the latter two-thirds of the novel, and the premise itself is a little weird to explain. Jane Steele is about the titular main character, whose story is a gothic sort of retelling of Jane Eyre, whose story happens to exist within this book and be a favorite of our protagonist. Are you still with me? Great. Jane Steele also murders people (but like, really awful people, so even though it's pretty dark and twisted you're rooting for her every time she does it). The rest is just a journey, really, so I don't want to say much more ;)
Characters: 5/5 - I LOVE THIS CAST OF CHARACTERS. Jane is a darling of an antiheroine, a girl who just wants to be loved despite believing she isn't worthy of anyone's love. She's fiercely loyal, an absolute sap when it comes to romance, and has quite the potty mouth for a lady of her time. As for characters we meet along the way...
Spoiler
Clarke was a doll and I love her to pieces. I sadly didn't expect to see her again after her departure and was OVERJOYED by the girls' brief reunion. I appreciated the tender romance that was there too, even though when they were younger I always speculated it had been the reverse- Jane developing feelings toward Clarke, while she saw her as more of a sister. But hey, I'm not mad being wrong about it. Mr. Quillfeather is ACTUALLY lowkey my favorite character??? I never understood why Jane felt so afraid of him throughout the novel when my impression of him from their first meeting was that he was quite a caring and understanding man. And then when he came back into her life I was nervous but the MOST pleasantly surprised. His whole speech to her about Edwin.... dang. That Victorian proto-feminism was ON POINT. No victim blaming, just such kindness. I love Quillfeather. And the gang from Highgate House... they are too good for this world, too pure. Mr. Thornfield has his fair share of darkness, but not as much as our Jane, so the fact that he is so tormented only makes him more endearing to me. Sardar is an absolute peach, and every time he said "so often is the way with..." my heart grew three sizes. I was absolutely terrified when I thought he might have been part of the nefarious trunk scheme. And of course there's Sahjara, that little sweetheart. As a teacher myself she completely melted my heart, because I knew exactly what her and Jane's relationship felt like.Pacing: 4/5 - This is just me being nit-picky, frankly. 400+ pages is longer than my typical book, and often I would muse that the first third of the story almost seemed like something else I had read entirely, until one of the threads would weave it's way back into the story. I would say the last half of the book was the most compelling to read for me, but I also find great appeal in the type of narrative that occurred in the beginning of the book- it just kept me engaged for shorter periods of time.
Writing: 5/5 - Oh my lord is this book beautifully written. About 90% of my "updates" are just direct quotes because there were so many sentences I wanted to keep with me and to share with others. I will so eagerly pick up other works by Lyndsay Faye because her use of words was an endless delight for me.
Enjoyment: 5/5 - I mean, need I say more? I just loved this book a lot. I loved the characters, I loved the romance, I loved the crime aspects, I loved the diversity (yeah, you heard me. I just said I love the diversity of a historical fiction novel that takes place in Victorian London), and I loved the writing. My only issue with this novel is I'm afraid when I finally read Jane Eyre I'm going to be disappointed by it in comparison.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Probably 3.5 stars. I love just about anything Jane Eyre so I did enjoy this. A very different take on the Jane Eyre story. The first half was dark and the second half was sweet. Odd combination. There was a lot to enjoy.
This book is being touted as Jane Eyre as a serial killer, which is incredibly misleading. While Jane Steele has parallels to Jane Eyre and there is a fair bit of revenge and death, I wouldn't call Jane a serial killer. Do not read this expecting an unrepentant murderer. As for Jane Eyre, the narrator (Jane Steele) draws the parallels herself, as Jane Eyre is her favorite novel.
All that aside, this novel is an amazing addition to historical fantasy with a protagonist that is not only relatable but engaging and funny. I picked up this book with some hesitation but ended up reading well into the night wanting desperately to know what happens next!
All that aside, this novel is an amazing addition to historical fantasy with a protagonist that is not only relatable but engaging and funny. I picked up this book with some hesitation but ended up reading well into the night wanting desperately to know what happens next!
Fun read, no wife in the attic here. Great integration of the Dutch East India Company history in British historical fiction. And several Sikh characters, including a main character. There are romantic elements and an HEA. One heart gets broken and it's unrequited same-sex attraction without an HEA for that character and that really sucked. I loved Jane, she's scrappy and strong.
3.5 if I could. I didn't care for Jane Eyre because of my 20th century world view, but Jane Steele could be a 20th century woman! Fun read, and some unexpected historical learning to boot!
This was a fun read. It's not for everyone, but if you are a fan of Jane Eyre, you may enjoy this novel inspired by the Bronte classic.