bethg331 's review for:

Jane & Edward by Melodie Edwards

5.0

---

I absolutely loved this book! I could not put it down. I have never read Jane Eyre (don't hate on me) and I think with retellings I prefer to have not read the original. I love Little Women and I have tried modern retellings of it and I just cannot get through them. However, if I have not read the original I seem to like the retelling for the book that it is. Having said that, I listen to a podcast called Novel Pairings and they discuss classics and modern books that you could read instead of or as a companion to the original classic. So I listened to their podcast about Jane Eyre so I knew the story going into this book. I know it took the surprises away but I liked that I knew what would happen. I was okay with that. So Edward is a lawyer and Jane is his assistant. His assistants never last so she takes it as a challenge and then of course they start having feelings for one another. I like romances where both main characters are a little broken and need to work through some things. I will not give the twists away but I thought this was well done. Had I not known Jane Eyre I probably would have thought things were a little too convenient for Jane and Edward but the author had to stay with the original text so I thought it was great. The book also gives nods to Jane Austen and Charlotte Bronte and that was fun.

-"I knew you liked me."
"I tolerate you, Mr. Rosen."

-"I've never kissed a wailing woman before and it's killing my confidence."

-Protection was in having the information, not being guarded from it, however bad it might be.

-My own two feet are steadier than I realized.