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A review by sarah_moynihan
John Eyre: A Tale of Darkness and Shadow by Mimi Matthews
4.0
'Yorkshire, 1843. When disgraced former schoolmaster John Eyre arrives at Thornfield Hall to take up a position as tutor to two peculiar young boys, he enters a world unlike any he’s ever known. Darkness abounds, punctuated by odd bumps in the night, strange creatures on the moor, and a sinister silver mist that never seems to dissipate. And at the center of it all, John’s new employer—a widow as alluring as she is mysterious.
Sixteen months earlier, heiress Bertha Mason embarked on the journey of a lifetime. Marriage wasn’t on her itinerary, but on meeting the enigmatic Edward Rochester, she’s powerless to resist his preternatural charm. In letters and journal entries, she records the story of their rapidly-disintegrating life together, and of her gradual realization that Mr. Rochester isn’t quite the man he appears to be. In fact, he may not be a man at all.
From a cliff-top fortress on the Black Sea coast to an isolated estate in rural England, John and Bertha contend with secrets, danger, and the eternal struggle between light and darkness. Can they help each other vanquish the demons of the past? Or are some evils simply too powerful to conquer?'
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3.5 stars, rounded up to 4 stars.
John Eyre by Mimi Matthews is a gender-flipped, supernatural gothic retelling of two classic novels.
This one is a bit tough to review without giving some important plot points away, so I will be intentionally vague, but as is clear from the title, one of the two books that this story draws from is Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë.
I love essentially all books with a supernatural element to them and Mimi Matthews is one of my favorite authors, so I knew going in that I would enjoy the book. But as this is so different from her others, I was curious to see how she would twist these classic novels to blend them together and put her own spin on them. The creepy vibes were great and my favorite element of the story.
What prevented me from giving this book a higher rating was how closely it followed the storyline of one of the books it was based on. It followed very closely and so it hindered the suspense aspect of the plot. I felt that I knew what was coming. As retellings go, it was very well written and enjoyable though, I just wish there had been a greater element of surprise so that it could feed the feeling of suspense, rather than detract from it.
John Eyre is very different from Matthews' previous books and was a fun blend of two classics. I would love to see more gothic style romances by her in the future.
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I would like to thank Perfectly Proper Press and NetGalley for sharing an eARC of John Eyre with me. This is my honest review.
Sixteen months earlier, heiress Bertha Mason embarked on the journey of a lifetime. Marriage wasn’t on her itinerary, but on meeting the enigmatic Edward Rochester, she’s powerless to resist his preternatural charm. In letters and journal entries, she records the story of their rapidly-disintegrating life together, and of her gradual realization that Mr. Rochester isn’t quite the man he appears to be. In fact, he may not be a man at all.
From a cliff-top fortress on the Black Sea coast to an isolated estate in rural England, John and Bertha contend with secrets, danger, and the eternal struggle between light and darkness. Can they help each other vanquish the demons of the past? Or are some evils simply too powerful to conquer?'
_____________________________
3.5 stars, rounded up to 4 stars.
John Eyre by Mimi Matthews is a gender-flipped, supernatural gothic retelling of two classic novels.
This one is a bit tough to review without giving some important plot points away, so I will be intentionally vague, but as is clear from the title, one of the two books that this story draws from is Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë.
I love essentially all books with a supernatural element to them and Mimi Matthews is one of my favorite authors, so I knew going in that I would enjoy the book. But as this is so different from her others, I was curious to see how she would twist these classic novels to blend them together and put her own spin on them. The creepy vibes were great and my favorite element of the story.
What prevented me from giving this book a higher rating was how closely it followed the storyline of one of the books it was based on. It followed very closely and so it hindered the suspense aspect of the plot. I felt that I knew what was coming. As retellings go, it was very well written and enjoyable though, I just wish there had been a greater element of surprise so that it could feed the feeling of suspense, rather than detract from it.
John Eyre is very different from Matthews' previous books and was a fun blend of two classics. I would love to see more gothic style romances by her in the future.
_____
I would like to thank Perfectly Proper Press and NetGalley for sharing an eARC of John Eyre with me. This is my honest review.