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A review by thebakerbookworm
The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I love Jane Eyre and I thoroughly enjoyed all the references and nods to that classic peppered throughout this story. That being said, this is definitely not Jane Eyre, and I think if you don’t like JE, you will enjoy this take on it!
The plot moved quickly and kept me interested. For the first half, I was thinking, “I know exactly where this story is going!” and then the second half I was just like “I was wrong—I know nothing.” This book had some good twists that I imagine most people who read thrillers will enjoy.
As for characters, this is another one with mostly unlikable people making questionable decisions. Not a ton of development either. I think for me, when I read a thriller like this, I do enjoy it, but I tend to give them lower ratings because the characters don’t usually change a lot and I’m never sure what my takeaway from the book is.
So I did enjoy listening to this (there are a few different narrators and that made the audio extra good!) and it was entertaining, but if I want the Jane Eyre story in the future, I’m going to stick with rereading the original.
Thank you so much to Libro.fm, Macmillan Audio, and the author for this ALC!
Read if you like: unreliable narrators, Southern settings, rags-to-riches stories, mysterious disappearances.
The plot moved quickly and kept me interested. For the first half, I was thinking, “I know exactly where this story is going!” and then the second half I was just like “I was wrong—I know nothing.” This book had some good twists that I imagine most people who read thrillers will enjoy.
As for characters, this is another one with mostly unlikable people making questionable decisions. Not a ton of development either. I think for me, when I read a thriller like this, I do enjoy it, but I tend to give them lower ratings because the characters don’t usually change a lot and I’m never sure what my takeaway from the book is.
So I did enjoy listening to this (there are a few different narrators and that made the audio extra good!) and it was entertaining, but if I want the Jane Eyre story in the future, I’m going to stick with rereading the original.
Thank you so much to Libro.fm, Macmillan Audio, and the author for this ALC!
Read if you like: unreliable narrators, Southern settings, rags-to-riches stories, mysterious disappearances.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Domestic abuse and Violence