A review by hissingpotatoes
Jane by Robin Maxwell

4.5

Everything an adventure should be. I love Jane's character: her ambition, her determination, her intelligence. Seeing her wild journey throughout the trials she faces and how she works through and triumphs over them was...so freeing for me as a reader, actually. It was immensely satisfying.

I cannot praise enough the description and complexity in this book. There are many character arcs and plotlines that converge and move each other along. The paradisaical "Eden" is portrayed so well that I felt like I was there and getting the same awed inspiration that Jane does. I got completely swept up in some of the scenes, like the fire dancing. So powerful, so enticing.

I had some minor quibbles with some of the story arc framing (e.g. a flashback from Tarzan's perspective somehow delving into another character's thoughts); the "I'm not like the other girls and therefore better" aspect Jane takes on (though she does work through this slightly); and a couple instances of sex happening after the characters are angry. However, none of these things last long, happen often, or detract from the excellent aspects of this story.

Note that I have not read the original Tarzan stories so I cannot make any comparisons, but this retelling from Jane's perspective is brilliant.