Take a photo of a barcode or cover
notesbynnenna 's review for:
The Wife Upstairs
by Rachel Hawkins
2.5 stars
Thank you to the publisher and BookSparks for giving me a free copy of this book! All opinions are my own.
Hmmmmm, ok, I have some thoughts on this book, so let’s get into it!
This was marketed as a modern day Jane Eyre retelling and that aspect is what really made me want to read it. Early on, I had to set that aside though. The basic outline of the story is still there and the author takes a few of the iconic lines and gives them a modern twist, but it just didn’t work for me as a Jane Eyre retelling. I really enjoyed Jane Eyre and for me, THE WIFE UPSTAIRS didn’t capture the complexities and richness of Jane as a character.
When we finally get the reveal of what happens in Jane’s past, which she hints at throughout the story, I wasn’t invested enough in her as a character to care about that reveal. And I felt that lack of connection with all the characters in the book. We finally see some action in the last quarter or so of the book, but I think I was more excited that something was happening vs. caring about what ultimately happens to the characters. I also felt like the book was going for some Gone Girl vibes that didn’t work for me execution-wise.
The plot was perhaps too predictable for me and I wanted to see more character development so that I could have felt some emotional investment in these characters. I’d seen mixed reviews about this one before I picked it up and I was still curious about it, so I’m glad I read this one to satisfy my own curiosity! And now I’m planning to read a few more reviews to see what other people liked about this and how others thought it fared as a Jane Eyre retelling.
Thank you to the publisher and BookSparks for giving me a free copy of this book! All opinions are my own.
Hmmmmm, ok, I have some thoughts on this book, so let’s get into it!
This was marketed as a modern day Jane Eyre retelling and that aspect is what really made me want to read it. Early on, I had to set that aside though. The basic outline of the story is still there and the author takes a few of the iconic lines and gives them a modern twist, but it just didn’t work for me as a Jane Eyre retelling. I really enjoyed Jane Eyre and for me, THE WIFE UPSTAIRS didn’t capture the complexities and richness of Jane as a character.
When we finally get the reveal of what happens in Jane’s past, which she hints at throughout the story, I wasn’t invested enough in her as a character to care about that reveal. And I felt that lack of connection with all the characters in the book. We finally see some action in the last quarter or so of the book, but I think I was more excited that something was happening vs. caring about what ultimately happens to the characters. I also felt like the book was going for some Gone Girl vibes that didn’t work for me execution-wise.
The plot was perhaps too predictable for me and I wanted to see more character development so that I could have felt some emotional investment in these characters. I’d seen mixed reviews about this one before I picked it up and I was still curious about it, so I’m glad I read this one to satisfy my own curiosity! And now I’m planning to read a few more reviews to see what other people liked about this and how others thought it fared as a Jane Eyre retelling.