Jane Steele
Ratings11
Average rating3.9
15
Ratings11
Average rating3.9
The reimagining of Jane Eyre as a gutsy, heroic serial killer that The New York Times Book Review calls “wonderfully entertaining” and USA Today describes as “sheer mayhem meets Victorian propriety”—nominated for the 2017 Edgar Award for Best Novel. “Reader, I murdered him.” A sensitive orphan, Jane Steele suffers first at the hands of her spiteful aunt and predatory cousin, then at a grim school where she fights for her very life until escaping to London, leaving the corpses of her tormentors behind her. After years of hiding from the law while penning macabre “last confessions” of the recently hanged, Jane thrills at discovering an advertisement. Her aunt has died and her childhood home has a new master: Mr. Charles Thornfield, who seeks a governess. Burning to know whether she is in fact the rightful heir, Jane takes the position incognito and learns that Highgate House is full of marvelously strange new residents—the fascinating but caustic Mr. Thornfield, an army doctor returned from the Sikh Wars, and the gracious Sikh butler Mr. Sardar Singh, whose history with Mr. Thornfield appears far deeper and darker than they pretend. As Jane catches ominous glimpses of the pair’s violent history and falls in love with the gruffly tragic Mr. Thornfield, she faces a terrible dilemma: Can she possess him—body, soul, and secrets—without revealing her own murderous past? “A thrill ride of a novel. A must read for lovers of Jane Eyre, dark humor, and mystery.”—PopSugar.com
Reviews with the most likes.
Some tragedies bind us, as lies do; they are ropes braided of hurt and bitterness, and you cannot ever fully understand how pinioned you are until the ties are loosened.
My expectations were very high due to the blurb and the hype. It did deliver in part, the first half of the novel was pretty promising, however, it lost steam after she leaves the boarding school (Or maybe I just lost interest). Her consistency as a character suffered as well. I didn't find it believable at all that she warms up so much and so quickly to Mr. Thornfield. By that point I basically stopped caring.
4.5 stars. Well that was a pleasant surprise! Jane Eyre meets Kill Bill - it really shouldn't work, but it does, and I loved every second.
Every time Jane killed someone, I heard that song from Chicago in my head ... they had it comin'!
Loved the homages to Jane Eyre, and the language used felt like a good match to Charlotte Bronte's style.
If I have a nitpick, it's that Jane Steele might acknowledge there are similarities in her story to that of Jane Eyre, but doesn't acknowledge the bonkers nature of the coincidences – Thornfield Hall for Jane Eyre, Mr. Thornfield for Jane Steele.
And the middle lagged a bit, but I forgive because I accept this is me being an impatient modern reader, since the pacing was a nice match to the original.
This was a near perfect read for me, and I want to gobble up more by this author.
I couldn't finish this one it's too graphic and made me very uncomfortable.
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