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hellobookbird's review against another edition
3.0
Jane Eyre meets Ghostbusters in this "Janies" installment.
Before we start off, a couple of things:
1. You don't have to read [b:My Lady Jane|22840421|My Lady Jane (The Lady Janies, #1)|Cynthia Hand|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1444923765l/22840421._SY75_.jpg|42397220] as the only connection between the two is that the authors are retelling the story of a specific (historically famous) Jane in each.
2. You also don't need to have read [b:Jane Eyre|10210|Jane Eyre|Charlotte Brontë|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1557343311l/10210._SY75_.jpg|2977639] to enjoy this book as they sum up the original story in the prologue (which is great because I haven't read it, ha).
3. I technically gave this a 2.5 but rounded up to 3.
And second, a confession:
I did read My Lady Jane and, thus, I feel like I'm likely a little harder on this one because of the certain standard it established.
So let's get to it.
We have two very plain girls, ghosts, a pre-Victorian/Victorian backdrop, the Royal Society for the Relocation of Wayward Spirits (ahem ghost busters), a creepy estate, and two very different men. As it's predecessor, the pop-culture references were stellar and the humor witty.
However, I had a huge disconnect with the characters this time around. There was no spark and roughly half of the time I wondered what the heck I was still reading for because nothing seemed to be happening.
Jane: she kept refusing to join the Society for no reason I can fathom. I understand that in order to remain fairly true with the original Jane Eyre telling, she needed to remain at Thornfield Estate...but if you're throwing ghosts into the mix and she's not even doing anything with ghosts then what are we even staying around for? (And she was supposedly head over heels for Mr. Rochester despite that fact that he was very likely bipolar but definitely had major crazy going on. Everyone kept pointing out the inconsistencies in his behavior but she forgave him every time. The worst part is that I feel like the authors knew this and thus tried to play this off with reader notes such as: "Remember that this was pre-Victorian and the epitome of...." No, I'm not buying it.)
Helen: Jane's sidekick and the voice of reason. Literally everything I was thinking regarding the red flags that kept popping up in the novel, she voiced. Why is Jane her best friend if she never listens to her? As much as I loved Helen, a part of me wonders if I wished she hadn't been there because, despite being my in-novel voice, nothing was getting done about it. Perhaps I'm being too harsh (I haven't read the original after all) and this is perhaps the author's voicing their discontent with the way the original novel went. I don't know.
Charlotte: She's kind of a mix of Velma and Luna Lovegood (IMO) and is the other plain girl that we follow. I was expecting the story to eventually reveal in some way that the book in your hands was the direct result of Jane's life. I know it's inferred, and obvious if you knew she was the original author of Jane Eyre, but I would have liked it to have been more apparent rather than just alluding to it. She was charming in her own way, though.
Mr. Rochester: If the original Rochester was this way, I have to wonder why it's even a classic. I hated him. So many red flags. And because Jane refused to listen to reason and ignored it all I hated her, too. Since the prologue references gaslighting, I can only assume that the original Jane Eyre was, in fact, this harsh in treatment as well. So maybe it's Charlotte's fault.
Mr. Blackwood: Intriguing at first, I quickly lost interest. He had so much potential. Basically the only thing I really liked about him was the Princess Bride reference while trying to avenge his father. And the supposed romance between Charlotte and him? No sparks. Nada. Nothing. Didn't care.
All and all, it was creative and fun, but there were gaps of boringness rather than the laugh-out-loud, comedic adventure that I expected.
Okay, I guess. Recommended as a library or Kindle Unlimited read. Hoping [b:My Calamity Jane|31284532|My Calamity Jane (The Lady Janies, #3)|Cynthia Hand|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1570729941l/31284532._SY75_.jpg|51943420] will be better.
congressbaby143's review against another edition
5.0
I really enjoyed this book! I liked that I didn’t need to have a lot of knowledge of Jane Eyre to thoroughly enjoy this book. I could only imagine how good of an experience this book would have been for Jane Eyre and Brönte fans. It’s tropey and I like that I share the same sentiments with the authors to have a soft epilogue. Even with the misadventures, it wasn’t terrible and scary to read. This was such a fun retelling of Jane Eyre! And yes, thank you for giving us the madwoman in the attic’s happy ending. And most of all that we still didn’t remove that toxic masculinity was what put Bertha in the attic. Grace Poole was the scariest among all. This was a roller coaster ride now that I look at it in hindsight but really quite enjoyable. Storytelling is A++.
sklus's review against another edition
5.0
I love these books so dearly. I listened to the first book in The Lady Janies series on a road trip to New Orleans with one of my friends. We were so enamored with the story, we ended up sitting up late at night to finish the story, just sitting around the coffee table and staring intently at my phone. It was hilarious and magical and so much fun. My Plain Jane was the same. Jane Eyre is one of my favorite books and this book does a weird type of justice as a retelling, despite being completely inaccurate and have the complete opposite tone of the original book. I can't really explain how great I found this book, except to say that I'm still smiling and giggling about the ending. I will absolutely pick up the third book in the series when it is released and I will be recommending this book to anyone and everyone regardless of if they ask.
karrama's review against another edition
4.0
When Charlotte Bronte and Jane Eyre went to boarding school together tragedy followed. So did books. The characters interact and find that the Jane Eyre sees ghosts, and she befriends them. The Society for relocating ghosts is on its last strings and she might be the way to save their jobs and keep the country free of pesky poltergeist.
_reading_with_kate_'s review against another edition
I thought I was gonna like this one more than the first, just because of the premise, but that was not the case. IMPORTANT NOTE: I liked them both a lot.
khaleesimod93's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
I'm loving these stories!!! This one had the paranormal aspect that the original Jane Eyre was missing, and it made it even more perfect!!!! The mystery and thrilleresque part of the story made it so much better. I love all the characters. The ghosts, especially Helen, made me laugh with their humor and wit. It honestly couldn't have been more perfect. Another reason, besides the characters, that I love this story, and the first one, is how the authors change so much of the original but still keep the aspects that are loved and real.
ashleysnerdyworld's review against another edition
5.0
This book was really good. I like the ghost part of it .
theaudioauditor's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25