My Plain Jane (The Lady Janies #2)
By Cynthia Hand, Jodi Meadows, Brodi Ashton
Genre: YA Historical Fantasy
Recommended For: Ages 15+ and people who love fun twists on classic stories, and for people who love to laugh

You may think you know the story. After a miserable childhood, penniless orphan Jane Eyre embarks on a new life as a governess at Thornfield Hall. There, she meets one dark, brooding Mr. Rochester. Despite their significant age gap (!) and his uneven temper (!!), they fall in love—and, Reader, she marries him. (!!!)

Or does she?

 

Prepare for an adventure of Gothic proportions, in which all is not as it seems, a certain gentleman is hiding more than skeletons in his closets, and one orphan Jane Eyre, aspiring author Charlotte Brontë, and supernatural investigator Alexander Blackwood are about to be drawn together on the most epic ghost hunt this side of Wuthering Heights. 

 

The Gist:
My Lady Jane, book one in the Lady Janies series was an unexpected five star read for me, so obviously I was extremely excited to read the second novel in the collection, My Plain Jane, which is a retelling of sorts of the Charlotte Bronte novel Jane Erye. While I thought the plot lacked some and some of the characters weren’t quite as interesting as the first book, I still found myself enjoying My Plain Jane immensely and laughing nearly as much. It is a fun book to read and a wonderfully crafted retelling of a classic piece of literature.

 

What I Liked:
The characters that the authors added to this book are what made it a gem in my opinion. Charlotte was AMAZING! Her spunkiness and never-giving-up attitude made me want to be like her when I grow up. And Helen made me wish I had a best friend who was a ghost and followed me around all the time. Helen was definitely the comic relief that makes me adore this series thus far.

At first I was worried about a retelling that involved ghosts, because in the past I haven’t liked classic literature retellings that add elements like that (i.e. zombies, vampires, etc). But I thought the author trio worked in ghosts so well and made the addition so funny that I ended up loving it and can’t imagine the story without them now!

Interspersed throughout the novel are tiny references to other major franchises which made me roar with laughter and made the story even more fun (especially since I’m a huge fan of The Princess Bride, hint hint).

The writing in this series is incredible. It’s fast-paced and descriptive and full of emotion. The prose they use really compliments the comical air to it while still maintaining a vivid picture of the world they are weaving in the novel.

 

What I Didn’t Like:
Ironically, I found Jane Erye’s storyline a little boring. Having Helen around definitely helped, but her love line with Mr. Rochester felt rushed and I didn’t get the sense of fierce feminist I remember from Bronte’s original story. Jane seemed like a blander version of herself.

I wish Jane and Charlotte’s friendship would have been a little more developed. I loved the moments they are together but something about it felt shallow, like the reader was just supposed to believe they were best friends because the author said so.

Probably the most significant reason I’m knocking a Luna off is because the end wrapped up awfully quickly. I wanted to much more and I didn’t feel entirely satisfied at the end because it felt so rushed.

 

LunasLuckyRating: 4/5 Lunas