e-Audio, 11:22:17
Narrated by: Machelle Williams & Nneka Okoye
Release Date: January 16, 2024
Published by: HarperTeen
Read from: January 28-29, 2024
Stand-alone
Source: Library’s Libby (I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and the Publisher in exchange for a just and honest review. This did nothing to influence my review.)
TW: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief
For Readers Interested In: Historical Fiction, Romance, 2SLGBTQIA+, RetellingIn this fresh reimagining of Charlotte Brontë’s classic novel, Jane Eyre and Bertha Mason must save each other from the horrifying machinations of Mr. Rochester.
Jane has no interest in a husband. Eager to make her own way in the world, she accepts the governess position at Thornfield Hall. Though her new employer, Edward Rochester, has a charming air—not to mention a handsome face—Jane discovers that his smile can sharpen in an instant. Plagued by Edward’s mercurial mood and the strange wails that echo through the corridors, she grows suspicious of the secrets hidden within Thornfield Hall—unaware of the true horrors lurking above her very head.
On the topmost floor, Bertha is trapped in more ways than one. After her whirlwind marriage to Edward turned into a nightmare, he locked her away as revenge for withholding her inheritance. Now his patience grows thin in the face of Bertha’s resilience and Jane’s persistent questions, and both young women are in more danger than they realize. When their only chance at safety—and perhaps something more—is in each other’s arms, can they find and keep one another safe before Edward’s dark machinations close in around them?
*MY THOUGHTS*
I really think this is going to be my last L.L. McKinney book. I’m not sure her writing is for me. I know this was a loose retelling, but it was like really boring lol It wasn’t until like 87% that this started picking up. And usually I would have DNFed way before this… And like I should have LOL
To say this was a retelling, it was a really fun one! The twist on this had me shocked! These people were all unhinged. Trapping her there? The kid? The friend?! Everything was crazy and I felt like I had whiplash as I was reading. And usually I love books like this.
The only problem was, it came too late. The whole time it went on and on and it made me increasingly annoyed lol But this isn’t the first time I didn’t connect with a book by L.L. McKinney. I think her writing style just doesn’t do it for me. It’s the reason I haven’t read Nubia either. Because I can’t not love that one. I think I’d rather die first.
The romance was….. not it. But I can’t be mad at it because of the type of book it was. However, it was pitched to me as a romantic suspense novel and that was not it. It was definitely historical fiction and some romance. They don’t even see each other until late in the novel. If you’re someone who was told this has a sapphic relationship, it does have one, but it’s barely there.
It’s been a while since I was this disappointed in a book. The plot and the book synopsis were great, but the execution was not great. Also, can we stop telling people what a book is about before we really know? Because Lordt this is the second time in a short while this has happened to me. Get it together world!
Overall, I give this
