Review of Jane

My review of Jane by April Lindner is based on an ARC that I won in a giveaway. The following is my honest opinion of the work.

Goodreads Summary: "Forced to drop out of an esteemed East Coast college after the sudden death of her parents, Jane Moore takes a nanny job at Thornfield Park, the estate of Nico Rathburn, a world-famous rock star on the brink of a huge comeback. Practical and independent, Jane reluctantly becomes entranced by her magnetic and brooding employer and finds herself in the midst of a forbidden romance.

But there's a mystery at Thornfield, and Jane's much-envied relationship with Nico is soon tested by an agonizing secret from his past. Torn between her feelings for Nico and his fateful secret, Jane must decide: Does being true to herself mean giving up on true love?

An irresistible romance interwoven with a darkly engrossing mystery, this contemporary retelling of the beloved classic Jane Eyre promises to enchant a new generation of readers."

This semester I'm taking my first upper division British Literature course where my professor gave us the option of reading another book off of a list she provided and writing a short paper on it or writing a research paper of doom. Obviously I chose to read another book because, you know, I just don't read enough of those. My friend and I chose Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte after a great deal of debate (as Frankenstein was taken and we love Jane more anyway), did I mention that this was a group project? My bad. Anyway, I came home that weekend remembering that I won a retelling of Jane Eyre in a big box of books giveaway. So of course I dug around in my TBR pile of doom, gave it a read and here we are.

First off I have to say that despite having not read Jane Eyre in a few years, I would have recognized this retelling anywhere. April Linder did an AMAZING job of staying true to the story of Jane Eyre, as well as the characters, while not only placing them in a modern setting but making sure that the main characters we know and love held positions equal to those that they did in the original.

For those of you not familiar with Jane Eyre, no worries. You don't have to be. Jane is a story that can stand on it's own two feet just fine. The characters come to life under April Linder's beautiful prose, in no time at all you will be rooting for our self-esteem lacking heroine and crossing your fingers for a happy ending. Whatever ending that might be. Though, if you're anything like me you'll be hoping that bad boy rockstar Nico has a place in that happy ending. He's that bad boy who has shredded his reputation but is trying so hard to redeem himself, the ultimate in my opinion.

And than there's the mystery! Yes, mystery. As in a deep dark secret that Nico's household is desperate to keep. Even as someone who has read Jane Eyre, though I'll admit it's been awhile, was caught up in the mystery and found myself misled as to the answer.

I was a bit apprehensive about this retelling but I had no reason to be whatsoever. I'm giving Jane by April Lindner a five out of five stars review. If you're a fan of Jane Eyre this is a must-read as far as retellings go and I cannot wait to read the next novel that April Linder presents us with, which if I recall correctly will be a retelling of another favorite, Wuthering Heights.