I had the BEST time reading this book. I was picking it up at every opportunity, desperate for any chance to read a few pages. When I got to the end, though, I just wanted so much more!

The story takes its premise from Jane Eyre, repositioning Mr. Rochester as a villainous figure who uses and discards people – particularly women – for his own gain. It’s not too much of a stretch from the original, and I really enjoyed this approach! He does literally keep a secret wife locked in the attic in JE, so it felt like a really natural and interesting progression.

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I also really liked that the author makes it clear that this story happens in an alternate world/timeline. There are enough differences from real life – a fictional monarch, for example – that it’s clearly established as a different world. I loved that this gave us a nice separation from the original, and also allowed for some historical tweaks, such as a Bridgerton-esque approach to race.

There were some points I wished it were closer to the original. I think everyone who has read JE vividly remembers their shock at That Reveal (I know I do!) and it felt odd not to have some sort of nod to it. There was also no point at which anyone suggested Bertha might be imprisoned because of her madness, whether true or not. I was a bit disappointed by this as this is one of the themes I was really hoping would be explored: how madness, or ‘hysteria’, is used to discredit women.

I just would have loved for it all to be fleshed out a little bit more. The romance was a little bit insta-love, there weren’t any significant subplots, and it was gasping for an epilogue at the end. I would have loved to see how Jane and Bertha rebuilt their lives after escaping, and I just felt slightly deflated at the end.

This was an enjoyable read, that offered a fun twist on Jane Eyre. In the end, though, I couldn’t help but feel a bit underwhelmed.

I received a free copy for an honest review.