Happy Monday, readers! Today I'm super excited to be a stop on the blog tour for Lindsay Marcott's Mrs. Rochester's Ghost, out now from Thomas & Mercer.
I'm kicking today off with a review of the book, but be sure to check out the excerpt and guest post I'll be following up with (there's a giveaway included in that one!).
Jane is newly single and living in an apartment she can barely afford when her job as a writer on a popular tv show ends. With her meager savings in danger of running out, Jane agrees to start work as a tutor for Evan Rochester's teenage daughter instead.
The job comes at the recommendation—pleading—of a good friend who just happens to be Rochester's cousin. The estate is huge and remote, but close enough to the city that Jane can still get a good coffee or make a yoga class. And the surly teen she's been saddled with is charming in her own way.
But rumors swirl around Rochester and the estate. Some say that the entrepreneur murdered his wife. A model who was diagnosed as bipolar, Mrs. Rochester was almost as famous for her outbursts as she was for her beauty. And though her disappearance was suspicious, it has officially been classified as an accident.
As Jane gets to know Evan, she suspects she might be falling for him. But certain happenings around the estate lead her to believe that not everything about Mrs. Rochester are exactly as the widower tells it. And as Jane begins to fall deeper in love, she has to wonder if she can truly trust Evan.
I've stated before that I'm a huge fan of Jane Eyre and Rebecca retellings. In fact, I'm pretty much down for any new take on these twisty tales. And that's exactly what Mrs. Rochester's Ghost is—a modern retelling of Jane Eyre.
In this version, Jane is a bit more worldly than the original Jane. She's been working in Hollywood, for one! So she's pretty prepared for just about any version of Evan you can imagine. And she's not surprised when she dislikes him immediately!
Chapters alternate between present-day Jane and Beatrice leading up to her own disappearance.
It's clear in Beatrice's chapters that she has issues. And Jane herself discovers this as she digs deeper into Evan's story.
Beatrice was a supermodel with a volatile temper. And her brother has continued to hound Evan, and now Jane, over his sister's fate. (He's quite the unpleasant character, to be honest!)
I think that every reader has a different take on Jane Eyre. Personally, I love it. I love Jane, who is young and innocent when we meet her but by no means truly naive; she's lived a complicated life and understands hardship. I think she also goes into her relationship with Rochester with completely open eyes.
Rochester himself is, in my own opinion, someone trapped by circumstances made more difficult by the times he lives in. And I think it's only in meeting Jane that he truly starts to imagine a different life.
Marcott, I think, effectively keeps the essence of all of that in her version but also gives it a modern setting and changes that make sense for the times. The pacing is much more quick and the plotting follows today's thriller formatting rather than classic, slow burn gothic lit, but the overall heart and tone of this retelling is very true to the original.
If you're looking for a new take on Jane Eyre, this isn't really it. But if you love the original and are interested in seeing how the story might play out present day and as a thriller, Mrs. Rochester's Ghost gives you exactly that!
Again, be sure to check out the follow up post for a taste of Mrs. Rochester's Ghost as well as a piece from Marcott herself and throw your name in the hat for the giveaway!
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