I wasn’t sure if I was really enjoying this novel until about halfway through, when I realized I didn’t want to stop reading it until it was over. And then when it WAS over, I almost started reading it all over again. That’s the second book this year that has brought about this reaction. The first was Uprooted, and honestly, I’m happy enough to experience that feeling just once a year, so I feel sort of selfish for getting to enjoy it twice. Anyway! On […]
Reader, I was disappointed.
I read several rave reviews of Lyndsay Faye’s Jane Steele, and while I was a bit nervous about the serial killer angle (will it be like Sweeney Todd? I wondered), I was more than happy to give it a shot. Jane Eyre was a novel I looooooved in high school and then, as an adult, realized that Mr. Rochester is a very bad man. A very bad man indeed. [Shhhh, not now, Daniel. We’ll talk about you later.] Anyway, I read Patricia Park’s most excellent […]
Reader, I loved this book.
To say I was hesitant about reading Jane Steele is a bit of an understatement. Yes, we had a few glowing, wonderful reviews from ElCicco and yesknopemaybe, and that should have been enough to convince me. But last year I read Jane, a modern retelling of Jane Eyre, and I hated it. HATED IT. I was wary about getting myself into another Jane Eyre story. But this isn’t a retelling of the classic, its more of an homage. And it kicks ass. I’m going to go out on a […]
Reader, I Murdered Him
I’ve read plenty of good books in 2016: books I’ve enjoyed, books that were well-written, books I’d recommend to people. What I haven’t read are books that go above and beyond that. Jane Steele is the first full length novel I’ve read this year that I want to procure a hardcopy of and just fall asleep with after rereading my favorite parts. I want to force it upon friends and strangers alike because it was such a lovely reading experience. Jane Steele is kind of […]
“Reader, I murdered him,”or what if Jane Eyre got a shiv and wasn’t afraid to use it?
A while ago, I read a review of this new book by Lyndsay Faye which indicated that it was about a murderous governess who was a bit like Jane Eyre. While I am not a huge fan of Jane Eyre or the work of the Brontes in general (honestly, Mr. Rochester from Jane Eyre and Heathcliff from Wuthering Heights are both tremendous jerks and their women were well shot of them), I already knew from Gods Of Gotham that Lyndsay Faye was a wonderful writer […]
seven for a secret, never to be told
One for sorrow, Two for joy, Three for a girl, Four for a boy, Five for silver, Six for gold, Seven for a secret, Never to be told. This may be one of my favorite books of the year so far, which makes sense as it is the sequel to one of my three favorite books from last year, The Gods of Gotham. Seven for a Secret finds Timothy Wilde six months removed from the events of the first book set up as an […]