[A quick note: I wanted some fun “spooky” Halloween vibe reads for October and this one came up. I saw “ghosts” and I’m sooo here for ghosts if it’s Halloween. I knew it wasn’t going to be ”spooky” in the traditional sense, and I don’t really do horror. But it felt like a family-friendly kind of spooky. I didn’t get to it until Halloween night, so it bled over into my November TBR. Eh...oh well. The other reason I wanted to read this one was because I ADORED Jane Eyre.]
“𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘴𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘵, 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘴𝘰𝘰𝘯 𝘣𝘦 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘴𝘦𝘵 𝘣𝘺 𝘢 𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘰𝘶𝘣𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘢 𝘨𝘪𝘧𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭. 𝘚𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴. 𝘛𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘶𝘴.” ― Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, Jodi Meadows
You may think you know the story of plain, penniless Jane and enigmatic Mr. Rochester...but do you really? Perhaps the tale is not so certain. What if our Jane was really a seer, capable of seeing and speaking with ghosts? And what if Mr. Rochester wasn’t the man we were tricked into believing? Perhaps this is a job for the Society for the Relocation of Wayward Spirits. Count on them to get to the bottom of things.
This was a charming read. As someone who has read Jane Eyre twice, I loved the way this retold Jane Eyre’s story in a completely different way. But it was the addition of Charlotte and Alexander’s characters that really left me pleased. The story was quirky and at times, comedic. The addition of ghosts was perfect and acted as the backbone of the plot. Moreover, I found the writing entertaining with “pre-Victorian” references dropped left and right.
In this version of Jane’s story, ghosts are prevalent. The Society is responsible for relocating any ghosts who begin causing problems. It is during a “relocation” that Jane receives a prompt introduction into the Society’s activities. While she wants NOTHING to do with the society, her dear friend Charlotte Bronte want’s nothing else than to be inducted as an agent. But Charlotte doesn’t see ghosts, so she must prove herself with her sharp mind and brilliant plans.
All of our favorite characters make an appearance in this story, but they aren’t as we remember them. The stakes have changed. Everything we thought we knew about them might not in fact be the case. This adds a fun twist. My favorite storyline quickly became Charlotte and Alexander.
This is the first mult-author book I’ve read. I was worried I might see incongruencies. I didn’t know what to expect. But everything flowed seamlessly. I think it helped having three different characters with unique voices. I imagine that each author was responsible for one, and that allowed them to sound differently.
I didn’t find any obvious flaws with this story. But I also didn’t find myself craving it. While I enjoyed it, it was also kind of...meh. I guess what I’m trying to say is, it was fun and enjoyable, but I don’t find myself gushing over it. Thus, the star rating. Perhaps that is mostly because it’s not fantasy, which is my preferred genre? Hard to say.
My only warning is: this is more of a satire. So if you’re looking of a repeat of the same, you will be disappointed. But if you want something funny, and can appreciate some good-natured fun, I highly recommend this historical comedic retelling. Plus...ghosts!! 𝗠𝗬 𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚: 𝟯.𝟱/𝟱⭐️