I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

My Plain Jane by Brodi Ashton, Cynthia Hand, Jodi Meadows
Series: The Lady Janies #2
Published by HarperTeen on June 26, 2018
Pages: 464
Format: Hardcover
Source: the publisher
Buy on Amazon
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You may think you know the story. After a miserable childhood, penniless orphan Jane Eyre embarks on a new life as a governess at Thornfield Hall. There, she meets one dark, brooding Mr. Rochester. Despite their significant age gap (!) and his uneven temper (!!), they fall in love—and, Reader, she marries him. (!!!)

Or does she?

Prepare for an adventure of Gothic proportions, in which all is not as it seems, a certain gentleman is hiding more than skeletons in his closets, and one orphan Jane Eyre, aspiring author Charlotte Brontë, and supernatural investigator Alexander Blackwood are about to be drawn together on the most epic ghost hunt this side of Wuthering Heights.

I went into this expecting to love it because I ADORED My Lady Jane. I expected the same level of hilarious snark, character development and plot. Also, GHOSTS!!!! And I DID actually enjoy reading Jane Eyre in high school, so there’s that, as well. Sadly, this book hardcore let me down and broke my heart because it was just.. meh. The plot was just okay, and the pacing was super slow and (I hate to say this, but it’s true) boring. And the characters were just okay. It had its moments, but overall, it was just… meh.

I’ll start with some positive things, because there were some. And I like to focus on the positive in every book. There were definitely some hilarious moments. For example:

“…young women of this time period felt faint regularly. Because corsets.”

-US Hardcover, Page 11

And:

“…you’re suddenly Mr. Rochester.”

“It’s not sudden for me… it’s been coming on for quite some time.”

-US Hardcover, Page 81

I loved that Charlotte Bronte and Jane Eyre were BFFs. It felt oddly appropriate and led to some hilarious moments. I also loved that Jane’s best friend is a ghost. Again, it felt oddly appropriate, though I can’t explain why.

The chapters with Charlotte, Bran and Alexander were HIGHLY entertaining. Definitely my favorite parts of the story. I loved the tension between Charlotte and Alexander, and poor bumbling Bram was so clueless, but so sweet and so adorable! In contrast, the chapters with Jane and Rochester were… boring. Again, I HATE using that word but… I just can’t help it with this book. I’m just so disappointed and sad right now.

Another positive? WUTHERING HEIGHTS AND HARRY POTTER REFERENCES, FOR THE WIN!!!!!!!! The HP one, in particular, was hilarious and epic and wonderful and HOGWARTS IS HOME AND HARRY POTTER IS LIFE. *Clears throat.* Sorry, moving on… I also think there MIGHT have been a My Lady Jane reference near the end… maybe? Was that just me…?

The whole concept of the Society and what it did was incredible. The fact that someone corrupted its beliefs and values wasn’t surprising. I just feel like there was SO MUCH that could have been done with that storyline. I was SO EXCITED for GHOSTS and it just.. I mean, there WERE ghosts and they were central to the plot (i.e: Helen). But… I don’t know.. I really can’t explain what’s bothering me, I just wanted more, I guess…

Anyway, I don’t want to drag this review out too much, so I’ll stop here. If you liked My Lady Jane, you might still enjoy My Plain Jane. Also, if you’re a fan of Jane Eyre, you might enjoy this. Finally, if you’re a fan of one or all of the authors (Brodi Ashton, Cynthia Hand and Jodi Meadows), I say give it a try. What I didn’t enjoy, you might love.

I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

My Lady Jane by Brodi Ashton, Cynthia Hand, Jodi Meadows
Series: The Lady Janies #1
Published by HarperTeen on June 7, 2016
Pages: 494
Format: ARC
Source: the publisher
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads

Edward (long live the king) is the King of England. He’s also dying, which is inconvenient, as he’s only sixteen and he’d much rather be planning for his first kiss than considering who will inherit his crown…

Jane (reads too many books) is Edward’s cousin, and far more interested in books than romance. Unfortunately for Jane, Edward has arranged to marry her off to secure the line of succession. And there’s something a little odd about her intended…

Gifford (call him G) is a horse. That is, he’s an Eðian (eth-y-un, for the uninitiated). Every day at dawn he becomes a noble chestnut steed—but then he wakes at dusk with a mouthful of hay. It’s all very undignified.

The plot thickens as Edward, Jane, and G are drawn into a dangerous conspiracy. With the fate of the kingdom at stake, our heroes will have to engage in some conspiring of their own. But can they pull off their plan before it’s off with their heads?

I finished this book ages ago and then fell into a reviewing slump. I’m FINALLY getting around to reviewing it now, but forgive me if I’ve forgotten some things and I’m not as eloquent as usual. I’ll do my best!

So… I waited WAY too long to read this book! I’m so sorry I didn’t read it when it first came out, because it was amazing. The history – though heavily fictionalized – was incredibly intriguing. The writing and dialogue were beyond perfect – never has a book made me laugh out loud as hard as this one! Though this was my first Jodi Meadows book, I’ve been a fan of Brodi Ashton and Cynthia Hand for a long time, so I knew it would be incredible just from being a fan of their previous books.

I’m normally very character-driven when I read, but I think I gave this book a bit more leeway in that department than normal because, while I loved the characters so much, I also felt a bit detached from them. Maybe because they’re real – if not slightly fictionalized – historical figures and it’s harder to get attached when you know – for the most part – their fates? I’m not 100% sure if that’s it or not, but I did still love the characters and I did still care about them and their fates.. Just in a bit more of a detached way.

If you’ve followed my blog and Twitter for awhile, you know one of my biggest current obsessions is Reign and Mary Queen of Scots. So, of course, her cameo was one of my absolute favorite things! Like, it was perfection. Of course, I completely pictured everyone at the French Court as their respective Reign characters, haha. But in all seriousness, I demand that Cynthia, Brodi and Jodi write a book about Mary Queen of Scots. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE!!!!!!!! NEED NEED NEED!!!!!!!

This book was also hilarious. The dialogue, the jokes, the horse. Yes, the horse. No, I won’t elaborate. Except to share this quote:

“Was that a horse joke?”
“Neigh.”

If that doesn’t convince you to read this, nothing will.

The ending was incredibly satisfying. And I’ve since learned that Cynthia, Brodi and Jodi are going to write more books, My Plain Jane and My Calamity Jane, both of which I’m SUPER excited for! But if we got a Mary Queen of Scots story…. *Coughs* Just saying…

Anyway, I highly recommend this if you’re a fan of Cynthia, Brodi and/or Jodi and their previous books. I also highly recommend it to fans of historical/fictionalized historical books.