Review: Jane by April Lindner

Title: Jane

Author: April Lindner

Publisher: Poppy

Publication date: September 5th 2011

Format: Paperback - 365 pages

Genre: Romance

 

 

 

Forced to drop out of an esteemed East Coast college after the sudden deaths of her parents, Jane Moore takes a nanny job at Thornfield Park, the estate of Nico Rathburn, a world-famous rock star on the brink of a huge comeback. Practical and independent, Jane reluctantly becomes entranced by her magnetic and brooding employer and finds herself in the midst of a forbidden romance.

But there's a mystery at Thornfield, and Jane's much-envied relationship with Nico is soon tested by an agonising secret from his past. Torn between her feelings for Nico and his fateful secret, Jane must decide: Does being true to herself mean giving up on true love?

My thoughts:

 

This is the first kind of re-telling of a classic that I've had a go at reading. I was a little apprehensive about it since Jane Eyre is what it is - I don't think anything could ever live up to it. I did enjoy how the story was adapted to a modern telling though.

 

The biggest problem I had with this book was trying to get into the story. I found it hard to pay any interest in the character's lives when the story dragged so much from the beginning. It was only quite a good chunk past the half way point that I started to get really into the story. Jane was unnecessarily boring at the start of the book until her character started to change and become stronger - once she did though it became a really refreshing read. By the end of the book she came out of her shell to a huge extent.

 

I have to say I was actually most worried about Nico's character. I wasn't sure about the way he would be portrayed when I first started reading - I was anxious to see if he turned out to be a good character. Nico definitely didn't disappoint me. I thought he was great the whole way through the book - he was moody but still came across as a strong character. I think having him as a rock star provided perfect settings for the story.

 

Another problem I had with this read though, was how closely it followed the original Jane Eyre story. There were times where the dialogue was almost the same just in a more modern tone - I was hoping the book would have just elements of the Jane Eyre story. For example, the element of Jane falling in love with her employer and maybe the employer's personality. Everything else I was hoping would be different to give it a unique edge. At the end of the day, if I want to read Jane Eyre I'm going to pick up the classic not this book. I strongly feel if this read didn't follow the story down to a T it would be so much better - it would have that edge to it. This way it doesn't really stand on it's own.

 

Overall I thought this was just an average read. I enjoyed Nico's character and how the story has been adapted to a modern telling but as a story on it's own, it was a little underwhelming.

 

My rating: 5/10

 

 Jane Lindner:

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