ARC Review: My Plain Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, Jodi Meadows

My Plain Jane
Author: Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, Jodi Meadows
Series: Lady Janies (Book 2)
Publication: HarperTeen (June 26, 2018)

Description: Move over, Charlotte Brontë. The authors of the New York Times bestselling My Lady Jane are back with an irreverent spin on Jane Eyre—a tale of mischief, romance, and supernatural mayhem perfect for fans of The Princess Bride or A Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue.
 

You may think you know the story. Penniless orphan Jane Eyre begins a new life as a governess at Thornfield Hall, where she meets one dark, brooding Mr. Rochester—and, Reader, she marries him. Or does she?

Prepare for an adventure of Gothic proportions in this stand-alone follow-up to My Lady Jane, which was called “an utter delight” (ALA Booklist, starred review), and “an uproarious historical fantasy that’s not to be missed” (Publishers Weekly, starred review).

My Thoughts: Have you read JANE EYRE? Well, it is the time to forget what you read. Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows have told us the real story including the Royal Society for the Relocation of Wayward Spirits headed by the Duke of Wellington and its star agent Alexander Blackwood.

The story begins at Lowood School with the murder its governor Mr. Brocklehurst. Charlotte Bronte is a student at the school and Jane Eyre is one of the teachers. Charlotte is constantly carrying a notebook around with her and jotting down possible story ideas and her observations of things around her. Jane has a secret. She can see ghosts and has one as her best friend. There are plenty of ghosts at the school since privations and disease have caused a number of the girls to die, including Charlotte's two older sisters.

When Alexander comes to town to relocate a ghost who is making trouble at the town pub along with is inept assistant Branwell, he meets Jane and tries to recruit her for the Society. Jane didn't like the way he treated the ghost at the pub and refuses. She has decided that she would rather be a governess and has accepted a job with Mr. Rochester.

Alexander isn't willing to give up on recruiting Jane but meets Charlotte when he goes to the school. Charlotte would very much like to work for the Society. She can't see ghosts but she thinks she has other skills that would be useful. Charlotte also learns that Blackwood's assistant is actually her brother. The three of them team up to go to Mr. Rochester's to try to convince Jane to give the Society a chance. But Jane has already decided she's in love with Mr. Rochester.

This was a fun story filled with parenthetical asides giving social commentary, information addressed to the Reader, and comments that are made with the tongue firmly in cheek. Oh, and don't forget the ghosts and dastardly villain and the various romances.

Favorite Quote:

Mr. Brocklehurst had believed that  if was good for  the soul to have only burnt porridge to eat. (HE meant the poverty-stricken, destitute soul, that is; the dignified, upper-class soul thrived, he found, on roast beef and plum pudding. And cookies, evidently.) Since Mr. Brocklehurst's untimely demise, conditions at the school had already improved tremendously. The girls unanimously agreed: whoever had killed Mr. Brocklehurst had done them a great service.

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from Edelweiss. You can buy your copy here.