My Plain Jane

By: Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, Jodi Meadows

Narrated by: Fiona Hardingham

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 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 Bronte, and supernatural investigator Alexander Blackwood are about to be drawn together on the most epic ghost hunt this side of Wuthering Heights.

What a Treat!

By the time you’ve gotten to My Plain Jane, I hope you’ll have read something by one (or all!) of the three authors. In case you haven’t, let me give you a quick rundown of what you can expect with this book:

1. Laughs. Lots and lots of laughs. If you read this book and don’t have at least one moment with you snort/pee a little/giggle at an inopportune time, then you’re doing it wrong.
2. A very factual recounting of the original material. Because these ladies would never dare mess with such a treasure. And by never I mean always.
3. Ladies. Getting. Ish. Done.
4. Spooky apparitions named Helen that can’t take the hint but you wouldn’t want them to anyways.
5. A very, very good time, especially if you grab the audiobook.

Seriously, I had so much fun listening to this book that the wait for My Calamity Jane seems like eternity.

Entertaining

The narration for this audiobook was fantastic. I think it even helped sway my opinion on the book. It was humorous, of course, but still followed the real Jane Eyre book fairly well. And as it happens, I don't really care for Jane Eyre and would probably rate this book higher. 🤷‍♀️ Sorry to the fans. This book was also littered with pop culture references (Mary Poppins, Princess Bride, Alice in Wonderland among others) which I really enjoyed.

Thoroughly entertaining

I’m not sure this book would work without background knowledge of Jane Eyre, but if you have read Jane Eyre and have at least a basic familiarity with the book, it is a delightful read. Narrator Fiona Hardingham does a fantastic job with the voice and personalities of all the characters, and her tone on the narration is perfect. This is a delightful summer read.

Liked the first book better

2.5-3 Stars

I loved the first book in this series, My Lady Jane, which tweaked history is an entirely good way. The actual story is pretty awful, and so the changes were quite welcome. This second installment, which has nothing to do with the previous story other than it being a famous “Jane”, this time a tweaking of the original Jane Eyre.

Since I loved the original Jane Eyre and the romance, I can’t say I was thrilled with the changes to the story and romance in this version. Wasn’t really a romance at all except between Charlotte and Alexander, but that was (view spoiler)so that was disappointing too. The story was entertaining, the magical elements were fun, and I did have a laugh here and there, because seriously, these ladies are very funny! Still, I have to say, the story felt a bit convoluted and went on longer than I would’ve liked.

Helen was an annoying character I could’ve done without, and Jane wasn’t my favorite character either. I enjoyed Charlotte (as in Brontë) and Alexander and their POVs the best. While I was a bit underwhelmed by this installment I fully intend on picking up the next endeavor of this writing team: My Calamity Jane which promises to have a better ending than the original version. I am all for that!

The narration was excellent, just wished the story was better.

Great read until...

I was invested until the Scooby-Doo quote was made. After that it seemed like the author for Charlotte became bored. But I greatly enjoyed the book before that!! Still a good read just wish that momentum had stayed all the way through.