My Plain Jane (The Lady Janies #2) by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows ~ 450 pages ~ published 6/26/18 by HarperCollins

Goodreads Synopsis:

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.

What I Thought:

After loving My Lady Jane so much, I had pretty high expectations for My Plain Jane…and they were most certainly met! I absolutely loved this book. I have always loved Jane Eyre, but have never read a retelling of it. While this book is certainly a very silly, and extremely self-aware, retelling, it still kept with the tone of the original story, which I greatly appreciated.

I really enjoyed the fact that Jane Eyre and Charlotte Brontë were characters in the same story. I thought this was incredibly imaginative, and I loved seeing their friendship develop, all while Charlotte was actively writing Jane’s story. Brilliant! The addition of Alexander’s character gave the alternate plot-line the extra umph it needed. If the original Jane Eyre ever needed anything, it was the addition of a paranormal element 🙂

There were several instances where the authors stuck some Easter eggs from other works of literature into the story, including Emma, Northanger Abbey, and Harry Potter. These were always exciting to discover, and I continually found myself exclaiming with delight upon finding one!

I am also always fond of finding real figures from history in parodies like this. Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington and King William IV both appear, which always lends a bit of authenticity to a farce, don’t you think? 😉

All in all, I thought that this was an extremely well-done tongue-in-cheek retelling of one of my favorite classic novels. If you are a fan of Charlotte Brontë, retellings, humor and YA, then this is the perfect book for you!!

My Rating:

5.0/5.0

I gave My Plain Jane 5 STARS! It was fantastically funny, and a brilliant retelling of one of my favorite classic novels!

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* If you are interested in reading my review of the first book in this series, My Lady Jane, click here! 

**If you would like to try out OwlCrate, a fantastic YA subscription box where you receive bookish goodies and an exclusive, signed copy of a YA book each month, check them out here! 

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Are you interested in learning more about this book/series? Check out the links below! 

Cynthia Hand’s Website

Brodi Ashton’s Website

Jodi Meadows’ Website

My Plain Jane on Goodreads

My Lady Jane on Goodreads

Purchase My Plain Jane on Amazon 

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Have you read My Plain Jane yet? What about My Lady Jane? Are you a fan of retellings? Let me know down in the comments! 

Love and happy reading,