Brightly Burning

By: Alexa Donne

Narrated by: Therese Plummer

Length: 10 hrs and 8 mins

Publisher's Summary

“One of the most anticipated YA debuts of 2018, Brightly Burning is a gothic, romantic mystery with hints of Jane Eyre, Marissa Meyer, and Kiera Cass.” (Entertainment Weekly)

“Brightly Burning delivers a brooding gothic mystery and a swoony romance, all set in space. Donne’s atmospheric, twisty update of a cherished classic will keep you up late into the night!” (Elly Blake, NYT best-selling author of the Frostblood Saga)

Stella Ainsley leaves poverty behind when she quits her engineering job aboard the Stalwart to become a governess on a private ship. On the Rochester, there’s no water ration, more books than one person could devour in a lifetime, and an AI who seems more friend than robot. But no one warned Stella that the ship seems to be haunted, nor that it may be involved in a conspiracy that could topple the entire interstellar fleet. 

Surrounded by mysteries, Stella finds her equal in the brooding but kind 19-year-old Captain Hugo. When several attempts on his life spark more questions than answers, and the beautiful Bianca Ingram appears at Hugo’s request, his unpredictable behavior causes Stella’s suspicions to mount. Without knowing whom to trust, Stella must decide whether to follow her head or her heart.  

Alexa Donne’s lush and enthralling reimagining of the classic Jane Eyre, set among the stars, will seduce and beguile you.

©2018 Alexa Donne (P)2018 Audible, Inc.

Out of this world!

I loved it, listened to it in one sitting! It made me laugh, swoon and cry. I can't believe I waited so long to read this. I think fans of Marrissa Myer's Lunar Chronicles would highly enjoy this book.

Lovely

This is a world setting I would love to return to with the next generation. The characters are lovable and relatable. I wish I could hate the villans more, but as an adult I know we all have "jobs" to do. Somehow I feel this is a new writer, but she has such a fresh appeal. The book ends to quickly, left me looking for another 4-5 chapters. You will love this #gentle suspense #romance #worldsetting

I think I’m speechless

This book was amazing. I love Stella and all of the side characters. This book made me laugh, cry, mad at some of the characters decisions, and everything in between. Fans of the lunar Chronicles will definitely love this book. I don’t think I will ever get tired of this book. If you are deliberating over whether you should get this book, You should. You should at least give it a try, because if this is your kind of thing you will love it. I hope you like this book as much as I do.

Exciting read with a The 100 vibe

The was a pretty awesome read. The story kept a nice pace and the premise of having to live in space reminded me of Kass Morgan's The 100, except the story was more about being in space than the ground.

I loved the characters, I was so rooting for John despite knowing that wouldn't work out. The complexity of the society was highly intriguing and it was refreshing to see some great character growth from some highly unlikable characters.

My only issue with the performance was that the narrative states quite plainly that Stella has a British accent due to the ship she was born on and the narrator didn't have that. Otherwise, she was absolutely brilliant. I was especially impressed by her male voices as sometimes I run across narrators who really only have one male inflection and it is a pet peeve of mine. She does really well making each voice unique so that even if the speaker isn't mentioned by name at first, you know who it is. She very much brought a lot of life to the author's story.

This was fine...

the Story was mediocre and kind of bland but kudos to Therese Plummer for the great performance!

Rushed storyline kinda

I don't know the source material, but this story felt rushed. I wish there was an additional 200 pages of character interaction/development. A lot was told, not shown. But overall, still decent.

great audio book reader

great reader. sweet love story. G rated. I liked it. Alexa Donne is very good at what she does

you should definitely give it a try

this book was good but not as good as the author other book but still good.

Nice Retelling, Jane Eyre in Space

Before reading this book you have to get familiar with the original story, otherwise it will be a really bizarre story to follow
So the story is about Stella who is an orphan living in a very poor spaceship, one day she get accepted as a governess in the Rochester spaceship for the child Jessa, but she finds herself falling for her older brother Hugo, and what will happen after that
I really don't get why did it have to be in space, I mean it could've easily been a really good contemporary book, it was an Ok book as a retelling

The narrator was really good and her performance was engaging

Good book, but the pacing of the story felt off

This book is one hell of a genre mash-up. Futuristic space setting meets old victorian class divisions and manners. Murder mystery meets potential ghost story. Dystopian meets nature survival. Toss in a bit of government intrigue and roll it all up in a YA romance interpretation of...Jane Eyre?
It sounds like it would be too many things going on, but honestly, most of it was very well executed. It's a very interesting world/society. The plot as a whole is entertaining.
My only issue with this book was the pacing. Everything before Stella finds out what's going on aboard the Rochester was too drawn out...and everything after felt rushed. A little over half the book transpires with very little more than her falling for Hugo and having a couple weird things happen on the ship. Then, she learns why weird things are happening, and all hell breaks loose. The rest of the book (which involves literally all the other genres/subgenres I mentioned above) just doesn't do justice to its content.
Don't get me wrong. I enjoyed this book. I would recommend it.
I just wish the pacing was better.

The narration was good, with distinct voices for different characters. The narrator has a tendency to lend a bit too much levity to the final sentence of every chapter, though.