Brightly Burning

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.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

I'm a Fan!!!

I found Alexa Donne through the AuthorTube teaching videos and have loved her info myself as an aspiring Author. Once I saw her book was on Audible it was my chance to support and check out her writing directly. I LOVED the idea of Jane Eyre. And from the beginning, the irony hit me as you always see fairy tail and Jane Austen retellings, BUT rarely JE retellings that truly capture the mystery and epic-ness of the story. Enter BRIGHTLY BURNING which I binge listened to in TWO busy days as a mom on the go! I LOVED the story, I loved imagery and voice, and I loved the touches of the classic woven artistically with the sci-fi elements as if they were always hand-in-hand. The hardcover will be going into my shopping cart very soon as I can already tell I will want to reread this very soon. Thanks again Alexa and looking forward to more of your books soon!

A very good read.

I listen to audiobooks almost exclusively. It isn't very often you can actually hear the writers voice in the narration done by someone else other than the author. Great narration and great writing. This authr truly has her hear in this book.

I enjoyed the story

I really enjoyed the story itself. I also liked the narrator as Stella. I didn't really like listening to the male characters... but it wasn't grating enough to get me to put the story down.

Now one of my favorites!

Beautifully written and exquisitely executed! I found this book via Alexa Donne’s YouTube channel on writing. She gives great advice, but this book is proof she know knows what she’s talking about.

I absolutely loved it!

I purchased the audiobook only 3 days ago and have completed it already. It took about 2-3 chapters before I really got into it, but once I did, I held onto every word. Loved the plot twists, many which were unsuspecting. Great job Alexa!

Absolutely more than I expected...

The main reason I loved this book and story was the perfect combination of the remarkable talented narrative/narrator combined with a really skilled plot and a clever and original retelling of a classic Jane Eyre.
I have also to underline that everything settled in Space has a weaked spot on me, so this was just a perfect result in my personal taste.

A little note for the author though, I would have updated some technical devices to open the rooms doors on the sophisticated Rochester ship...

Nonetheless, I do recommend this book to everyone that had loved the ACROSS THE UNIVERSE trylogy by Beth Revis. I could just sense the influence this author got from that beautiful artwork so just give this book a try.

I've never read Jane Eyre

This was a pretty decent book in my opinion. Apparently it's just a retelling of Jane Eyre, which I've never read, but I think that makes it even more impressive as the space stuff was all really interesting to me.