My Plain Jane

By: Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, Jodi Meadows

Narrated by: Fiona Hardingham

Length: 10 hrs and 7 mins

Publisher's summary

Move over, Charlotte Brontë. The authors of the New York Times best-selling 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, listener, she marries him. Or does she?

Prepare for an adventure of Gothic proportions in this standalone 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).

©2018 Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows (P)2018 HarperCollins Publishers

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.

Interesting plot

Slow moving at first —takes a while to get into the story & understand what’s going! Characters are developed well. Narrators were great!

Quirky and fun!

The narrator was fantastic! Don't just read this book; the narrator, with all of her zany voices and personality, made this book come alive!

Reminiscent of fractured fairy tales

I loved it! I Always loved Jane Eyre. This is even better.I’d like to see more of these books keep them coming.

thoroughly enjoyable!

They could easily make a movie out of this one. I love it when this story makes me LOL or repeat a funny or clever line out loud. great story and phenomenal narration!

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.

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.

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.

Wonderfully entertaining

This was thoroughly enjoyable. I love Jane Eyre and these authors honor that classic novel by being (mostly) true to the storyline while simultaneously weaving it into another story completely. Both Jane and her friend Charlotte Bronte get swept up in this tale which is loaded with ghosts, murder, revenge, love, friendship, and humor. Lots of humor. As with these authors' previous book, My Lady Jane, you could see major plot points coming but it didn't take away from the fun. A wonderfully entertaining summer read.