I’ve got to be honest; I wasn’t thrilled.

I enjoyed the writing. Rachel Hawkins has a very smooth, effortless style that made it easy to breeze through chapters, but I was still a little disappointed. I wanted more buildup, more excitement around the reveals and most importantly, more cat-and-mouse tension between the players. Unfortunately, I found too many things predictable which made this read feel a little vanilla. The story was good, everyone loves vanilla, but I needed a few more toppings.

Q: If I could change one thing about this book, what would it be?
A: The title. It gave everything away. I needed that one piece of information to be withheld in order for this to be a thrilling read.

I’m rounding up to 4 stars.

Thank you, Macmillan Audio, St. Martin’s Press, and Netgalley for an advance audiobook copy in exchange for an honest review.

I feel like I went into this audiobook a bit blind - I have never read Jane Eyre and I thought I was listening to a book by Paula Hawkins. Even so, and even though I didn't like any of the characters in this book, and even though I had to suspend some disbelief (how could Jane not know there was an extra room in the house), I thought it was a compelling and enjoyable listen.

One day when I was about 13 or 14, I spent the night at my grandmother’s house. She has an astonishing collection of the fancy leather bound gold embossed Easton Press classics and I, a little baby book lover, was enchanted. I picked up a copy of Jane Eyre and proceeded to stay up all night and read the entire thing in one sitting. I slept until noon the next day. Half a lifetime and an English degree later I don’t actually know where that particular enthusiastic attention span went, but I sure do have a soft spot for Jane Eyre.

You might see why a modern retelling would appeal to me. In fact as soon as I get the promise I was over the moon excited for a fusion of true Southern Gothic aesthetic with one of THE most iconic classic Gothic Romance. That assumption didn’t quite play out the way I had hoped—I would have reveled in a more pointedly Southern Gothic atmosphere. However, despite what I think is a missed opportunity on the aesthetic front, this story manages to be an incredibly engaging mystery that takes more than a few startling turns.

As far as modern retellings go, I was actually surprised to find that I enjoyed the characterizations here, despite the fact that pretty much none of the characters are likable—occasionally sympathetic, but never truly likable—and it <i>works</i> that way. There was never going to be a way to tell the classic story about a man who locks his wife away in the attic for years, in a modern setting, and have the characters involved in the cover up be truly good and kind people.

(I listened to this book as an audiobook, and was extremely happy with all three narrators. They add to the atmosphere, particularly Bea’s southern accent.)

This was a book I was really looking forward to reading (ended up listening to audiobook) and I wasn’t disappointed. Just when I thought I had it figured out everything changed. Twists and turns I didn’t see coming and an ending that really caught me off guard. Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan audio for the privilege to read and review this book.

Oh man, y'all. This book has been at the tip top of my most anticipated list from the moment that I heard that it is modern-gothic-mystery retelling of Jane Eyre. I wanted SO BADLY to love this, but ultimately I kinda feel like it was just okay? It wasn't a terrible book, but throughout the entire story I kept finding myself wishing that it would do more, or go a little bit further and it ultimately just never really hit the notes that I was hoping it would hit. I will say, if you do decide to read this one, I listed to the audiobook and I thought the narration was fantastic, but the story as a whole was just... a little lacking for me and I am big, big sad because I thought this was going to be an all-time favorite for me. Here's hoping that Rachel Hawkin's next adult book will hit a little harder for me!

Wow!!! This modern day spin on the classic novel Jane Eyre was so good that I couldn’t put it down!!! I literally finished it in two days!
Every moment was intriguing and hooked me. The twist at the end was shocking.
I definitely recommend this book!!!
5/5

The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins follows Jane is a broke dog-walker in Thornfield Estates––a gated community full of McMansions, shiny SUVs, and bored housewives. One day she meets Eddie Rochester. Recently widowed, Eddie is Thornfield Estates’ most mysterious resident. His wife, Bea, drowned in a boating accident with her best friend, their bodies lost to the deep. Jane can’t help but see an opportunity in Eddie––not only is he rich, brooding, and handsome, he could also offer her the kind of protection she’s always yearned for.
Yet as Jane and Eddie fall for each other, Jane is increasingly haunted by the legend of Bea, an ambitious beauty with a rags-to-riches origin story, who launched a wildly successful southern lifestyle brand.

Jane Eyre is one of my favorite books of all time so I was super excited to read this retelling of the classic. I really enjoyed this take of Jane Eyre. It was creepy, thrilling and had me flipping through the pages to see how it ended. This book gave me Jane Eyre and Rebecca vibes yet at the same time was totally unpredictable. Definitely recommend!

I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Excellent book! Listened to it on audio and the three narrators did an excellent job of giving voices to Jane, Bea, and to a small extent Eddie. I could not stop listening, I kept finding excuses to listen so I could find out what on earth was going on!

This is inspired by Jane Eyre, which was one of my favorite books as a teenager so I was excited to see this and how the two would fit together. Other than "The Wife Upstairs" and some similar names and backgrounds, it's not terribly similar (I love that Jane is a dog walker rather than a governess, I found that to be astute and got rid of some extra characters and gave way to a cleaner tale than if there would have been children involved.) I adored that this book took that classic tale and added some modern-day twists and turns and made it a unique, but still familiar story.

The one thing that just didn't make sense to me was that after Jane started hearing noises, why didn't she at least explore the house more fully? That would have been my first instinct, honestly even before that, I would have made it my mission to know everything about the house in which I was living.

Overall the mystery wasn't too difficult to figure out, but I did love the ending, I thought it was a perfect conclusion and all of my questions were answered. Everyone is telling secrets and hiding things, you just don't know how bad they are until they are revealed and some of them are real doozies!

Definitely recommended, releases January 2021.

After listening to a 23 hours long audio, I needed to dive into something shorter. And when I saw I got approved for this ARC, my mind was made up and I wasn't disappointed in the sense that it was a really quick and entertaining read. My attention never wavered and that was a really nice change of pace compared to my last read.

The Wife Upstairs is about Jane as she starts a relationship with a man whose wife died recently as well as her best friend in a tragic accident. Or that's the official version at least. By the title, it's no surprise that the wife actually is not dead but very much alive. She is living "upstairs" and locked up by her husband. Jane has a few secrets of her own as well.

The characters weren't really likable and it was a little predictable even though it ended in a different way than what I was expecting. I feel like it won't be difficult for readers that read many books like this one to figure it out but overall this was a good audiobook I enjoyed.

Also, I only learned that this was a Jane Eyre retelling after finishing it and reading a few reviews on Goodreads. It makes sense but I didn't really think about it :P I watched the movie but never read the book so there is that.

(Thank you for letting me read and review an ARC via Netgalley)

I listened to The Wife Upstairs and it was terrific! Loved it. Took me 2 days to finish. Jane A down on her luck Jane is dog walking and meets rich and charming Eddie. His wife and her friend were dead from a boating accident. Jane winds up living with Eddie and they fall in love. But does Eddie love her? #netgalley

The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins....I wanted to read this because I loved Jane Eyre and thought it would be a cool twist and lots of fun to see it in a new light. I stumbled upon it by accident but then was excited for it. Then I got the audiobook version and was even more excited, skipping over other books to listen to it first. I was sadly disappointed though. I didn't care for it. I tried hard. I don't give up on books easily. I kept listening, even when I didn't want to, because, usually, books come through in the end. And, for a brief moment about two thirds of the way through, I thought this one might. But, alas, for me, it didn't. I know there are a lot of good reviews, and to each their own. It wasn't my cup of tea. The story was definitely a twisted Jane Eyre, but it wasn't what I was hoping for. The writing was good, though the language was a little rough for my taste. The story was interesting, but I didn't like the ending at all. I felt like I had spent this extra time getting through it and was disappointed at the conclusion. I am giving it three stars though, because it hurts my heart to do anything lower than that. The author obviously put time and effort into it and her work is not to be discredited, even if it wasn't my favorite.
Thanks to NetGalley for the chance to read and listen to this story. All opinions are my own.

I read this book twice once July 2020 (Kindle e-copy) 4 stars and December 2020 (listening to the audiobook) 5 stars.

This is a mystery thriller. I was into this book, and I had to keep reading to find out how it end. I did guess some of the things that was happening in this book, but I did not see the ending happening how it did. I really think the characters where developed, and I hated and loved the characters which is what you want from a thriller. I can see people either liking or hating this book. This is not going to be a book that is going to fall in the middle, and I think it will depend on if you guess the ending. The twists and turns where very good. I enjoyed this book much more the second time that the first time. The audiobook was good, but it was not my favorite audiobook. The narrator was good. I was kindly provided an e-copy and e-audiobook of this book by the publisher (St. Martin's Press and Macmillan Audio) or author (Rachel Hawkins) via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review about how I feel about this book, and I want to send a big Thank you to them for that. This book is schedule to be release on January 5-2021.

What a great story. This one of those books that you can't wait to get back to so you can figure out what is happening. The end will keep you guessing and make you wonder what happened in the end.

Jane grew up poor while moving in and out of foster homes. B grew up poor as well but was able to get herself into boarding school away from her drunk parents. B made something of herself and get the life she wanted. Jane wants the life that B had but doesn't even know it. B and her best friend Blanch go missing after a boating accident. Jane inserts herself into B's old life and falls in love with Eddie, B's husband. Can Jane keep her past a secret? Will Jane really fit into the lush, rich neighborhood? What really happened to B and Blanch? This was a wonderful book. I have this thing with book titles - if the title seems like it could give away the ending, I am less inclined to read it. After reading the synopsis, I assumed the title would be a foreshadow or clue of some sort but still gave it a try. I am so glad I did. This is a wonderful book and I especially love the audio version. It's one of those books that reminds you to make sure you really know those that you surround yourself with.

DNF⁣⁣
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I listened to this on audio and by 34% I was over it. Not only could I not take any more of the terrible narrator, the characters (every single one) were unlikable. The plot line was absurd, and don't even get me started on the narrator's imitation of a southern accent. ⁣⁣
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Thank you @netgalley and @McMillanpublishing for this advanced listening copy. ⁣⁣
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[Running] to my next read...⁣
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#dnf #didnotfinish

I really enjoyed this retelling of Jane Eyre and the twists and turns it takes. As soon as I started listening to it, the names took ahold of my brain and all I could think about was the actual story of Jane and Mr. Rochester though. The story started off following the original but took a lot of different pathways. At first I wasn't sure that I liked that it did that, but after sitting on this review for a few days, I feel like I liked it more than I thought.

When I go into a book that is a retelling, usually I know that up front, as I did with this one, but I have also come to expect things from books like that. I had to throw all of my old theories out the window and just go along for the ride. I feel like I would have been able to do that better if the names weren't the same in this, because it just made my brain have expectations I shouldn't have had.

This book was crazy, I had no idea until the very end who was actually reliable. Most of the book was told from Jane and Bea's POV, sliding back and forth between before and after. I found myself craving Eddie's POV but I was glad we didn't get it until the end. When it all came together, I was angry, sad and a bit enthralled. It kept me on the edge of my seat, needing to know exactly what was going on. If you read this book, throw all of your expectations out the window.
The narrators were fantastic in this book. Thank you to Netgalley, Rachel Hawkins and Macmillan Audio for an early audiobook.

This was my first book by Rachel Hawkins and I really enjoyed this Jane Eyre retelling. I'm not familiar with the classic at all (terrible, I know) so I had no idea what to expect with this book. I did a combination of reading and listening to the audiobook for this one.

While the majority of the characters were unlikeable lol, I could not stop listening and reading! I'm a slooow reader compared to most but I finished this one in 2 days. Without giving away too much, I loved the flashback stories, the different narrators, and the whole thing came together well at the end. I think the narrators did a perfect job with the different characters and voices. They really brought extra animation to that I enjoyed. I would definitely listen to more performed by them!

This is a fun, modern update to Jane Eyre. Set in Alabama, it's a little bit country, a little bit gothic, and a whole lot of twisted fun. If you've read Jane Eyre, then the title isn't so much a spoiler as an expectation- but there are still are still enough changes to keep things interesting.

The Wife Upstairs audiobook by author Rachel Hawkins is an exciting domestic suspense novel. Janes has arrived in a new city where she is a dog walker for the very rich. While out on one of her walks, she meets handsome Eddie Rochester, who is a newly widowed man in the neighborhood. Eddies wife, Bea, drowned in a boating accident and left behind a very success business she established.

The narrators were excellent and I loved listening to this audiobook.

I can't review this book because it is impossible to download.

I have a fully-charged iPhone 10. I download books from Audible, Overdrive, Libby and Hoopla all of the time with NO PROBLEMS.

NETGALLEY NEEDS TO FIX ITS APP. Horrific user experience for brook reviewers and NOT WORTH MY TIME.