Member Reviews

Jane Eyre has always been one of my favourite books and I love retellings too. So when I found Mrs. Rochester’s Ghost I had to request it. A huge thank you to Thomas & Mercer and for NetGalley for my copy.

Heartbreaking, beautiful and tragic just like the original.
Mrs. Rochester’s Ghost is set in present day USA so that’s a huge difference and because of this I was a little cautious but after the first couple of sentences I fell in love with the story and couldn’t put it down. Raced through it, really. It took me less than a day to finish it.
I highly recommend it.

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Mrs. Rochester’s Ghost is a modern take of Jane Eyre that gives us plenty of nods to the classic while delivering new twists, including passages from the point of view of Mrs. Rochester. Our new Jane moves to the estate of risk loving entrepreneur Evander Rochester with the job of tutoring his daughter for the summer, but what she didn’t plan to do was fall for the man, who is under suspicion of killing his wife. But did he do it?

I couldn’t put this down and was entertained beginning to end – my only wish would be more development and wrapping up of the secondary characters, but other than that this was a great read.

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A modern take on any classic is risky. And Jane Eyre is such a masterpiece that any book will suffer from the comparison. This book is good in that it offers an interesting plot (courtesy of the original book) and the characters are well described, if a little cliched - the brother and the best friend are practically caricatures. For me, it didn't really offer anything new in terms of plot twists or modern perspectives on the original story (I still felt Mrs Rochester got a raw deal in terms of how her mental health was described, especially some of the myths about what bipolar symptoms can present as). People who have not read Jane Eyre may like this more than I did.

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I received an advance readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is not the best adaptation I’ve read of Rebecca this year. It’s not even the second best. Nothing fresh here. Maybe time to write some new books?

2.5 rounded up.

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Great book! Engaging from the beginning to the end. Looking forward to reading more by this author! Highly recommended!

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Mrs. Rochester's Ghost is a modern, clever re-telling of Jane Eyre. Still reeling from the death of her mother and the loss of her job as a screenwriter for a gothic Netflix show, Jane agrees to her friend's offer of working for his cousin, Evander (Evan) Rochester. The problem: Evan is still under suspicion for the disappearance of his model wife, Beatrice. He claims that in a manic state she rushed into the sea and was swept away in the riptide, but many aren't so sure. While Jane has her suspicions, she can't turn down the offer of a consistent paycheck for the summer. Juggling her growing attraction to Evan and the unshakable feeling that she's being watched by some spectral figure, Jane continues her own investigation to uncover the endless mysteries of Thorn Bluffs.

I can't quote because this novel hasn't yet been released (keep your eyes out, July 13th, 2021!!!), but oh my goodness I wish I could. There were so many delicious nods to Jane Eyre, but they were the kind that left me smiling instead of cringing. Unlike Jane Eyre, Mrs. Rochester's Ghost is about far more than the romance between Jane and Evan, and Beatrice is not narrowed down to her function as the madwoman in the attic impeding said romance. Instead of a shy, internalized heroine, this modern Jane is bold, creative, altruistic, and brave.

I'm giving this book a full 5/5 stars because of how much it impressed me in its retelling. Whether you love or hate Jane Eyre, I can guarantee that this thriller will have you hooked by the first few chapters. Many thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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Wowza! This is good! Quick correction: This is amazing! It’s so natural to have some doubts when you start reading modern retelling of one of the most brilliant literature masterpieces which fully deserves its high praises for its bold and unique approach to the feminism and introducing us one of the memorable literature characters!

Jane Eyre is deeply layered character: her tragic past, raising herself at orphanage, surviving against challenging life situations, accomplishing to have a brilliant tutoring career, her suffers, her loss, her fights, her defeats, her loneliness.
Reflecting the sad, traumatic, complex layers of the character and recreate her as modern tv writer who suffers from losses including her house, her relationship, her mother is extremely hard and compelling job! But I’m so glad to see, the author successfully reflected both vulnerability and resilience of the character with deep honesty.

The story starts with the introduction to our new Jane: penniless, homeless, trying to heal her wounds. As soon as her friend tells her about a little strange tutoring job takes place in a cottage above the crashing surf of Big Sur where Rochester estate is located, she accepts it. Beggars can’t be choosers and she has nothing to lose!

She meets with eccentric, introvert, anxious Evan Rochester, owner of the estate, her new boss. Her new job is tutoring his daughter Sophia. She easily connects with her. But she also needs to control her blossoming interest in her boss cause Mr. Rochester is rumored to be the murderer of his late wife/ a spectacular supermodel Beatrice. Poor woman was drowned in the ocean outside the estate. Evan did everything to save her.

Jane doesn’t believe in Evan can be cold blooded murder but a ghostly figure starts to follow her in the house. If she wants to get rid of that haunted existence, she needs to find the stunning truth hid behind the death of beloved wife!

This is fresh, exciting, gripping, riveting , unputdownable retelling! I had second thoughts before starting it but as soon as I read a few chapters, I was already hooked even though I knew the main story!

I’m giving satisfying retelling, heart pounding, suspicious, nail biter, anxious four stars! It is greater than I expected and I’m looking forward to read more works of the author.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Thomas&Mercer for sharing this powerful reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.

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I went back and forth a lot with this book. The beginning was a slow start for me, but once it picked up, the middle had me hooked. The author did a great job of weaving in potentially supernatural elements and lots of tension, which really gave it the Gothic vibes I'd wanted.

However, I felt a little let down by the ending. There wasn't really a twist — more just a very dramatic conclusion. It wasn't bad, but considering how mysterious the rest of the book had been, I expected more.

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A modern and atmospheric Jane Eyre retelling set on the glamorous  California coastline.  

Jane is a former TV writer looking to put some distance between herself and her recent losses.  She comes to the Rochester house at Big Sur to tutor Evan Rochester's daughter Sophia.  As Sophia and Jane bond, Jane begins to feel at home at Rochester's estate.  Jane also begins to dig into the mysterious disappearance of Evan's first wife Beatrice.  

Evan is a venture capitalist who had a tumultuous relationship with supermodel wife, Beatrice.  She disappeared and most likely drowned in the ocean outside of their home, while Evan futilely tried to save her.  Rumors swirl around Evan, is he a murderer, is he a thief and did he abuse his wife?  

This retelling is faithful to the original Jane Eyre story, while breathing fresh life into the modern version of it's characters.  I loved how the author created a rich back story for every person Jane meets.  This story is compelling and engaging and I could not put it down.

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Jane Eyre is possibly my all time favorite book so reading an adaption of the story made me highly skeptical. In this version, Jane is still a penniless, homeless orphan when she agrees to care for the daughter of Evan Rochester. In return she will have a home in a cottage on his Big Sur estate. Jane soon learns that Roochester has been accused of killing his wife (although he insists she drowned). Of course, Jane can’t resist Evan’s charms despite his shadowy past and falls in love. But there’s the small matter of the ghostly figure that appears to Jane, compelling her to uncover the truth about Evan and his deeply troubled marriage. No, nothing will ever top Jane Eyre, but Marcott’s feminist retelling is as close to the original as an author can get and I highly recommend it to those who have read and loved the Bronte classic

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