And the fact that Jane left Rochester once before in the original and only came back and agreed to stay once he’d supposedly changed, suggests she might have been sympathetic if Adèle had been more transparent.ĭespite my quibbles, I did enjoy this book, and continue to love that anti-Rochester books are being published. Ultimately, both of them, along with Bertha and Adèle’s mother, were all victims of the misogyny of Victorian society, where women were either angels or devils. Given this book’s broader statement about women being defenseless against predatory men in power, it’s disappointing that Adèle would ultimately not include Jane in her scheme.

I’m also not sure how to feel about how Jane was written in the book. With Adèle turning into a vigilante, and her backstory with Rochester, I had an inkling of what was to come in terms of the ending, but it was nonetheless shocking when it happened, although it was more because it was such a betrayal of trust from Adèle’s perspective, even if she was aware of his peccadilloes. And her romance with Nan was super sweet. I really like the bonds of sisterhood Adèle she forms at school, which further enforces her desire to want to protect them from the truly vile men of the world. And while her relationship with her de facto father is complicated throughout the entire book, it makes for a believable foundation for her to want to save other young women from a similar fate. While the character is more of a means to an end who is easily brushed aside in the original, Adèle here is a dynamic heroine who has gone through a lot, from losing her mother, to seeing early signs of Rochester’s volatile personality in how he treated both her mother and Bertha. Although this one stands out in being more of a sequel, and following Rochester’s young ward Adèle. Reader, I Murdered Him is yet another reimagining of the characters of Jane Eyre which I feel did it better than the original itself.

With a queer romance at its heart, this lush historical thriller offers readers an irresistible mix of vengeance and empowerment.

But can Adele save herself from the same fate as those she protects? Together, they become vigilantes meting out justice. After a violent assault, she turns to a roguish young con woman for help. Many of the men that try to charm Adele’s new friends do so with dark intentions. When she’s finally sent away to boarding school in London, she’s happy to enter the brightly lit world of society girls and their wealthy suitors. ISBN-13: 978-0358306641 | $17.99 USD | 291 pages | YA Historical ThrillerĪdele grew up in the shadows–first watching from backstage at her mother’s Parisian dance halls, then wandering around the gloomy, haunted rooms of her father’s manor.

Tides by betsy cornwell