Ironskin

By: Tina Connolly

Narrated by: Rosalyn Landor

Length: 9 hrs and 33 mins

Publisher's summary

Jane Eliot wears an iron mask. It's the only way to contain the fey curse that scars her cheek. The Great War is five years gone, but its scattered victims remain—the ironskin. When a carefully worded listing appears for a governess to assist with a “delicate situation”—a child born during the Great War—Jane is certain the child is fey-cursed, and that she can help.

Teaching the unruly Dorie to suppress her curse is hard enough; she certainly didn't expect to fall for the girl's father, the enigmatic artist Edward Rochart. But her blossoming crush is stifled by her scars and by his parade of women. Ugly women, who enter his closed studio...and come out as beautiful as the fey. Jane knows Rochart cannot love her, just as she knows that she must wear iron for the rest of her life. But what if neither of these things are true? Step by step Jane unlocks the secrets of a new life—and discovers just how far she will go to become whole again.

©2012 Christina Marie Connolly (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

An almost perfect tale

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, if they love books with Fae lore.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

I loved the fairy lore and the magic system. I got extremely bored with the romance and the way that arc ended frustrated me beyond belief.

Which character – as performed by Rosalyn Landor – was your favorite?

I loved Jane in all her neurotic glory.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No.

Any additional comments?

Overall a decent fantasy enriched with fairy lore that could have done without the romance or had the romance developed quite a bit more.

Excellent twist on Jane Eyre

What did you love best about Ironskin?

The author retooled the classic Jane Eyre with a light and fantastic touch. While the conclusion was forgone, I enjoyed the journey of the tale. This is an appropriate choice for teens 13 and up, but not too juvenile for adult readers.

Did Rosalyn Landor do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

Rosalyn Landor is an able narrator.

Excellent adaptation - Jane Eyre meets the fae

Ironskin by Tina Connelly is a retelling of Jane Eyre with a fantasy twist. Unlike similar classic/fantasy blends such as Pride and Prejudice and Zombies or Jane Slayre, Ironskin avoids the humorous side of such a juxtaposition and plays it relatively straight. It tells the story of Jane Eliot, a young woman who must wear an iron mask to contain the effects of a injury sustained in the war against the fae. Although the war is long over, she is still very much an outcast and takes employment with one Mr. Rochart looking after his young daughter, Dorie. Dorie, it seems, has also been affected by the fae.

What I liked

The adaptation. This version, while not following the exact plotline of Jane Eyre, does an excellent job of maintaining the characterisations and emotional beats of the original story. Like Jane Eyre, our Jane Eliot lives at the fringes of her society, and this has a large influence on her character. Edward too, is very similar to the Edward Rochester of the book – his guilt for his past is a block in his admitting his feelings for Jane. Ironskin focusses mainly on the Jane/Edward relationship and hits most of the same emotional beats as the original with the love, betrayal and reunion. I didn’t feel Ironskin came quite up to the emotion of the Jane Eyre ending where Jane is finally reunited with Rochester. The fae side of the story was nicely woven in along with this key relationship.

Beauty as a theme. This is an interesting theme woven throughout the novel. Jane, physically scarred as she is by the Great War, is very sensitive to this, especially as she sees the “pretty ladies” who congregate around Edward. She must decide how best to compete for the love of the man she adores. The whole fey beauty becomes a major plot point.

Supporting characters. Although it focusses on Jane and Edward, I did enjoy the supporting characters in the book, especially Poole (half dwarven!) and Dorie. I liked how Jane’s relationships with them are developed through the book.

The narration. I was drawn to Ironskin as much by the plot as the audio narration sample. When deciding whether to buy the Audible book or the Kindle ebook I often listen to the sample. I loved Rosalyn Landor’s voice and narration in the sample and she did not disappoint in the least. I loved the entire narration. Maybe it’s because I am British (soon to be Canadian!), I generally warm to British narrators more than American ones. Landor narrates this with a wonderfully rich received pronunciation accent and brings a lot of life to the tale.

The pacing. With the focus on Jane’s time at the manor, the story moves along briskly. Like in the original, there are several hints at Rochart’s secret, and this keeps the audience intrigued.

What I didn’t like.

There was little I disliked about Ironskin. There were a few occasions where a more modern turn of phrase was used which I found a little off-putting, but other than that I really enjoyed it. Ironskin is the first in a series of books set in this world. The second, Copperhead, follows Jane’s younger sister, Helen. To be honest, I’ll probably give that a miss as the character of Helen rather irritating in Ironskin and I have no interest in following her story. However, the third book, Silverblind, due out later this year follows a grown up Dorie. Now that I am interested in, and will certainly pick it up in audiobook when it’s available.

I gave Ironskin four and a half stars out of five.

Light Fantasy With A Compelling Story

I think that the story in Ironskin is told very well from a writing standpoint. The prose is very tight and conveys character and their emotions very well. Jane as the point of view character is able to portray the world around her well.

However, while the story is well told, the story itself does suffer at times. It is a very slow developing tale, which is mostly about Jane and her relationship with Dorie and how the two struggle against one another until the end. Jane’s romantic interest in Edward seems borderline shallow, only stemming from the fact that he touched her and that she was starved for someone to make even the most innocuous of contact with her. Since she is fey-cursed, apparently not many people do that. That’s the way I felt anyway.

I’ve seen this book billed as steampunkish in nature, but there really isn’t much of that element to the story. In fact, the steampunk elements were so far and few between, and so glossed over, that they seemed only put in place to make the claim that it could fit into that genre. The aspects of Fey technology was much more predominant.

Towards the end is where those who enjoy a little action with their story will be most satisfied. Without saying too much, I’ll just say that the Fey actually start making an appearance (after a very long wait) and there are a couple good action scenes with Jane battling the Fey Queen.

The story does fall off a cliff at the very end. But, with a 2013 sequel (surprise, surprise) that seems to be the norm for stories these days in an attempt to draw people into the next bit of the story. I would have preferred to have had a little more resolution at the end of Ironskin however.

Overall, a very nice, light fantasy tale that doesn't cookie cutter a lot of what is out there.

I adored this.

What about Rosalyn Landor’s performance did you like?

Everything about the narration was spectacular.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I could barely wait to get back to it when I had to stop listening.

Any additional comments?

This book was so very clever. It certainly had a sense of Jane Eyre, but it diverged from that story line well. The world Tina Connolly has created is rich and realistic and I can't wait until the next installment!

Not what I expected

Would you try another book from Tina Connolly and/or Rosalyn Landor?

I tried and tried to get into this book. The story seamed ok but I couldn't get into it. I finally gave up... it was making me drowsy. Sorry... I was hoping it would keep me interested.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

Couldn't get into it.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

She was fine...

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

No

Any additional comments?

Again, sorry I couldn't get into it.

very enjoyable

Tina Connolly writes a magical but realistic world and Rosalyn Landor brings the characters to life.

The Fey and Jane Eyre

I really enjoy this story. While the romantic themes of the book are very similar to Jane Eyre the book doesn't use it a cookie cutter template. The Fey side of the story will be familiar to people use to reading books about elves not influential by Disney or Tolkien. However the blend is better then both of those suggest - the plot does not follow the same well worn pattern and Jane's desires and dreams are so believable. The story isn't overly one thing or the other.

Pretty good

Fairly interesting concept and story, well performed. For my tastes, it was a bit too Jane Austen and not enough Jim Butcher, but it takes all kinds.

Did we need to re-format Jane Eyre?

What did you like best about Ironskin? What did you like least?

I liked the search for the mystery behind the manifestation of Fae magic. I didn't like that this story didn't enhance the story of Jane Eyre; I was annoyed the with wild stream of consciousness episodes that culminated in an anti-climatic, lackluster ending. I also didn't find any of the adult characters very likable; by the end of the book I wasn't rooting for any of them.

Has Ironskin turned you off from other books in this genre?

I'm not turned off from other books in this genre, as that what brought me to this book in the first place, but it did turn me off from listening to book 2 in the series.

Which character – as performed by Rosalyn Landor – was your favorite?

The young daughter was my favorite character; she has lived with magic as part of her life and seems to have a curiosity and joy with it. Sometimes, however, the author's description of this character was a little creepy.

Did Ironskin inspire you to do anything?

The book really didn't leave any lasting impact.

Any additional comments?

I gave the story 2 stars as it was a variation of an existing plot. I've liked the Abigail Reynolds book with the varied endings to Pride & Prejudice but this book fell short of re-inventing a beloved classic. It's not a bad book, but I wouldn't use a credit for this book and would ONLY buy if it was on sale!!