My Plain Jane

By: Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, Jodi Meadows

Narrated by: Fiona Hardingham

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

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.

Charlotte Bronte stole the show!

This is a good, well-written, wildly creative book. It has fiery main characters and a hilarious commentary about the time period customs, especially associated with women, sprinkled throughout. I love the little asides to the readers and sassy voice of the story. The first book in this series, My Lady Jane, was also characterized by this writing style. It’s a really awesome and enjoyable style and voice to read.

I LOVED My Lady Jane and was excited to read this new one, but I wasn’t as enthralled. I have never read Jane Eyre, only seen a movie version, so I’m sure that put a damper on my appreciation. This really is a great book, but other than the intricacies of the ghost angle, Helen’s character, and Charlotte and Alexander (both their individual characters and their relationship development), I couldn’t really get into the story. I loved how intelligent, fierce and determined Charlotte was; she definitely stole the spotlight in this novel. As I’ve stated, I also loved the gradual and organic relationship development between her and Alexander. I really enjoyed Alexander’s character too. His motivations were clear and it was so much easier to fall in love with him than Mr. Rochester (which was definitely intentional by the authors). Speaking of this, I did love the feeling that the authors were making a commentary on Jane Eyre’s original story with the asides in regards to Jane and Mr. Rochester romance and Helen’s dislike/snarky comments about it. Helen was also an awesome character that really sold the story and make the book more enjoyable. Her sass, snark, and personality were just awesome.

While I was disappointed with the turnout of this book and didn’t enjoy it as much as My Lady Jane (by the way, I LOVED the cameo at the end!), I’m excited for the next in the Jane series—My Calamity Jane.

My Plain Jane

Absolutely love the Jane series! Such fun listening to. When it comes to this particular series, I always choose the Audible version. Why? Because taking a classic as big as JANE EYRE and turning it into something completely different deserves to be listened to as the authors intended it. This is quite the retelling of JANE EYRE and extremely entertaining. Highly creative story. I'm always amazed at an author's ability to make you believe in the most outrageous ideas that sometimes transpire in retellings. Of course, the original JANE EYRE will always be one of my most beloved classics, but this was plain Jane good fun! The narration is so very great and witty. Bring on the next Jane. I look forward to meeting her. Lots of laugh out loud moments.

Delightful!

Jane Eyre is my favorite novel & this reinvention is perfect! I absolutely adored this book. There are plenty of nods to the original and so many clever new additions. I dare say I enjoyed it just as much as the original!

Fantastic

The creative collaboration was top notch. These authors take the "reader" on a super fun ride. The narrator was spot on. I can't remember the last time I gave 5 star overall, 5 star performance, 5 star story. Also nice nod to all the other stories and authors. Bravo Ladies!!

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.

engaging siory with superior narration

This writing engaged my interest right away. This narrator provides excellent acting, character individuation, and consistent accents.

I was enchanted until....

It's such a fun retelling that pokes fun at some of the, well, oddities of the source text. However, the last 90 minutes lost me. You know that way when you're reading bad fanfic and it's just wacky antics and out of character? That happened. The authors found their way back, but it change that it happened.
I'm still going to listen to "My Lady Jane" tho.