MY PLAIN JANE SPOILER FREE REVIEW

TW: Brief mentioning of death

This is book 2 of the Lady Janies series by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows.

My Plain Jane is a historical fantasy retelling of Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. It follows the perspective of three characters: Charlotte Bronte (yes, she's a character in this book), Jane Eyre, and a new character named Alexander Blackwood. 

The story begins at Lowood School where the headmaster, Mr. Brocklehurst, has been murdered. No one knows who did it, but all the students and even some teachers are rather happy that Mr. Brocklehurst is no longer around tormenting them. At the same time, Charlotte, a student at the school, wants to be a writer, and is trying to write a fictional account of her friend Jane, a student who likes to paint. Jane also has the ability to see ghosts, which she at first tells no one about, and is constantly talking to the ghost of her dead friend, Helen Burns. One day after sneaking out to a pub near the school, Jane sees a ghost of a woman attacking the pub and she sees a man named Alexander and his assistant, Branwell (actually Charlotte's older brother), capture the ghost with a pocketwatch. It turns out they work for an organization called the Society for the Relocation of Wayward Spirits, and Alexander notices Jane can see ghosts too and command them, and he later comes to Lowood School to try to recruit her, but she turns it down because she wants to be a governess. Charlotte takes an interest in Alexander and tries to join the Society even though she can't see ghosts, but she wants to be of help to Alexander and her brother Bran. The rest of the book has the same location and characters as the original Jane Eyre story, along with new settings and characters introduced regarding the ghostly Society, and comes with many twists and turns and lore regarding ghosts. 

Overall, it was a good book! I liked it more than the original story of Jane Eyre (I read that one a few years ago and gave it 2 stars. I know, unpopular opinion!) The authors did a great job taking the original Jane Eyre story and adding their own fantastical spin to it along with tying into the real life Bronte family. 

But I did give it 4 stars. I took some points off because since it's a lot about the ghosts of dead people, there are talks of death and dying a lot, so it might be triggering for some readers (I was somehow able to look past it here though! Don't ask why). I also still wasn't a fan of Mr. Rochester's character in this one either, just like the original. 

I recommend this book if you like historical fantasy and retellings of classic literature! 

Do you like historical fantasy or retellings of classic stories?