Review: My Plain Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton & Jodi Meadows

My Plain Jane (The Lady Janies #2) by Cynthia Hand, 
Brodi Ashton & Jodi Meadows 
Publication date: June 26th 2018
Publisher: HarperTeen
My rating:  2.5-3 Stars
Pages: 464
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | TBD | Kobo

 

You may think you know the story. After a miserable childhood, penniless orphan Jane Eyre embarks on a new life as a governess at Thornfield Hall. There, she meets one dark, brooding Mr. Rochester. Despite their significant age gap (!) and his uneven temper (!!), they fall in love—and, Reader, she marries him. (!!!)

Or does she?

Prepare for an adventure of Gothic proportions, in which all is not as it seems, a certain gentleman is hiding more than skeletons in his closets, and one orphan Jane Eyre, aspiring author Charlotte Brontë, and supernatural investigator Alexander Blackwood are about to be drawn together on the most epic ghost hunt this side of Wuthering Heights.

My Thoughts:

I loved the first book in this series, My Lady Jane, which tweaked history is an entirely good way.  The actual story is pretty awful, and so the changes were quite welcome.  This second installment, which has nothing to do with the previous story other than it being a famous “Jane”, this time a tweaking of the original Jane Eyre. 

Since I loved the original Jane Eyre and the romance, I can’t say I was thrilled with the changes to the story and romance in this version.  Wasn’t really a romance at all except between Charlotte and Alexander, but that was Highlight for Spoiler left open ended, and I like my romances wrapped up nice and tidy, End of Spoiler so that was disappointing too.  The story was entertaining, the magical elements were fun, and I did have a laugh here and there, because seriously these ladies are very funny! Still, I have to say, the story felt a bit convoluted and went on longer than I would’ve liked.

Helen was an annoying character I could’ve done without, and Jane wasn’t my favorite character either. I enjoyed Charlotte (as in Brontë) and Alexander and their POVs the best.  While I was a bit underwhelmed by this installment I fully intend on picking up the next endeavor of this writing team: My Calamity Jane which promises to have a better ending than the original version. I am all for that!

 2.5-3 Stars

 

Review: Killman Creek by Rachel Caine

Killman Creek (Stillhouse Lake #2) by Rachel Caine
Publication date: December 12th 2017
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
My rating: 2.5 Stars
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | TBD

Every time Gwen closed her eyes, she saw him in her nightmares. Now her eyes are open, and he’s not going away.

Gwen Proctor won the battle to save her kids from her ex-husband, serial killer Melvin Royal, and his league of psychotic accomplices. But the war isn’t over. Not since Melvin broke out of prison. Not since she received a chilling text…

You’re not safe anywhere now.

Her refuge at Stillhouse Lake has become a trap. Gwen leaves her children in the protective custody of a fortified, well-armed neighbor. Now, with the help of Sam Cade, brother of one of Melvin’s victims, Gwen is going hunting. She’s learned how from one of the sickest killers alive.

But what she’s up against is beyond anything she feared—a sophisticated and savage mind game calculated to destroy her. As trust beyond her small circle of friends begins to vanish, Gwen has only fury and vengeance to believe in as she closes in on her prey. And sure as the night, one of them will die. 

My Thoughts:

Melvin Royal is out and on the hunt for Gwen and the kids.  Keeping safe and hidden is almost impossible with Absalom assisting Melvin at every turn.  So, Gwen and Sam decide to go on the offensive, while leaving her kids, Lanny and Connor with Javier and Kenzia to keep safe.

There’s no doubt that Killman Creek was an exciting, on-the-edge-of-your-seat kind of read, I read this in one day because I couldn’t put it down.  I can’t really say I enjoyed it, though, because it was gruesome in parts and pretty intense.  Also, I wasn’t happy with the characters.  Evidence conveniently surfaces that again casts doubt on Gwen, was she Melvin’s Little Helper after all? Instead of waiting to see if it was fabricated, there was an immediate rush to judgement.  After all they’d been through in the last book, their quick loss of faith in Gwen was super disappointing. 

I don’t know if I could’ve forgiven Sam for what he did in the end.  It was a complete betrayal that was just swept under the rug in the end.  To me, there should’ve been a lot more talk on the subject and a lot more groveling, maybe I could’ve come to terms with it then, but the way it was quickly shoved aside and forgotten didn’t sit well with me.  Gwen was amazing, but I thought she accepted that crappy treatment way too easily. I suppose it was from the lingering guilt of feeling like she should’ve known what her ex-husband was up to when he was killing all those women, but still.

There’s a third book coming in the series, not sure what it’ll be about since things are wrapped up here, but I would like to see Sam, Gwen and the kids in the future. Maybe some of my lingering disappointment with the characters actions and reactions will be put to rest then.  It’s hard to rate this since I had big time issues with the characters, but I can’t ignore that it was a compelling thriller, one I didn’t want to put down.  I think it’s somewhere between 2-3 stars for me. 

Review: Song of Summer by Laura Lee Anderson

Song of Summer by Laura Lee Anderson
Publisher: Bloomsbury Spark
Publication date: July 7th 2015
My rating: 2.5 stars 
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The thirteen qualities of Robin’s Perfect Man range from the mildly important “Handsome” to the all-important “Great taste in music.” After all, Westfield’s best high school folk musician can’t go out with some shmuck who only listens to top 40 crap. When hot Carter Paulson walks in the door of Robin’s diner, it looks like the list may have come to life. It’s not until the end of the meal that she realizes he’s profoundly deaf.

Carter isn’t looking for a girlfriend. Especially not a hearing one. Not that he has anything against hearing girls, they just don’t speak the same language. But when the cute waitress at Grape Country Dairy makes an effort to talk with him, he takes her out on his yellow Ducati motorcycle.

Told in first person alternating perspectives, language, music, and culture go along for the ride as Carter and Robin find their song.

My Thoughts:

I really enjoyed parts Song of Summer. Ms. Anderson was able to stir up dreamy feelings, and at times it was as if I was under a delicious, swoony spell.  Unfortunately, other parts were very angsty, and a few things just didn’t sit well with me.

Robin’s whole life revolves around music. She sings and plays several instruments and working at the Grape Country Dairy diner is helping her save for a coveted guitar. Even her ex-boyfriend, Trent, is all about music which made his dumping of her hard to take. She is still smarting over that, but that soon changes when Carter walks into the diner, and Robin goes into deep crush mode. He’s gorgeous and apparently smitten with Robin, too, the only drawback is Carter is deaf.  Still, they share an immediate and intense attraction.

Both Robin and Carter make attempts to fit into each other’s world, but as they soon come to discover that is no easy feat. Add in both Carter and Robin’s past love interests showing up and causing divisions, and you have a heck of a lot to overcome.

Robin’s life and happiness is so wrapped up in music, that is was ironic, and at times painful that she fell so hard for a person who was unable to share that important part of her life. 

Carter is comfortable in his life in the close-knit Deaf community back home, and he thoroughly detested any who looked at him as deficient, and I can understand where he was coming from. Having a hearing girlfriend was never on the agenda.

I really wanted to love this story. I read the synopsis and fell in love with the premise, but there were just too many things that didn’t work for me.

Trying to get along in the hearing world seemed like trying to get by in another country where you don’t speak the language.  It would be hard not to feel completely left out.  The same applied to Robin when she tried to hang out with Carter’s sister, and his ex-girlfriend, Jolene.  The awkwardness was amplified by the difference in their home base. Carter is a city guy and Robin is a small town girl. And, boy did Jolene jump on those insecurities! I couldn’t stand the drama caused by their exes; more so with Jolene, because Carter allowed it. I was NOT okay with that at all, one instance in particular. But that could just be me. I am a jealous sort of person, and some things that would bug me may not bother others.

I’m not a fan of insta-love romances, but sometimes they can work.  Robin and Carter had really amazing chemistry at the start, so I could’ve been on board had I felt the emotions to support it.  However, I never felt they shared their innermost thoughts; in fact Robin downplayed her absolute love of music whenever she was with Carter. She didn’t really share just how important and vital it was to her until the end.  They both felt like supreme outsiders in each other’s world at different times in the story, but never shared about that! How can you be close, be “in love” with someone when you don’t share what you’re thinking and feeling?  Also, Robin flies off the handle after making an assumption, and she blocks all attempts at explanation from Carter. If you love someone, you let them have the chance to explain! It was completely frustrating. 

Another big ding against this story is the open ending. I know some feel that an open ending is more realistic, especially in view of this being a YA, but that’s not me.  I am definitely not a fan, even if there is a little hope left there in the end.  I was not thrilled with how we got so little after everything. But hey, that’s me, and readers who don’t mind imagining their own HEA based of a little thread of hope thrown out there probably won’t have an issue. I like my endings nice and tightly wrapped up, realistic or not.  I read that the author has a Christmas novella possibly in the works.  I hope that’s true. I would like to read it for closure.