Thoughts While Listening To...| My Plain Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows

Title: My Plain Jane

Authors: Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, Jodi Meadows
Series? Companion series, second in My Lady Janies
Length:10 hours, 7 minutes
Publication Date: June 26, 2018
Publisher: HarperTeen
Source: I listened to My Plain Jane via Overdrive. 

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.

 Goodreads

1) Okay, I'm roughly 3 hours in, and though I'm having fun, I'm just not enjoying it at much as My Lady Jane. I loved the whole shape-shifting and political plots of My Lady Jane, and both of those are absent. The humor is still there, but I don't care enough about ghosts to really love this audiobook.

2) I'm a little confused as to where the romance is going. I know a bit about Jane Eyre and who she marries in the Bronte's novel, but I don't feel like this is where the audiobook is taking us.

3) I am gonna be honest, not a huge fan of Charlotte right now. She's just a little annoying. But she is determined!

4)  The narrator uses this tense voice whenever voicing Helen, Jane's ghost friend. Besides that little point, I really love the narration. I don't know if the narrator has an English accent normally, but it seems spot on to me! All the characters have different voices, so it's easy to differentiate them.

5) I wasn't listening to this much, but once Jane got to Mr. Rochester's house, I began to listen a lot more. The plot really picked up!

6) I think I figured out why I'm not as huge of a fan of My Plain Jane as My Lady Jane. In My Lady Jane, there are clear antagonists. In My Plain Jane, there isn't a clear antagonist until around 2/3 in. Though I'm now really liking the book now, it was a little hard for me to get into!

7) I remember watching the 2011 Jane Eyre and thinking it was so romantic! Now, Mr. Rochester is SUPER creepy! Why do people think trapping a woman in a room for 15 years is excusable? Gah!

8) Okay, I was not expecting that twist about Mr. Rochester!

9) I'm loving these allusions to The Princess Bride and Scooby Doo!

10) While I wasn't expecting the twist on number 8, I did suspect the revelation about a certain someone being an antagonist. At least half of the reveals worked!  

11) These last three hours of the audiobook are great! 

12) I'm loving the romance plot with Charlotte and a certain...someone! They're very cute together. :) I don't love them as much as Jane and G in My Lady Jane, but they're cute! 

13) Okay, that ending was done so well! I love the ending for all the characters, especially Helen. She annoyed me at first, but Helen turned out to be my favorite character. She brought a lot of comedy to the novel. 

Overall Thoughts

• I had a hard time getting into My Plain Jane. The novel doesn't have a clear antagonist for a while. The book did pick up though, and from around the 60 percent mark I couldn't stop listening. 
• Even though My Plain Jane is historical fiction, there are a lot of modern references, which I love. 
• The narrator did an amazing job! Her voice got a little too brittle for me when she was voicing Helen, but I she differentiated among all the characters, which was very much appreciated! 
• I've never read Jane Eyre, but I have seen the 2011 movie a couple times. I was always unsettled about Jane and Mr. Rochester's relationship, so I was glad how that was altered for a modern retelling like My Plain Jane. 
• Overall, I recommend My Plain Jane. I didn't enjoy it as My Lady Jane, but it was fun and entertaining. Just lower your expectations a little if My Lady Jane was one of your favorite books. 

With that, I give My Plain Jane
3.5 out of 5 Flowers!