Title: Escaping Mr. Rochester
Author: L.L. McKinney
Publisher: HarperTeen
Publication date: January 16, 2024
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Summary
Jane Eyre accepts a governess position from Edward Rochester at Thornfield Manor, eager to forge her own path in the world. At first, all seems fine on the surface; Rochester is charming and easy to work with. But Jane quickly learns that his good mood can change in an instant.
When Jane starts to hear strange sounds around the manor, she decides to investigate. What she doesn’t expect to find is Rochester’s ex-wife, Bertha Mason, hidden in the upstairs attic. Now, Jane is determined to get them both out of the clutches of Rochester. As long as he doesn’t catch on to them first.
Review: Escaping Mr. Rochester
Thanks to NetGalley and HarperTeen for an advanced copy of Escaping Mr. Rochester by LL McKinney to review! Jane Eyre is probably one of my favorite classics, so I always like to see the ways that it gets adapted. This might be one of my more favorite adaptations of the story!
First of all, I just want to say, imagining Rochester as the villain isn’t necessarily new–I’d consider him the villain of the original story, honestly. I mean, he trapped his wife in the attic. Immediately villain status. But I liked the way McKinney took that sort of nugget of an idea and brought it to life in this one, with the way Rochester’s mood changes so quickly. He’s a very sinister character, and I honestly don’t trust him from the beginning.
I did appreciate the way the romance was developed here, because it’s not easy when one of the characters is being hidden away in the attic. The letters included were a nice touch, and added to the overall character development. You definitely come to care about both Jane and Bertha by the end, and there’s definite hope for the future.
McKinney did a good job capturing the overall tone of Jane Eyre in this book as well, and it was an easy book to get drawn into. Definitely keep an eye out for it when it comes out next January!
4/5 stars