In "Escaping Mr. Rochester," author LL McKinney offers a fresh and incisive take on the classic "Jane Eyre" story, critically examining the original through a Black, sapphic lens. This captivating remix follows the story of Jane, a young woman seeking to escape the oppressive confines of her upbringing and find her own path.
One of the standout features of this book is McKinney's skillful use of language. The writing is both lyrical and evocative, drawing readers into the world of the story and keeping them engaged from start to finish. The characters are complex and well-developed, with motivations and desires that feel authentic and relatable.
Overall, "Escaping Mr. Rochester" is a must-read for fans of the original "Jane Eyre" story, as well as anyone looking for a thought-provoking and engaging read that explores themes of identity, oppression, and self-discovery. McKinney's critical examination of the original adds depth and nuance to the story, making it a timely and relevant read for our current moment.

For anyone who thought Mr Rochester was just a bit too creepy in the original Jane Eyre, I present this book to you. I know that Jane Eyre was written in a different time, but I’ve never managed to get passed the fact that Rochester locked a woman in the attic! A whole person! Just locked away and written off.

I’ve had the pleasure of reading many queer and POC retellings of classic literature and this one is just as fantastic.

Jane and Adele’s relationship was my favorite part of the book I think. Adele is such a sweet kid and I would have loved to see a bit more of Jane, Bertha, and Adele living their free and best lives all together.

My only real grievance is Jane’s recklessness. The way that she just questioned almost everything suspicious without ever considering it may be better to keep it to herself was frustrating.

Thank you to NetGalley for making this available in exchange for an honest review!

4.5 stars

I have never liked Jane Eyre, even though it is my mum's favourite book, I just have never been able to enjoy it.
HOWEVER, the fact that this book honestly has me thinking of giving the original another shot, if only to analyse and review how incredible 'Escaping Mr. Rochester' reimagined and reworked & made the original book more realistic - that in itself is a testament of how much I loved this book!

Giving voice to the character of Bertha and showing the realistic horror of being imprisoned in your own home by your own husband was something the original story has always lacked. She is given a voice and story that I truly find inspiring. Her character and backstory show a new light on Mr Rochester - as I never liked him or believed his sob story about his wife.
The sides that Jane & Bertha know and both experience in Mr Rochester show a man's power in this period and what he will do to those to whom he believes he is entitled.
This newer, fresher take on Jane's character is much easier to believe because she understands those around her and her suspicions about them. My favourite was her sympathy for her charge and knowing how the world works for those left behind!

I think L.L. Mckinney has done an outstanding job in improving a literary classic! I highly recommend it!

Jane Eyre is hired by Edward Rochester to be the governess of his child. After some time, Jane realizes that the man she works for is hiding many secrets. With help from Adele, Jane rescues Bertha (Edward’s wife) from being chained up and held against her will.

For those of you who love the classics, you’re going to be happy to hear we have a new modernized edition, this is a YA retelling of Jane Eyre. The author takes the idea of Rochester being the villain of this old story and brings it to life making him even more sinister and Jane and Bertha have to escape his clutches. I’m not much of a classic reader myself but knowing there’s a new diverse option that can bring new readers in, always happy to see that. It’ was fun with a little added dose of romance you can’t go wrong with adding this one to your wishlist.

A refreshing, sapphic, re-imagining of Charlotte Bronte's classic original story of sad and gloomy "Jane Eyre". This retelling luckily never stayed too depressing as it showed how our 3 FMC's were strong and brave despite their circumstances being under Rochester's ever watching eyes in Thornfield Hall.

Even though it felt like it took forever for Jane to find out about Bertha, there was enough world building and character set up between Bertha's chapters and Jane Chapters before their worlds collided.

I was entirely happy as their hope for not only being able to escape Thornfield grew, but their pinning for love and affection for each other grew as well.

A lot of the story was written in between Jane and Betha's thoughts instead of through speech and action, but that reflects off the original classic of inner reflections of Jane.

A wonderfully written representation of LGBTQIA+ sapphic love story filled with hope, independence, strength and determination.

Escaping Mr. Rochester is an extremely satisfying retelling of Jane Eyre in which Jane and Bertha fall in love and, as the title implies, escape the clutches of Edward Rochester, who has been keeping Bertha captive in the attic. Jane Eyre is my favorite classic of all time and I LOVED this reimagining. One of the coolest things is the writing style. It really hearkens back to Charlotte Brontë's own style but is still very accessible for the modern young adult reader. It really put me in the Jane Eyre vibes and mindset again.

I am so happy to finally have Bertha's point of view!! I so enjoyed her chapters and her character. The contrast between her chapters and Jane's were well done. It wasn't annoying to have to wait for Jane to discover what was really going on (usually I'm kind of annoyed by dramatic irony) and I loved the letters they wrote to each other. I do wish their relationship could have been a little more developed but then again, Bertha is imprisoned so that doesn't leave much opportunity for it. The letters were a great way to convey their pining. There were a lot of elements of the original book that were left out (understandably, of course) but I feel like just a couple more could have made the story a little more complex. However, I deeply enjoyed the elements already there and the twist McKinney put on them--Jane's history with Helen (I have ALWAYS wanted that to be sapphic), Adéle's character (SHE IS A QUEEN), and what happened to Adéle's mom.

I highly recommend this book to any fan of Jane Eyre (unless they're die-hard Rochester fans). I absolutely loved how Jane, Bertha, and Adéle banded together and the exploration of their relationships. I've honestly been waiting for this book to come out ever since L.L. McKinney announced it and I am so happy and satisfied now that I've finally read it!

Seeking independence, Jane becomes a governess at Thornfield Hall. Her charming employer Edward harbors dark secrets, including his trapped wife Bertha. As Edward’s sinister plans escalate, placing both Jane and Bertha in peril, their only hope lies in each other. But can they escape the dangerous mansion and Edward’s nightmarish schemes before it’s too late?

What a wonderful “Jane Eyre” retelling! It’s captivating right from the start. The characters are compelling, the atmosphere deliciously gothic. I can’t recommend it highly enough.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

I am not usually a classics girl, but I love this Sapphic and Black re-imagining of Jane Eyre!

Jane is starting a governess position at the estate of Edward Rochester to teach his young ward, Adele. Little does Jane know, Edward has been keeping his wife Bertha imprisoned upstairs.

Even though I had an idea of how the story was going to go, I still enjoyed the twist. It's rather slow-paced until the last 15%, but I didn't mind. I really wish there had been an epilogue.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for a fair review.

I have mostly positive, but mixed feelings about this one. The characters are strong and well written. Jane has all of the self actualization of the original Jane Eyre, while Bertha has that perfect combination of rage, exhaustion, and flickers of hope for freedom. Rochester is depicted extremely well as a hugely manipulative man who knows exactly what he's doing and has his act down to a science, while still harkening back to the original Rochester.

The only character that I wasn't positive about was Adele; I liked her a lot but I was never quite certain how old she was supposed to be. Sometimes she acted very young, and other times she talked like a teenager. There was a particular point at which she repeats some words Rochester said to her mother long ago, which end up being the exact words Rochester used on Jane recently, and it felt very forced - to remember those exact words so well felt awkward coming out of an ostensibly ten-ish year old child.

I think the romance was done very well, with the establishment of Jane as very much someone who loves women with her past with Helen, and the very romantic letters that she and Bertha exchange. It was slow burn but didn't overstay its welcome.

There was something about the pacing that didn't quite hit with me, though I couldn't exactly put my finger on it. It felt a bit fast, and choppy? And while the final confrontation was as climactic as it should have been, I found the twist just before that to be just a bit awkward and didn't have as much of an affect on me as I think it was supposed to.

Overall, though, this is a solid retelling that I think is well worth the read regardless of your familiarity with the original Jane Eyre.

“Escaping Mr. Rochester” is an updated re-telling of Jane Eyre. In this version, L.L. McKinney’s Jane arrives to be the governess to Mr. Rochester’s ward. Soon, Jane is creeped out by strange sounds, odd behavior of other employees, and a sense of general foreboding. She soldiers on while Edward Rochester becomes more mercurial and Jane discovers one of his secrets.

This book builds up steam to the point where you don’t want to put it down. It is dark and brooding, but also contains some moments of lightness and love. I love that Jane will ask for what she wants whether it be art supplies for her young charge or back pay that she is owed. Among the trigger warnings I would include: violence against women, potential violence against children, domestic abuse.

Classroom considerations: It would be really interesting to directly compare this version (and others) to the original Jane Eyre. How does the story change over time to add elements that are more reflective of the society in which the story is written?

This book would be great for teens and adults who enjoy gothic stories and retellings of classics.

I received an advance review copy for free from NetGalley and HarperCollins Children’s Books, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

"In this fresh reimagining of Charlotte Brontë's classic novel by acclaimed author L. L. McKinney, Jane Eyre and Bertha Mason must save each other from the horrifying machinations of Mr. Rochester in this intrigue-filled, empowering young adult romance.

Jane Eyre has no interest in a husband. Eager to make her own way in the world, she accepts the governess position at Thornfield Hall.

Though her new employer, Edward Rochester, has a charming air - not to mention a handsome face - Jane discovers that his smile can sharpen in an instant. Plagued by Edward's mercurial mood and the strange wails that echo through the corridors, Jane grows suspicious of the secrets hidden within Thornfield Hall - unaware of the true horrors lurking above her very head.

On the topmost floor, Bertha Mason is trapped in more ways than one. After her whirlwind marriage to Edward turned into a nightmare, he locked her away as revenge for withholding her inheritance. Now his patience grows thin in the face of Bertha's resilience and Jane's persistent questions, and both young women are in more danger than they realize.

When their only chance at safety - and perhaps something more - is in each other's arms, can they find and keep one another safe before Edward's dark machinations close in around them?"

THE Jane Eyre reimagining we've ALL been waiting for.

First-person, rotating dual POVs of Jane Eyre and Bertha Mason

Takes place mostly in Thornfield Hall, with the main characters Jane & Bertha dreaming of escaping to New Orleans with the young ward, Adele

Tropes: reimagining, slow burn, secret letter exchanges, secret romance, period romance, shared trauma, queer awakening, romance suspense/escape!

Representation: Black female main characters, sapphic romance

Thoughts
I really enjoyed this YA romantic suspense/thriller and felt it properly paid homage to the original, yet standing strong enough on its own. L.L. McKinney quietly built everything in this book (it seems intentionally so, as it worked for me!), with the suspense slowly building (even though we know Mr. Rochester has Bertha in the attic! But Jane doesn’t know for a bit! It’s interesting to watch her slowly question and figure him out!). I just adore that this iteration of Jane is too smart, wholly uninterested, and utter unimpressed with Mr. Rochester. She attempts to set professional boundaries with him multiple times, and she does not fall for his scam.

McKinney also does this slower building with the romance between Jane and Bertha. They actually don’t meet until about 50% in the book, but the first 50% was necessary for Jane to begin to question the strange happenings at Thornfield Hall on her own accord through her own interactions with Mr. Rochester.

I thought the letters between Jane and Bertha were especially fun and swoon-worthy. I think some people may think that this is “info dumping” but I felt it was a clever, appropriate way to learn about Bertha and Jane’s pasts, including Jane’s late girlfriend. I adore that their friendship and budding romance gives each other even more impetus and motivation to escape and live a life that they have full autonomy over.

I loved this story of young women risking it all to take their power and lives back, and as a bonus, they found true love!

This book had all the spooky parts of actual Jane Eyre, mixed with fixing what I hated about the original. I absolutely devoured this book, it was so gripping and I was so stressed the entire time (but in a good way). I did predict the plot twist, but that's more because I am familiar with the beats of YA thrillers and not because the writing was bad.

I was aware that this was a YA retelling of Jane Eyre going in, but I was still pretty surprised at how young this felt. The complexity of the writing was accessible, but wasn't quite high enough to portray the story or characters in a compelling way. I also really had trouble telling who I was reading from--their narrative voices were so similar, at least for me, that I could never remember what POV I was in, especially if I had put the book down and come back to it. The world-building was okay, but considering the story takes place in largely in one location I was expecting more detail of the house and characters.
The romance didn't really work for me only because their chemistry both didn't really exist and wasn't super believable. They meet nearly halfway through the story, and while they do share a common goal (get Bertha and escape), they don't really spend any time building a relationship/getting to know each other at all. I also wish that the characters themselves were more fleshed out as everyone felt a bit surface level--there wasn't a lot to them. Even Mr. Rochester didn't really feel like a fleshed out character--he was just a villain, with nothing else going on and no real depth.
I can see why people may like this, and I am still really interested by the idea of the story. I do think that a lot of teens will really enjoy this with how accessible the writing is, even if the meat of the story and some of the details suffered because of that.
Overall, I definitely didn't hate this but I didn't really like it either--I felt pretty neutral about this story, but I would pick up more from this author, and I would pick up more set in this world just to see how it plays out and if there's any more depth to the story.

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.

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!

Delivers pretty much exactly what the cover blurb promises, and I love it for that. A sapphic YA Jane Eyre retelling that's a solid, quick read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc! Opinions are my own.

Consumed this in a day I could not put it down. Jane accepts a position as a governess at Thornfield Hall she loves her charge Adele but the darkly brooding Mr. Rochester and secrets of Thornfield bring her to the trapped Bertha. Bertha wants her freedom and is willing to do anything to get it and when both Adele and Jane get to working on freeing her all three are in danger. I loved the shift in perspectives between Jane and Bertha since we get to know both characters as they go through the challenges of Thornfield. Adele is a treasure. I hated Mr. Rochester and wanted all the terrible things to happen to him. Such an engaging story I could not stop reading it.

Escaping Mr. Rochester is a YA retelling of Jane Eyre, in which Jane and Bertha team up to escape Rochester. I must admit I've never read Jane Eyre in its entirety; I've started it several times over the years but never seem to get around to finishing it. Still, I had a general idea of the plot and decided to pick this up to see if it would give me any motivation to return to the original.

I knew this was a YA retelling going in, but the writing felt younger than I expected. I had trouble distinguishing between the two POV characters, as there wasn't much of a difference between their voices. For a book that is set entirely in a house, I also expected more detail in the setting and worldbuilding. Our main characters don't even meet until halfway through the book, which makes their romance hard to believe. It didn't seem like they spent much time truly getting to know each other, as their goal was to save Bertha and get out, and I felt they lacked chemistry. I was really intrigued by the idea of Jane and Mr. Rochester's wife falling in love, so I'm disappointed the relationship didn't work for me. I think part of the problem was that I didn't really feel like I knew any of the characters at all; no one felt really developed and there wasn't as much of a backstory as I wanted. Everyone felt very two-dimensional, including our villain, Mr. Rochester. I think there was a lot of promise with this story, but it could use a few more rounds of editing and a lot more detail for it to live up to that promise.

YA has been thrilling this year with amazing stories. This retelling was so much fun! There is suspense, adventure & my favorite romance. Even though the romance is more of a subplot in my opinion vs the mystery of everything going on. I, highly enjoyed this.