Brightly Burning is Jane Eyre in space, but better!

When I saw Brightly Burning up on Netgalley, I knew I HAD to read it. When I got declined, that didn’t stop me! I almost paid $22 postage for a lovely Twitter pal, Leigh-Ann, to send me her arc (she offered for free but sadly we live on different continents!) Thankfully, I managed to get in touch with the publisher and Emma sent me an invitation to read on Netgalley! I read it in one day, and I kinda want to read it again!

Synopsis






Book Review | Brightly Burning by Alex DonneBrightly Burning by Alexa Donne
Published by HMH Books for Young Readers on May 1st 2018
Pages: 400
Goodreads
Seventeen-year-old Stella Ainsley wants just one thing: to go somewhere—anywhere—else. Her home is a floundering spaceship that offers few prospects, having been orbiting an ice-encased Earth for two hundred years. When a private ship hir...
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Overview





I have to admit that I haven’t read Jane Eyre… or if I have it’s so long ago I don’t really remember (a huge problem I have). HOWEVER I have since read up on Jane Eyre and love how Alex Donne updated Brightly Burning! She removed some of the more, questionable, aspects of Jane Eyre and added so many more dimensions to the story, which I really loved!

Firstly, it’s set in space. What’s not to love, right?! END OF REVIEW – READ THIS BOOK. I’m kidding, ish.

Why is it I find it so hard to review books I loved?!

Brightly Burning is set in a future where humanity exists in a spaceship fleet orbiting an Earth which has suffered an Ice Age. They don’t know if Earth is habitable yet and their ships are starting to fall apart, one de orbited about a year ago, and it looks liek Stella’s ship is likely to be next. She wants to get out. Despite, you know, humanity nearly ending, there is still this whole class system going on with the poor being mistreated.

There’s also BIOLOGY AND VIRUSES! Okay, there’s not a huge amount of detail on this aspect, but enough to make me happy.



Structure







The structure of Brightly Burning, as far as I can tell, very similar to Jane Eyre. Half way through the book I thought we must be near the end, but nope! There was more to come, which is where it got even more exciting and thrilling.

The pacing was pretty steady, fast enough to keep me turning the pages constantly, making sure I was hooked with exciting things. Though the beginning was a slightly slow burn (haha geddit?)

Character





Okay I absolutely loved Stella. She was just badass, didn’t put up with the pompous crap from the higher ups, still made a bit of a mess of herself with love and all that. She was relatable.

Hugo. Ah Hugo. I forgive him his tropish ways, because after all this is a retelling. Thankfully most of the worst of the tropish stuff wasn’t there – but he still was playing hard to get and acting strange… still I really enjoyed him.

I’d never read the original Jane Eyre, but Alexa’s version was plenty engaging on its own. I loved the atmosphere and the amazing tech of the Rochester. I was jealous of Stella a LOT throughout this book, LOL. And man did the tension ramp up. This book features the most intense game of poker I have ever read and that is well before the page turning pumps of the climax. Once I hit the last leg of this book, I stayed up until midnight to finish. A rollercoaster of ups and downs.

Overall very fun and highly recommended for any sci-fi or romance fan!

I'm definitely a fan of the classics, and Jane Eyre has always been one of my favourites, so when I first heard about BRIGHTLY BURNING, a retelling of Jane Eyre in space...I was immediately intrigued! I joked about wanting to know where Rochester's crazy wife could possibly be in a spaceship, and I added it to my TBR immediately!

Fast forward to when I read this, I started reading BRIGHTLY BURNING it and I absolutely COULD NOT STOP! Before I knew it, I'd finished half of the book and I still didn't want to put it down.

From the very first page, I was hooked! I loved the characters, the setting, the writing, and I adored how Alexa Donne wove her retelling of Jane Eyre. It was perfect! It kept all of the vital parts of the story, while also keeping certain elements a bit mysterious...and the characters did have some similarities with Rochester and Jane, but Hugo and Stella were definitely entirely their own characters as well, and I absolutely loved them both! I loved how bold Stella was, and I loved how she often brought out the best in the people surrounding her, and I especially loved how she connected to them all. Hugo points out at one point that her name literally means "star" and I thought that was very fitting since she's clearly the character who is "Brightly Burning" throughout the story. She draws in the other characters, and I loved her goodness, and her empathy, which were so quintessentially Jane-like, but also perfectly fit Stella. And Hugo...Hugo was broody as can be, and he definitely played the rakish role like Rochester, but he was also a lost, young man, and I absolutely loved seeing all of the moments where he opened up to Stella. I loved their romance so much! It captured all of my favourite elements of Jane and Rochester's romance in Jane Eyre and that was EXACTLY what I was hoping for! :D

I know Jane Eyre isn't for everyone, but I've always loved the dark gothic vibe, and the broody nature of Rochester. When it comes to Jane, I've always loved her goodness, her tenacity, and her drive to always be true to herself, and for me that's exactly what Alexa Donne gave me in BRIGHTLY BURNING...with a tiny bit more teenage angst and some good ol' space drama. I'm a huge fan of sci-fi stories, and I'm a sucker for anything that takes place on a spaceship, especially when you end up with an intimate "Firefly-esque" size crew like you have on the Rochester in BRIGHTLY BURNING. Combine the epic space elements with how well Alexa Donne captured Jane Eyre, and I thought that this story was absolutely PERFECT!

So, it should come as no surprise that I loved BRIGHTLY BURNING! The characters, the writing, the setting, and the way that Alexa Donne managed to perfectly capture Jane Eyre were everything that I could have possibly hoped for this book to be! I think that anyone who loves Jane Eyre while also enjoying sci-fi, young adult, and some space drama will absolutely love it, too. I really hope that you all love BRIGHTLY BURNING as much as I did because I thought it was phenomenal! :D

This site will not let me continue without giving a rating. I have to rate this low, only because I can't read this book. Honestly, I have no idea about this book because I can't read it. I'm giving it an unfair rating only because I can't read it.

I love a good retelling, and enjoy classics! While I haven't read Jane Eyre yet, I hope to soon, but this is my second Jane Eyre retelling, and I loved the idea they used by setting the story in space! Well written, and exciting!

Although I've never really been one for classics and have never read Jane Eyre (although I know the general gist of it) I typically tend to enjoy classical retellings, so I was excited to read this sci-fi version of Jane Eyre in space! I found Brightly Burning very difficult to put down, and I absolutely love love that in a book. Although it's not completely action packed, the slow-burn chemistry between Stella and Hugo kept my interest, and the creepy mystery behind the strange happenings on Stella's new ship of employment, The Rochester, made me want to keep reading into the night.

Stella Ainsley is a character who's willing to put herself out there and risk it all for the chance to make a better life for herself and accomplish her goals. She was a bundle of fearless determination and I respected her mental and emotional strength in dealing with all the sudden changes in her life. She's smart, resourceful, and well rounded, with her skills as a mechanic and her passion for drawing and books.

Then there's Hugo, the 19 year old captain of the ship who Stella can't help but feel a pull towards, in-spite of his mysterious off-ship endeavors and overall air of secrecy. The romance between them had a slow but sweet buildup and I loved how they went from uncertain acquaintances to genuine friends that understood and respected each other. I loved tentative friendships that eventually become something more. They bond over books and spend their nights reading together in Hugo's study, which I found totally adorable. I love soft, geeky love interests.

I kind of felt like the excitement of the romance wore off after they finally kissed, though. I don't know why, as that usually isn't the case for me. I typically become even more invested at that point.
It may have something to do with the events that occurred in books climax, as it created a lot of conflict between the two of them and I wasn't entirely sure how to feel about Hugo and his actions, and wasn't sure if things would work out. But in the end, things worked out in most regards. I did feel like the ending was maybe a little rushed and came together too quickly and easily? I almost wish this book could have been split into two parts and written as a duology, to spread it out more. I did enjoy the haunted ship/mystery aspect. Although I eventually figured it out before the big reveal, I was completely clueless regarding the faceless antagonist for most of the book, so I consider that a win!

Overall I did really enjoy this book, and I think Alexa Donne is an exceptional storyteller.

Jane Eyre is space!? This was an absolutely brilliant idea, and equally executed! Alexa Donne is an excellent storyteller. I mean, Brightly Burning needs more praise and hype!

How could I not read something that was talked about as “Jane Eyre in space?” I had to do it, and I had to do it immediately! I wanted to love this so bad. It sounded like everything a girl like me could want, but it was ultimately kind of disappointing.

The premise and the plotting are spot-on, grade A ideas, but the execution was spotty at best. For example, the author has wonderfully creepy plot points to hit on Jane Eyre’s original gothic elements. There’s a fire, the main character’s hair gets chopped off, and there are noises outside her door at night. But the author doesn’t create enough suspense to get the reader really sitting up and paying attention. The closest it gets to true suspense is during the fire scene when the ship’s AI system, Rori, wakes Stella up in the middle of the night because Hugo’s room is on fire. There’s a countdown to when the room (with Hugo in it) will be blasted off into space and that countdown adds much needed pressure, but still, I was like what the harm really? If there was more slowly built tension, it would really improve the mood of the book.

Also everything in this book escaped from being truly harmed. Jungle Book remained intact, no one Stella really liked died from the virus outbreak, George is still alive despite being shot, and Hugo is pretty much fine even after crash landing. I mean, was anything ever at stake in this book?

Furthering my disappointment is Stella, the Jane stand-in character. Jane goes through some really intense hardships, and we see them. In Brightly Burning, we don’t see any of Stella’s hardships besides the food and water rations. We’re told her aunt treated her poorly and she grew up being despised, but there aren’t any flashbacks, no specific instances where Stella thinks this is just like the time my aunt…*insert terrible thing here*, no shared story in a moment of empathy. Nope. But the author promises that Stella, for sure, went through some tough stuff. (Okay maybe she has a baby heart-to-heart with Hugo.) I mean besides doing a job that she doesn’t really like and not having as much good food as she’d like the only things that are really upsetting are that she’s probably chronically dehydrated and George is never going to love her.

Furthermore, instead of being realistic about her future, she wants to be a governess even though there’s like almost no chance she would be hired. That is the most un-Jane-like thing. If Jane had a solid job working as an engineer, she wouldn’t dream up a fantasy. She would work as an engineer and be happy for the work. And then, Stella gets her dream job on the Rochester, and she gets her own room with a window and limitless water and the attention of a man, and instead of thinking about the injustice of it, she’s like, “Oh hey. Look at this window I have. Also let me take a really long shower.” I mean, this girl writes emails to her best friend who is still living on what is basically a deathship and is like, “Don’t be mad, but you should see my window. Also NO WATER RATIONS. #living the life.” Just. No.

Honestly I enjoyed the book, but I didn’t love it. It probably deserves to be a four star review, but my disappointment dropped it to three. What a bummer. I was rooting for you.

Brightly Burning is a brilliant re-telling of Jane Eyre. I never really got into the Bronte classics after struggling through a couple of them but this re-telling of a classic was way more to my tastes. This is essentially Jane Eyre in space!

This was a really fun read with a great cast of characters.

Apologies cannot read and review a download only format as I read using the Kindle app. Love the cover and enjoyed the excerpt I read in buzz books

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me a digital ARC of "Brightly Burning" by Alexa Donne. This book is romantic and full of science fiction goodness. The main characters' romance is totally swoon worthy. I can't wait to share this with my students who like romance.

When I saw this was a reimagining of Jane Eyre I have to say I was curious about how it would work. There’s a few differences in order to fit the futuristic space setting, but it’s quite faithful to the original text.
Seventeen year old Stella is determined to not end up an engineer the rest of her life. With her space home looking close to the end, her choices are limited. When she gets a post as governess on board the much better-equipped Rochester we know exactly where this is going.
Many of the expected events are there. It was good fun to spot the links, and I could see this appealing to teens with no sense of the source material, as well as being a bit of fun for those who know what’s coming.
Thanks to NetGalley for giving me the chance to read this prior to publication.

Wow, I was promised Jane Eyre in space and this book did not disappoint! I loved this take on the classic. Alexa Donne has a way with words and making the space setting of this book relatable, which is something I struggle with when it comes to sci fi. All in all, this book not only did justice to one of my favorite classics but elevated it.

3.5 *

ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Brightly Burning is a reboot of Charlotte Bronte's classic work, Jane Eyre, set in space. I am wary whenever anyone does a reboot or a re-imagining of a classic work (riffing off them is different) because so often the main theme, the part that makes that work unique, gets lost. Jane Eyre is one of the most maligned classics in this regard, so bear in mind that I am always coming in from a position of being braced for a bad take rather than anticipation a good book. Especially since 99% of all JE re-imaginings I have read - and there have been so many - are unbelievably terrible.

Brightly Burning was pretty good. I think by and large the problems I had with it were my problems, not necessarily issues with the book itself. Stella (our Jane character) and Hugo, captain of the Rochester (guess who he stands in for) were likeable if not very deep, complex characters. The setting was intriguing: due to historical events an iceage has covered Earth for the last few hundred years, making it in expert opinion, uninhabitable. In an attempt to save humanity, survivors are sent up on space ships in a constant orbit around Earth, where they have been ever since. The iceage has become protracted and the ships should all have been decommissioned and scrapped a hundred years ago, but there is nowhere else for the passengers to go. Some ship inhabitants argue for a return to Earth, saying that the iceage has retreated enough to make survival plausible. Most, do not want to disembark - Earth would be too much of a risk, surely it would be suicide etc etc.

This aspect of the world building is interesting and makes a good backdrop to what is essentially a love story in a space opera setting. There is a hierarchy amongst the ships, with the rich living in luxury and the poor in cramped conditions, denied medication and rationed severely on water. And in some quarters a more drastic form of action is being taken to reduce demand on shrinking resources...

The main problem with Jane Eyre retellings, with any classic retelling in fact, is that anyone familiar with the original cannot help comparing and often finding the re-imagining lacking. There were times when the Victorian mores and morals of Jane Eyre were just jarring when set against a more technologically advanced society. However motivators such as power, status, wealth and greed are universal so in that regard it did work.

I found I didn't believe the love story. It just wasn't given enough room to happen. I'm not sure if this was because the author assumed that readers would fill in the blanks due to familiarity with the source material or what. Imo a story should stand on its own regardless. It would also explain the gaps in the characterisation.

Having said that, this was a fairly fast and undemanding read and the author has tried to be relatively diverse, reversing some aspects of the original to be more palatable to a YA audience. Probably my biggest issue with the book was the end which I felt robbed the MC of some agency. I was also irritated at the way a piece of 'action' was crammed in a rather contrived attempt to add more emotion and jeopardy. It felt forced. Considering the huge breadth of what happens at the end, it was very short on space. Add to that the entire love story, the point of this book, doesn't ever really get an on screen resolution which was irritating.

Verdict - I enjoyed it but not as much as I could have done if things like pace and characterisation had been more on point.

Being that Jane Eyre is my favorite book, I was both excited and hesitant to pick up this book. In the end, Ms. Donne's book is a solid interpretation of Bronte's Jane Eyre. I liked the space opera vibe of the story and Stella seemed to both embody Jane, but also incorporate a new techy twist to her persona. Unfortunately, I felt like there was something missing, maybe because I was expecting it to incorporate more of the minutiae that make Jane Eyre a gothic tale. This, however, doesn't detract from the book, and for YA readers, who this may be their first introduction to anything that resembles Charlotte Bronte, would definitely enjoy.

Brightly Burning is quite an enjoyable young adult novel with a good mix of action, romance, mystery, and science-fiction. This retelling of Jane Eyre takes place in space of all places and you know what, it works! There are many elements from the original story but Alexa Donne manages to keep the story feeling fresh and fun and I'll admit that despite being familiar with Jane Eyre's plot, I still found Brightly Burning to have some unexpected twists and turns. I really enjoyed the world that Donne has created and would be interested in learning more about other characters and ships; a sequel perhaps?

I first read Jane Eyre when I was a teenager. I loved Charlotte Bronte's story of a plain girl from a humble background falling in love with the brooding Mr. Rochester. Two people, misunderstood, who find each other. In Brightly Burning, author Alexa Donne updates the story and sets it in SPACE!!! I was delighted that this story closely followed the original, while treating the reader to a modern, romantic story.

What I Liked:
Setting:

Earth has gone through a disaster that has plummeted it into a new Ice Age. A small portion of humanity has escaped on spaceships that have orbited the Earth for over two-hundred years. If the plot seems familiar, I agree...

But, this book delves into the nitty-gritty details of what might happen to society if we were all fighting for survival in space. How would people be valued when resources are limited? Would there be a class system? How would pandemic illnesses be dealt with? The author explores these questions and more.

Characters:

Stella, the main character, is girl who is used to living with hardships. Orphaned at an early age, and spurned by her heartless aunt, Stella is not a complainer. Yet, she wants a better life for herself than what she has. The spaceship Stalwart is rumored to be close to failing, doomed to fall back to Earth, killing all of it's passengers. So Stella applies for a job as a governess aboard a private ship. I loved that Stella could be resilient, opinionated, and strong, but not full of herself. She is pretty, but not in a traditional way. And she doesn't seem to get social interactions as easily as others do. So while she seems to be confident, she actually wrestles with self-doubt.

Hugo, the young captain of the Rochester, drinks excessively which leads his moods to go from fun and flirty, to sullen and arrogant in an instant. While this confuses, and infuriates Stella, she also sees that he is a kind brother, and a person she can find common interests with. They both love reading, and can spend hours together discussing books. She sees his faults and still likes him.

There are many characters that are in both Jane Eyre and Brightly Burning, but one that I like even more in this new version is Bianca. This version shows is less a caricature of a spoiled brat and more of a complicated person. Bianca's family has put all their hopes in her finding a rich husband, and they have set their sites on Hugo. But I liked that she was well aware, and angry, about being sold off to keep her family's privileged standing.

Story:

I like how the story recreates many of the same moments from the original Jane Eyre. There is the tragic background story of Stella (Jane), Stella's acceptance as a governess at the beautiful, but remote, Rochester spaceship (manor house), and the arrogant, but handsome captain of the spaceship, Hugo (although now the main character is a teenager). There is even the house party from the original story. And who is that laughing outside Stella's door in the middle of the night? It all fits together smoothly. You really do not need to be familiar with Jane Eyre to enjoy this novel. But if you love the source material, picking up on the many details taken from the classic book will be a treat.

What I Was Mixed About:
The Ending:

While I did enjoy the ending and how it was similar to how Jane Eyre finished, I thought the author rushed through the details. One of the things I liked about the story in Brightly Burning, was how all of the aspects of living in space would work. But, at the end, when there is an abrupt change, it is not given the same realistic approach as the rest of the book (yes, I am being vague here because I don't want to give anything away). I had many questions about how this plot twist would have actually played out, but it seemed like there was no time for the author to address them in the rush to finish the book.

Really fun, original retelling (oxymoron, I know). I enjoyed it a lot, but thought it ended quickly.

Brightly Burning is pretty much exactly what it markets itself to be. It's Jane Eyre in space.

I wish I could say that I was super impressed by this book; however, it simply just didn't do it for me. It was an enjoyable read once you got past the first 100 pages or so; however, once I got to the end, it just kind of turned into a hot mess of cliches I could see coming from a mile away. So, I really only liked the middle 200 pages or so. The other 200 could have easily been cut from the book and nothing would have been missing.

The exposition, as mentioned before, is a little clunky. The author uses terms quite often before giving a definition, which led to a lot of confusion and misunderstandings until the terms and the setting were made clear.

The main character Stella (Get it? They live in the stars, so her name is Stella? Hahaha. Original but not at all, really) is likeable enough, once she finally gets over her boy crazy phase (which is seriously something I could have lived without). The male protagonists aren't anything to rave about; they're the same old thing we've seen in tons of books before. As for the antagonist, he/she/it isn't really well-developed and, in fact, I'm still not 100% sure who was supposed to be the villain (so that should tell you all you need to know).

If you're a fan of Jane Eyre, I'm not sure if I can recommend this to you. The author does stay somewhat true to the plot and ideas in that book; however, at the same time, you kind of walk away feeling like you've read a piece of semi-decent fanfiction. It's a fun read, don't get me wrong, but be ready to slog through some exposition to get to the fun part.

Review can also be found on *Milky Way of Books*

I couldn't be happier than getting the chance to review this lovely book! Knowing that Netgalley rarely grants requests to INT readers, I was very excited!
The book follows Stella, a young girl who is also a mechanic, a teacher and lives into a spaceship orbing around a frozen Earth.
There are also many spaceships orbiting around Earth and lots of the have manes that can either remind you of 19th century England or they have names of the classics! When Stella takes the chance to become a governess to the Rochester, she will meet its enigmatic captain and the ship's secrets.

There were some alternations to the plot in order to diverge a little from the original. It felt fresher and more alive; the descriptions are great and you can't help but love Stella's POV. She is sweet yet sensitive and wants nothing more but to escape and learn about the world/space.
Some surprises were quite nice in the book, which gave it an air of mystery and the language used in the dialogue did throw me at some parts back to the original Jane Eyre.

The ending was very satisfying and I liked very much!