I had not idea that this an update on Jane Eyre. But reading through, Rachel Hawkins uses almost every name from the original story in this retelling. Once I realized that, I was pretty sure where this was all going. It was just fun to watch it unravel after that. Where Jane Eyre covered Jane's life as she grew from child to adult, this story meets Jane (not her real name) as an adult. The reader flashbacks to the tough childhood she had in foster care and the past she was running from when she ended up in Alabama. She isn't terribly likable. Young and selfish and judgmental.

As soon as Jane gets a chance, she wants to suddenly belong to this group of southern rich women. The backstabbing southern charm is really my favorite part of this book. Have you been to Alabama or anywhere in the south? You will recognize some of these characters in at least some of the women you've met there if you have.

Eddie is written to be mistrusted and you don't get to see the story through his eyes until far in the end. You get Jane's side. You get Bea's side. Eddie is kept a mystery until the end. Jane doesn't know if she can trust him.

Once I noticed them, I loved looking for the connections to the original work. The dog names Adele. The exchange between Jane and Eddie about how he has never been good looking. It was like little Easter eggs for the reader. And the ending was just a bunch of craziness.

Both the digital ARC and the audio version were enjoyable to read. I'd like to thank Rachel Hawkins, Netgalley, and the publisher for the advanced copy of this book. You can see this review as well as my others on my blog at: https://readeotw.wordpress.com

Wow what a great book! This was like a creepy roller coaster that was so fast I didn’t know if I was twisting or turning or about to plunge to the depths! Super crisp writing and storyline. Highly recommend!
4.5 stars from me
Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I really wanted to love this book. The book description sounded so unique and interesting but it really turned out kind of average for me. The storyline really slowed down at times and some plot points were just too unbelievable to be real. And I do admit I have never read Jane Eyre, which the books is frequently compared to. Some things the characters say or do also seemed so inane to be, I was often just shaking my head. Not sure I will pick up a book by this author in the future.

I really enjoyed this Jane Eyre-esque domestic suspense novel set in Birmingham, AL! It has all of the good stuff that we love about these books - unreliable narrators, unlikeable characters, and twisty plotlines that keep us guessing. It was fun to see all the nods to Jane Eyre throughout the story as well.. I loved Her Royal Highness by Rachel Hawkins also, so now I'll happily read anything she writes. Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the advance digital copy!

Another fantastic read, so so good!! I see why everyone is loving it!! And you can grab it yourself in January 5!!

Do you dream of living in a fancy neighborhood, being involved in the women’s clubs to beautify said neighborhood? To spend money on things you normally wouldn’t dream of “wasting” money on? “Jane” wishes she could be a part of these women’s lives, to not be a dog walker for the rest of her life. She dreams of living in one of these beautifully, huge homes. It happens but, everything has a consequence, right? Nothing is as perfect as it looks like from outside.

Thoroughly enjoyed this read, read easily and didn’t want to put it down and the twists were awesome, it wasn’t a clear cut “who dunnit”. I definitely recommend this one! Thanks to NetGalley, Rachel and St Martins Press for the advanced readers copy!

Many thanks to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for gifting me a digital ARC of this thriller by Rachel Hawkins - 5 stars for a book that is hard to put down and filled with twists and turns. It's a retelling of Jane Eyre but it's been so long since I read that book that I have no recollection except for the names Jane and Mr. Rochester.

Jane has recently moved to Birmingham, AL, escaping from her past with a new name. She's trying to make ends meet, living in a squalid apartment with an equally squalid roommate, John. She gets a job walking dogs for the wealthy housewives living in Thornfield Estates. It's there that she meets Eddie Rochester. Eddie's husband, Bea, and her best friend and neighbor, Blanche, had a boating accident at their lake home and both are missing and presumed dead. Soon the relationship between Eddie and Jane deepens and she is living with him., adding much to the rumor mill of the housewives in the development. But none of these characters are who they say they are.

I don't want to give too much away - the title already gives lots of clues! But this is a wonderfully-written twisty tale to curl up with during the current snowstorm and get lost in the world of the rich and famous. The story gives us different viewpoints as well as glimpses of the past, but the author makes things easy to follow, titling the chapters with the character's name to help keep things straight. Not all of these characters are likable but you'll be rooting for Jane, even when she makes questionable decision. Great read!

I loved the way this ended! It wasn’t what I expected, the twists! I wasn’t sure how I felt about the characters, where they telling the truth or lying? It was a fast read because I wanted to connect the dots, figure out everyone’s game. Defiantly go check out this domestic suspense!
4⭐️

Wow! What a wild and twisted ride. I liked the that the setting was in the South and the characters were likeable yet unlikeable. Everyone has secrets and I never knew who was telling the truth. The multiple povs had kept me on my toes. I stayed up late reading this book because I had to know what was going to come next. I highly recommend this domestic thriller.
Expected publication is January 5 2021.



I received an advanced copy of this book from Netgalley, St Martin's Press, and Rachel Hawkins in return for my honest review. Thank you for the opportunity.

The Wife Upstairs (Rachel Hawkins) is told to us by three of the main characters. Lots of twists, turns, and surprises in this thriller. I feel Ms Hawkins also had a good time writing this tale considering the names she gave some of her characters :) The Wife Upstairs is a page turner and I want to thank NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for giving me an early copy to review.

This story centers around Jane, who recently moved to Birmingham, Alabama. Jane quickly copies up to the elite of Thornfield Estates when she becomes the neighborhood dog walker. When she meets Eddie Rochester, she sees a window to escape her past. However, she didn't realize that Eddie's dead ex-wife would be a problem still.

This had a strong start. I liked the setting a lot, even though it seemed to generalize an entire population of people. The chapters are quick and the story itself is so short. I weirdly loved Jane's character even though she was objectively an awful human being. I just wished that the ending ~went there~ if you know what I mean. I am also over the whole husband-wife plot line.

Thank you for the advanced readers copy! Sometimes all is not what it seems as the reader finds in this book! Suspense and intriguing characters make for a quick and easy page turner! The element of the “wife that came before” has been done in other books but this Author has a fresh take! Will definitely be looking for more from Hawkins in the future!

The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins immediately drew me in from the very beginning line. This is touted as a retelling of the classic novel, Jane Eyre, but with a Southern gothic twist. I have never read Jane Eyre, and didn’t feel like this impacted my experience with The Wife Upstairs at all.

I can’t say I particularly liked most of the characters in this book, but the plot and pacing were engaging enough that I couldn’t put this book down. Multiple viewpoints and agendas will keep you guessing and wondering who (if anyone) you can trust. I would be interested in reading future work from Rachel Hawkins.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest feedback!

The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins is set to publish on Jan 5, 2021. After hearing this was a modern day gothic retelling of Jane Eyre I was most definitely intrigued. It was good. I definitely enjoyed the ride. I guess some things but enjoyed the twist of things I didn’t see coming. I was given an e-arc of this by St Martin Press and an audiobook by MacMillian Audio and I can say that I liked the narration. It definitely added to the story. Thank you to the publishers and to NetGalley for advance copies in exchange for my honest review.

I'm all about entertainment this year and this one did it for me. I was sucked in from the first chapter and enjoyed all of the twists, turns and differing points of view. Jane is down on her luck, has a troubled past and meets newly-widowed Eddie when she is as a dog walker in an affluent, gossipy neighborhood. Things are definitely not as they seem. There weren't really any likeable characters, but that's ok sometimes. Jane did have some spunk though, and quite the potty mouth/inner stream of thoughts - that is for sure. She also was kind of funny in a messed up way. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this advance copy in exchange for my honest review. The Wife Upstairs is out on January 5, 2021.

I was really anticipating this book and wanted to love it so much. While it was entertaining I found it to be just okay. I did get an opportunity to listen to an ALC courtesy of Libro.fm and the publisher and the narration for this story was really great.

I really liked this thriller retelling of Jane Eyre! The setting was wonderful and atmospheric and the characters were all deliciously suspect. Full of chilling twists and a sense of not fully knowing what will happen at the beginning of each chapter.

Okay, so I have been a big fan of Rachel Hawkins for a long time. I devoured the Hex Hall series, adored the Rebel Belle trilogy, and swooned over the Royals books. I’ve followed the author on social media for years and when she said she was writing her first adult novel, I was in. I *may* have squealed out loud when I saw this book offered on NetGalley.

I was a little nervous going in, not knowing if the book would live up to my admittedly high expectations. In addition, while I am familiar with the general story of Jane Eyre, on which this novel is based, I have not read it. Luckily, this ended up being one of those books that seems tailor-made for me.

An unreliable narrator! A rags-to-riches story! Murder! Backstabbing! Stepford wives! And all set in Birmingham, Alabama, just a hop and a skip down the interstate from where I live. I loved this book so much. It was very easy for me to picture Thornfield Estates, the residents, and the rest of the settings around Birmingham. The story was entrancing, and I liked Jane from the get go. There was tons of the sass and humor I regularly see from the author online, which was amazing. I do love a domestic thriller, and this one delivered. While I had an idea of where the story might go, the ending still surprised me. This is a book I can see myself purchasing and enjoying multiple delicious re-reads.

From my blog: Always With a Book

This is one book that you are going to want to get your hands on...whether you have read Jane Eyre or not. It's being billed as a modern twist of the classic and while I have only read the said classic once, I cannot say how much it really is like it or not, I enjoyed this new one all the same. And I have to say, it does have me wanting to reread Jane Eyre again soon.
This book grabbed me right from the start and never let up. I am a big fan of the domestic suspense drama to begin with and this one definitely delivers on that front and more. I loved how deliciously evil and snarky the characters were and that you really couldn't trust anyone. Every character had their own secrets and the deeper we get into the book, the more twists and turns we take until I wasn't sure where things were headed. Nothing and no one is as they seem and it really keeps you on your toes as you try to work out just what is going on. I love books like this!

I ended up listening to this one in one day - I just could not stop listening. I needed to see where things would end up. Between the multiple points of view, the short chapters and the crazy turns this one took, my head was spinning! It was just the right amount of creepy and kept me engaged throughout. I highly recommend this one!

I absolutely love this dramatic, twisty domestic thriller that seems to be inspired by the classic Jane Eyre. In this modern interpretation, Jane is a dog-walker in an upscale neighborhood in Birmingham, Alabama but has dreams of a better life. She meets Eddie Rochester, a handsome man in the neighborhood who romantically buys a dog for an excuse to contact Jane again. Soon the two are inseparable and that’s when the roller coaster ride begins!

The book goes back and forth between the points-of-view of Jane’s and of Eddie’s wife Bea who is presumed dead. Bea disappeared from a boat with her best friend and is presumed dead and her story is told in things she has written down in a journal of sorts. Not until close to the end do we get a short part of the story told from Eddie’s point-of-view but those words help explain some of the questions I had about why Eddie made some of the decisions he did. I don’t want to say too much and spoil the story for others, but I will say that shocking revelations begin in Part II of the book and keep coming from then on. I like the ending, even though it seemed a little abrupt in the way everything is wrapped up. I’ve given the book 4.5 stars because this is a good story who gets better and better as it progresses and the next plot twist occurs.

I received this ebook from NetGalley through the courtesy of St. Martin’s Press. An advance copy was provided to me at no cost, but my review is voluntary and unbiased.

As a professor of Victorian literature, how could I not read a retelling of the class novel by Charlotte Bronte. Jane Eyre will forever be a favorite read and as such, I was excited to dive into Rachel Hawkins' The Wife Upstairs. I was hoping that due to the title, that "the madwoman in the attic" would take the starring role. Bertha has always been a problematic character that was written during (and a reflection of) the height of British Imperialism, so why seek out a revision of Bertha as an empowered, independent, and even heroic? Hawkins, however, had very different plans for Bertha -- as well as Rochester, Helen, and of course, Jane. While the novel played with the romance convention, dabbled in the classism, and how poverty unequally impacts women, The Wife Upstairs takes on an entirely separate identity of its own. I enjoyed how Hawkins played with convention and then added a few twists for good measure. Overall, an entertaining read for an audience that does not necessarily need to be acquainted with Jane to enjoy the narrative.