Netgalley

I received a copy of this book to review for my my honest opinion from NetGalley

The Wive Upstairs was such a great book! I thought I had it all figured out and boom politics twist! I enjoyed this book very much and read it very quickly. The main character Jane was well written and I connected with her from the beginning. She was happy being where she was but wanted better. She had the opportunity when she met Eddie. But he ended up not being who she thought he was. Eddie was married to Bea who died in a tragic boating accident with her beat friend- so we were to believe. You find out he has her locked upstairs in a panic room he built in the house. Jane begins to notice little things that don’t seem to add up and starts to ask questions and research Bea. Muilti millionaire built from the ground up married Eddie after a whirlwind vacation. But there is so much more to this amazing story. Worth a read.

The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins was a fun book to read and kept me guessing. I found Jane and her situation to be a little improbable but suspended my disbelief to go ahead and finish the book. The Stepford wives aspect of this was entertaining, showing how shallow some neighborhoods, in general, can be, but also that there is usually a lot under the surface. Overall a good read and would recommend.

Fun! Rachel Hawkins gives us A twisty modern take on Jane Eyre. I enjoyed it and recommend it. Thanks, NetGalley.

Fantastic book. "The Wife Upstairs" by Rachel Hawkins is very fast paced and unique. I know it leans toward a current day version of "Jane Eyre" but it has a lure all its own. The author keeps you guessing a lot and when you think you know something and are so sure you figured everything out...... a few pages later something happens and you realize you don't know anything. Jane is the main storyteller and pulls the plot together. There are other view points given that allow Rachel Hawkins to move things along and get across what is really happening here in the well-to-do suburbs of Birmingham. I highly recommend for someone looking for a well written and thought out story line.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me a copy to read and review.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Thanks, Netgalley and St. Martin's Press.

This is the kind of book to read when you've just finished something heavy and aren't ready to commit to another heavy read yet. It was fast-paced and interesting, but the twists and turns were predictable and also anti-climactic. A "modern-day" Jane Eyre, this book reuses the names from the original plus the gist of the story which seems excessive and obvious.

Overall, the book was a quick and entertaining read. 3.5 stars, rounded to 4.

In The Wife Upstairs, Jane, a former foster kid, is a dog-walker for several families in the gated community of Thornfield Estates.  Jane's not exactly a klepto, but sometimes the wealthy Thornfield wives carelessly leave their jewelry lying around and don't pay a lot of attention to the dog-walker, and it's very tempting for a broke girl with no savings. 

Eddie Rochester is one of the homeowners, and a handsome, wealthy widower. Eddie's wife, Bea, died in tragically mysterious circumstances, a boating accident with a friend. The friend's body was recovered, but Bea's never was.  Jane is attracted to Eddie from the start, but she knows that he's also incredibly wealthy, between his own construction company and his late wife's lifestyle business, too, and his wealth could make all of her problems go away.

If the names haven't tipped you off, most of this novel is a modernized Jane Eyre, but set in the McMansion south. It's a modern southern gothic, full of secrets and keeping up appearances. I really thought the whole crazy-wife-in-the-attic wouldn't transfer to modern times, but uh... it's not a spoiler if it's in the title, right? 

The southern setting is amazing, with all the neighborhood housewives gossiping about the tragic widower romancing the dogwalker. These are tanned, athleisure housewives, not the cooking-baking kind.  And Bea Rochester's business, Southern Manors, sells exactly the kind of extensively homey accessories and home furnishings you'd expect to find in a gated community like Thornfield Estates. Let me just say, the author does southern-money style perfectly. Expensive gingham, florals where New Yorkers wear black, tans and highlights (the expensive kind, not the loud kind). Monogram necklaces and charm bracelets are essential to the plot. 

This suspense novel is mostly Jane Eyre, but although the story reimagines the major moments, it's not quite a retelling.  I loved what happened with the Lowood school part of the story, but that's a huge spoiler.  I also loved how Eddie was brooding and dramatic, but also handsome and romantic, just like the original Mr Rochester.

The story is mostly Jane's, but Bea and eventually Eddie get a change to tell their stories. And whoa, there's a lot. So many twists and secrets!

Thank you so much for this ARC!

I cannot believe I wanted to stop reading this book! Yes, at first I was a bit bored and not sure I really cared to see what was going to happen, but I am so glad I did.

What an ending, I was definitely not prepared for that!

I loved the different point of views but do have to admit I really didn't like any of the characters at all. :)

A rounded up 2.5. This was entertaining-enough, and a quick read (if this book hadn't been fast-paced, I probably wouldn't have finished it). My main issue with "The Wife Upstairs" was that using the same names and the general plot of "Jane Eyre" felt unnecessary to the story because all of the characters are extremely different from the original book. The "modernization" of these characters, their psyches and relationships with one another, aren't examined beyond a superficial, surface layer. Additionally, the "Jane Eyre" influence already gives you an idea of where the story is leading, so you see the "twists" coming. The major plot points all occur quickly and with little conflict, from Jane and Eddie's (this nickname choice is so grating to me, sorry!) relationship to its "explosive" end, and even the reveal of Jane's mysterious backstory is anti-climactic. I would have appreciated more emotional insight into characters' backstories and motives, so that the buildup and reveals would have been more interesting and exciting.

In the end, I did finish this book in a day so I will recommend it as a diverting, low-stakes thriller.

Excellent weaving and twisting psychological thriller. I was getting a little bored with the predictable thriller but this book re-energized my love of this genre. We have Jane who meets Eddie, whose wife Bea is presumed dead. Jane is not who she says she is and neither is Eddie and what really happened to Bea and her best friend Blanche. How this story comes together is surprising and not expected. Certainly will read more from this author.
Thanks Netgalley and Martin Publishing for an ARC.

I really enjoyed this book. Although some parts were a bit unbelievable it still kept my interest throughout and ended well. I would recommend.

I was excited to start this book as I have read others by Hawkins and liked them. I didn't love but did really enjoy this book and read it in one sitting. The alternating POVs were done well and I loved Bea's portion of the book. I wish that some parts of the story were explored more, like the relationship between Bea/Blanche as well as Jane's background. I think it we had more character development there it would have really added to this story.

This is a mystery thriller. I was into this book, and I had to keep reading to find out how it end. I did guess some of the things that was happening in this book, but I did not see the ending happening how it did. I really think the characters where developed. I can see people either liking or hating this book. This is not going to be a book that is going to fells in the middle, and I think it will depend on if you guess the ending. I was kindly provided an e-copy of this book by the publisher (St. Martin's Press) or author (Rachel Hawkins) via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review about how I feel about this book, and I want to send a big Thank you to them for that. This book is schedule to be release on January 5-2021.

The Wife Upstairs is a smart, atmospheric novel with some of the best Gothic undertones I've read in a long time! Fans of Ruth Ware won't want to miss this stunning domestic suspense. It's a nail biting and thrilling read that will keep you up long into the night!

WOW. From page 1 to the last page this story grabbed my attention and kept it. I loved the multiple p[points of view, It flowed well, The characters were both sympathetic and distasteful at the same time. I loved the pace of the story it all flowed well and the ending was so explosive I read it 3 times!!!!

Pulled me in from the first page! Billed as a re-imagining of Jane Eyre which kind of put me off but don't let it! This story had so many twists and turns! A big drama with a dash of a prestigious small town Alabama wealthy community thrown in. It kept me guessing until the very end.

Thank you to netgalley.com for the opportunity to read this ARC. This is my first experience reading the author and I look to more adult fiction from her. Lots of twists and turns take what could have been just another murder, mystery thriller to the next level. Jane and Bee - two peas in a warped pod. Blanche the poor little rich girl, educated in the finer pints passive-aggressive behavior is not incapable of a little psychological warfare to keep things off balance. My only objection is that the characters are young, but some are written as though they are much older. I thought Tripp was in his sixties.

Fire and Ice meet again in this modernized, southern gothic inspired retelling of the classic Jane Eyre.

Jane has no family, no friends, and as far as she can tell, no future worth looking forward too. Until she's almost run over by Eddie Rochester while walking dogs in the exclusive, expensive neighborhood of Thornfield Estates. Their romance starts quick and burns fast, but being Rochester's lover means Jane is now part of the dark secrets that haunt Thornfield Estate and Eddie's first wife, Bea.

"Whatever souls were made of, mine and Jane's were the same--or at least similar enough."

Hawkins delivers a near perfect thriller in this twisty take on Jane Eyre. The pacing is near perfect, the descriptions are straight out of a Thornfield Housewife's Instagram account, and the twists are--if you aren't looking too hard for them--surprising when they hit. Hawkins has created a story that is both a homage to the original and something uniquely its own. A blend that's hard to find in modern retellings.

Fans of Jane Eyre will enjoy the Easter eggs Hawkins leaves for you to find throughout the book. Sometimes the references can be heavy handed (there are only so many creative ways your characters can say they feel "trapped in a gothic novel" before it gets to be too much) but for the most part Hawkins has blended them in seamlessly with her narrative. The multiple perspectives used throughout have gotten pretty common in the thriller genre, but I liked the chance to peer inside Rochester's head--an option we're not really given in the original.

I do wish Jane had been a bit rounder of a character. The time period of the original book explains away a lot of her flaws and dependency on others for her living and her livelihood. Hawkins tries to address these same faults, but as the story went on I found there to be two different Jane's (the fire and the ice) but without much cohesion or explanation. Jane was who she was when necessary to the plot.

But overall the flaws are small, the book one I enjoyed enthusiastically, and one I'd recommend you add to your January TBR!

*A note on mental illness* While I don't feel this should necessarily be included as a main part of the review, I do want to bring up the issue of mental illness/insanity that is touched on briefly in the book--and discussed in more detail in the original. Bea writes several times about how she feels "insane" and the question of her sanity and actual mental health is only brought up once at the beginning of her narrative. People who have a mental illness are sick. People who are awful people are just awful people. You don’t need one to be the other. It can be harmful to conflate insanity, gaslighting, and evil under the same umbrella.

*I received a galley of this book for review purposes*

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to review this book.

Is the grass really greener on the other side? Jane thinks it is when she takes a job as a dog walker in an upscale, Southern neighborhood. So what if she lifts a few small things from bored housewives when she returns their pet? They'll never even notice! When she meets handsome Eddie Rochester, a recently widowed man in the neighborhood, her life takes a turn. Suddenly, she's becoming part of the neighborhood where once she was an after thought. It's almost as though she's stepping into the very stylish shoes of Eddie's supposedly dead wife, Bea. But is Bea really dead? What really happened that hot, summer night out by the lake? And who was responsible?

While none of the characters were inherently likeable in this book, I still enjoyed it. Jane is tough, no nonsense, and guarding her own secrets. She sees life as a game to be played, with winners and losers, and she's determined o be a winner. I like that the story is told from different perspectives, I think that the character development is good, but sometimes it felt a little too on the nose. After all, we're talking about people that don't seem to have much in the way of goodness about them. Greedy. Self serving. Even mercenary. Somehow, though it all works, and provides the reader with a good, quick read.

Jane moves to Alabama to escape her past. She begins to dog-walk in a wealthy gated community and meets Eddie, a handsome widower who's wife recently drowned with her friend in a boating accident. Jane eventually moves in with Eddie and discovers some mysterious behavior with Eddie and suspects things are not as they seem. This was a really fast-paced, escape reality thriller. I loved the writing style and the details of the characters. Loved it!

Wow, excellent thriller with lots of twists and turns that you don’t know who’s the bad guy till the end , definitely a page turner, I’m going to have to check out more books by this author