Cover Image: Mrs. Rochester's Ghost

Mrs. Rochester's Ghost

Pub Date:   |   Archive Date:

Member Reviews

Jane Eyre is a literary masterpiece and any deviation or retelling is hard to be taken too seriously. With that being said, this was an enjoyable read. The storyline is already one of the greatest, so it was fun imagining present day characters in a completely different landscape. Would recommend for a fun beach read. #mrsrochestersghost #netgalley

Was this review helpful?

I received an advance copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion. Mrs. Rochester's Ghost is a modern, clever re-telling of Jane Eyre set before COVID-19 took over the world. I personally had never read Jane Eyre as I'm not really into the classic books however this book caught my attention and I read it in a couple of days. It definitely had lots of twists and turns and managed to keep my attention all the way to the end. I appreciated the opportunity to read and review this.

Was this review helpful?

A modern retelling of Jane Eyre set in California. Mrs. Rochester's Ghost had all the makings of a great suspense novel. However, for some reason, it just missed the mark with me.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC for a honest review.

Was this review helpful?

Thank you to Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for the ARC.

Mrs. Rochester’s Ghost is a modern spin on the classic, Jane Eyre. Set in California, Jane arrives at Evan Rochester’s estate after being invited to live in the cottage by a friend. She is instructed to tutor Evan’s teenage daughter. Rumors surround the death of Evan’s wife, Beatrice, but he insists she drowned herself. When Jane begins falling for the mysterious Evan, she begins to worry he is hiding many secrets from her, starting with his wife’s death.

This was a good update on a classic and I loved the setting. Making Jane a former writer of a gothic romance TV show was a fun detail and added to the hollywood glamour of the book. It is tricky with retellings in that it takes away from the surprises and thrills because you already know the basic storyline. I do feel another recent Jane Eyre retelling I read did a better job of sticking to the source material while adding some surprises and twists along the way. However, Marcott did a very good job of creating a gothic atmosphere within a twisty beach read.

Mrs. Rochester’s Ghost is a fun take on a gothic classic and is a great book to read by the pool this summer.

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Was this review helpful?

This is a smart and well-crafted retelling of Jane Eyre in the period immediately before Covid-19. Jane, a writer needing work, takes on a job tutoring Sophia, daughter of the wealthy Evan Rochester. This Jane is a bit tougher and smarter than the original, maybe because she can use the internet to look things up, and she's also got more personality and agency. Rochester's accused of murdering his wife, former supermodel Beatrice, whose brother prowls around Jane and Evan trying to get evidence. I liked the interactions between Jane and Sophie and Jane and her friends, even though they're all lightly sketched and not terribly diverse. I'm not entirely convinced
that the ending is what it seems to be--I'd love to know what other readers think. Alternating chapters between Jane's and Beatrice's POVs make things more interesting from the mystery side of things, and the setting is appropriately Gothic. A fun beach read, if you can stay away from riptides.

Was this review helpful?

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! No spoilers. Beyond amazing I enjoyed this book so very much. The characters and storyline were fantastic. The ending I did not see coming Could not put down nor did I want to. Truly Amazing and appreciated the whole story. This is going to be a must read for many many readers. Maybe even a book club pick.

Was this review helpful?

I have always wanted to read Jane Eyre, but I struggle with Classic books so when I saw a modern retelling I promptly requested it. If you can, I would advise trying to read this in one sitting as its such a great atmospheric novel, to put it down would distract from the build up. It definitely was a quick easy read and would recommend!
3.5 Stars

Thank you to Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for my advanced copy

Was this review helpful?

Jane has lost everything: job, mother, relationship, even her home. A friend calls to offer an unusual deal—a cottage above the crashing surf of Big Sur on the estate of his employer...
But something doesn't seem right about the Rochester estate. Evan has been accused of murder but swears his wife killed herself.
Jane starts to grow feelings for Evan..... She starts seeing ghost appear in the night and that's when Jane embarks on an intense search for answers and uncovers evidence that soon puts Evan’s innocence into question.

This was quite a beautiful read. With lost of little twist and secrets. The characters were great. And the story was very well thought of and written!
I really enjoyed thus story.

Was this review helpful?

I'm one of those people who really doesn't like Jane Eyre. To clarify: The book is fine, but I find the character kind of awful. So, I'm not sure how it is that I've found myself in dark corners with so many retellings of her story over the years, but this one is top notch - if you can stand it.

Was this review helpful?

Jane has lost her mother, her job and her home and takes a friend up on his offer to come to California. She arrives at the estate of Evander Rochester and learns he has been suspected of killing his model wife. He insists she drowned herself, but nothing is as it seems at the estate. When a ghostly presences appears at night outside Jane’ s cottage, she begins to search for clues. What really happened to the troubled Beatrice? An excellent retelling of the classic Jane Eyre.

Was this review helpful?

Fantastically spooky retelling of Jane Eyre. Loved this book. Definitely recommend to any fans of Jane Eyre!

Was this review helpful?

2.5 stars rounded up to 3. Mrs. Rochester’s Ghost is a modern retelling of Jane Eyre. This novel picks up at the point right before Jane goes to work for Mr. Rochester. Transplanted from England to the west coast, it still has the same sense of gothic unease as the original Jane Eyre.

Jane Eyre is a very difficult book to live up to, and Mrs. Rochester’s Ghost doesn’t quite do it. The only fresh take this novel has is that we get the point of view of both Jane and the first Mrs. Rochester; and I was very disappointed the latter’s portrayal. The original Jane Eyre was written in 1847 and so can get away with portraying Mrs. Rochester as “insane” but in 2021 this seems both wrong and unnecessary. Her character was one dimensional: either sane and on her meds or insane and off her meds. I was hoping for there to be some twist where her character had more to it than that, but it did not.

Mrs. Rochester’s Ghost did not have any surprises that weren’t there in the original Jane Eyre, which a modern retelling should have. All in all, it was a well-written page turner with flaws.

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for providing me with an advanced reader’s copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Was this review helpful?

I enjoyed this book. The characters were interesting and the ending was satisfying. There was enough intrigue to keep you guessing until the end. I would definitely recommend this book. I look forward to reading more books by this author.

Was this review helpful?

As a reader that has great appreciation for Jane Eyre, I highly appreciated this contemporary retelling of it. The suspense along with the gothic elements were spot on.

Was this review helpful?

I've never read Jane Eyre so I can't compare the two stories. However, from what I've heard of Jane Eyre this book seems to be a modern "copy" as there doesn't seem to be a lot of new or different elements.

But, as I've never read the Bronte book-- I really loved this book! It was entertaining and twisted and wonderfully thrilling.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Was this review helpful?

A clever modern retelling of Jane Eyre.

Still reeling from the death of her mother and the loss of her job as a screenwriter for a gothic Netflix show, Jane agrees to her friend's offer of working for his cousin, Evander (Evan) Rochester.

The author did such a great job with this retelling so if you love or hate Jane Eyre, you will love this book.

Thanks to Netgalley for my advanced ebook copy.

Was this review helpful?

I was wondering if anyone would write an updated version of this story and like magic, Mrs. Rochester’s Ghost by Lindsay Marcott appeared!

Another fun, dark suspense that keeps you guessing. This was an enjoyable and quick read for me. I never read Jane Eyre but now I am intrigued to see the similarities.

Jane has lost everything: job, mother, relationship, even her home. A friend calls to offer an unusual deal—a cottage above the crashing surf of Big Sur on the estate of his employer, Evan Rochester. In return, Jane will tutor his teenage daughter. She accepts.

But nothing is quite as it seems at the Rochester estate. Though he’s been accused of murdering his glamorous and troubled wife, Evan Rochester insists she drowned herself. Jane is skeptical, but she still finds herself falling for the brilliant and secretive entrepreneur and growing close to his daughter.

And yet her deepening feelings for Evan can’t disguise dark suspicions aroused when a ghostly presence repeatedly appears in the night’s mist and fog. Jane embarks on an intense search for answers and uncovers evidence that soon puts Evan’s innocence into question. She’s determined to discover what really happened that fateful night, but what will the truth cost her?

Well done! I’m sure this will be a tremendous hit when it comes out in July!

Was this review helpful?

A modern retelling of Jane Eyre, Mrs. Rochester's Ghost moves from the moors of England to the coast of Big Sur. It trades British uppercrust stuffiness for California glamour, yet still retains the spookiness and mystery of the original gothic tale.

Jane, a screenwriter on a gothic themed televison show has lost her mother, relationship and home when a friend offers her a solution. She becomes a tutor to the daughter of the mysterious Evan Rochester. Suspected of the murder of his glamorous model wife, Jane is drawn to him even though she is unsure of his innocence. When she uncovers some incriminating evidence against him she is determined to find out the truth for herself. Did he murder his wife or did she drown herself as he claims.

There were things in this novel I really enjoyed. The main one being moving the setting to the California coast. The dramatic seascape, while different from Eyre's moors, is portrayed with a similar haunting quality and oozes spookiness. I thought the attempt to glamorize the characters was less effective and felt forced and detracted from the story. I enjoyed this book, but then I enjoy almost anything related to Jane Eyre. Unfortunately, I don't think it was particularly original in it's own right and most of the drama it created was due to the original story. It is also coming on the heels of what I think is a superior retelling and may suffer by comparison. For me it was an enjoyable but possible forgettable read. I thing it would probably be most enjoyed by people not familiar with the original book.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with this advance to copy in exchange for a fair and honest revies.

Was this review helpful?

I really liked this updated version of Jane Eyre. I think I liked it more than the original. I confess I've never been fond of Jane Eyre or Wuthering Heights. I prefer Jane Austen's books. I particularly like the ending where Jane admits that she's still not completely trusting of him.

I will say that because they are living by the sea and Beatrice is possibly a ghost, I kept confusing this story with Rebecca. But I enjoyed her relationship with Sophie and Fairfax. Rochester is still mysterious and scary and I don't trust him. I wouldn't choose him - not in this book and not in the original. But the story works.

The update works. The backstory for Beatrice works. And it makes sense. When this comes out, I'll buy a copy for my mom and I'll recommend it to my friends.

Was this review helpful?

Jane Eyre has always been one of my favourite books and I love retellings too. So when I found Mrs. Rochester’s Ghost I had to request it. A huge thank you to Thomas & Mercer and for NetGalley for my copy.

Heartbreaking, beautiful and tragic just like the original.
Mrs. Rochester’s Ghost is set in present day USA so that’s a huge difference and because of this I was a little cautious but after the first couple of sentences I fell in love with the story and couldn’t put it down. Raced through it, really. It took me less than a day to finish it.
I highly recommend it.

Was this review helpful?