Although this is a companion novel and not a sequel to My Lady Jane, I’d hoped that I’d love this just as much. Unfortunately, that’s not the case; My Plain Jane was, for lack of a better word, plain.

I want to preface this by saying that I’ve not read Jane Eyre, nor do I plan to. I’ve never been interested in classics, and if the original is as boring and over-dramatic as this retelling, count me out.

First, I got rather annoyed at the repeated mention of Jane’s plainness. It’s in the title. It’s mentioned in the beginning of the novel. I would’ve thought that’s more than enough, but apparently it isn’t. Throughout these 450 pages, it kept. coming. up. People would use Jane’s plainness as an insult. It would be brought up in her chapters, because she couldn’t fathom why Mr. Rochester would possibly love someone like her. It got very old, very quickly. Not to mention that it’s typical for a character like Jane to be excessively described as plain but actually be pretty, even in a simple way. If the cover model is any indication, she’s not plain.

This novel took me a week to read, something that rarely ever happens to me. Although I was busy with standard things as well as the release of a new game in my favorite series, I often had free time that I could’ve used to progress and just…didn’t. The more I read of the story, the less I cared about the characters. As much as I wanted to, I didn’t care about any of them. I wasn’t invested in any of their stories. I’m typically an emotional person, and I felt next to nothing as I read.

Also, I’m not sure why everyone was so ridiculously dramatic?? I was almost constantly telling multiple characters to calm down, albeit silently, as I read.

Moving beyond the characters, the story was quite convoluted. I knew going in that it was a Jane Eyre retelling with paranormal elements, and while it certainly was that, it was also more, if that makes sense. It felt like a bunch of smaller plots threaded together rather than one overarching plot. One thing would happen, they’d resolve it, sprinkle some drama, rinse and repeat. The connection between these instances felt weak at best. I think this is the result of Hand, Ashton, and Meadows trying to cram too many elements into one story. There’s treachery of both the regular and royal variety, family issues, romance gone wrong, and a handful of other things.

While on the topic of romance, I have to say that I don’t understand why Jane fell in love with Mr. Rochester. In addition to being significantly older than her and having an unpredictable temper – though that’s solved later, because things™️ happen – he didn’t have much of a personality, and therefore no likable qualities to speak of. As far as I know, she liked him because he was tall, dark, and brooding; the phrase was used directly more than once in the novel.

I liked the concept of the Relocation of Wayward Spirits society, of ghosts and talismans, seers and Beacons. With a bit more polish and elimination of a couple of excess mini plots, I think this could’ve been the base for a truly intriguing story. However, in the novel as it is, I feel it was overlooked.

All in all, My Plain Jane was a novel with potential, but ultimately mediocre in many, if not all elements. It wasn’t as entertaining or humorous as My Lady Jane, and when My Calamity Jane releases, I’ll read it in hopes that this was merely a fluke.