January 9, 2023
Though Edwards opens her debut with a paean to Jane Eyre, her Toronto law firm–set contemporary retelling shows zero understanding of its source, sapping the story of gothic atmosphere, religious subplots, and thematic explorations of morality, justice, and redemption to create a shallow workplace rom-com replete with random changes for the sake of random change. Jane Raine is a former foster child who, after quite a lot of dithering, quits waitressing to become a legal secretary to fiery-tempered secret softie Edward Rosen, the pointlessly renamed Rochester character, whose persona as a woke 21st-century feminist is immediately undermined by his “Gift of Fear”–level, office-destroying temper tantrums and his secret past. Though none of the original story beats or characters are competently translated, Rosen’s dark secret and how it resolves is particularly nonsensical and Jane’s means of achieving independence post-reveal are insultingly regressive and give her much less dignity than her 19th-century counterpart. The book does not succeed in its own rights either, as it is very oddly paced, with key emotional beats intercut with abrupt flashbacks. Readers can take a pass on this one. Agent: Melissa Edwards, Stonesong.