Summer read #15 My Plain Jane

By Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows
Hardback
447 pages
Owlcrate exclusive

A humorous, funny, paranormal take on Jane Eyre.
The protagonist, Jane, who sees ghosts, leaves the terrible orphanage to become governess for Mr. Rochester's little girl. Her best friend, a ghost, goes with her. Her other best friend, Charlotte Bronte, follows soon after.
Jane Eyre's experiences fuel Bronte's writing.
Also, there is some romance. And a bunch of fun allusions. And ghosts.
It was amusing, and a good read.

It switches point of view for different chapters, which is sometimes really annoying to me, but I didn't find troublesome or distracting here.

I'm looking forward to the author event this evening! Finished reading just in time!

My Lady Jane

By Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows
Hardcover
491 pages
2 days

This is a funny and irreverent rewriting of the history of England. In this world, people can magically change into an animal form of they have the magic in their blood.
This forms a political tension between those who use magic and those who can't. This compounds the normal court room intrigue and provides some fun opportunities for creative problem solving.
The book is playful and fun, sometimes the narrator breaks out and interrupts the action; sometimes they allude to, parody, or quote various lines from diverse sources such as Shakespeare or Monty Python.
It is an enjoyable book and I very much enjoyed reading it.