Customer Reviews

Jane Slayre

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I love Jane Eyre. It is one of my favorite classics so I approached this book with some reserve, especially since I did not like Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and was unable to finish that particular classic mashup. There is a huge difference between Jane Slayre and Pride and Prejudice and Zombies however. It is obvious from the first page that the author has much respect for the original work. The addition of vampyres, werewolves, and zombies is cleverly and rather tastefully done. Most of the book retains the feel of Jane Eyre so I felt like I was rereading the original much of the time. Jane Eyre is a grave book and does not have much humor in it but I found the humor sprinkled throughout Jane Slayre to be refreshing in instances like Jane wondering if perhaps Blanche Ingram is a vampyre. The main characters retain their essence and much of the dialogue is the same so I was able to enjoy the interactions between Jane and Mr. Rochester. In the original, Bertha Mason is merely mad. Here she is also a werewolf, which explains further Mr. Rochester's treatment of her and her strange behavior. I loved that the Reeds were vampyres. I thought they were horrible people in the original so I thought this suited them perfectly.

There were some things that I did not enjoy-particularly the zombies at Lowood and the treatment of Helen Burns. In the original, Helen is a close friend of Jane and very important to her. In Jane Slayre, I didn't feel that Jane was as close to Helen and I didn't like Helen's fate in the novel. Most of the time however, I was able to enjoy the changes to the story but there were a few times that I did want to go pick up Jane Eyre instead. My favorite parts of the novel were at Thornfield Hall and I thought the author did a fantastic job with it, particularly Jane and Rochester's relationship.

Overall I thought this was a tastefully and respectfully written mashup with some great humorous moments mixed in with a good story. I love Jane Eyre but I enjoyed Jane Slayre as well and it made me want to reread the original Bronte novel. There have been a number of mashup novels since the publication of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies but this one would be a cut above the rest. I would recommend this to fans of that new genre as well as to those who enjoy satirical writing. Be sure to check out the reader's guide in the back as well. The discussion questions will have you howling! If the idea of messing with the story of Jane Eyre sounds sacrilegious to you, you may want to skip Jane Slayre but I think it is an excellent retelling which might inspire new fans to seek out the classic.

I received my copy of Jane Slayre courtesy of Gallery Books as part of a blog tour in exchange for an honest review.

Bravo to this author for being brave enough to face the hordes of literary snobs (such as myself) that would bristle at the thought of their beloved Jane Eyre being toyed with in any manner. I was pleasantly surprised that I enjoyed this book so much...the thought of Jane stalking around the manor slaying vampires was just brilliant! What an image! I am thrilled with this and would ask all other literary snobs to give it a chance. It's a cross between Jane Eyre and Buffy the Vampire Slayer...too good to pass up.

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontė has to be one of my all time favorites classic books. So, I was excited to learn that someone took that book and made a paranormal out of it. Sherri Browning Erwin has made what I believe as a successful adaptation of the Jane Eyre. I enjoyed this book a lot.

I can also see why some people may not like it. The purists who hate to have a classic "messed" with might not have the same fun that I had with this book. The main story of Jane was altered a bit and not just by the paranormal parts. Jane had a more amiable time with the humans in her life than in the original book. Her fortitude seemed to come more from the frightening circumstances in her life before she was old enough to handle such things. Even Mr. Rochester was more likable from his introduction into Jane's life. It still was not a happy childhood, and Rochester is still forever the antagonist, but the main turning points in her life still held. It is as though a fan just tweaked parts of her life we would have all liked for our heroine. That I understand completely. :)

I do recommend this book for those who want to have a bit of fun with their classic version of Jane. Finding a new way to cheer for her. For those that are purists of classic literature, I suggest you pass this one and read the original Jane Eyre. I gave this book 4 stars and had fun reading it.

I have always been a fan of both the classics and paranormal fiction, but I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about them mashed together. Jane Slayre made up my mind for me. I love it! Sherrie Browning Erwin stays true to the writing style of the original, but skillfully works in an edgy paranormal flair.

(*Literary Purists, avert your eyes*) The paranormal elements actually make some of the Jane Slayre scenes more entertaining to read than the originals! This book has the same great characters and timeless romance, but with added entertainment value. You can't go wrong.

I highly recommend this book to anyone. And Literary Purists: it just might convince you, too.

I read Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontė in College for an English Course. At that time we were asked to evaluate Jane's character from the perspective that she was, perhaps, histrionic and much of the suspense in the story was derived from her imagination rather than from truth. I believe that having dissected Jane Eyre years ago from this perspective helped me to truly enjoy this version of Jane "Slayer", a strong and determined woman in her own right who resides in a world replete with real, not imagined, vampyres, werewolves and zombies. It is a quick read, with much of the Victorian English modified for the modern day reader. I found myself referring back to my copy of Jane Eyre and can say this version runs closely to the original. (Although I did find two editorial errors, which I corrected in my copy.)

Sherri Browning Erwin has taken Charlotte Brontė's original text but removed the tedious babble and added undead and modernised the vocabulary a bit (I didn't really notice that, except for a few jarring occasions). I was impressed by how closely the first chapter was to the original book and how cleverly she had made the Reed family into vampires, and had a good giggle at the fact the stiff servant Abbot had been turned into a zombie!

The book follows young Jane Slayre, a poor, unconnected orphan, living with her vampiric relatives at Gateshead. When she's finally taken away to Lowood school, everything seems great for a while, but there are some "special students" that sends her slayer senses tingling ... slaying ensues. Adult Jane later advertises, goes to Thornfield and meets the Master, with whom she falls in love, but there's a certain something the attic, of course ...

For me, this is one the best "Jane Eyre" sequels/rip-offs I've come across, because it does stick to the original story (the undead aside) and is fairly in keeping with the characters. Maybe because it's meant to be a bit of a laugh rather than a really serious story, it's easier to forgive some character personality errors, because hey, the original book didn't have vampires to contend with. Maybe.

While some of the waffle has been removed to make a much sleeker read, some of the really nice and enjoyable scenes have been removed as well. Did they really have to cut down the proposal for pace? Other scenes have been added, involving undead being slayed in one way or the other and some of those worked okay with the rest of the narrative, but others failed and were just disappointing "yeah whatever" scenes.

On the whole, though, I really enjoyed this book. It's a quirky take on a classic and keeps with it reasonably well, considering the addition of a number of creatures of the night. I like quirky things, and I love "Jane Eyre", so for me, it really worked. For others, it might not. Maybe "Jane Slayre" can help bring more people in to the classics and maybe get an interest in reading the original. If that happens, great. If they don't, they've still read "Jane Eyre", and I bet they enjoyed it.

I LOVED this mash-up of Jane Eyre. Just like reading Charlotte Bronte, but with the addition of vampires, zombies, and werewolves. Great Bronte "voice" - the author REALLY nailed it!

I admit that although I've watched Jane Eyre on Masterpiece Theater, I haven't yet read the book in full. This may sound odd, but after reading this offshoot of the classic novel, I'd like to read the original Jane Eyre.

With the vampyres, werewolves, and zombies, Jane Slayre is a playful adaptation of Charlotte Bronte's classic novel. Whether she's battling vampyres, zombies, or her growing attachment to Mr. Rochester, Jane Slayre is plucky, earnest, and endearing. I enjoyed the vampyre slayer aspects and didn't think that they detracted from the novel.

Overall, I'd recommend Jane Slayre to fans of Jane Eyre and to those looking for a new take on the old vampyre and monster novels. It's a fun, satisfying read!

ISBN-10: 1439191182 - Paperback

Publisher: Gallery; Original edition (April 13, 2010), 400 pages.

Review copy provided by the publisher.

First thing's first. If you are a Charlotte Brontė purist, you may not like or appreciate JANE SLAYRE by Charlotte Brontė and Sherri Browning Erwin. This story is similar to the original in the way 10 Things I Hate About You was similar to Taming of the Shrew; close enough to recognize the story, but that's about it. If you've ever read and liked these kind of adaptations before, I'm fairly certain you'll love this book. If you would rather keep Ms. Brontė's the story the way it is in your mind and don't want to experiment, don't read it.

That being said, I highly recommend this book. Full of the paranormal, this is like crack for those of us who love the classics but just can't seem to get enough dark and creepy in our books. From the first page you'll get hooked as we meet Jane Slayre and learn a little bit about the family she is living with. While her cousins weren't my favorite children in the original, they are hilarious in this adaptation. Hilarious, but certainly not nice. You see, Jane has the unfortunate circumstance of living with a bunch of vampires. Not really something that to stick on a resume or use to boost one's social status.

Like any good heroine in a paranormal story, Jane quickly learns that there is more to her history than she knew. She is a slayer, destined to hunt down creepy blood-suckers and end their miserable existence. All while wearing a dress and bonnet mind you. Can't have a girl's hair go frizzy, now can we.

Probably the best aspect of this story was the hilarity of the situation. I haven't read a whole lot of these adaptations, so the whole idea is still pretty fresh and new to me. I just loved that I could revisit a favorite story of mine with a brand new twist thrown in. Combine that with the fact that one of my favorite romances now has an edge of suspense to it and you've got one heck of a book.

Did I mention there are werewolves in JANE SLAYRE?

Oh yes, there are! Zombies, vampires, werewolves...a paranormal girl's dream come true!

Will Jane end up with Mr. Rochester? Will Mr. Rochester eat Jane? You'll have to read to find out!

Yep. Loved it. Definitely recommend it. Even if this didn't have the original classic to cling on to and use for publicity, this would still be a great book. It can easily stand on its own against any paranormal out there right now. Well, that's my opinion anyway.

What do you think Charlotte Brontė would say? I would hope she'd have a sense of humor and get a good giggle out of this story. I know I did.

Jane Slayre has just obtained a job as the new governess to Mr. Rochester's daughter, Adele. Once Jane arrives, she realizes that it might have been a mistake to agree to be the new governess. There is something strange about Mr. Rochester. Most of the time he hides behind closed doors. Though, whenever Jane does get to spend time with Mr. Rochester, she feels a connection with him.

Mr. Rochester is not the only person, Jane has to worry about. His former wife is locked up in the attic. She is a werewolf. Jane must deal with her. As if that wasn't bad enough, one of Jane's friend's turns into a zombie. Oh what is a girl to do?

This book drew me into the scary and morbid world of Jane Slayre. It takes a strong woman to deal with vampires, werewolves and zombies. All of the characters played a prominent part in the story, even the secondary characters. Jane started out a prim and proper young woman but as the story advanced, readers saw her grow and become a demon slayer. It seems everywhere you turn there are tons and tons of books to choose from that feature vampires, werewolves and zombies. It is still a little rare to have all three appear in the same book. Sheri Browning Erwin did a good job incorporating paranormal elements into a classic. Though, I have never read the original book, I had no issues with reading this new twist to a classic. Jane Slayre is a slaying good time. Fans of Charlotte Bronte will probably like this latest mash up. Though, I am sure Ms. Bronte is rolling in her grave as we speak over this book. If she could, she would return as a zombie and try and take down Jane Slayre and Sheri Browning Erwin. Jane Slayre is better than some of the others one out there right now.