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The Forbidden Wife
After her mother died, Ashley Jones spent her childhood in care and foster homes. Alone in the world, she desperately needs her new live-in job as an author's assistant. But she is filled with trepidation when she arrives at isolated Blackwood Manor and meets the formidable Jack Marchant. Ashley thinks she is just a drab nobody…but her heart goes out to handsome but arrogant, tortured Jack, though she has no idea what troubles him. What is the secret that he keeps hidden? It is only after Jack proposes marriage and Ashley joyfully accepts that she finds out…and, for this innocent bride-to-be, the truth is shocking….
192 pages, Mass Market Paperback
Published May 31, 2011
About the author
Sharon Kendrick
1,081 books446 followersI was told off as a child for making up stories—little did I know that one day I’d earn my living by writing them!
To the horror of my parents, I left school at sixteen and held a bewildering variety of jobs: I was a London DJ (in the now-trendy Primrose Hill), a decorator and a singer. After that I became a cook, a photographer and, eventually, a nurse. I waitressed in the south of France, drove an ambulance in Australia, saw lots of beautiful sights but could never settle down. Everywhere I went I felt like a square peg—until one day I started writing again and then everything just fell into place. I felt like Cinderella must have when the glass slipper fit!
Today, I have the best job in the world, writing passionate romances for Harlequin. I like writing stories which are sexy and fast-paced, yet packed full of emotion—stories that readers will identify with, laugh and cry along with.
My interests are many and varied—chocolate and music, fresh flowers and bubble baths, films, cooking and trying to keep my home from looking burglarized! Simple pleasures—you can’t beat them!
I live in Winchester, one of the most stunning cities in the world, but don’t take my word for it—come see for yourself! I regularly visit London and Paris. Oh, and I love hearing from my readers all over the world…so I think it’s over to you!
To the horror of my parents, I left school at sixteen and held a bewildering variety of jobs: I was a London DJ (in the now-trendy Primrose Hill), a decorator and a singer. After that I became a cook, a photographer and, eventually, a nurse. I waitressed in the south of France, drove an ambulance in Australia, saw lots of beautiful sights but could never settle down. Everywhere I went I felt like a square peg—until one day I started writing again and then everything just fell into place. I felt like Cinderella must have when the glass slipper fit!
Today, I have the best job in the world, writing passionate romances for Harlequin. I like writing stories which are sexy and fast-paced, yet packed full of emotion—stories that readers will identify with, laugh and cry along with.
My interests are many and varied—chocolate and music, fresh flowers and bubble baths, films, cooking and trying to keep my home from looking burglarized! Simple pleasures—you can’t beat them!
I live in Winchester, one of the most stunning cities in the world, but don’t take my word for it—come see for yourself! I regularly visit London and Paris. Oh, and I love hearing from my readers all over the world…so I think it’s over to you!
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews
August 14, 2011
Sumptous and very traditional, this Harlequin Presents is basically a retelling of JANE EYRE in modern England. On the whole it was a very enjoyable reading experience, though at times the angst and drama and the heroine's over-wrought imaginings were a little over the top. And a lot of the hero's back story was unintentionally funny. To give you some idea what I mean, I will now retell the entire story in my own words. (WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD)
*************************************
Born in a cardboard box, Ashley knew she had to keep this job. She'd grown up wearing cardboard shoes, newspaper hats, had no schooling, and was unable to find any job that didn't involve living in a mysterious mansion with a rich, moody employer who eyed her ragged clothes with knowing desire.
"Shall I tell you about my horrible ghastly war experiences?" Jack asked, his black eyes flashing moodily in the firelight. "Or would you rather go upstairs and shag?"
"I hardly know you, sir," Ashley said demurely. "Let's go for a walk around your secluded estate, and then we can shag afterwards."
Jack found her mysterious, this ragged little woman with the hungry look who kept gnawing on the stale hunks of cheese he left in the kitchen for the mice. Instead of just shagging her at once he found himself telling her about the war. Next thing he knew, he was dictating a memoir that was sure to be a classic. But something was missing. So they shagged.
"I love you, Ashley," he said afterwards. "You really listen and you type everything I say with no mistakes. I want to marry you and give you a life of luxury."
"But Jack," she murmured. "I hardly know you." Then, with a new boldness born of shared passion, she added, "I think we should shag some more."
Throughout the days that followed, they shagged. And they walked in the pure clean air. And he told her how much he loved her. And they shagged.
And then he gave her the ring.
"Oh, Jack," she said. "It's beautiful!" Yet part of Ashely was unsure. Was this a marriage proposal? Or did he just want to shag her some more while she wore nothing but a fabulous diamond ring?
Just then an evil man came laughing into the room. "Remember my sister, you English jerk? Huh? What about my sister, the one you married?"
Ashley's whole world fell apart. She saw herself back in that cardboard box, wearing newspaper hats and gnawing on gravel. "Jack how could you?" she asked.
His eyes were black and moody as he told her the truth. "After I killed all those terrorists single handed just by brooding them to death, I went to America. It's a terrible place, Ashley. Too much sunlight, people laughing and having fun. And then I met . . . Kelly. I shouldn't have married her, but I needed to forget. She was blonde, and she liked to party. Party, party, party, all day and all night. It's like a sickness with these American women. All she wanted to do was have fun. And spend my money. I couldn't stand it. One day I told her it couldn't last. She laughed and said I'd never be free. Or if I did divorce her, I'd have to pay alimony. Bloody Yanks, always talking money. So we had a little tug of war with the steering wheel of my speeding sportscar, and I won. Kelly's in a coma now. Damned shame, isn't it?"
"Tragic," Ashley agreed. "Jack, you suck. I can never trust you again."
Ashley went away. She inherited tons of money from nowhere. She got a new job, and began a new life. Then one day she heard from Jack's housekeeper.
"There's been a terrible fire. Jack's blind. He needs you. Come back."
"Okay," said Ashley.
"Ashley? Is that you?" Jack was brooding away, all broken and helpless. He needed her.
"I'm here," she said. "Should we shag now or later?"
"My horrible American wife is dead." Jack looked extra super moody. "I know being blinded in a freak fire was my punishment for lying to you before. But it was worth it. Let's shag."
So they did. And then, mysteriously, Jack's eyesight came back to almost normal.
And they all lived happily ever after. Except for Kelly, the American bitch who had to die because really, all American women want to do is spend money and have fun.
*************************************
Born in a cardboard box, Ashley knew she had to keep this job. She'd grown up wearing cardboard shoes, newspaper hats, had no schooling, and was unable to find any job that didn't involve living in a mysterious mansion with a rich, moody employer who eyed her ragged clothes with knowing desire.
"Shall I tell you about my horrible ghastly war experiences?" Jack asked, his black eyes flashing moodily in the firelight. "Or would you rather go upstairs and shag?"
"I hardly know you, sir," Ashley said demurely. "Let's go for a walk around your secluded estate, and then we can shag afterwards."
Jack found her mysterious, this ragged little woman with the hungry look who kept gnawing on the stale hunks of cheese he left in the kitchen for the mice. Instead of just shagging her at once he found himself telling her about the war. Next thing he knew, he was dictating a memoir that was sure to be a classic. But something was missing. So they shagged.
"I love you, Ashley," he said afterwards. "You really listen and you type everything I say with no mistakes. I want to marry you and give you a life of luxury."
"But Jack," she murmured. "I hardly know you." Then, with a new boldness born of shared passion, she added, "I think we should shag some more."
Throughout the days that followed, they shagged. And they walked in the pure clean air. And he told her how much he loved her. And they shagged.
And then he gave her the ring.
"Oh, Jack," she said. "It's beautiful!" Yet part of Ashely was unsure. Was this a marriage proposal? Or did he just want to shag her some more while she wore nothing but a fabulous diamond ring?
Just then an evil man came laughing into the room. "Remember my sister, you English jerk? Huh? What about my sister, the one you married?"
Ashley's whole world fell apart. She saw herself back in that cardboard box, wearing newspaper hats and gnawing on gravel. "Jack how could you?" she asked.
His eyes were black and moody as he told her the truth. "After I killed all those terrorists single handed just by brooding them to death, I went to America. It's a terrible place, Ashley. Too much sunlight, people laughing and having fun. And then I met . . . Kelly. I shouldn't have married her, but I needed to forget. She was blonde, and she liked to party. Party, party, party, all day and all night. It's like a sickness with these American women. All she wanted to do was have fun. And spend my money. I couldn't stand it. One day I told her it couldn't last. She laughed and said I'd never be free. Or if I did divorce her, I'd have to pay alimony. Bloody Yanks, always talking money. So we had a little tug of war with the steering wheel of my speeding sportscar, and I won. Kelly's in a coma now. Damned shame, isn't it?"
"Tragic," Ashley agreed. "Jack, you suck. I can never trust you again."
Ashley went away. She inherited tons of money from nowhere. She got a new job, and began a new life. Then one day she heard from Jack's housekeeper.
"There's been a terrible fire. Jack's blind. He needs you. Come back."
"Okay," said Ashley.
"Ashley? Is that you?" Jack was brooding away, all broken and helpless. He needed her.
"I'm here," she said. "Should we shag now or later?"
"My horrible American wife is dead." Jack looked extra super moody. "I know being blinded in a freak fire was my punishment for lying to you before. But it was worth it. Let's shag."
So they did. And then, mysteriously, Jack's eyesight came back to almost normal.
And they all lived happily ever after. Except for Kelly, the American bitch who had to die because really, all American women want to do is spend money and have fun.
September 15, 2023
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I'm shocked that this was published as late as 2011 because it felt like the hero was one glass of scotch away from calling the heroine a "little fool" and demanding that she bring him his slippers. In this Jane Eyre retelling, Jane is "Ashley," an eighteen-year-old woman who grew up in an orphanage and is now doing temp work to pay for her poor person life. When we meet her, she's on the way to be the writing assistant of a dude who writes crusty old military novels, named Jack Marchant. He almost runs her over with his horse while gallivanting around his charmingly anachronistic gothic mansion. Take THAT, solicitors!
***WARNING: SPOILERS***
This is kind of like what I imagine Lifetime would churn out if they decided to make a modern-day Jane Eyre. Kendrick made the decision to remove Adele from the book, and instead of being crazy, the previous wife is a total spoiled bitch. She's in a coma instead of being locked in the attic, and we learn that she got her injury because she was slapping the hero and being like, "Why won't you give me more alimony?" just before he accidentally crashed his car into a palm tree.
Parts of this book were pretty well done, but I think the ending felt really messy and relied too much on coincidence. Especially the climax with the wife and how Marchant gets blinded. It was so stupid and UGH. JANE EYRE's climax was tragic, but Jane left because she was trying to preserve her dignity and do the right thing, and Edward was stubborn and arrogant, which led to his own ruin. Here, these characters are just foolish and don't communicate, so Ashley comes across as feeling very TSTL and so does Jack, who gets blinded b/c he couldn't let the firemen do their jobs and got booped in the face with a flaming plank.
I would actually probably read more from this author because I thought the gothic atmosphere was entertaining, but I wanted way more from it, and way less condescension from the hero. And also, infinitely less stupidity from everyone.
2.5 stars
May 21, 2019
I really liked this retelling of Jane Eyre, minus the crazy lady in the attic. I was in tortured H mode today and this was a top choice.
The h is a sweet innocent and the H is a wicked man of the world. He lurves her, but lies about his marital status and gets punished by blindness that is miraculously cured with the power of #truelurve. Great story and nice HEA.
Plus BLINDNESS that is only cured by TrueLurve (and no arm amputation required,) is my ALL TIME Favoritist HPlandia/HRtropia thing EVER. There were two extra stars for that. :P
The h is a sweet innocent and the H is a wicked man of the world. He lurves her, but lies about his marital status and gets punished by blindness that is miraculously cured with the power of #truelurve. Great story and nice HEA.
Plus BLINDNESS that is only cured by TrueLurve (and no arm amputation required,) is my ALL TIME Favoritist HPlandia/HRtropia thing EVER. There were two extra stars for that. :P
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May 20, 2019I could not finish this. It's a re-telling of Jane Eyre and it's such a literal retelling* without any of the philosophy/wisdom/insight of the original novel that I'm going to have to nope out.
This Rochester is sleezy in how he seduces a teenager in his household. This Jane comes off as robotic in how she handles finding out he's married. And that's where I had to stop.
The source material is not a romance. I would say it's a Bildungsroman - a story of Jane's life from her childhood to her happy ending as a wealthy woman in her own right with a husband of her choosing and a baby.
As Wikipedia helpfully explains. "In a Bildungsroman, the goal is maturity, and the protagonist achieves it gradually and with difficulty. The genre often features a main conflict between the main character and society."
Jane's romance, betrayal, and then reconciliation with Rochester is only part of her story. In a magnificent speech to Rochester, Jane claims her personhood, her value as an individual - no matter what society says about her status and worth. That's thrilling stuff. This story, not so much.
And I could write about Jane Eyre all day, but I'll quit while I'm ahead.
*At least he didn't keep his comatose wife in the attic,
This Rochester is sleezy in how he seduces a teenager in his household. This Jane comes off as robotic in how she handles finding out he's married. And that's where I had to stop.
The source material is not a romance. I would say it's a Bildungsroman - a story of Jane's life from her childhood to her happy ending as a wealthy woman in her own right with a husband of her choosing and a baby.
As Wikipedia helpfully explains. "In a Bildungsroman, the goal is maturity, and the protagonist achieves it gradually and with difficulty. The genre often features a main conflict between the main character and society."
Jane's romance, betrayal, and then reconciliation with Rochester is only part of her story. In a magnificent speech to Rochester, Jane claims her personhood, her value as an individual - no matter what society says about her status and worth. That's thrilling stuff. This story, not so much.
And I could write about Jane Eyre all day, but I'll quit while I'm ahead.
*At least he didn't keep his comatose wife in the attic,
November 6, 2021
2.5-stars
MEH or the BAD: ***SPOILERS***
H cheated with h on his comatose wife (who'd been in the hospital in the US for 2 years since the car accident, which happened around the time he'd talk to her about getting a divorce). 35yo recluse military-writer H seduced & devirginized “mousy” live-in-typist virgin 18yo h without telling her he was still married. Instead, he tells her to keep their affair a secret. They went weeks with their secret affair, including the time after H told her he loved her/proposed/& gave her an engagement ring he told her to wear only in private.
h's character improved in 1 way but then kinda regressed later. She did great moving on from H with her work & finding a new social life during the months after she left him. UNTIL she got a phone call from H's housekeeper re: the manor fire & resulting H's blindness. Then, she IMMEDIATELY dropped her job & went to H. She'd decided to take care of him no matter what, even before knowing that H's was now a widower since H got a phone call the same day that h left informing him that his wife died. H's character somewhat improved but nothing too impressive. H realized after h left that he wasn't worthy of her & chose to not go after her, ever since he admitted to being a selfish man who seduced h without her knowledge of his marital status in order to get his way & that he deserved her not wanting to be with him due to his betrayal of her trust. But good thing for him that she chose to go back to him/forgive all/& give him another chance, which would be hard to mess up since he was blind & physically dependent on h. If he didn't become blind, H would probably never have gone after h & groveled to convince her to give him another chance since he was still prideful & self-pitying.
The GOOD:
h's quiet & reclusive character was one set with honesty & instinctive wisdom she usually relied on. Except when she finally succumbed to H's seductions. When she found out H's still-married-with-a-comatose-wife secret from an unexpected visit from his brother-in-law, I liked that she confronts H about lying & deceiving her into an affair he knew she wouldn't have agreed to if he told her his marital status & basically told him she could never trust him again. Then, left him.
Liked the extended epilogue with H&h married & years later have a son & h preggo again with H being able to see on 1 eye and the the manor rebuilt to become a blind living facility while H&h lived in a smaller house nearby,
Good overall writing/pacing. Average sexual chemistry/sex scenes/emotionality with bit of angst from h's pain of betrayal from H but didn't feel so heart-wrenching.
Sexual History:
No clear history whether 18yo h dated at all since she'd had a traumatizing time being shuffled from 1 foster home to another with some emotional abuse here & there. She was wary of men due to her druggie mother's history with men since she was young. She was a virgin with h & didn't date anyone during their months-long separation. Hinted at that H had cheated with other women (including the OW he brought to his house with 2 other guests who h heard creep around 1 night to what sounded like H's bedroom but h never did ask him about it) during the 2-year period since his wife's coma. No mention of anyone H dated or smexxed after h left. Only that he was very depressed & morose, even more so after he became blind.
MEH or the BAD: ***SPOILERS***
H cheated with h on his comatose wife (who'd been in the hospital in the US for 2 years since the car accident, which happened around the time he'd talk to her about getting a divorce). 35yo recluse military-writer H seduced & devirginized “mousy” live-in-typist virgin 18yo h without telling her he was still married. Instead, he tells her to keep their affair a secret. They went weeks with their secret affair, including the time after H told her he loved her/proposed/& gave her an engagement ring he told her to wear only in private.
h's character improved in 1 way but then kinda regressed later. She did great moving on from H with her work & finding a new social life during the months after she left him. UNTIL she got a phone call from H's housekeeper re: the manor fire & resulting H's blindness. Then, she IMMEDIATELY dropped her job & went to H. She'd decided to take care of him no matter what, even before knowing that H's was now a widower since H got a phone call the same day that h left informing him that his wife died. H's character somewhat improved but nothing too impressive. H realized after h left that he wasn't worthy of her & chose to not go after her, ever since he admitted to being a selfish man who seduced h without her knowledge of his marital status in order to get his way & that he deserved her not wanting to be with him due to his betrayal of her trust. But good thing for him that she chose to go back to him/forgive all/& give him another chance, which would be hard to mess up since he was blind & physically dependent on h. If he didn't become blind, H would probably never have gone after h & groveled to convince her to give him another chance since he was still prideful & self-pitying.
The GOOD:
h's quiet & reclusive character was one set with honesty & instinctive wisdom she usually relied on. Except when she finally succumbed to H's seductions. When she found out H's still-married-with-a-comatose-wife secret from an unexpected visit from his brother-in-law, I liked that she confronts H about lying & deceiving her into an affair he knew she wouldn't have agreed to if he told her his marital status & basically told him she could never trust him again. Then, left him.
Liked the extended epilogue with H&h married & years later have a son & h preggo again with H being able to see on 1 eye and the the manor rebuilt to become a blind living facility while H&h lived in a smaller house nearby,
Good overall writing/pacing. Average sexual chemistry/sex scenes/emotionality with bit of angst from h's pain of betrayal from H but didn't feel so heart-wrenching.
Sexual History:
No clear history whether 18yo h dated at all since she'd had a traumatizing time being shuffled from 1 foster home to another with some emotional abuse here & there. She was wary of men due to her druggie mother's history with men since she was young. She was a virgin with h & didn't date anyone during their months-long separation. Hinted at that H had cheated with other women (including the OW he brought to his house with 2 other guests who h heard creep around 1 night to what sounded like H's bedroom but h never did ask him about it) during the 2-year period since his wife's coma. No mention of anyone H dated or smexxed after h left. Only that he was very depressed & morose, even more so after he became blind.
January 23, 2015
When Ashley was very young her no good mother died and Ashley went into the foster system. The fictional foster system sounds even more awful than fictional orphanages, and at least in a fictional orphanage you might get the opportunity to do a musical number with your fellow orphans. In the foster system, the best you can hope for is to be locked in a cupboard with rats. Ashley got the cupboard and had a seizure. She’s wrapped herself in layers of silence and isolation ever since, and because she is a tiny drab of a person, she goes unnoticed. Ashley started working full-time when she was sixteen, and two years later, she’s taken a job with a wealthy ex-soldier turned writer, and as the book opens she arrives at his big house in the Remote North. Ashley’s job will be to type up his manuscript.
She needs the money not only to support herself, but because she has debts. I don’t think I ever found out exactly what these debts were, and they puzzled me. She had no assets, no blackmailers, and no money-draining recently deceased family members. Romance heroines are never in trouble for simple reasons, like credit card debt, and the most extravagant thing a romance heroine ever buys is a double-shot rather than a regular skinny cap. And she’s wracked with guilt for weeks afterwards, over that extra fifty cents.
Ashley’s grim life and independent spirit lend her a maturity beyond her eighteen years. Or, you know, she’s a normal eighteen year old with that air of maturity because that’s how you behave at eighteen, until you once again realise that you are young, and that it’s ok to be young, and that the boundaries between child and adult aren’t set by whatever birthday is chosen to define you as adult for a variety of purposes. Being an adult for Ashley still means that she believes anyone who tells her that she is being immature, when honestly, being an adult actually means telling anyone who uses that line to bugger off, you’re not falling for that again. Ashley’s now stuck in a house with only an older man for company. He’s good looking and smart (he writes books!) he’s her social superior (he lives in a vast mansion he inherited!) and he’s a hero (he was at war!). It’s not at all unreasonable for her to harbour a big enormous crush on him.
Jack is a whole other story, because Jack is a creeper. With a generous squint, he’s twice as old as Ashely, but is perhaps even older. His immediate perception of Ashley is that she’s a plain little thing in ugly clothes with a too-serious face. However, she does have this youthful glow about her, and this is Jack’s obsession. She’s got young skin and young limbs and she moves like the young move and youth just wafts off her like a pheromone. Eighteen? She looks younger. Jack is much turned on. So turned on in, fact, that he begins to wonder if she’s doing it on purpose, the little tease. Surely she knows how turned on he is by the way she types up his manuscript, so quiet, so thoughtful. She’s trying to seduce him! He knows exactly how these plain orphan girls operate! So Jack spends his time daydreaming of stripping her naked and possessing her young skinny body, and it made me shudder. I could not get into him on any level.
‘The Forbidden Wife’ is ‘Jane Eyre, the Outline.’ I debated with myself for quite some time about how pointless comparisons are … but I couldn’t let it go. Therefore: Rochester.
Rochester was the first man I ever fell in love with, and I refuse to be objective about him. I read him before I read his clones and he’s perfect. Perhaps Rochester was really into Jane because he started to think that she was both hot and accessible, but what we get in the book is a far more romantic ‘into her’ story, because Rochester is clearly turned on by Jane’s brain. They talk and talk and talk, and he’s gruff and she’s candid and clear eyed and she won’t back down and he’s hooked. Whether or not as a reader of ‘Jane Eyre’ you can find this entirely credible is up to you. I choose to find any number of things that are less credible acceptable in forming a relationship between two characters, so I’m more than fine with it. When the crisis occurs between Rochester and Jane, it’s clear that he knows and understands his degree of culpability. He knows his faults, but his soul cry is: haven’t I suffered enough? You, my fairy spirit bird creature, are my only hope for true redemption! For me, he’s equally wrenchingly sympathetic and monstrously selfish. It’s much attempted, but very rarely does that mix come off perfectly right.
Jack’s culpability is foreshadowed where Rochester’s was not. He thinks it’s interesting that Ashley is talking about obstacles to them doing it, and forming a permanent doing it arrangement, because phew, she doesn’t know the real reason, which would probably be a pretty winning argument, come to think of it. Which he doesn’t. Jack is at a disadvantage because he has been a hero, and Rochester never has. Rochester knew all along that he had been a villain, and only found reason to become a better man at around the time he met Jane. She wasn’t quite the trigger, but she played a big part in his change. Jack believed all along that he was the hero. His troubles were that he was weak and lead astray because he was traumatised (thanks for only pretending to see your own culpability, jerk). While he may also truly believe that he has suffered enough and deserves a shot at happiness, I don’t. Ashley has no part in making him change – he dismisses her objections to their relationship, based on the inequality of their backgrounds, as nonsense. As something only a foolish young girl would notice.
Look, there are thousands of books out there about the governess who fell in love with the lord of the manor, and how their love was threatened by something in his past. There are also books where I’m pretty sure that Jane Eyre has basically ended up with a sexier but still awful John Reed (or maybe that’s wishful thinking on my part) or a slightly less intensely scary St John Rivers. It’s a great outline, and I’ve no objection to it in principle. I don’t think some sort of sin against beloved classics has been committed. I just think that on its own merits, ‘The Forbidden Wife’ has a creepy selfish hero and a heroine who never really overcomes her inherent drabness.
She needs the money not only to support herself, but because she has debts. I don’t think I ever found out exactly what these debts were, and they puzzled me. She had no assets, no blackmailers, and no money-draining recently deceased family members. Romance heroines are never in trouble for simple reasons, like credit card debt, and the most extravagant thing a romance heroine ever buys is a double-shot rather than a regular skinny cap. And she’s wracked with guilt for weeks afterwards, over that extra fifty cents.
Ashley’s grim life and independent spirit lend her a maturity beyond her eighteen years. Or, you know, she’s a normal eighteen year old with that air of maturity because that’s how you behave at eighteen, until you once again realise that you are young, and that it’s ok to be young, and that the boundaries between child and adult aren’t set by whatever birthday is chosen to define you as adult for a variety of purposes. Being an adult for Ashley still means that she believes anyone who tells her that she is being immature, when honestly, being an adult actually means telling anyone who uses that line to bugger off, you’re not falling for that again. Ashley’s now stuck in a house with only an older man for company. He’s good looking and smart (he writes books!) he’s her social superior (he lives in a vast mansion he inherited!) and he’s a hero (he was at war!). It’s not at all unreasonable for her to harbour a big enormous crush on him.
Jack is a whole other story, because Jack is a creeper. With a generous squint, he’s twice as old as Ashely, but is perhaps even older. His immediate perception of Ashley is that she’s a plain little thing in ugly clothes with a too-serious face. However, she does have this youthful glow about her, and this is Jack’s obsession. She’s got young skin and young limbs and she moves like the young move and youth just wafts off her like a pheromone. Eighteen? She looks younger. Jack is much turned on. So turned on in, fact, that he begins to wonder if she’s doing it on purpose, the little tease. Surely she knows how turned on he is by the way she types up his manuscript, so quiet, so thoughtful. She’s trying to seduce him! He knows exactly how these plain orphan girls operate! So Jack spends his time daydreaming of stripping her naked and possessing her young skinny body, and it made me shudder. I could not get into him on any level.
‘The Forbidden Wife’ is ‘Jane Eyre, the Outline.’ I debated with myself for quite some time about how pointless comparisons are … but I couldn’t let it go. Therefore: Rochester.
Rochester was the first man I ever fell in love with, and I refuse to be objective about him. I read him before I read his clones and he’s perfect. Perhaps Rochester was really into Jane because he started to think that she was both hot and accessible, but what we get in the book is a far more romantic ‘into her’ story, because Rochester is clearly turned on by Jane’s brain. They talk and talk and talk, and he’s gruff and she’s candid and clear eyed and she won’t back down and he’s hooked. Whether or not as a reader of ‘Jane Eyre’ you can find this entirely credible is up to you. I choose to find any number of things that are less credible acceptable in forming a relationship between two characters, so I’m more than fine with it. When the crisis occurs between Rochester and Jane, it’s clear that he knows and understands his degree of culpability. He knows his faults, but his soul cry is: haven’t I suffered enough? You, my fairy spirit bird creature, are my only hope for true redemption! For me, he’s equally wrenchingly sympathetic and monstrously selfish. It’s much attempted, but very rarely does that mix come off perfectly right.
Jack’s culpability is foreshadowed where Rochester’s was not. He thinks it’s interesting that Ashley is talking about obstacles to them doing it, and forming a permanent doing it arrangement, because phew, she doesn’t know the real reason, which would probably be a pretty winning argument, come to think of it. Which he doesn’t. Jack is at a disadvantage because he has been a hero, and Rochester never has. Rochester knew all along that he had been a villain, and only found reason to become a better man at around the time he met Jane. She wasn’t quite the trigger, but she played a big part in his change. Jack believed all along that he was the hero. His troubles were that he was weak and lead astray because he was traumatised (thanks for only pretending to see your own culpability, jerk). While he may also truly believe that he has suffered enough and deserves a shot at happiness, I don’t. Ashley has no part in making him change – he dismisses her objections to their relationship, based on the inequality of their backgrounds, as nonsense. As something only a foolish young girl would notice.
Look, there are thousands of books out there about the governess who fell in love with the lord of the manor, and how their love was threatened by something in his past. There are also books where I’m pretty sure that Jane Eyre has basically ended up with a sexier but still awful John Reed (or maybe that’s wishful thinking on my part) or a slightly less intensely scary St John Rivers. It’s a great outline, and I’ve no objection to it in principle. I don’t think some sort of sin against beloved classics has been committed. I just think that on its own merits, ‘The Forbidden Wife’ has a creepy selfish hero and a heroine who never really overcomes her inherent drabness.
April 27, 2018
I’m still reeling that this wasn’t written sometime in the 1970s.
Straight from Pinewood Studios, comes this production of
.
The brooding, dressed in black Bronte-ish hero has just passionately kissed the plaingoverness secretary. She turns and runs. He follows, enraged that she is willing to deny her passion. When she rejects him a second time because he’s her employer and of a higher station, he internalizes the ridiculousness of lowly HER rejecting HIM for wanting to scratch an itch.
My first thought as he left in a huff is he’s going to go find another woman.
Yep, he leaves for London as she stays and works. He brings his fancy piece back, and here are my predictions for the rest of the book.
1. The fancy piece will be rude and snotty, and either has dark hair or red hair. Yeah, not really a guess is it, but more of a given.
Yes, she had dark hair. She wasn't a bee-yotch.
2. A male side piece will have come along that sets his eyes on the heroine which scares her and pisses the hero off.
Nope, that didn't happen either.
3. The hero will force her to dine with everyone, and she will fumble around wondering what to wear and yank out a vanilla in EVERY-WAY-if-you-know-what-I-mean navy or beige dress with a built-in Peter Pan collar that drives all the men wild despite there being a temptress sitting in sinning go-to-hell red satin.
Darn! How could I have forgotten governess grey? But the OW was dressed in tiny scarlet silk.
4. The heroine will see the h and SP in a clinch at some point where she will go into the garden and eat worms as no one asawful wonderful as the arrogant POS H could ever love the h, AND/OR the H will see the h in a clinch with the male SP and accuse her of being a really bad girl.
Nope, not that either.
5. At some point the H might have a nightmare from all his angsty pre-h moments that she soothes him over and where once again he tries to put the moves on her. Oh, that treacherous body alert.
Lost my touch.
5. The h will either run from an attempted rape by the male SP or a forced seduction from the H. She will get lost on the moors, because of course this is set in Yorkshire, wherein the H fears for her life and realizes that pale,self-pitying bathmats are his cup of tea.
Well, part of that is right.
Review
Apart from getting the potential OW's hair and dress right, I was a loser on this. I knew other reviewers said this was based on "Jane Eyre", but I didn't realize quite how much. I am surprised that Charlotte Bronte's estate hasn't sued, but I guess it's JE is public domain now. Every detail down. Too bad it was a little boring.
I think my favorite line is when he compares her skin to silk and wants to make a shirt out of it so he can wear it.
Straight from Pinewood Studios, comes this production of
.The brooding, dressed in black Bronte-ish hero has just passionately kissed the plain
My first thought as he left in a huff is he’s going to go find another woman.
Yep, he leaves for London as she stays and works. He brings his fancy piece back, and here are my predictions for the rest of the book.
1. The fancy piece will be rude and snotty, and either has dark hair or red hair. Yeah, not really a guess is it, but more of a given.
Yes, she had dark hair. She wasn't a bee-yotch.
2. A male side piece will have come along that sets his eyes on the heroine which scares her and pisses the hero off.
Nope, that didn't happen either.
3. The hero will force her to dine with everyone, and she will fumble around wondering what to wear and yank out a vanilla in EVERY-WAY-if-you-know-what-I-mean navy or beige dress with a built-in Peter Pan collar that drives all the men wild despite there being a temptress sitting in sinning go-to-hell red satin.
Darn! How could I have forgotten governess grey? But the OW was dressed in tiny scarlet silk.
4. The heroine will see the h and SP in a clinch at some point where she will go into the garden and eat worms as no one as
Nope, not that either.
5. At some point the H might have a nightmare from all his angsty pre-h moments that she soothes him over and where once again he tries to put the moves on her. Oh, that treacherous body alert.
Lost my touch.
5. The h will either run from an attempted rape by the male SP or a forced seduction from the H. She will get lost on the moors, because of course this is set in Yorkshire, wherein the H fears for her life and realizes that pale,self-pitying bathmats are his cup of tea.
Well, part of that is right.
Review
Apart from getting the potential OW's hair and dress right, I was a loser on this. I knew other reviewers said this was based on "Jane Eyre", but I didn't realize quite how much. I am surprised that Charlotte Bronte's estate hasn't sued, but I guess it's JE is public domain now. Every detail down. Too bad it was a little boring.
I think my favorite line is when he compares her skin to silk and wants to make a shirt out of it so he can wear it.
December 18, 2015
Tengo esta novelita en físico y vagamente recordaba cierto problema con el héroe , pero esta vez me puse a leerla completa y me gustó bastante. Ella, Ashley Jones, como prota de Sharon K, luce muy bien ^^/. A pesar de sus dieciocho años, es muy madura y en todo momento hizo lo que una esperaba que hiciera... Hay ciertas rispideces que me hacen pensar: "Yo ni loca hago eso", pero incluso en el final, ella nos demuestra que a pesar de sufrir por un amor roto, la vida no tiene por qué ir mal en otros aspectos. Ella logra vivir sin él, y cuando regresa es porque se da cuenta de que realmente lo quiere.
Lo ubico en la shelf de "cheating-hero" porque él, aunque se enamora de ella y es feliz a su lado, carga con una esposa en estado vegetativo. No es que vaya y se acueste con ella, pero sí ya ocultarle eso a la heroína me pareció muy bajo. El final me gustó porque muestra lo que ocurre años después y cómo ambos logran superarse y seguir juntos, felizmente.
Lo ubico en la shelf de "cheating-hero" porque él, aunque se enamora de ella y es feliz a su lado, carga con una esposa en estado vegetativo. No es que vaya y se acueste con ella, pero sí ya ocultarle eso a la heroína me pareció muy bajo. El final me gustó porque muestra lo que ocurre años después y cómo ambos logran superarse y seguir juntos, felizmente.
January 29, 2014
Oh the melodrama! Actually this was a pretty well done retelling of Jane Eyre. It had that gothic feel and tone. The middle of the story was the strongest part. The end, since it pretty much had to follow the original storyline, was the weakest. While it worked in the original, it just was a bit too much to have him blinded. That was the one place where following the original storyline didn't work so well. All in all a fun read.
August 22, 2018
She’s an eighteen year old, young, vulnerable orphan raised in foster care that took a live in job as his secretary.
He’s a thirty-something tormented war hero/author in need of help to write his current book.
Together they work together, walk the moors together and eventually end up in bed together.
He spoke words of love and made promises for the future...but in secret. No one can know.
She believed his words and promises until her hopes and dreams were smashed by his visiting .... brother-in-law!
His secrets are finally told and they ain’t pretty.
She ran away.
His beautiful house burned down.
He was injured.
She ran back.
And they lived Happily Ever After.
He’s a thirty-something tormented war hero/author in need of help to write his current book.
Together they work together, walk the moors together and eventually end up in bed together.
He spoke words of love and made promises for the future...but in secret. No one can know.
She believed his words and promises until her hopes and dreams were smashed by his visiting .... brother-in-law!
His secrets are finally told and they ain’t pretty.
She ran away.
His beautiful house burned down.
He was injured.
She ran back.
And they lived Happily Ever After.
June 22, 2011
i did pick out some lightweight books to read today, and this unfortunately was one of them. it was also a rehash of jane eyre and mr rochester and not a good one. i'm going to have to start being a little more picky about the books i pick up to read
Shelved as 'dnf'
January 18, 2012I couldn't get into this -- it seemed to so thoroughly miss the point.
Read
December 30, 2020Gave up @ 36%
June 3, 2021
After her mother died, Ashley Jones spent her childhood in care and foster homes. Alone in the world, she desperately needs her new live-in job as an author's assistant. But she is filled with trepidation when she arrives at isolated Blackwood Manor and meets the formidable Jack Marchant. Ashley thinks she is just a drab nobody…but her heart goes out to handsome but arrogant, tortured Jack, though she has no idea what troubles him. What is the secret that he keeps hidden? It is only after Jack proposes marriage and Ashley joyfully accepts that she finds out…and, for this innocent bride-to-be, the truth is shocking
August 6, 2012
If I wanted to read Jane Eyre, I'd read Jane Eyre.
Read
April 3, 2022It takes a lot to get me on board with a May-December romance between a 40-ish something man and an 18 year old heroine. For whatever reason, these are an even harder sell for me in contemporaries. And the dynamic in this one just wasn't working for me. In my line of work, I've seen too many uncomfortable relationships between very young women with few options paired with controlling, much older men. This book felt too much like one of those for me to buy into the fantasy.
Add in some ultraviolet purple prose, and I gave up early. Based on some of the other reviews, it sounds like I missed out on some fairly squicky plot points, so yay for me?
Add in some ultraviolet purple prose, and I gave up early. Based on some of the other reviews, it sounds like I missed out on some fairly squicky plot points, so yay for me?
November 6, 2011
Jane Eyre is one of my absolute favorite books. I love the heroine--strong, self-contained, independent. I love the wild, cynical Mr. Rochester who loved too deeply and too much. This is why inspite of the awful reviews on Forbidden Wife, I got suckered into wasting my evening reading it. Forbidden Wife is a modern, shorter re-telling of Jane Eyre, Harlequin style.
Before writing this review, I thought whether my disappointment with the book is because I love Jane Eyre so much, therefore anything coming after it, will always fall short. Unfortunately, that is not the case. Jane Eyre inspired or not, the book was just not very good. It was not awful. It just did not live up to its promise especially when that promise is to follow Charlotte Bronte's steps.
This is probably the biggest failing of the book: the author was so conscious of Bronte's voice, of Jane Eyre's story line that she dared not stray from that plot line. Thus, the result is that the voice in the book was choppy, disconnected. It failed to take flight from the moment "go". Harlequin books are shorter than the average book, and much shorter than Jane Eyre so that when you try to take all the elements of Jane Eyre in a 180+ book, one is bound to fail.
The book starts the same way as Jane and Mr. Rochester meet thus Ashley meets Jack Marchant while she was walking, and she is almost run over by Jack's horse. The book was so condensed I did not get a good sense of what attracted them to each other. When they get together, there was no real sense of emotional connection. And when Ashley discovers that Jack is married, I was almost relieved that these two can now go their separate ways and move on. I had no sympathy for Jack, no real insight to what tortured him--he was in the Middle East as a soldier but the book provided little window to this part of his life. Ashley was not a sympathetic character. I had no admiration for her, even when she left Jack. Instead of being strong by leaving, she looked weak and immature.
There have been countless of books and even movies loosely based on classic literature. One book that comes to mind is the Bridget Jones' Diary. It was supposedly based on Pride and Prejudice. And looking back, you can recognize the theme, even the hero is named Mr. Darcy. But Helen Fielding used her own voice, and followed her characters' motivations, rather than be controlled by the plot of Pride and Prejudice.
I did not "see" Sharon's voice at all in this book unlike her other books that I've read before (and found enjoyable). There was just too much was going on in such a short book. If Sharon had stuck to the basic themes of Jane Eyre rather than following the straight plot line, the book would have made more sense.
www.chick-reads.com
Before writing this review, I thought whether my disappointment with the book is because I love Jane Eyre so much, therefore anything coming after it, will always fall short. Unfortunately, that is not the case. Jane Eyre inspired or not, the book was just not very good. It was not awful. It just did not live up to its promise especially when that promise is to follow Charlotte Bronte's steps.
This is probably the biggest failing of the book: the author was so conscious of Bronte's voice, of Jane Eyre's story line that she dared not stray from that plot line. Thus, the result is that the voice in the book was choppy, disconnected. It failed to take flight from the moment "go". Harlequin books are shorter than the average book, and much shorter than Jane Eyre so that when you try to take all the elements of Jane Eyre in a 180+ book, one is bound to fail.
The book starts the same way as Jane and Mr. Rochester meet thus Ashley meets Jack Marchant while she was walking, and she is almost run over by Jack's horse. The book was so condensed I did not get a good sense of what attracted them to each other. When they get together, there was no real sense of emotional connection. And when Ashley discovers that Jack is married, I was almost relieved that these two can now go their separate ways and move on. I had no sympathy for Jack, no real insight to what tortured him--he was in the Middle East as a soldier but the book provided little window to this part of his life. Ashley was not a sympathetic character. I had no admiration for her, even when she left Jack. Instead of being strong by leaving, she looked weak and immature.
There have been countless of books and even movies loosely based on classic literature. One book that comes to mind is the Bridget Jones' Diary. It was supposedly based on Pride and Prejudice. And looking back, you can recognize the theme, even the hero is named Mr. Darcy. But Helen Fielding used her own voice, and followed her characters' motivations, rather than be controlled by the plot of Pride and Prejudice.
I did not "see" Sharon's voice at all in this book unlike her other books that I've read before (and found enjoyable). There was just too much was going on in such a short book. If Sharon had stuck to the basic themes of Jane Eyre rather than following the straight plot line, the book would have made more sense.
www.chick-reads.com
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 20, 2011
The story begins with the heroine Ashley arriving at her new live-in post as assistant to the writer Jack, the hero. Ashley is a quiet 18 year old who is has struggled through her life, first through the foster care system where she had some awful experiences, and then in adulthood with living expenses and debts. Over the course of her life she has learned to keep her feelings inside and not let anyone close. Jack is also harbouring issues from his life experiences such as the destruction he witnessed while at war in the army, he is also holding a disturbing secret.
Jack and Ashley slowly develop feelings for one another, which eventually leads to an affair and to them falling in love. However Jack asks that their relationship is kept secret and Ashley worries that he is ashamed of her and doesn't really love her.
This was a beautifully written book, and a true love-story. This was another case of the pace of the book being absolutely perfect to the development of the story. It takes place over a good few months and it really allows for depth. The secret that Jack was hiding was a stunner when it was revealed, I was not expecting anything like it at all! It really gave the story an edge, I honestly did not know how this was going to work out. The characters were well written, and I really loved that Sharon Kendrick created both characters to be flawed, they really had trouble trusting one another as a result of their pasts yet they could not fight against the chemistry between them.
This is a modern interpretation of 'Jane Eyre' by Sharon Kendrick and one that is done very well, the whole forbidden love aspect was wonderfully executed and it had just the right amount of passion and heartbreak, plus a great HEA!
Originally posted at http://everyday-is-the-same.blogspot....
Jack and Ashley slowly develop feelings for one another, which eventually leads to an affair and to them falling in love. However Jack asks that their relationship is kept secret and Ashley worries that he is ashamed of her and doesn't really love her.
This was a beautifully written book, and a true love-story. This was another case of the pace of the book being absolutely perfect to the development of the story. It takes place over a good few months and it really allows for depth. The secret that Jack was hiding was a stunner when it was revealed, I was not expecting anything like it at all! It really gave the story an edge, I honestly did not know how this was going to work out. The characters were well written, and I really loved that Sharon Kendrick created both characters to be flawed, they really had trouble trusting one another as a result of their pasts yet they could not fight against the chemistry between them.
This is a modern interpretation of 'Jane Eyre' by Sharon Kendrick and one that is done very well, the whole forbidden love aspect was wonderfully executed and it had just the right amount of passion and heartbreak, plus a great HEA!
Originally posted at http://everyday-is-the-same.blogspot....
April 5, 2023
I love the idea of a well-written re-telling of Jane Eyre - but this wasn’t it. Ashley was like no 18 year old that I’ve ever come across and I really found it hard to take to her - especially once she discovered his secret. Her response was so unbelievably smug, intolerant and hard to understand.
There was something really icky about the hero in his late 30s seducing an 18 year old. Today it would be seen as grooming and as such, unacceptable. Ashley’s switch from fearful, class conscious virgin to sexual adventurer was simply unbelievable. The scene where she told him she couldn’t live with herself if he divorced the wife in the coma, sounded more in tune with the original Jane Eyre’s era, than a woman in the 21st century.
I actually liked the hero, (but then I’m pro-Rochester) - I just didn’t see the attraction of a closed off, naive and judgemental adolescent.
When Jane ran off - the historical context made it understandable. The same situation now makes no sense. Yes, he should have told her but her response was totally over the top imho.
A little less melodrama and a lighter touch would have helped. And I’m sorry but the sudden inheritance was just too convenient and unimaginative. A convenient plot device which mirrored Jane Eyre, but lacked credibility.
I liked the epilogue.
SK is an accomplished writer but this one disappointed me.
There was something really icky about the hero in his late 30s seducing an 18 year old. Today it would be seen as grooming and as such, unacceptable. Ashley’s switch from fearful, class conscious virgin to sexual adventurer was simply unbelievable. The scene where she told him she couldn’t live with herself if he divorced the wife in the coma, sounded more in tune with the original Jane Eyre’s era, than a woman in the 21st century.
I actually liked the hero, (but then I’m pro-Rochester) - I just didn’t see the attraction of a closed off, naive and judgemental adolescent.
When Jane ran off - the historical context made it understandable. The same situation now makes no sense. Yes, he should have told her but her response was totally over the top imho.
A little less melodrama and a lighter touch would have helped. And I’m sorry but the sudden inheritance was just too convenient and unimaginative. A convenient plot device which mirrored Jane Eyre, but lacked credibility.
I liked the epilogue.
SK is an accomplished writer but this one disappointed me.
August 5, 2011
I don't know what to think about it really. I can accept the similarities to the Bronte book easily, it is a remake after all. I don't think it was to be a retelling, just a modernization. That said, of course it doesn't live up to the old standard, but, for what it was it wasn't bad at all. I wasn't weirded out by the age difference, I didn't mind them having sex (a copious amount actually), it was more the internal musings of Ashley/Jane which sometimes didn't ring true to me. In a modern plot I can see her feeling extremely betrayed by Jack/Rochester so much that she couldn't forgive him for it easily. But, I think in the original Jane forgave him once she'd heard his story, it was really the fact that they couldn't rightfully be together that drove her away. Not because she felt she couldn't trust him anymore. Oh whelp, guess I'm not so speechless after all.
November 20, 2011
2.5 stars
A not that good modern retelling of Jane Eyre. The relationship between Ashley and Jack is based on lust IMO, not on mutual understanding and intellectual connection. The central dilemma of the book is also not convincing.
Read An American Heir: A Modern Retelling of Jane Eyre or Jane instead. Or better yet, read the fabulous original: Jane Eyre.
A not that good modern retelling of Jane Eyre. The relationship between Ashley and Jack is based on lust IMO, not on mutual understanding and intellectual connection. The central dilemma of the book is also not convincing.
Read An American Heir: A Modern Retelling of Jane Eyre or Jane instead. Or better yet, read the fabulous original: Jane Eyre.
July 29, 2016
I read this book before, possibly under a different title. However I still didn't quite like it. It just seemed like was emotionless, only facts present. It's sad that the hero had been blinded in a fire and it's great the the heroine came back but where is the passion? I just felt like I was reading some boring autobiography.
November 19, 2014
I have read Sharon Kendrick's books before and they're pretty good. I don't think this one is my favorite though. I was expecting more. But overall I enjoyed it, the Hero's pretty much a jerk. So.. yeah. Good one.
July 6, 2011
This book was 100% a rip off from Jane Eyre. The only difference being the names were changed and there was a sex scene. Complete plagiarism, in my book.
June 5, 2019
A beautifully written modern Jane Eyre. It had its own original factors too. It was a beautiful and sweet story. I loved it and I recommend it to all.
December 4, 2020
This was a 3.5 for me so I rounded up to 4. As other reviewers stated this is a modern retelling of Jane Eyre. Someone else stated that they were surprised it hadn’t been written in the 70’s and I quite agree. So I enjoyed the book, but the dialogue had me laughing out loud at times. There were times when this played out like a B movie in the 50’s with overacting and cheesy dialogue!
“Jack!”
“Ashley! “
“Oh Jack....”
“Ashley?”
“We mustn’t Jack! It’s wrong! So very very wrong...Oh, oh my Jack...yes yes Jack!!!”
Ok so that might not have been the actual dialogue, but you get the picture.
So, this is basically like the Clueless version of Emma! However, I liked Clueless, so I was ok with this!
Side note: They rented Bridget Jones Diary which as you know is a modern retelling of Pride and Prejudice...methinks this was on purpose, and I bet SK had fun writing her version of Jane Eyre!
There is an Epilogue, so that’s a plus in my book!
“Jack!”
“Ashley! “
“Oh Jack....”
“Ashley?”
“We mustn’t Jack! It’s wrong! So very very wrong...Oh, oh my Jack...yes yes Jack!!!”
Ok so that might not have been the actual dialogue, but you get the picture.
So, this is basically like the Clueless version of Emma! However, I liked Clueless, so I was ok with this!
Side note: They rented Bridget Jones Diary which as you know is a modern retelling of Pride and Prejudice...methinks this was on purpose, and I bet SK had fun writing her version of Jane Eyre!
There is an Epilogue, so that’s a plus in my book!
March 25, 2021
I was a little surprised at how much I enjoyed this because it uses all the tropes: 18 year age difference? Check. His wife in coma and he didn't tell sweet young thing? Check. She's his secretary? Check? He ends up blind and she comes back? Yup. He regains some sight? Yes indeed. Somehow Ms. Kendrick makes all this work. I've not read much by her, just a book or two that didn't appeal, but after this I'll have to check her out.
August 8, 2019
I absolutely loved reading this story. Why couldn’t the H be honest in the beginning? Oh, right, because there has to be a turning point in the story. Ugh. They’re so perfectly matched. It got me pretty emotional at the end. Definitely, will read more of this author’s work.
March 7, 2024
Also published under the title The Forbidden Wife. One of a series of older books I found stashed away that base their romance on classic romances. This one is based on Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. Well written, but I think I prefer the original.
August 6, 2022
Modern retake on Jane Eyre. Meh.
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