usbsticky's review against another edition
4.0
Very easy to read and follow, I got into the story right away - this is a big reason why I liked the book.
Premise: Young surfer girl's parents die in accident and she goes to live with rich San Francisco family whom she's never seen before. But this family isn't what it seems to be.
There are really two parts to the book. One part is this girl's (Janie) sudden introduction to the new family and new surroundings which is really a story in itself already. The other part is the supernatural part of the story where the unearthly things happen. I actually find this second part to be underdeveloped and unnecessary. Only a small part of the book was about the supernatural and the book would have been just as good without it. OTOH if the author chose, she could have added much more supernatural stuff in. The ending was a bit rushed as well. The book is only 280 pages long and not really enough for a story with two parts. I think I would have liked this book more if it had either left out the supernatural or added a lot more of it.
Overall, a fast reading YA thriller that was enjoyable. I would read another from this author.
I got this book as a free ARC.
Premise: Young surfer girl's parents die in accident and she goes to live with rich San Francisco family whom she's never seen before. But this family isn't what it seems to be.
There are really two parts to the book. One part is this girl's (Janie) sudden introduction to the new family and new surroundings which is really a story in itself already. The other part is the supernatural part of the story where the unearthly things happen. I actually find this second part to be underdeveloped and unnecessary. Only a small part of the book was about the supernatural and the book would have been just as good without it. OTOH if the author chose, she could have added much more supernatural stuff in. The ending was a bit rushed as well. The book is only 280 pages long and not really enough for a story with two parts. I think I would have liked this book more if it had either left out the supernatural or added a lot more of it.
Overall, a fast reading YA thriller that was enjoyable. I would read another from this author.
I got this book as a free ARC.
varishaasim's review against another edition
5.0
ohmygod what??? This book completely caught me off guard. This book was completely different from what I thought it was going to be about. It took me on a roller coaster through Janie's ups and downs, ultimately emerging as heroic. Janie discovers self importance and how powerful she truly is and how her parents death doesn't have to control her. She is bombarded with secrets and revelations that keeps the book interesting and overall the story ends perfectly.
liralen's review against another edition
4.0
Nothing is ever going to beat the original (Jane Eyre is my longstanding favourite book), but I do love me a good retelling. Unearthly Things is a modern-day version with a supernatural twist. Gloomy but also not so creepy as to bother those who don't like suspense/horror/etc.
I think the first three quarters or so worked better for me than the last quarter, where a) the stakes got much more intense, and much more violent, but also b) Janie managed to squeak her way out of things like financial ruin. Not that I want financial ruin for her, of course, but I never really felt as though she was at real risk of losing everything.
But it's fun. I'd be pretty happy to read more retellings in this vein.
I think the first three quarters or so worked better for me than the last quarter, where a) the stakes got much more intense, and much more violent, but also b) Janie managed to squeak her way out of things like financial ruin. Not that I want financial ruin for her, of course, but I never really felt as though she was at real risk of losing everything.
But it's fun. I'd be pretty happy to read more retellings in this vein.
brontebabeblog's review
3.0
A mixed bag. The novel has some very clever and original elements but also suffers from cliches and the inability to work out what genre it is trying to place itself in, and who its audience is. It's not really a re-telling or re-imagining of Jane Eyre, but a young adult novel which borrows names and narrative threads from Brontë's text. Interesting but not essential reading.
kba76's review
3.0
A Jane Eyre reimagining that seems to change so much of the original I wondered whether it was time to reread.
This time round Janie is recently orphaned and has to move from her Hawaii home to live under the guardianship of the Rochester family, people she’s never heard of. Money is no object, and some members of the family are welcoming, but Janie doesn’t feel comfortable.
Within a short space of time, weird things start happening. Janie is convinced the home is haunted, and before we know it she discovers some unpalatable truths about the family who’ve taken her in. They’re robbing her blind and far from being destitute, Janie is wealthy beyond anyone’s imagining.
What follows quickly goes from entertaining to preposterous. With such a scenario there is no way lawyers would let it go so far. Once Mrs Rochester checks Janie in to a mental asylum under the name of her dead daughter I knew this was not going to be a book I’d fall in love with. Once Janie returns, I was reading out of a sense of curiosity - how bad could it get?
Sadly, this won’t go down in my reads as anything other than a bizarre experiment that went very very wrong.
This time round Janie is recently orphaned and has to move from her Hawaii home to live under the guardianship of the Rochester family, people she’s never heard of. Money is no object, and some members of the family are welcoming, but Janie doesn’t feel comfortable.
Within a short space of time, weird things start happening. Janie is convinced the home is haunted, and before we know it she discovers some unpalatable truths about the family who’ve taken her in. They’re robbing her blind and far from being destitute, Janie is wealthy beyond anyone’s imagining.
What follows quickly goes from entertaining to preposterous. With such a scenario there is no way lawyers would let it go so far. Once Mrs Rochester checks Janie in to a mental asylum under the name of her dead daughter I knew this was not going to be a book I’d fall in love with. Once Janie returns, I was reading out of a sense of curiosity - how bad could it get?
Sadly, this won’t go down in my reads as anything other than a bizarre experiment that went very very wrong.
randomteenreader11's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Child death
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Death of parent
izreadsalot's review
dark
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
disnelyse's review
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I've never read Jane Eyre, so I'm unable to compare this book to it. However, as a stand-alone book, Unearthly Things is pretty good. I think I would've liked it better if there was a bit more character development, but pretty good overall.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Grief, and Death
Moderate: Child death
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, and Forced institutionalization
satomi's review
4.0
It supposed to be a retelling of Jane Eyre. I thought it is interesting to read this one just after reading the original Jane Eyre book.
Well, the story is not really Jane Eyre, I thought. It is just borrowing the names and some situations.
Although it was spooky sometimes, I liked the book over all. I liked it because the main forcus of the story was not romance, but more of the human drama.
I am so disappointed at the Mr. Rochester on this book. I hope I will read other retelling story which writes him better...
Well, the story is not really Jane Eyre, I thought. It is just borrowing the names and some situations.
Although it was spooky sometimes, I liked the book over all. I liked it because the main forcus of the story was not romance, but more of the human drama.
I am so disappointed at the Mr. Rochester on this book. I hope I will read other retelling story which writes him better...