A Breath of Eyre (Unbound, #1) by Eve Marie Mont

Emma Townsend has always believed in stories—the ones she reads voraciously, and the ones she creates in her head. Perhaps it’s because she feels like an outsider at her exclusive prep school, or because her stepmother doesn’t come close to filling the void left by her mother’s death. And her only romantic prospect—apart from a crush on her English teacher—is Gray Newman, a long-time friend who just adds to Emma’s confusion. But escape soon arrives in an old leather-bound copy of Jane Eyre.

Reading of Jane’s isolation sparks a deep sense of kinship. Then fate takes things a leap further when a lightning storm catapults Emma right into Jane’s body and her nineteenth-century world. As governess at Thornfield, Emma has a sense of belonging she’s never known—and an attraction to the brooding Mr. Rochester. Now, moving between her two realities and uncovering secrets in both, Emma must decide whether her destiny lies in the pages of Jane’s story, or in the unwritten chapters of her own . . .


Review: 


Jane Eyre is my absolute favorite classic novel, and I was inspired to read it after loving another modern retelling of Charlotte Bronte's fantastic story called Jane. So when I received A Breath of Eyre in the mail, I couldn't wait to dive right in. And I wasn't disappointed. Everybody has a novel they wish they could literally escape into--a novel they wish their life was like, a character they wish was their boyfriend, and so on. But when it happens to Emma Townsend, she's completely caught off guard. Her life at home wasn't too great, so being Jane was a nice break.


Character development was pretty much amazing, especially when you consider that Emma had two different roles throughout the novel; Jane and herself. The death of her mother had left Emma feeling empty and alone. Her personal growth during the book is an important aspect of it, as she discovers new things about her family, her friends, and the kind of person she wants to be. Gray Newman was also developed thoroughly, and I have to admit I fell a little in love with him right along with Emma. 


Eve Marie Mont balanced the two "realities" of the novel surprisingly well: Jane's world and Emma's world. And I think that, if I had never read Jane Eyre, I would have been inspired to read it. Which is, of course, a goal you must hope to achieve when writing a novel like this one. I can't wait to see what adventures Emma takes on in the upcoming sequels. 


A Breath of Eyre is scheduled for release on March 27th from Kensington. 



Grade: A+


SIMPLY NERDY BOOK REVIEWS

Kiss of Frost (Mythos Academy, #2) by Jennifer Estep

Logan Quinn was try­ing to kill me. My Spar­tan class­mate relent­lessly pur­sued me, swing­ing his sword at me over and over again, the shin­ing sil­ver blade inch­ing closer to my throat every time. A smile tugged up his lips, and his ice-blue eyes prac­ti­cally glowed with the thrill of battle. . .

I’m Gwen Frost, a second-year warrior-in-training at Mythos Acad­emy, and I have no idea how I’m going to sur­vive the rest of the semes­ter. One day, I’m get­ting schooled in sword­play by the guy who broke my heart—the drop-dead gor­geous Logan who slays me every time. Then, an invis­i­ble archer in the Library of Antiq­ui­ties decides to use me for tar­get prac­tice. And now, I find out that some­one at the acad­emy is really a Reaper bad guy who wants me dead. I’m afraid if I don’t learn how to live by the sword—with Logan’s help—I just might die by the sword. . .

Review:

Princess Leia, Frances "Baby" Houseman, Sandy, Trinity, Jane Eyre, Elizabeth Bennett, Josephine March, and Buffy. They are our idols, our favorite characters of all time. Why? They are confident. Smart. Independent. Funny. Strong-willed. In some cases, kick-ass. They are our heroines. For many of them, their time is over. Done. Not because they failed, or were defeated, or were killed. Something worse happened to them: they were forgotten. The personalities of our original favorite heroines are now embodied by new ones. Now we have Jess Mastriani, Evie, Susannah Simon, Rhine Ellery, and Mia Thermopolis.

Now we have Gwen Frost, and she is fierce in our hearts. She is smart. Independent. Funny. Strong-willed. And very much kick-ass. Not always confident, but she tries.

Basically, Jennifer Estep is a genius. I really don't know how else to better sum up my thoughts of both this novel and it's predecessor. The overall concept of the book just rocks--Spartans and Amazons and Valkyries and more, all at Mythos Academy. My new dream school. Warriors.

And to go along with any true heroine, there must be a love interest. Johnny Castle. Rob Wilkins. Mr. Rochester. Jesse de Silva. Angel. Gwen and Logan are complicated. Troubled. In love. That's just how it goes, how they work--or try to work. The suspense of their romance is just as troubling to the reader as it is to Gwen herself; we love them for it.

The writing is, not surprisingly, fantastic, because how can you possibly have such incredible ideas and such incredible stories and not be a stunning writer? You can't. It's perfectly paced, perfectly told, and drawn together without a flaw. Estep does not try and prove us wrong.

Thank God for that.


Expect to see Kiss of Frost in December from Kensington Publishing Corp. Don't worry. Only 67 days until Christmas, so it's not that far off.

Grade: A+


SIMPLY NERDY BOOK REVIEWS