Review: Ironskin by Tina Connolly

Publisher: Tor Books
Series: Ironskin #1

Pages: 304

Received: Recieved from publisher through NetGalley

Release Date: October 2, 2012
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Goodreads Synopsis:

Jane Eliot wears an iron mask.

It’s the only way to contain the fey curse that scars her cheek. The Great War is five years gone, but its scattered victims remain—the ironskin.

When a carefully worded listing appears for a governess to assist with a "delicate situation"—a child born during the Great War—Jane is certain the child is fey-cursed, and that she can help.

Teaching the unruly Dorie to suppress her curse is hard enough; she certainly didn’t expect to fall for the girl’s father, the enigmatic artist Edward Rochart. But her blossoming crush is stifled by her own scars, and by his parade of women. Ugly women, who enter his closed studio...and come out as beautiful as the fey.

Jane knows Rochart cannot love her, just as she knows that she must wear iron for the rest of her life. But what if neither of these things is true? Step by step Jane unlocks the secrets of her new life—and discovers just how far she will go to become whole again.

My Review:

A book that is a retelling of JANE EYRE, bring it on, I absolutely adored JANE EYRE when I first read back in my first year of university and it's what spun me into wanting to read more of the classics. I really enjoyed the little twist of the fey magic added in to this story, it brought about a completely new telling of such a classic love story.

What really stood out in this story is that how it focuses around Jane learning about herself, she has her own issues to deal with and I loved watching her grow throughout the story. A lot of this story was about the growing relationship between Jane and Dorie as well, their story was the center of everything and it was adorable to watch them grow together and learn from one another. Though there is a romance to the story it doesn't take over, the story was touching, and I loved what Jane learns about herself and how she deals with her life.

The writing in IRONSKIN is very similar to that of the classics, really bringing the story to life. Connolly describes the setting in such a way that you can put everything in it's place, and follow the characters around. It's not often I can map out a story in my head and I really enjoy being able to see and do what the characters do. What really interested me is that most of the book takes place in one setting, though Jane does travel a little bit, the main events happen at the Rochart house, and it was interesting to find out why.

This book takes some time to get into some interesting ideas, but I liked that because Connolly takes her time, letting the readers get to know the characters and understand the history. But as the story went on Connolly added in some interesting twists that I didn't see coming, Mr. Rochart's secret really surprised me, and it actually disturbed me a tiny bit. Connolly did a great job bringing this story to life, and I loved how classic it felt to me.

If you are a fan of JANE EYRE, I think this is a great read, and could even be a great introduction for younger readers into the classic genre.