J is for Jane
I’m doing folklore and book review posts to reach and please a larger audience. Previous years have shown select interest in both and to minimise blogging throughout the year, I’m focusing my efforts on April.
Focusing on an A to Z of my TBR (to be read) list, each letter will have books starting with that letter on my list, a book I’ve read and reviewed (with the review!) and one of my books matching the letter with a link about more info about the book.
I chose the books this year quite randomly from my Goodreads Want to Read page. Some are quite creatively added to letters.
If you’d rather check out my folklore post for today, go here.
You can read reviews for from previous years for this letter here and here, and my year-end reviews here, here, here and, most recently, here.
My TBR
About the Book I’ve Read
Jane Doe by Victoria Helen Stone
A double life with a single purpose: revenge.
Jane’s days at a Midwest insurance company are perfectly ordinary. She blends in well, unremarkably pretty in her floral-print dresses and extra efficient at her low-level job. She’s just the kind of woman middle manager Steven Hepsworth likes—meek, insecure, and willing to defer to a man. No one has any idea who Jane really is. Least of all Steven.
But plain Jane is hiding something. And Steven’s bringing out the worst in her.
Nothing can distract Jane from going straight for his heart: allowing herself to be seduced into Steven’s bed, to insinuate herself into his career and his family, and to expose all his dirty secrets. It’s time for Jane to dig out everything that matters to Steven. So she can take it all away.
Just as he did to her.
Check it out on Goodreads.
My Review
An excellent story from the POV of a sociopath out to avenge the death of her only friend. I liked how she studied, manipulated and destroyed her prey.
The relationship between her and her cat was so cute.
Though it’s a dark, harsh story with a MC that should by all accounts not be likeable, Jane’s first good thing is that she grieves for her friend, her second is adopting the perfect cat for her.
As she toys with Steven, she goes through so much growth and a lot about her past, and even Meg’s, is reveal in off-hand comments.
Her relationship with Luke is perfect and she seems at peace with him and her cat – even when she only sees both as temporary comforts.
I enjoyed the thrills, how she stalked her prey, the brilliant ending, and the hope at the end of the novel that not all sociopaths are doomed to become serial killers.
Trigger warnings: loads of social commentary, especially about presumed roles of women in society and that men should be judged less harshly where it comes to their desires; some disparaging commentary about religion, though given how Jane was brought up it made sense; unhealthy familial relationships; on-page sex, though not erotica; and lots of time spent in the mind of someone who would as easily destroy the lives of her enemies as kill them, whichever suits her personal comfort and needs best.
Go in with an open mind, ready for a lot of psychological thrills, and you’ll enjoy this one. Especially if you’ve ever had any revenge fantasies.
My Book
The Faery Tales Series Volume 1-3
Remember that you can request all of my books from your local library!
I hope you enjoyed this. For more books I’ve read and reviewed, check out either my Pinterest board about reviews or my Goodreads profile. Alternatively, you can check out my reviews on BookBub. Have you read any of the books? Loved or hated any of them?
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*FYI, my reviews are my honest opinion and if something bothers me, I tell it straight. How else will anything change? My opinions are based on being a voracious reader and book buyer, not an attack on the author.*
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This book sounds rather too scary for my taste, but it will certainly have a lot of fans.
I was on the fence about reading it, but a friend had recommended it, so I decided to give it a try. I don’t think I’ll read something like this again, though.
This book sounds like a fun one, to be honest. I do like a good thriller.
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Tim Brannan, The Other Side blog
2024 A to Z of Dungeons & Dragons, Celebrating 50 Years of D&D
Thrillers, well-written ones that is, are always a treat.