Sabrina Berndt's Reviews > Reader, I Murdered Him

Based on the description of the book, I was super excited to read it. A Victorian queer revenge YA book? It was an immediate yes. However, it left me wanting a lot more.
I liked the idea of the story, and I did like the characters. I enjoyed reading about Adele's relationships at boarding school and how they became a sort of family. A lot of stories set during this time period makes young women seem stuffy, and this story humanized them and made them seem more like regular teenagers. However, while the characters make this book enjoyable to read overall, I had a lot of issues with the plot and writing style.
The author makes it VERY clear in the beginning that the book is a Jane Eyre spinoff from Rochester's daughter's perspective. In fact, I wish I kept track of how many times Jane Eyre was name dropped in the book. It seemed like the author focused more on how to insert Jane Eyre' s story into hers that it overshadowed Adele's narrative completely for me.
I also thought the pacing was a bit odd for me. A first third of the story is a Jane Eyre retelling (which we should know if we are reading a spinoff) and the last third is Adele becoming a vigilante. Everything in between felt like filler, especially when the description is so heavy on the vigilante aspect of the story.
Overall, I think the author's idea was amazing. Again - a Victorian queer revenge YA book? YES. I think removing the Jane Eyre aspect of the book would have left the author much more leeway to experiment with the story and characters.

Thank you to HarperCollins and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!