Ironskin

One of the reasons I read Connolly's work is for the somewhat madness-tinged darkness she brings to characters in her stories. You're never quite sure what horrific thing will happen to a character you've just grown fond of-- and it's that edginess she brings to Ironskin that makes it so worth reading. That-- and dreamy passages where small things from the story become metaphors in clever ways. Jane is an Ironskin; her face permanently scarred by a feybomb from the Great War. She wears an iron mask to hide the damage and to bottle in the curse that came along with the damage. Fey rage fills her and those around her without the mask. She takes a position at an isolated estate only to find out her young charge is also changed by the fey. Can she help Dorie enter human society? What does Dorie's father do with all those beautiful society women who come to his house? The story is loosely based on Jane Eyre, but if you're looking for a retelling that is just a twist on the original, this book is not what you're looking for. Ironskin takes some characters and loose plot outlines from Jane Eyre, but Connolly has made it totally her own by adding the mysterious fey and a country recovering from the loss of fey-run tech and war. But most of all, and this is what I look for in a book, Ironskin is about Jane and how she takes her disfigurement and her own, crippled self-image, and makes something strong. The romance is not the focus of this book (sadly.) I would have enjoyed more repartee between Edward Rochart and Jane, but Jane's own transformation as well as her work with Dorie kept me plunging along in the story. And also the aforementioned metaphor passages such as this one where Jane first sees herself as desirable: "She was not trying to seduce Edward, not trying some ploy to entrap him in the night. No, it was more the thought that with her face turned away perhaps he would see her as she should've been, a girl in a blue dress with embroidered dots like stars." Or this one where Jane, ashamed she thought of herself as beautiful, compares herself to an abandoned book in the library no one has read: "Maybe she was worth speaking to when she stood there, but when she was gone? Then, she was like the book she had taken from the library and still not returned. Because would you notice if "Ilhronian History of the 16th Century" was missing from a shelf? Not very likely. It was the sort of book you wouldn't even remember owning, seeing, or reading. And it certainly wouldn't lure you with a pretty blue spine, not when its contents were so unspeakably dull." So come to Ironskin for the fey and the Jane Eyre allusions, but stay for the horror of what Edward Rochart does and for the lovely prose. This Book's Snack Rating: Dark chocolate with cocoa nibs and chili pepper for the dark, sweet prose and the hot spice of gothic horror

Ironskin by Tina Connelly is a retelling of Jane Eyre with a fantasy twist. Unlike similar classic/fantasy blends such as Pride and Prejudice and Zombies or Jane Slayre, Ironskin avoids the humorous side of such a juxtaposition and plays it relatively straight. It tells the story of Jane Eliot, a young woman who must wear an iron mask to contain the effects of a injury sustained in the war against the fae. Although the war is long over, she is still very much an outcast and takes employment with one Mr. Rochart looking after his young daughter, Dorie. Dorie, it seems, has also been affected by the fae. What I liked The adaptation. This version, while not following the exact plotline of Jane Eyre, does an excellent job of maintaining the characterisations and emotional beats of the original story. Like Jane Eyre, our Jane Eliot lives at the fringes of her society, and this has a large influence on her character. Edward too, is very similar to the Edward Rochester of the book – his guilt for his past is a block in his admitting his feelings for Jane. Ironskin focusses mainly on the Jane/Edward relationship and hits most of the same emotional beats as the original with the love, betrayal and reunion. I didn’t feel Ironskin came quite up to the emotion of the Jane Eyre ending where Jane is finally reunited with Rochester. The fae side of the story was nicely woven in along with this key relationship. Beauty as a theme. This is an interesting theme woven throughout the novel. Jane, physically scarred as she is by the Great War, is very sensitive to this, especially as she sees the “pretty ladies” who congregate around Edward. She must decide how best to compete for the love of the man she adores. The whole fey beauty becomes a major plot point. Supporting characters. Although it focusses on Jane and Edward, I did enjoy the supporting characters in the book, especially Poole (half dwarven!) and Dorie. I liked how Jane’s relationships with them are developed through the book. The narration. I was drawn to Ironskin as much by the plot as the audio narration sample. When deciding whether to buy the Audible book or the Kindle ebook I often listen to the sample. I loved Rosalyn Landor’s voice and narration in the sample and she did not disappoint in the least. I loved the entire narration. Maybe it’s because I am British (soon to be Canadian!), I generally warm to British narrators more than American ones. Landor narrates this with a wonderfully rich received pronunciation accent and brings a lot of life to the tale. The pacing. With the focus on Jane’s time at the manor, the story moves along briskly. Like in the original, there are several hints at Rochart’s secret, and this keeps the audience intrigued. What I didn’t like. There was little I disliked about Ironskin. There were a few occasions where a more modern turn of phrase was used which I found a little off-putting, but other than that I really enjoyed it. Ironskin is the first in a series of books set in this world. The second, Copperhead, follows Jane’s younger sister, Helen. To be honest, I’ll probably give that a miss as the character of Helen rather irritating in Ironskin and I have no interest in following her story. However, the third book, Silverblind, due out later this year follows a grown up Dorie. Now that I am interested in, and will certainly pick it up in audiobook when it’s available. I gave Ironskin four and a half stars out of five.

I absolutely love Tina Connelly and was disappointed to read this highly touted novel. Her Toasted Cake podcast is second to none, her narrations are spot on and selection of short stories superb. The novel left me feeling robbed of the time spend to slog through the story. I guess I was disappointed in the quality of the characters. The ending was rushed and could have been expanded to further the understanding of the strange finale. I could see the parallel with Jane Eyre, but the story just did not feel 'real'. I never felt part of the world this was set in.

I liked the strong female main character. I liked how her emotional flaw was literally made visible on her face. Her journey to accepting her flaw and making it into a strength was really well written. The metaphor that iron, a strong metal, which was masking the symptoms, was actually weakening its wearers was well done. The protagonist goes from the appearance of strength to finding her real strength.

I was drawn to Ironskin by the pretty cover and because I like fey stories. Obviously the book is a retelling of Jane Eyre and though I've read a few classics, I have to admit that I haven't read this one yet. Overall, the book was a bit boring plotwise but really beautifully written, thus kind of hard to review. After the Great War, there's not much a woman with a fey scar can do. So, Jane applies for a position as governess out in the country. She wears an iron mask to contain her personal fey curse: feeling and amplifying people's rage. Her new employer, Edward Rochard, pursues some mysterious business in his manor. Jane feels immediately drawn to his cloaked manners. As governess she works with Dorie, Edward's daughter. But Dorie isn't a normal child, she has some special fey talents herself and Jane tries to teach her how to behave more sociably. Because in this world, the fey are the enemies and Jane will do anything to protect those she loves. After a few pages already, it becomes obvious that this is no typical fantasy book. It's not exactly YA even though there are no explicit sexual or violent scenes. The style is sophisticated and wonderful to read. I couldn't really get into Jane though she seemed like a strong woman. And I have to admit that I sort of disliked Edward. He couldn't ever say anything directly, just got lost in hints and suggestions. I liked the minor characters much better, like Poule and Cook. The love story between Jane and Edward was hard to believe. There didn't seem any reason at all to feel something for each other. It is a very quiet and subtle love story without much passion or excitement. The plot of the first three quarters of the book is easily summarized in a few sentences and then there's a lot happening in the end. But I have to admit that I was bored quite often. Overall, Ironskin was a nice read. I liked the setting a lot, the dark and lonely manor in the country, but there could have been a lot more happening throughout the book for my liking. Maybe, fans of Jane Eyre will be able to enjoy the novel even more as they can discover all the parallels which I didn't see. I'm not sure whether I'll read the next book, Copperhead, which has been released recently. It seems to focus mainly on Helen, Jane's sister, who doesn't intrigue me too much.

This novel is basically Jane Eyre with fae, which isn't a bad thing. The hero is brooding with a Dark Secret, his daughter is adorably contrary, and the main character flawed but strong. I couldn't put it down, and the only reason I haven't given it 5 stars is the ending. It seemed a bit rush, and I wondered about the feasibility of the more gruesome aspect of it. I'll be looking out for the sequels.

"Ironskin" est très ouvertement inspiré des "Hauts de Hurlevent". Et contrairement aux "Hauts de Hurlevent" qui ne m'ont jamais fait vibrer, le basculement de l'histoire dans un univers steampunk, introduisant plus d'imaginaire et de mystères, m'a permis de lire avec avidité ce roman. Dans une sorte d'Angleterre d'après-guerre, dévastée après un conflit contre les fairies, M. Rochart cherche sans relâche la gouvernante idéale pouvant prendre soin de sa petite fille très spéciale. Ce veuf vit seul avec sa fille et trois serviteurs (une cuisinière, une bonne et un majordome au sexe indéterminé et à la taille très réduite) dans une maison anciennement créée par les fairies, et disposant encore de quelques technologies "fairies" (la lumière et quelques appareils mécaniques). Il auditionne Jane, une jeune fille pauvre qui a eu la moitié du visage détruit par une bombe fairy, et contrainte de garder un masque de fer sur cette partie pour éviter que le sort fairy ne se répande (toute personne à proximité d'une personne touchée par un sort fairy se trouve influencée à son tour par ce sort). Chez certains il peut s'agir de Gloutonnerie, chez elle il s'agit de Rage. Jane, considérée comme les autres victimes des fairies comme des "intouchables", des pestiférés, va s'épanouir dans ce rôle de gouvernante. Toute la première partie du roman est très fidèle au roman originel et distille une ambiance gothique que j'ai beaucoup appréciée. C'est une partie d' "atmosphère", que certains autres lecteurs ont trouvé ennuyeuse. La deuxième partie est un peu trop en rupture avec la première, ce qui explique mon évaluation à 4 étoiles. Le rythme devient trépidant, entre découverte de l'activité cachée de M. Rochart, l'intervention des fairies etc. C'est une partie beaucoup plus classique d'un roman steampunk, intéressante certes pour l'univers décrit, mais qui m'a parue beaucoup moins soignée que la première partie. Mention spéciale au personnage de la petite fille: les auteurs font la plupart du temps des enfants des êtres angéliques et parfaits, ou brûlés par la vie, ce qui n'est pas je pense tout à fait conforme à la réalité. Ici c'est une peste, mais la patience de Jane nous permet de voir que, avec l'éducation et l'écoute appropriée, elle devient tout à fait normale (à défaut d'être angélique).

I read each of the three books in this series one after the other! All are very enjoyable and well written.

I really enjoyed reading IronSkin. It tells the story of a governess employed by the troubled, but undeniably attractive, Mr Rochart to care his young motherless daughter. Set in a gothic country home against the backdrop of an ominous forest, the parallels between IronSkin and Jane Eyre are strong. Yet IronSkin is an ingenious alternate world, where humans know that the fey and dwarves are real. IronSkin is set in the time after the Great War with the fey. Humans are slowly rebuilding their world without the wondrous fey technology. But some have been damaged by the war. Jane is coming to terms with her scarred face and fey curse. Her young charge has also been inexplicably cursed by the fey. The author using evocative language, gliding over the surface glamour of a world of Bright Young Things, powerfully describing the dark country mansion, the menacing forest of thorny locusts. In IronSkin we meet a cast of fascinating characters, feisty Jane, brooding, but don't forget attractive, Mr Rochart, Jane's shallow but charming sister, the intriguing butler, Poule. And at its heart IronSkin has mystery. The author skillfully spins her spell to reveal those secrets into a fascinating story.