The Wife Upstairs
Author: Rachel Hawkins
Expected Publication Date: January 5, 2020
Check it Out: Goodreads
But her luck changes when she meets Eddie Rochester. Recently widowed, Eddie is Thornfield Estates’ most mysterious resident. His wife, Bea, drowned in a boating accident with her best friend, their bodies lost to the deep. Jane can’t help but see an opportunity in Eddie––not only is he rich, brooding, and handsome, he could also offer her the kind of protection she’s always yearned for.
Yet as Jane and Eddie fall for each other, Jane is increasingly haunted by the legend of Bea, an ambitious beauty with a rags-to-riches origin story, who launched a wildly successful southern lifestyle brand. How can she, plain Jane, ever measure up? And can she win Eddie’s heart before her past––or his––catches up to her?
With delicious suspense, incisive wit, and a fresh, feminist sensibility, The Wife Upstairs flips the script on a timeless tale of forbidden romance, ill-advised attraction, and a wife who just won’t stay buried. In this vivid reimagining of one of literature’s most twisted love triangles, which Mrs. Rochester will get her happy ending?

”I’m just a girl who got caught up in other people’s bullshit.”
I was expecting something gothic and full of mystery, but I received none of that in The Wife Upstairs. I feel like we were teased with Jane’s “secret” throughout the book only for it to be lackluster. To be honest, I found Jane to be lackluster. But not just her, everyone in this book. We were given one dimensional characters with no dept to them at all. I didn’t care about them and thought they were all terrible.
What also made this underwhelming was the big reveal and the ending. While it wasn’t as boring as Jane’s secret, I felt like I was waiting for more. As soon as I finished reading, the first thought that came to mind was “that’s it?”. Basically, my thoughts about the whole book.
All in all, I was disappointed. Maybe if you are a fan of Hawkins’ writing or Jane Eyre retellings then give this a read.

Lackluster. Okay. I’ll pass. I haven’t read any of her YA books, so I wasn’t really feeling like I needed to read it anyways. Sorry it let you down.
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I’m hoping I come across some other thrillers that catch my eye. Have you read the synopsis for Riley Sager’s upcoming book?
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I haven’t! I really liked Tarryn Fisher’s newest, The Wrong Family. I’m also going to read A. Torre’s soon.
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Let me know if you enjoy it!
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Oh dear! I haven’t read it as yet. I got it as an add on for December BOTM.
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I hope you enjoy it when you get to it!
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I had thought that this book looked interesting, but the author gave me pause. I think I liked maybe one of her YA books. I think I will definitely give this book a pass now. Great review, though!
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I liked her Hex Hall series and her Prince Charming book. But this one didn’t do it for me!
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I liked a couple of the Rebel Belle books well enough (not as much as everyone else did, though), but DNF-ed the last book in the series. I think I started a few others and didn’t make it very far.
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So sad to hear this! I was excited for a new retelling that isn’t a fairytale. I haven’t read anything by this author that I can think of so I guess I will put this on the “maybe sometime” list.
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I enjoyed her Hex Hall series and her YA romances!
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Good to know! I will check those out instead.
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