Book Review: Ironskin

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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 scars and by his parade of women. Ugly women, who enter his closed studio... and come out as beautiful as the fey.


Although I was in a hurry at the library, the cover caught my eye immediately; and on closer inspection, I realized that this eye-catching book was in fact a fantasy twist on Jane Eyre--and who could resist that?

I've never actually read Jane Eyre all the way through.  I've read bits and pieces, and I've researched the heck out of the story, but I've never read it in its entirety.  Still, I know enough about it to appreciate the many nods and allusions to the original story spread throughout Ironskin.

The story begins as Jane Eliot enters her new post as a governess, five years after the Great War between humans and Fey.  We get glimpses of her past as she approaches the bleak, yet oddly beautiful manor that is to be her new home.

Not everything is what it seems in this manor though... and what at first seems to be the perfect opportunity for a new life slowly becomes an eerie and harrowing journey with no certain end.

PROS:

There's some interesting world-building here; from what I gathered, this book takes place in a time roughly like our 1920s, post WWI.  Humanity is reeling after losing access to the fey technology they had come to depend on, and frantically searching for a new source of power.  To add to their troubles, they face the frightening and mysterious problem of the now-cursed survivors of the fey bombs, who emit powerful emotions that no one can control.

I wished that the book had spent more time on this aspect of the story.  Don't get me wrong--I found the mystery and the romance very interesting as well, but there is a lot of potential in this world that Tina Connolly has created.  Maybe there are more books that I just don't know about, but I definitely was interesting in hearing more.

I really enjoyed all the references to Jane Eyre.  Connolly cleverly nods to her source material while keeping Ironskin a story in its own right.  It all starts out very similar to Jane Eyre, then deviates sharply towards the middle of the book.  One of the funniest references, I thought, was when Edward Rochart, like Edward Rochester, expresses concern that Jane will not like the manor and leave--only for her to reassure him that has no 'dying aunt' to care for.  (She has a sister's wedding to attend instead.)

I also appreciated the accuracy of the child-care sections of the book.  Jane is faced with a difficult task in tutoring Rochart's willful daughter.  She does so patiently and creatively, and her battles felt rather realistic, compared to my experience dealing with children.  Kudos to the author for that!

CONS:

The writing was a bit odd sometimes.  For the most part, the tone reflected the antiquated writings on which the story is based.  However, sometimes, it would randomly revert to modern language that seemed out of place.

The end was a bit confusing to me--but maybe that's because I read it too quickly.  As I expected, there are several twists and revelations that change the game, but they all happened so fast that I might have missed some things.

These revelations also resulted in a sharp change in tone towards the end of the book.  It went from gothic romance to borderline horror.  I don't mind a bit of horror if it's the right kind.  Like, gothic horrors such as Frankenstein and Dracula are alright.  But this one had some gruesome parts in the climax that I just didn't appreciate.

Fortunately, the descriptions of these things are not particularly graphic.  In fact, the whole book is refreshingly clean!  But I have a very vivid imagination.... so even the mention of certain things is more than enough for me.

I did not find the ending satisfying either.  I like a little more wind-down after the climax of the book, but this one left the reader almost immediately in the stillness that followed all the action.  I wasn't disappointed, I was just unsatisfied.

OVERALL:

If you don't a little grim or gruesome elements in a story, and if you really enjoy fantasy in a early 20th century, then this is the book for you.

If you're a fan of Jane Eyre and are looking for a fun new version, this is the book for you.

If you are easily unsettled... maybe skip this one.

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-Emmarayn Redding