Book:  Jane
Author:  April Lindner
Published:  October 11, 2010 from Poppy
My edition/number of pages:  ARC/384

Age group:  Young adult
Source:  Publisher
Series?:  No.

Forced to drop out of an esteemed East Coast college after the sudden death of her parents, Jane Moore takes a nanny job at Thornfield Park, the estate of Nico Rathburn, an iconic rock star on the brink of a huge comeback. Practical and independent, Jane reluctantly becomes entranced by her magnetic and brooding employer, and finds herself in the midst of a forbidden romance. But there’s a mystery at Thornfield, and Jane’s much-envied relationship with Nico is tested by a torturous secret from his past.

Wow!  Just plain wow.  Jane is one of the best young adult romances I have ever read and that is saying something.  I absolutely adored it and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since I finished it.  I wish it had never ended.

Jane Moore has no money, no job, and no place to live.  The only job she can get is as the nanny to the five-year-old daughter of rock star Nico Rathburn.  Jane is skeptical after reading Nico’s crazy history but she can’t turn the job down.  Once she meets the staff of Thornfield Park and Madeline, Nico’s daughter, she no longer wants to quit.  Nico though is a whole different matter.  He is not at all what Jane expected and soon she finds herself growing to like him.  Maybe even more than like.  There is just one problem.  Nico is hiding something, something big.  Can their love survive Nico’s lies or will it prove to be too much?

I am kind of lost as to what to say about Jane.  I don’t have anything bad to say about it but I don’t even know where to begin about all the good stuff.  I guess I will just start with Jane herself.  She is not typical at all.  Instead of giving up after losing her family, her home, her schooling, and her money she sets out to find a new job and begin saving her money so she can go back to school.  She doesn’t let the fact that Madeline doesn’t like her in the beginning stop her from taking charge.  She also doesn’t care that Nico is famous.  She cares that he is Madeline’s father and she shows him how to be more of a father to his daughter.  She is a kind, smart, funny heroine.  Nico is a darker character than Jane but that is because of his past.  He has problems but he was still a good dad and he grew to be more mature and caring throughout the book.  I thought he was mysterious, sexy, and an all around good guy.

Now if you have read Jane Eyre, which I have, you will kind of be able to guess what Nico’s secret is.  The mystery won’t really be there as much but I still found it intriguing.  I didn’t feel that knowing what happened in the original story took away from the joy of reading this retelling.  The characters were different, the time period was different, everything was different.  The fact that the mystery wasn’t a surprise did not matter to me at all.

Overall,  Jane is a book that I can’t praise enough.  Romance lovers everywhere need to read this one and I can’t wait to recommend it to all my friends.  I’m going to stop gushing now but that’s just so you guys can go out and get your own copy.  =]

First line:  The chairs in the lobby of Discriminating Nannies, Inc., were less comfortable than they looked.

Writing:  5

Characters:  5

Plot:  5

Ending:  5

Originality:  5

Overall:  25=A++

Cover:  5=A++