Brightly Burning by Alexa Donne

Brightly Burning by Alexa Donne is a futuristic remake of Jane Eyre. At first it was kind of hard to wrap my head around the idea of Jane Eyre in space, but it worked. I am sure it helped that I am a fan of Science Fiction. Though the focus is on the story and not the science.

The setting is in the future when the Earth is covered in ice. This new ice age is a result of an eruption of a super volcano. All people that were able to evacuate did so, and now live in colony ships in Earth’s orbit. Stella is an engineer on one of these ships and stuck in a job she hates, on a ship that is on its last legs, and she wants off. She does have marketable skills and applies to various jobs in the fleet.

Finally, she gets her chance to move when she is hired as a governess to young Jessa Fairfax aboard the elegant Rochester. The captain is none other than Jessa’s handsome and enigmatic brother Hugo. While the Fairfax family is one of the richest families in the fleet, and the Rochester reflects this, strange things happen on board and most newbies do not last long. It is so bad the old crew members bet on how long Stella will last.

Ms. Donne, the author, did a good job with the retelling. I thought the story was very creative and there was enough drama going on to keep me reading. She changed just enough to make the original story work in the setting; yet, not enough that you are wondering why in the world she would change something that was so important in the original work.

As you read, you are left with no doubts that it is a retelling of Jane Eyre and yet it was so the author’s work. That must have been incredible difficult to take such a well know story and make it your own. Hats off to Ms. Donne for a job well done!

The characters were much as I remember them from Jane Eyre. Of course, you can’t help but love Stella. She is smart, determined and compassionate. Then there is Hugo who is such a brooding character, to the point of being embittered, and I loved watching how Stella was able to connect with his brighter side.

I received a free copy from the published in exchange for my honest opinion.