cover image Jillian Dare

Jillian Dare

Melanie M. Jeschke, . . Revell, $12.99 (284pp) ISBN 978-0-8007-3316-2

This contemporary romance by Jeschke (Oxford Chronicles series) echoes the classic Jane Eyre with some modern parallels. That 19th-century governess easily becomes today's nanny, as the titular character—an orphan—is employed as nanny to the toddler daughter of Ethan Remington, a wealthy corporate executive and film producer who owns a considerable ancestral home in England. Like Rochester, the lord of the manor falls for his employee's youth and freshness, but plans for the future are blocked by a complication from Remington's past. Many elements from Jane Eyre are cleverly translated: the earlier novel's sternly moral and unloving parson St. John Rivers has a convincing analogues, as do key plot elements at the book's end. The author needs to work harder on minor characters, some of whom—like Remington's lawyer friend Calvin Cole—merely turn the plot wheel. The narrative tone is also uneven, at times formal, almost grave (“The very name can still conjure up in me...”), while at other times it's slangy and modern (“ 'I'm fine. Just a little creeped out.' ”) But reader, if you liked Charlotte Brontë's novel, you'll enjoy revisiting it here. (May)