3.5 stars maybe? I almost went with 4 but found courage in other reviewers ratings to be a little more honest. It was fine. The language at times was beautiful and poetic. But the story also felt drawn out needlessly on some parts and skimpy on others. I swore when I was a teenager and very I to classic literature I would never read Jane Austen or the Brontë sisters, what could their boring romance stories hold my interest for? We’ll Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice surprised me with a 5 star rating but Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre confirmed my initial hesitation at Victorian classic romance novel.

It was more than that to be sure but something just held it back from being great for me. It was good, I am happy with how the story ended (though the actual choice of topic for the very last page of the novel was a bit odd IMO), I didn’t hate it by any means. But it is not a new favorite for sure.