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Ironskin
(Ironskin #1)
by
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.
Teachi ...more
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.
Teachi ...more
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Hardcover, 304 pages
Published
October 2nd 2012
by Tor Books
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Start your review of Ironskin (Ironskin, #1)

Rating: 2.5 Stars
I’ll be the first to admit that I had expectations for this book - high expectations. Yet, the reason they weren’t met doesn’t lie with the fault of this book entirely. I feel as if many other readers will truly love Ironskin, and they should. It has a lot to love, but somehow, it wasn’t the right book for me. For one, Ironskin is a based quite loosely off of the story of Jane Eyre, a classic by Charlotte Bronte that happens to be one of my favorite novels ever. Thus, ...more
I’ll be the first to admit that I had expectations for this book - high expectations. Yet, the reason they weren’t met doesn’t lie with the fault of this book entirely. I feel as if many other readers will truly love Ironskin, and they should. It has a lot to love, but somehow, it wasn’t the right book for me. For one, Ironskin is a based quite loosely off of the story of Jane Eyre, a classic by Charlotte Bronte that happens to be one of my favorite novels ever. Thus, ...more

This was arc I got from editor whose taste aligns with mine.
I'm a little speechless right now. This is Jane Eyre, re-imagined steampunk style. It's just amazing. Confident, clever prose. A ferocious heroine. A broken, tragic hero, who needs her.
The worldbuilding is just fascinating. The writing is fabulous. I devoured this book and now I'm hungry for the sequel. When it comes out, get it. ...more
I'm a little speechless right now. This is Jane Eyre, re-imagined steampunk style. It's just amazing. Confident, clever prose. A ferocious heroine. A broken, tragic hero, who needs her.
The worldbuilding is just fascinating. The writing is fabulous. I devoured this book and now I'm hungry for the sequel. When it comes out, get it. ...more

Jane Eyre in an iron mask?! *faints* SO looking forward to this one.

3.5 stars
Jane Eliot has lost her teaching position and applied for the position of governess in the country at Silver Birch Hall. She wears an iron mask, covering the injury on one side of her face where she was hit by fey shrapnel during the war. The ironskin serves to keep the curse that comes with the injury, contained within her body and stops it from leaking out and affecting others.
Edward Rochart's daughter, Dorie was born during the war and although she bears no scar or injury she is fey ...more

This was apparently a loose fantasy retelling of Jane Eyre. I cannot make any comment on that as I've not read the original! What I can say is that the story did have a vaguely Victorian era feel to it. The fantasy elements of the story came from the presence of the Fey and their magic.
Five years ago, during the Great Battle with the Fey, Jane Eliot was wounded by a Fey weapon while trying to save her younger brother. She now has to wear an iron mask that covers the scarred half of her face in ...more
Five years ago, during the Great Battle with the Fey, Jane Eliot was wounded by a Fey weapon while trying to save her younger brother. She now has to wear an iron mask that covers the scarred half of her face in ...more

err im not sure what was going on. this was such an odd book. i know it was based off the original Jane Eyre and there was a lot of parallels with that novel but this retelling just fell short of good. For one the romance was extremely forced. They fell in love despite having the most minimal interactions with each other? what? i feel like Tina Connolly forced them together for the sake of the plot and i found myself rolling my eyes at every "romantic" scene they had together. I found Jane's int
...more

On the book jacket it describes Ironskin as being a retelling of both Jane Eyre and Beauty and the Beast. Personally, I thought it seemed a little more Eyreish than B & B.
Doesn't matter.
It's also touted as steampunk.
Ok, so I'm a little confused as to what elements a book needs to be classified as steampunk. As far as I can tell, if one person shows up wearing goggles, and another turns on a gas lamp...ta-da! It's steampunk!
Soooo. By that definition, yes. This was a steampunk retelling of Jane Ey ...more
Doesn't matter.
It's also touted as steampunk.
Ok, so I'm a little confused as to what elements a book needs to be classified as steampunk. As far as I can tell, if one person shows up wearing goggles, and another turns on a gas lamp...ta-da! It's steampunk!
Soooo. By that definition, yes. This was a steampunk retelling of Jane Ey ...more

Jun 30, 2011
Misty
marked it as to-read
"a steampunk retelling of Jane Eyre with fairies."
What? I.Am.IN.
;P ...more
What? I.Am.IN.
;P ...more

Read This Review & More Like It On My Blog!
It's easily apparent from the very start of this deceptively good novel that Ironskin is a story loosely based on Charlotte Brontë's beloved classic Jane Eyre. Fortunately for me, I have never read the original, and that's one of the reasons I think I was free to enjoy this supernaturalized version as much as I did. I had no predispositions or favorites or even opinions going in - Connolly was free to do whatever she wanted with any of the characters, o ...more
It's easily apparent from the very start of this deceptively good novel that Ironskin is a story loosely based on Charlotte Brontë's beloved classic Jane Eyre. Fortunately for me, I have never read the original, and that's one of the reasons I think I was free to enjoy this supernaturalized version as much as I did. I had no predispositions or favorites or even opinions going in - Connolly was free to do whatever she wanted with any of the characters, o ...more

3.5 Stars.
The world building for this novel was intriguing, but I didn't get fully engaged in the novel until about halfway through. Once I got into the story I really enjoyed it, and I will definitely be reading Copperhead, the second book in the series. I would recommend this novel to anyone that enjoys historical novels (especially those set at the beginning of the 20th century), and also readers who like some supernatural elements blended with their historical fiction (kind of an oxymoron, b ...more
The world building for this novel was intriguing, but I didn't get fully engaged in the novel until about halfway through. Once I got into the story I really enjoyed it, and I will definitely be reading Copperhead, the second book in the series. I would recommend this novel to anyone that enjoys historical novels (especially those set at the beginning of the 20th century), and also readers who like some supernatural elements blended with their historical fiction (kind of an oxymoron, b ...more

I’ve said it before, and I’ll reiterate: I do not take authors messing with my Jane Eyre lightly. If you are going to attempt to paint a new gloss over something that has already been perfected to my eyes, you’re going to have to bring something completely new to the table. In this regard, I applaud Connolly’s efforts to entwine a fey glamour over the well known Bronte tale, but I can’t say that she pulled off all she hoped to achieve.
Ironskin suffers from a dissonance between Connolly’s desire ...more
Ironskin suffers from a dissonance between Connolly’s desire ...more

Originally reviewed here.
The moment I heard about a steampunk retelling of Jane Eyre, I geared up for its release. I am always up for a retelling of this book. And I've had spectacular success in the past. This one is not YA, or even New Adult, and I could tell it relied more heavily on the rich fantasy aspects of the world and story, all of which I was eager to fall into. I love the cover, particularly the iron mask, and everything about it just had the ring of excellence to it. This is not to ...more
The moment I heard about a steampunk retelling of Jane Eyre, I geared up for its release. I am always up for a retelling of this book. And I've had spectacular success in the past. This one is not YA, or even New Adult, and I could tell it relied more heavily on the rich fantasy aspects of the world and story, all of which I was eager to fall into. I love the cover, particularly the iron mask, and everything about it just had the ring of excellence to it. This is not to ...more

Apr 22, 2011
Danielle The Book Huntress (Back to the Books)
rated it
liked it
Recommends it for:
Faerie fiction readers, Jane Eyre aficionados
Ironskin is a clever re-telling of Jane Eyre with a delicious heaping tablespoon of faerie thrown in. Since Jane Eyre is tied for my favorite book of all time, I definitely loved that about this book. I appreciated catching the references to the original novel and reading the author's original story with her own ideas based on this beloved classic. In other words, this is not a word for word redux of Jane Eyre. Instead it's a "what if?" sort of take on the novel by Charlotte Brontë.
I am captivat ...more
I am captivat ...more

Originally posted at The Wandering Fangirl.
I have to confess I've never read Jane Eyre. Really. It's on my list of classics to eventually read, though my goal of reading forty classics in 2013 fell by the wayside. (Damn you, comics! But not really, I love you.) As a result, I went into Ironskin completely unaware of what was a retelling and what was original story (well, obviously the fey stuff is original), which led to a pretty interesting reading experience.
The first two thirds of the novel u ...more
I have to confess I've never read Jane Eyre. Really. It's on my list of classics to eventually read, though my goal of reading forty classics in 2013 fell by the wayside. (Damn you, comics! But not really, I love you.) As a result, I went into Ironskin completely unaware of what was a retelling and what was original story (well, obviously the fey stuff is original), which led to a pretty interesting reading experience.
The first two thirds of the novel u ...more

I started out liking this book. It had a clever setting and an interesting story. I enjoyed reading about this world that once ran on fairy magic and then had to adjust after its sudden loss. I loved reading about Jane and Dorie interacting and was curious to see how Dorie's conflict would be resolved. And then, like so many other books, everything went to hell as soon as the love interest showed up.
I hated every single scene with Edward. He was so poorly written that he didn't even come off as ...more
I hated every single scene with Edward. He was so poorly written that he didn't even come off as ...more

What a beautifully layered story! For what seemed like a Jane Eyre retelling with supernatural elements, I was expecting something more straightforward and recognizably similar to the plot structure of Jane Eyre, but this novel was full of the unexpected! It does not directly follow the arc of Jane Eyre, but infuses the spirit and romance of the original novel into a new story. I found the relationship between Jane and her pupil, Dorie, unexpectedly complex, as Jane struggles to get through to h
...more

I'm EXTREMELY wary of retellings of classic tales, and I admit that at first, the obvious similarities to Jane Eyre had me very hesitant.
That said, there was more than enough originality to the story to keep me on my toes, and with several unexpected plot twists as well as just enough of a cliffhanger to have me dying for the next installment (without making me want to scream in frustration), I stayed up all night reading this because I couldn't stand the thought of putting it down.
A very soli ...more
That said, there was more than enough originality to the story to keep me on my toes, and with several unexpected plot twists as well as just enough of a cliffhanger to have me dying for the next installment (without making me want to scream in frustration), I stayed up all night reading this because I couldn't stand the thought of putting it down.
A very soli ...more

"When what you hope for appears on your doorstep, there is every reason to doubt its reality."
A re-telling of the classic tale of Jane Eyre interwoven with cool metals and threads of fae mythology and magic, Ironskin is an unforgettable story exploring the beauty behind the mask.
Whether that mask be one of iron, or the facade one shows to the world.
...more
A re-telling of the classic tale of Jane Eyre interwoven with cool metals and threads of fae mythology and magic, Ironskin is an unforgettable story exploring the beauty behind the mask.
Whether that mask be one of iron, or the facade one shows to the world.
...more

IRONSKIN took an…interesting approach to retelling Jane Eyre with fantastical elements. Inconsistent with everything from its plot to its characterization, IRONSKIN will probably be a temporarily intriguing but ultimately forgettable entry in the category of classic retellings.
Readers who love Jane Eyre will probably find fewer things objectionable in IRONSKIN. I, however, was never a fan of the bland heroine, brooding, self-deprecating hero, and the melodramatic secrets unveiled at the end of t ...more
Readers who love Jane Eyre will probably find fewer things objectionable in IRONSKIN. I, however, was never a fan of the bland heroine, brooding, self-deprecating hero, and the melodramatic secrets unveiled at the end of t ...more

Oh, alas and woe is me that I did not enjoy this more. I TRIED to love it. I WANTED to love it. I did not love it. In the end, I didn't even like it. I didn't care a single bit for any character. I didn't care if they lived or died, were happy or sad, or whatever. NOTHING.
Gah.
I hate it when that happens, even more so when it's a book that I had such high expectations for. It's partly my fault too, for trying to push off my expectations onto a book. I took one look at that fantastic cover and tho ...more
Gah.
I hate it when that happens, even more so when it's a book that I had such high expectations for. It's partly my fault too, for trying to push off my expectations onto a book. I took one look at that fantastic cover and tho ...more

Oct 15, 2012
Merrie Haskell
rated it
it was amazing
Shelves:
jane-eyre-retellings,
something-deep-and-dark
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.

I was intrigued by the concept behind this take on Jane Eyre, and I'm open to new spins on old tales. Unfortunately, writers have a tough task ahead of them when they take on projects like these, because comparisons to the original are inevitable. Readers don't expect the same story, but we expect many of the elements that we loved so much in the source--and unfortunately, Ironskin's charms fall short of Jane Eyre's in every respect.
The world in this novel doesn't feel fully realized; we're giv ...more
The world in this novel doesn't feel fully realized; we're giv ...more

Egalley thanks to Tor Books
This is another book I would hesitate to even call steampunk-ish. This is more of a Gothic novel in alternative reality.
Really atmospheric and strangely beautiful like most of Gothic novels I've had pleasure to read. The plot is ever so familiar that anyone who've read Jane Eyre or watched the movie would recognise it straight away.
And yet, Blanche for example is a passing character, there is no mad wife, and Jane has a younger sister, so even if you know that this is ...more
This is another book I would hesitate to even call steampunk-ish. This is more of a Gothic novel in alternative reality.
Really atmospheric and strangely beautiful like most of Gothic novels I've had pleasure to read. The plot is ever so familiar that anyone who've read Jane Eyre or watched the movie would recognise it straight away.
And yet, Blanche for example is a passing character, there is no mad wife, and Jane has a younger sister, so even if you know that this is ...more

I wasn't sure about Ironskin at all when I initially picked it up. I'd seen the comparisons to Beauty and the Beast, and I knew it was based somewhat on Jane Eyre. I don't generally like stories based on classic novels, and Jane Eyre is one of my favourites, but as I got into this, I rather liked it. It doesn't follow the novel too closely, doesn't break its own logic to fit the novel's plotline; it makes and sustains a world of its own. There are parallels, more than similarities, if that disti
...more

"Ironskin" is an unfortunate example of chemistry gone wrong. Sometimes you combine the correct ingredients but your technique is off, and Bob's-your-uncle, you've got no eyebrows. Like many of the other reviewers, I wanted to like Ironskin. I really did. I was sincerely looking forward to this galley. I stuck with it to the bitter end, hoping against hope that things would improve, that the plot would develop, that the clumsy writing would even out. I was not rewarded for my patience. Perhaps i
...more

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.

Three and half stars: A new spin on Jane Eyre with deadly Fey, steampunk and more.
Jane takes a deep breath and eyes the strange house, obviously of Fey architecture. She is here seeking a governess position, and unfortunately for a girl like her she is running out of options. Jane adjusts the iron mask on her cheek and tightens the long veil around her face. She is greeted by Mr. Rochart. He seems unperturbed by her masked appearance, and he immediately offers her the job. She is to help care fo ...more
Jane takes a deep breath and eyes the strange house, obviously of Fey architecture. She is here seeking a governess position, and unfortunately for a girl like her she is running out of options. Jane adjusts the iron mask on her cheek and tightens the long veil around her face. She is greeted by Mr. Rochart. He seems unperturbed by her masked appearance, and he immediately offers her the job. She is to help care fo ...more

July 4-5, 2015
Brilliant! Still 4.5 stars because the ending was jumbled. I thought perhaps I would find it better this go around, but Jane was running here and there without any reason and then running back to where she started. Still I loved it and cannot wait to jump into the next one.
November 9-10, 2013
4.5 stars
Let me preface by saying I adore Jane Eyre. This book was absolutely a brilliant adaptation. All of the homages to Jane Eyre were numerous as well ones to Pride and Prejudice. Connolly ...more
Brilliant! Still 4.5 stars because the ending was jumbled. I thought perhaps I would find it better this go around, but Jane was running here and there without any reason and then running back to where she started. Still I loved it and cannot wait to jump into the next one.
November 9-10, 2013
4.5 stars
Let me preface by saying I adore Jane Eyre. This book was absolutely a brilliant adaptation. All of the homages to Jane Eyre were numerous as well ones to Pride and Prejudice. Connolly ...more

I have to admit im a little bit leery of these retellings of wellknown books.Sometimes I wish authors could come up with original ideas that are only based on their own ideas.
Everyone remembers the Brontës because of their original characters and stories.Who is going to remember an author who based her whole book on another persons work?
Ill read this though...because it could be good.Perhaps.Maybe
Everyone remembers the Brontës because of their original characters and stories.Who is going to remember an author who based her whole book on another persons work?
Ill read this though...because it could be good.Perhaps.Maybe
topics | posts | views | last activity | |
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Sinopsis en Español // Synopsis in Spanish | 1 | 1 | Feb 16, 2015 11:04AM | |
Romance Readers R...: AC: Tina Connolly of Ironskin (October 15-16) | 70 | 205 | Oct 17, 2012 08:48PM |
Tina Connolly's books include the Ironskin trilogy (Tor), the Seriously Wicked series (Tor Teen), and the collection On the Eyeball Floor (Fairwood Press). She has been a finalist for the Hugo, Nebula, Norton, and World Fantasy awards. She co-hosts Escape Pod, runs the flash fiction podcast Toasted Cake, and is at tinaconnolly.com.
...more
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“Perhaps I have too much anger of my own to tell. If a
man is steeped in bitter anger every day of his life, how then
would he notice a small additional fi re? Particularly when the
fi re comes in the presence of . . .”
—
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More quotes…
man is steeped in bitter anger every day of his life, how then
would he notice a small additional fi re? Particularly when the
fi re comes in the presence of . . .”