The Eyre Affeir (June 2021) Buddy Read Discussion - Brianna, Cat & Katie

[mina, Group/Buddy Reads Procrastinator]

Welcome to the The Eyre Affair Buddy Read Discussion thread! This thread officially opens on June 13th and anyone can join at any time. Please keep in mind that spoilers are allowed in this thread but only up to the group's current reading place. Do not spoil the book if you've read further than the group. Any extra days can be used to catch up!

Each day we will be reading by chapters or page numbers. Page numbers are an approximation based on the hardcover or paperback that is the default on Goodreads. The suggested Buddy Read discussion schedule is as follows:

Week of 06/13
June 13: 1-4

Week of 06/14
June 14: 5-8
June 15: 9-11
June 16: 12-16
June 17: 17-21
June 18: 22-26
June 19: 27-30
June 20: 31-33

Week of 06/21
June 21: 34-end

PARTICIPANTS
~ Brianna
~ Cat
~ Katie

[Leslie]

I would love to join this buddy read if possible. The description of this book is so Vonnegut-like....

[aikaterine]

Leslie wrote: "I would love to join this buddy read if possible. The description of this book is so Vonnegut-like...."

That's what drew me in, too! Absolutely, welcome to the BR Leslie :D

[Michelle]

I want to join in too. Sounds like a good book.

[Brianna]

Yay! The more the merrier!

[Brianna]

Chapters 1 - 4
(view spoiler)[I'm iffy on European history (been ages since I've studied it at all) so I'm already a bit confused. I know this is an alternate history novel, but I honestly don't know everything that's different - or when this is even supposed to take place - like what year.
The part about Acheron Hades being able to "hear his own name - even whispered - over a thousand-yard radius" reminds me so much of Voldemort's name in the last book.
There's a lot of talk about marriage and it being the main goal for pretty much everyone so far.
"flutter on the gee-gees" - what on Earth is this supposed to be? Like a dating thing?
Well they found him pretty quick - things will definitely go wrong though. lol (hide spoiler)]

[Jenner]

Hi! I decided to jump in on this one!

Chapters 1-4
(view spoiler)[
Wow, what a beginning! I am already intrigued even if I am also confused about what is happening in the world. This is obviously an alternate universe and the magic in the world seems pretty chaotic so far which I love. Thursday seems a bit too excited to jump into another special operations area. I am guessing she is going to cause trouble for herself.

@Brianna I noticed the talk about marriage too including how Thursday used to be engaged.
(hide spoiler)]

[Katie]

I got started today and I'm enjoying myself so far! I like the literary references, though I also agree that I have no idea what's going on with all the European history stuff. Did this conflict even happen in reality or is it just for the book? I also feel a little weirded out about the preoccupation with marriage. I feel like I can attribute that to a man trying to write from a woman's perspective and Not Quite Getting It.

[aikaterine]

Chapters 1-4
(view spoiler)[
Sooo, finding Acheron so quickly is definitely going to go wrong.
I’m totally confused about the history references, too.
This book’s universe and technology feels a bit overwhelming to me, as well, but that’s just probably because it’s just the beginning, haha! (hide spoiler)]

[Brianna]

Chapters 5 - 8
(view spoiler)[How has the gun not run out of bullets yet?
Also - if it's been 16 years since they've seen each other and it was last in 1969 then I'm assuming this is taking place in 1985?
I highly doubt that he's actually dead. lol
This is getting weirder and weirder - but in a good way so far. She's met Edward Rochester prior? How did she know that the jacket came from him specifically? The bill? There could have been a real person with that name I would think.
So vampires and werewolves exist in this world as well I guess. This is getting more and more interesting but also more and more confusing. lol I hope it clears up some! (hide spoiler)]

[Brianna]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who is struggling a little bit with all the references. I'm hoping it clears up and starts to make more sense as we go on!

[aikaterine]

Chapters 5-8
(view spoiler)[
Whoa, after chapter 4 things escalated quickly!!!
I would have expected a different description of what happened as I was initially totally confused, but then it kinda cleared up in my mind.

Also, a lil' bit confused about all the backwards and forwards, haha!
And, how is it possible that she actually got into the book but we're casually getting to know it?

I certainly didn't expect vampires and werewolves to exist in this world, but in retrospect and considering everything else that has already happened, well, I shouldn't have been as surprised, haha! (hide spoiler)]

[Brianna]

Chapters 9 - 11
(view spoiler)[Mycroft is interesting - his inventions and all that. I have a feeling his inventions will play a role in some shenanigans to come.
"Religion isn't the cause of wars, it's the excuse." I'm torn about this statement. I mostly agree, but in our version of history think there are some exceptions.
Pet dodos would be kind of fun and interesting.
So is Polly stuck in that poem now? How would the author know that it was just a memory or that it's afer he's passed? (hide spoiler)]

[Brianna]

Cat wrote: "Chapters 5-8

(view spoiler)[The way they explained what happened in that it was her telling it after the fact also threw me off and took me a minute to figure out what was going on. (hide spoiler)]

[aikaterine]

For anyone who’s still as confused as I am (😂), I googled the Crimean Wars and apparently the started and ended around the 1850s, but this is an alternate universe so they’re still ongoing! So there’s that!

Chapters 9-11
(view spoiler)[
Mycroft is such a cool inventor, and his inventions are everything!!!

@Brianna This phrase was very powerful and I can’t think of any exceptions, to be honest. What kind of exceptions do you have in mind??

Btw, I’m still getting confused over how quickly this story is jumping, haha! (hide spoiler)]

[Brianna]

Cat wrote: "For anyone who’s still as confused as I am (😂), I googled the Crimean Wars and apparently the started and ended around the 1850s, but this is an alternate universe so they’re still ongoing! So ther..."

Thanks for doing the googling! That helps a little bit put why the Crimean Wars are so important in politics in perspective.

(view spoiler)[I was mostly thinking of the Middle East and before money/oil and so on but there probably was some other reason. It's hard to know with history being written after the fact so to speak what the true reason was for any war. (hide spoiler)]

[Brianna]

Chapters 12 - 16
(view spoiler)["Words are like leaves, Thursday. Like people really, fond of their own society."
I think my favorite part of this world so far is the role culture - books, art, and so on - plays. They're hugely important. It makes me wonder where their history started to divert from ours.
"Times change and we change with them, sir."
So the main boss in Swindon is on Goliath's side and they seem to be wanting Hades as well. They definitely give off bad guy vibes though - talking about getting rid of her (Thursday).
So Bowden has lost two prior partners to Hades so maybe Hades does have more going on in Swindon than known about yet.
Hades has FULLY embraced the villain role. From what I understand, he is stealing a character from this book as ransom to get these random things. But why this book? Why this character?
"... but cash is always the deciding factor in such matters of moral politics; nothing ever gets done unless motivated by commerce or greed."
This is definitely a fast paced book and overall I like it - I'm just so confused! lol Bits and pieces are coming together, but I can officially say that I would see this isn't for everyone. (hide spoiler)]

[aikaterine]

Brianna wrote: "Cat wrote: "For anyone who’s still as confused as I am (😂), I googled the Crimean Wars and apparently the started and ended around the 1850s..."

Haha, no problem! I guess now the real question is why they're so important in this story xD

(view spoiler)[
Aaah, okay, I see what you mean, makes sense!!

To be truthful, I've come to think that every war happens because someone or some group anyway want to become richer or more powerful (or have authority over more countries/territories and so forth...)
And, religion or a specific faith is a very good way to make huge numbers of people follow you (blindly?), believing they're fighting for a cause (especially if that cause is god-send?)
But, of course, I'm not talking about defending yourself and your people from attackers.

Ahhh, such sad matters :( (hide spoiler)]

[Jenner]

Chapters 5-16

Did anyone else notice that there wasn’t a chapter 13? Is that typical from this genre?

(view spoiler)[
Okay, I am not getting all of the references either but the story and chaos are totally fascinating. Thursday is loved by the masses. I wonder if there is more to the story and that’s why she doesn’t want people to remember it other than it was a terrible tragedy. Mycroft is such a fun character and I really hope he sticks around. I love a good story about a villian. It is sort of nice Hades does diabolical things just for the heck of it to help him gain fame and doesn’t care about wealth. He is arrogant and hopefully that will be his downfall. I thought Bowden didn't really like Thursday, but obviously that isn't true. He thinks Spike will cause trouble. I personally like when the MC of a series has more than one love interest so I hope this is true.
(hide spoiler)]

[Brianna]

Jenner wrote: "Chapters 5-16

Did anyone else notice that there wasn’t a chapter 13? Is that typical from this genre?

I totally did NOT notice no chapter 13 but I did just go back and check! I guess I don't pay attention much to chapter numbers to be honest so I'm not sure if that's normal or not for any genre. lol

(view spoiler)[It would totally be interesting to get a book just about Hades and his rise to villain fame so to speak. He is an interesting character for sure!
I'm not always a fan of love triangles since for me they aren't always done right. Thursday kind of already has a couple though - Landen was all up in her business at the hotel and they do have a history already. (hide spoiler)]

[Brianna]

Chapters 17 - 21
(view spoiler)[I giggled that they gave the vampire a lisp. lol
Is Spike a vampire or a werewolf? He has to stay out of the sunlight? Regardless - interesting he has to hunt down those of his own kind.
I wonder why she gave in to meeting up with Landen.
The play made me think of Rocky Horror Picture Show and how interactive it can be.
Interesting dynamic - her brother is blamed for the charge and she is the hero of it.
"Somehow "fucked up" made it seem more believable; we all make mistakes at some time in our lives, some more than others. It is only when the cost is counted in human lives that people really take notice. If Anton had been a baker and forgotten the yest, nothhing would have been made of it, but he would have fucked up just the same."
I think it's such an interesting idea that the line between fiction and reality is thin enough that people/characters may be able to move between the two worlds. Imagine if that were truly the case? Characters from Game of Thrones popping in or visiting Hogwarts? (hide spoiler)]

[Brianna]

Chapters 22 - 26
(view spoiler)[Ah so Felix7 is the 7th person to wear Felix's face.
"It all seemed pretty straightforward - on paper." - oh the irony considering how on paper this book is CONFUSING (but still good). lol
When would Mycroft be able to burn that manuscript?
So one of his henchmen is now gone. I wonder what's going to happen next - it's so hard to predict or guess anything in this book but I think that's part of the charm.
I kind of dig the side mystery of if Shakespeare was a cover or not and the plays were written by someone else. That tends to be a common debate/discussion that keeps popping up. (hide spoiler)]

[Brianna]

Chapter 27 - 30
(view spoiler)[How the heck is he able to change the glass to be able to reach through it? Also I am still curious to see how he's bulletproof.
"Some things are more important than rules and regulations. Governments and fashions come and go but Jane Eyre is for all time. I would give everything to ensure the novels survival."
It's honestly been ages since I've read Jane Eyre so I'm not sure if I remember how it ends - is the ending shared here acurate?
I wonder what manuscript they are needing for their plan. (hide spoiler)]

[Brianna]

Chapters 31 - 33
(view spoiler)[So things just got a bit weird with all the apostraphes and ampersands. Also - it wasn't much of a surprise that Jack Schitt is trying to double cross people - anything for his precious war.
I'm gettin gmore and more intrigued by Thursday's dad - is he trying to rewrite history back to how we know things? He keeps mentioning people of importance in our history and talking about the French revisionists. We shall see!
So Hades and Thursday are both in Jane Eyre. I wonder where Hades went off to and I wonder how successful it will be keeping Thursday hidden in the same house.
The discussion between Thursday and Rochester about memory really hit hard:
"... memory is but one hundreth of the strength of currently felt emotions."
"If only life were that simple; if one could jump to the good parts and flick through the bad - "
"Ignore forgive and concentrate on living. Life for you is short; far too short to allow small jealousies to infringe on the happiness which can be yours only for the briefest of times."
I wonder why silver works on Hades - is he some kind of supernatural as well? (hide spoiler)]

[Brianna]

Chapters 34 - End
(view spoiler)[I thought it was rather odd that Landen's wedding was broken up the same was as Jane's and Rochester's.
"Human emotions, well... they're just a fathomless collection of grays and I don't do so well on the midtones."
I really wish Thursday had ended up with Bowden and not Landen.
For as chaotic as the book was, it was kind of a mellow ending and I'm not sure what I think about that. (hide spoiler)]

[Leslie]

I finished this book last night and I LOVED it! Now I want to pick up the other books in the Thursday Next series.

[Brianna]

Leslie wrote: "I finished this book last night and I LOVED it! Now I want to pick up the other books in the Thursday Next series."

I really enjoyed it and will probably pick up at least the next one. What were your favorite things about it?

[Leslie]

I really enjoyed the originality of the story. I loved how twisted Hades was. I loved that even though I never read Jane Eyre (I will be putting it on my to read list now) I still got the gist and got some of the jokes related to it.

[Brianna]

Leslie wrote: "I really enjoyed the originality of the story. I loved how twisted Hades was. I loved that even though I never read Jane Eyre (I will be putting it on my to read list now) I still got the gist and ..."

Hades was definitely a really good villain - pure evil really but not the dark and brooding type typically portrayed. I loved Jane Eyre back in high school and will definitely be reading it again after this.

[aikaterine]

Hey guys! Finally got around to finishing this. I gotta admit, it utterly confused me for the most part, but towards the end, when I had managed to finally get a grip on everything, it actually became pretty good and I started enjoying it.
Not sure if I continue on with the series, though.
Also, having never read Jane Eyre, I was mostly confused about what was real and what wasn't, haha.

[Brianna]

Cat wrote: "Hey guys! Finally got around to finishing this. I gotta admit, it utterly confused me for the most part, but towards the end, when I had managed to finally get a grip on everything, it actually bec..."

It was such a confusing but oddly good book. lol I've read Jane Eyre and was still confused so I don't blame you!

[aikaterine]

Brianna wrote: "Cat wrote: "Hey guys! Finally got around to finishing this. I gotta admit, it utterly confused me for the most part, but towards the end, when I had managed to finally get a grip on everything, it ..."

That's reassuring, because for a moment there I thought that only I struggled with some aspects of this book, haha! Such a weird book xD

[Brianna]

Cat wrote: "Brianna wrote: "Cat wrote: "Hey guys! Finally got around to finishing this. I gotta admit, it utterly confused me for the most part, but towards the end, when I had managed to finally get a grip on..."

Definitely not alone! lol

[Jenner]

I finally finished this book. History seemed to be changing constantly especially with her father making sure certain timelines were occuring. I couldn't keep track of all of them to see how they were changing as the story went. It was a fun idea to pop into books and that those worlds are continuously occuring.

@Brianna C I totally agree with you about the ending. I think I want to continue the series because the journey was still good.

(view spoiler)[
I am a bit disappointed over Hades' motives and how he just wanted the plasma guns. I found that to be quite dull considering how fascinating he was prior to that. We also never find out why he is so exceptional and why he is bullet proof and if he is some sort of supernatural.

@Brianna C I also agree with you about her ending up with Landon. I was a bit stunned that she just ran back to him after everything. I think she and Bowden would have more adventures.

I figured the people would love the ending of Jane Eyre better since the terrible ending was mentioned a bunch of times.

I also find it fascinating that her father gave the play to Shakespeare so anyone after that could have written the plays. I am curious to see if this mystery is solved in another book.
(hide spoiler)]

[Brianna]

Jenner wrote: "I finally finished this book. History seemed to be changing constantly especially with her father making sure certain timelines were occuring. I couldn't keep track of all of them to see how they w..."

I also wish we learned more about Hades' special powers - like how did he get away with so much? Considering this is the first in the series, I honestly wouldn't be surprised if he pops back up at some point! I really wish she ended up with Bowden but I suppose there is still hope.