Giveaway and Review: "Jane"

 "Jane"

by Robin Maxwell Publisher: Tor
Release Date: Sep 12, 2012
Source: ARC sent by publisher/publicist

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Summary from goodreads.com:  

Cambridge, England: 1905. Jane Porter is hardly a typical woman of her time. The only female student in Cambridge University’s medical program, she is far more comfortable in a lab coat, dissecting corpses, than she is in a corset and gown, sipping afternoon tea. A budding paleoanthropologist, Jane dreams of travelling the globe in search of fossils that will prove the evolutionary theories of her scientific hero, Charles Darwin.

When dashing American explorer Ral Conrath invites Jane and her father on an expedition deep into West Africa, she can hardly believe her luck. Rising to the challenge, Jane finds an Africa that is every bit exotic and fascinating as she has always imagined. But she quickly learns that the lush jungle is full of secrets—and so is Ral Conrath. When danger strikes, Jane finds her hero, the key to humanity’s past, and an all-consuming love in one extraordinary man: Tarzan of the Apes.

Jane is the first version of the Tarzan story written by a woman and authorized by the Edgar Rice Burroughs estate. Its 2012 publication will mark the centennial of the publication of the original Tarzan of the Apes.

 

My Review:

I haven't read the original book, "Tarzan of the Apes" by Edgar Rice Burroughs, but since this book is authorized by the estate, I feel like it must be respectful to the original. I have seen one of the movie versions, and the story does follow the same basic path, but there is more background for Jane in the beginning. The book never feels like a boring retelling of all the info that you already know from the original. The bare bones of the story are the same, but everything feels new about this story because it is told from Jane's point of view.

My favorite aspect of the book is just how very strong and smart that Jane is. She is before her time in 1905, but she never apologizes for her strength and her character. I really admire her unapologetic feminist viewpoints. She might be slightly exaggerated, but this works here 100%. Jane is in a word: fierce.

I admit that I did want her to find Tarzan a little faster, but her academic world was interesting to read about as well. Her relationship with her father was played out a lot more in the beginning too, so we can see where the characters were coming from. As a whole, this added to the book being different from what you might expect it to be-just Tarzan and Jane.


Main Characters: 5/5
Supporting Characters: 5/5
Setting: 5/5
Romance: 5/5
Uniqueness: 5/5
Cover: 5/5
Writing: 5/5


Bottom Line: A wonderful look at the Tarzan story from Jane's point of view. Since the book is authorized by the estate, it stays respectful to the original.

GIVEAWAY RULES:

The publicist has generously provided a copy of "Jane" for a lucky follower of my blog!

All you have to do is follow my blog publicly and fill out the Rafflecopter form below. Please follow publicly or I can't tell that you are following :)

• US and Canada only
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• Books will be mailed out by the publisher/publicist
• Must be 18 or over 

• Ends Sun Sep 23

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