Looking for Jane by Heather Marshall

Looking for Jane by Heather Marshall
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This novel had a promising start: I was caught up in the stories of three women across fifty years and their struggles with unexpected, unwanted, or desired pregnancies. Marshall did a good job examining various perspectives a hot-button issue and diving into some pretty horrifying history of homes for unwed mothers, but honestly the novel was about 50% longer than it needed to be. It just went on and on and on, weighed down with completely unnecessary descriptions (I do not care about the clutter in so-and-so’s apartment or what a character ate for breakfast) that added nothing to the story’s movement. The plot line was predictable and then the "shocker" was quite a far-fetched scenario.

Also, I listened to this as an audiobook and did not enjoy the reader, so this may have greatly influenced my review of the novel. Toward the last quarter, I almost packed it in just because of the cringy reader and her emotional inflections. Perhaps it would be better if I’d read a print copy.

View all my reviews