Book Review: Jane’s Secret

Today, I’m sharing my review on Jane’s Secret by Jennifer Tirrell as a part of JustRead Tours’s bookstagram tour. Even though the time period wasn’t technically medieval, (it’s in the Tudor era) it looked really good, so I knew I had to give it a try!

The Synopsis (Taken from Goodreads):

As a young lady in 16th century England, Jane Ingleton knows her life will follow a set course: she will grow up, marry an eligible young man, and carry on the family name. However, when a chain of events leads to the discovery of a mysterious key, Jane’s mother sends Jane away for her own safety. It is there that Jane unlocks a greater treasure as she discovers the love of Christ for herself while she continues her search for what the key means… 
In present day America, while sorting through boxes of old photos and letters in her attic, Kaitlyn Tirrell comes across something unexpected—a letter from the past. Within that letter could be the clue for which she’s been searching—there were stories of a generational blessing passed down through her father’s side of the family along with a mysterious golden key which doesn’t fit any known lock. Taking a leap of faith, Kaitlyn travels to England, determined to solve the tangled riddles of her heritage…
Two young women, bound by blood but separated by centuries, unravel a hidden family secret in a thrilling quest for truth that could change everything. But not everything is as it seems…and there are other people on the trail of this mystery, who will stop at nothing to keep the secret from getting out.

My Review:

Jane’s Secret begins with our modern-day FMC, Kaitlyn, discovering a letter from her ancestors providing clues to what a mysterious golden key, which has been passed down for generations, means. Then, we are introduced to Jane, born hundreds of years before, who discovers the key her father hid, and seeks to find what it belongs to as well.

Let me preface this review by saying, based off what other reviewers have said, maybe I wasn’t the best audience for this novel. I haven’t read many split-time novels, and contemporary is not a favorite of mine, so maybe that was part of it.

But I also want to begin with what I did love about this novel. First, the cover. It’s absolutely gorgeous and is what drew me in (along with the synopsis–I love a good historical mystery!). The mystery was also pretty engaging, especially during the first half. By the second half, I was getting drained by other aspects of the story which I’ll mention below, but I was still curious about seeing the mystery solved!

The first third of the book, focusing on Jane’s POV, was also pretty good and that was the part I was most invested in. I really liked Humphrey, not going to lie. I honestly thought I would see (and would have enjoyed seeing) more of Jane’s POV in the novel. Finally, the theme of the story–the power of prayer and generational blessings–was super sweet, and unique! I’ve never read another Christian book focusing on that theme, so that was a nice bit there.

Now. I’m going to list my frustrations with this novel in no particular order.

The details in this novel follow both extremes. At times, I got an info-dump of unnecessary information, which bogged down the story. Other times, certain scenes seemed to be missing detail, leaving me bewildered and confused, even after returning and rereading the scenes multiple times. This especially seemed prominent in areas concerning setting–for example, we’re looking at a stone wall, then, all the sudden, we’re pushing open a door. It got to the point where I had no clue where the characters were or what was going on.

Then, the romance. Usually, romance is an issue point with me with books in general, so maybe this shouldn’t be surprising. And this may just be me. But I will say, this dislike of the romance was different from my normal dislike, as usually my dislike is pretty passionate. Here, it’s just… apathy. I really didn’t care about Kaitlyn and James’s romance. Like, at all. It was just there. No feelings whatsoever. Also, they moved in together before being married? Even if they were determined to “stay chaste”… why can’t she just get her own apartment nearby? It’s just very unrealistic for nothing to happen in such close quarters with absolutely no accountability, and in my opinion, a bad message for young people who think they’re strong enough to handle the temptation.

I WAS enjoying Jane and Humphrey’s growing romance–I was a bit concerned at the beginning because Jane crushed on some other guy, but it seemed like Jane and Humphrey were going to grow to love each other, and expected to see this. Except… we didn’t. The next time we see Jane, is thirty years later, at Humphrey’s funeral. She describes her life with him as “tolerable”–he was a kind, God-fearing man who adored her. But she just “tolerated” him because of her crush on this other guy (who she promptly marries almost immediately after poor Humphrey’s buried?) Humphrey deserved better, just saying. Also, isn’t what Jane did technically adultery according to Jesus in Matthew 5:28, still crushing on another man while being married? (Last couple of Christian books I’ve read have had this element–what is the allure, here? I don’t get it.)

Moving on. The writing style–it just wasn’t for me. It felt like the author was trying to show, but instead was telling everything. Telling me how to feel. For example, (and this is my own example, not a bit in the book) this is how the writing style felt to me: Betty walked down the street. The breeze hit her face and she smiled. A man grabbed her arm. He shoved her to the side of the wall. Betty cried in pain.

The plausibility of several of the events also made me pause. The characters are in Britain, presumably, and two of the handful of characters in the modern day setting have guns. The UK is not America–it’s very rare and hard to get firearms there unless you’re a police officer. Yet the characters act like it’s pretty easy to have and own guns. Also, the main characters meet and become friends with the prince and princess (I have no clue who the prince or princess are, as we’re never told their names. They’re just called “the princess” and “the prince” the entire time, which is a lot).

In the past, there’s also mention of someone reading their Bible. The time period listed in 1514–the break from the Catholic Church had not yet happened in England yet, and not many Bibles were printed, much less in English, that an apparently poorer nobleman could afford. Not to mention it was illegal to own one. The mention of the Book of Hours was much more historically appropriate, so perhaps that’s what was meant by reading the Bible, but still, it didn’t seem that way, in light of the mentions of the Book of Hours elsewhere.

I really wanted to enjoy this book. I think for a bit there, I was, as at least Jane’s parts seemed a little less telly than the rest of the novel. But her parts only took up about a third of the book, and afterwards, it just went downhill. Thus, I can’t personally recommend this novel, however, if clean split-time novels with good, Christian messages are your thing, I’d recommend reading other reviews and seeing if you should try it based off them. It could just be I wasn’t the intended audience for this novel and style.

Rating: 2/5 Stars

I received a complimentary copy of this book and a positive review was not required. All views expressed are my honest opinions.

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