Samantha Moore has always hidden behind the words of others—namely her favorite characters in literature. Now, she will learn to write her own story—by giving that story to a complete stranger.
Growing up orphaned and alone, Sam found her best friends in the works of Austen, Dickens, and the Brontë sisters. The problem is that she now relates to others more comfortably as Elizabeth Bennet and Jane Eyre than as herself.
Sometimes we lose ourselves in the things we care about most.
But life for this twenty-three-year-old is about to get stranger than fiction, when an anonymous benefactor (calling himself “Mr. Knightley”) offers to put Sam through the prestigious Medill School of Journalism. There is only one catch: Sam must write frequent letters to the mysterious donor, detailing her progress.
As Sam’s program and peers force her to confront her past, she finds safety in her increasingly personal letters to Mr. Knightley. And when Sam meets eligible, best-selling novelist Alex Powell, those letters unfold a story of love and literature that feels as if it’s pulled from her favorite books. But when secrets come to light, Sam is – once again – made painfully aware of how easily trust can be broken.
Reay’s début novel follows one young woman’s journey as she sheds her protective persona and embraces the person she was meant to become.
Learn more at Katherine’s website.
Katherine Reay has enjoyed a life-long affair with the works of Jane Austen and her contemporaries. After earning degrees in history and marketing from Northwestern University, she worked as a marketer for Proctor & Gamble and Sears before returning to school to earn her MTS. Her works have been published in “Focus on the Family” and the “Upper Room.” Katherine currently lives with her husband and three children in Seattle. “Dear Mr. Knightley” is her first novel.
Dear Mr. Knightley by Katherine Reay
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is one of those books that I thought I wouldn’t like until about one-third of the way through it. In fact, for that first bit of the story, I made virtually no connections with any of the characters. I appreciated the literary references, but I was indifferent to the heroine who was narrating the story.
At some point (when Alex entered the picture), I began to have minimal interest in the story. And as the story began to build, I began to suspect the turn the story would take. And I was right (I love it when I’m right!). And suddenly, Sam was a three-dimensional character. She discovered who she was, and I connected with her.
I only have a passing complaint, and it is only because this is classified as a Christian book. There is one word included that is not necessarily bad, but it should not ever be in a Christian book (unless it refers to a donkey). And I wish that the gospel message had truly been emphasized. It would have made this book positively ideal.
The writing of this book is indeed clever, and I believe that those who have a fondness for literary classics will revel in the book once the introductory portion of the book is over.
I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. I was not financially compensated, and all opinions are 100 percent mine.
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2 Comments
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I hate it when you are a good portion through a book and it’s just not grabbing you. That happened to me with ALL of the Twilight books (when I read them back in 8th grade) and Divergent. But I’m glad you were able to get into it. It ended up being a good thing too because you gave it 5/5 stars! Thanks for the review 🙂
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I’m commenting here to have a few extra entries in the giveaway of season one of When Calls the Heart! I went through your list of reviews and picked this one because I loved this book. I did feel they same way you did about getting into though. But wow, after that first third of the book, I was so sucked in! I think I read it in a day! And I was pregnant at the time, so that says something for keeping me awake for the duration of that day! ❤️
