Genre: Life, Jane Austen (can she be a genre?!)
My rating on a 1-10 scale: 9
Type: Fiction
Number of pages: 325
Time period: Present
Publisher and price: Thomas Nelson, $15.99
Passage about the book: Samantha Moore survived years of darkness in the foster care system by hiding behind her favorite characters in literature, even adopting their very words. Her fictional friends give her an identity, albeit a borrowed one. But most importantly, they protect her from revealing her true self and encountering more pain.
After college, Samantha receives an extraordinary opportunity. The anonymous “Mr. Knightley” offers her a full scholarship to earn her graduate degree at the prestigious Medill School of Journalism. The sole condition is that Sam write to Mr. Knightley regularly to keep him apprised of her progress.
As Sam’s true identity begins to reveal itself through her letters, her heart begins to soften to those around her—a damaged teenager and fellow inhabitant of Grace House, her classmates at Medill, and, most powerfully, successful novelist Alex Powell. But just as Sam finally begins to trust, she learns that Alex has secrets of his own—secrets that, for better or for worse, make it impossible for Sam to hide behind either her characters or her letters.
My overall opinion: When Katherine contacted me asking if I’d be interested in writing an endorsement for Dear Mr. Knightley, I was ecstatic to say the least – and not just because I was writing my first endorsement, but also because finally, a book was coming that would incorporate Jane Austen and not be horrid (like the zombie and sea monster spinoffs – haven’t read them but they sound awful). An early copy arrived in my mailbox this spring, and I quickly made time to delve into it. And I was not disappointed. Katherine managed to perfectly incorporate strains of Jane Austen and Jane Eyre into Dear Mr. Knightley while keeping the story moving at a good rate. I’ve read books before that are rather annoying, when put into letter form. This story is in epistle form and it only enhances the delightful story within! I was so caught up in this one. It’s easy to read, easy to love, and most decidedly a book that I highly recommend to all Jane Austen fans. It’s worth buying, y’all! (and if you read it...look on the first page - my endorsement is there!)
**The author sent me a free copy of this book in addition to the advance manuscript, but I didn’t have to review it positively. I wasn’t paid for my review.**
(note: you can find and watch a book trailer on youtube by just looking up "dear mr. knightley" . I am unable to include it here for complicated reasons.)
4 comments:
I saw your endorsement!! That is SO cool! Dear Mr. Knightley is such a good book it shall forever be on my keeper shelf. :)
Saw that lovely endorsement also, Charity. Well done. So glad you were able to do that - and yay! Glad, most of all that you enjoyed this book - like Rosie, it's on my keeper shelf. :)
I'll put this on my list! It sounds like a Jane Austen fan's redo of Granddaddy Long Legs.
I loved this, especially the ending. :) The start wasn't gripping but if you can get into it you'll enjoy it!
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