Dear Mr. Knightley

Wow. I enjoyed Dear Mr Knightley so much. I can't recommend it highly enough. It was the first novel I've read by Katherine Reay, and if others are this good, I'll be a fan for life. The letter format allowed for some very deep first-person sharing, and I feel as though I know Sam pretty well. Her letters covered some very intense issues, and I related to being able to pour your heart out to an anonymous stranger, disclosing way more than you might if sitting face-to-face. Do yourself a huge favour and read this book.

This was the first epistolary (the story being told through letters) book I've ever read and, though it took me a little while to get used to the style of writing, I ended up really loving the book and staying up way past my bedtime to finish it. Samantha, her life and her story were utterly captivating. I wanted to cry at times as she fumbled around in a world she felt so unprepared for, her honesty wrecking me. And yet, her journey was all the more beautiful because of it. Such a brilliant book and one I'll be thinking about for a very long time. Can't wait to read it again.

This book is absolutely brilliant. I started reading it, thinking I'll sneak in a chapter before making dinner - and two hours later there was no dinner, but I had finished the book! Then I promptly went back to the start to read it all again at a more leisurely pace. Yep, it's that good! Despite the title, the book is actually a modern retelling of another classic - Daddy Long Legs by Jean Webster. But there are plenty of references to Austen and countless other authors. This is definitely a book for book lovers. Highly recommended!

I loved, loved, loved this book. I started it yesterday and frustratingly had to go to bed last night with it unfinished. I couldn't stop thinking about it and kept writing the ending in my half asleep mind. There was so much to love about this book: the Austen quotes, the hope, the love. It definitely lived up to the hype!

Sometimes you are given a gift that everyone assures you will be delightful but you aren't entirely sure the contents will be too your liking. The wrapping is appealing and the shape looks intriguing but you are still uncertain. You open it up and you are surprised by its unique richness and you wonder why you ever doubted! That was Katherine Reay's debut novel for me. I loved the premise, the cover was beautifully fanciful but a book composed entirely of letters? To write such an epistolary novel and pull it off successfully is hard - and a debut novelist? I admit to a little skepticism but I'm thrilled to say Katherine pulled it off beautifully, and then some!\\r\\n\\r\\nDear Mr. Knightley captivated me, heart and soul, from beginning to end. The characters are beguiling to a fault ~ Sam's awkwardness, Kyle's brokeness, Mrs Muir's gentleness, Alex's charm, the Professor's protectiveness ~ each quickly wove their way into my heart. Katherine is a master of emotive prose, easily evoking my empathy, anger, passion, and eventually tears as Sam discovers that she is precious and worthy of love. There is a cleverness to Katherine's writing that is deeply refreshing ~ wry humour, romantic tenderness, and heart shattering honesty pour from these pages, as do wonderful quotes from the classics that readers will delight in discovering. Simply put, I adored this story.