Dear Mr. Knightley

A Novel

By: Katherine Reay

Narrated by: Hillary Huber

Length: 8 hrs and 52 mins

Publisher's summary

Samantha's only friends were characters in books, but her real life takes an extraordinary turn when a mysterious "Mr. Knightley" offers her a full journalism scholarship — on the condition that she write to him regularly. Will their long-distance friendship unlock her heart?

Sam is, to say the least, bookish. An English major of the highest order, her diet has always been Austen, Dickens, and Shakespeare. The problem is that both her prose and conversation tend to be more Elizabeth Bennet than Samantha Moore.

But life for the 23-year-old orphan is about to get stranger than fiction. An anonymous, Dickensian benefactor calling himself Mr. Knightley offers to put Sam through Northwestern University’s prestigious Medill School of Journalism. There is only one catch: Sam must write frequent letters to the mysterious donor, detailing her progress.

Sam’s letters to Mr. Knightley become increasingly confessional as she begins to share everything from her painful childhood memories to her growing feelings for eligible novelist Alex Powell. While Alex draws Sam into a world of warmth and literature that feels like it’s straight out of a book, old secrets are drawn to light. And as Sam learns to love and trust Alex and herself, she learns once again how quickly trust can be broken.

Reminding us all that our own true character is not meant to be hidden, Katherine Reay’s debut novel follows a young woman’s journey as she sheds her protective persona and embraces the person she was meant to become.

Praise for Dear Mr. Knightley:

“Katherine Reay’s Dear Mr. Knightley kept me up until 2:00 a.m.; I simply couldn’t put it down.”(Eloisa James, New York Times best-selling author of Once Upon a Tower)

“Sprinkled with classic literary references and filled with poignant characterizations, Katherine Reay’s modern retelling of Jean Webster’s Daddy-Long-Legs is both reverently crafted and delightfully surprising.” (Lauren Ann Nattress, Austenprose.com)

“Katherine Reay’s touching debut novel made me cry in all the right places. For joy.” (Laurie Viera Rigler, author of Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict)

• Sweet, stand-alone contemporary romance
• Includes a Q&A with the author and Sam’s reading list

©2021 Katherine Reay (P)2021 Thomas Nelson

A more modern "Daddy Long Legs"

I liked this a lot, but the "discover" did not come off well...both the main characters seemed selfish and wrong at this point. LOVED the descriptions of places I actually have gone to sprinkled throughout the book. The story itself is really sweet and is read well

Enjoyable

Loved the story and the narration. Didn't figure out the ending until near the end.

one of my absolute favorites

I've read the book before and LOVED it. I wasn't a fan of the choice for narration though... she didn't match how I heard Sam in my head. But I still cried and stayed up way too late to finish it. happy sigh. and it's still one of my favorite.

I wanted more at the end

I loved this story so much…until the ending. The storyline was so good and I loved Sam, but the ending felt too rushed and too stilted. I wanted two more chapters to seal everything.

Jane Austin Fan

As a fan of all Janes books I sincerely appreciate the quotes and the flow of the story. I truly enjoyed that other literature was brought into the story line also. What fun. I am sure I will give this another listen!

More than just a cute romance

Wonderful story. Had many references to other great novels of the past. A romance novel with lots of character development and focus on relationships beyond just the romantic ones. Author did a great job of implying mature content to illustrate the dangers of villainous people without going into graphic detail. Warning that there are some references to the ways in which people (adult and child) were physically abused and the injuries that resulted.

Stilted narrator

I enjoyed the story overall, but the narrator did a poor job. She was robotic and stilted throughout the whole book. It didn’t ruin the story, but definitely pulled me out of it at times.

Sweet, emotionally engaging story.

Written in the style of Daddy Long Legs, the reader follow the protagonist's life through a series of letters. This book made me laugh and cry as the author shed light on some of the more seedier sides of the foster care system, but shows that God's love follows us through every circumstance. I would highly recommend.

Good read

I enjoyed this book more than I expected. I especially liked all the references to classic books, Austen, Brontë, etc.

Bored out of my mind!

I have very rarely not finished a book once purchased, but I just gave up. I kept coming back hoping something would capture me… nope! Performance was average and didn’t stand out or particularly aggravate either.