DEAR MR. KNIGHTLEY by Katherine Reay

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.

My thoughts...

What a lovely story. It touched my heart as Sam opens up and begins to trust Mr. Knightley with things about herself. You see, he is paying her tuition at a journalism school but with one catch... she must write and keep him informed of her progress. She doesn't know who he is and that's part of the fun of this book.

I built a strong connection with Sam as she struggled with painful memories and was happy to watch her growth and to fall in love. This is a sweet romance definitely worth reading!

I received a copy of this book free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

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.