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A review by texastink
Dear Mr. Knightley by Katherine Reay
3.0
**Some Spoilers Ahead**
This book was definitely not what I was expecting having read the back cover. It was kind of dark at times and very heavy. Samantha, the main character, could be quite intriguing at times and quite frustrating at others. Overall, I kind of enjoyed the book and can relate to trying to hide your true self and gloss over being open and honest for the sake of comfort and safety. Those parts were the most convicting and interesting for me and gave me good things to think about. My main problem with the book is the way it ends. Had the ending been different, my rating would have been much better. As it is, Samantha experienced a massive betrayal right at the end of the book. Something that shows the absolute lack of honesty and integrity of another character in the book. I understand that the person was caught in a tough place, but it is still inexcusable. The whole book, nothing came easy for Samantha. Nothing in life and nothing in her growth. But somehow at the end, in spite of the terrible betrayal of trust, she's able to forgive and move on incredibly quickly and easily. It was a nice easy bow on top of a messy, though not ugly, story and it doesn't make sense. While she should certainly forgive the person, and possibly reconcile, that kind of breach of trust would take a lot of time to heal from. I would have liked to have seen that process instead of a quick and easy happy ending, especially given the emotional mess of the rest of the book.
This book was definitely not what I was expecting having read the back cover. It was kind of dark at times and very heavy. Samantha, the main character, could be quite intriguing at times and quite frustrating at others. Overall, I kind of enjoyed the book and can relate to trying to hide your true self and gloss over being open and honest for the sake of comfort and safety. Those parts were the most convicting and interesting for me and gave me good things to think about. My main problem with the book is the way it ends. Had the ending been different, my rating would have been much better. As it is, Samantha experienced a massive betrayal right at the end of the book. Something that shows the absolute lack of honesty and integrity of another character in the book. I understand that the person was caught in a tough place, but it is still inexcusable. The whole book, nothing came easy for Samantha. Nothing in life and nothing in her growth. But somehow at the end, in spite of the terrible betrayal of trust, she's able to forgive and move on incredibly quickly and easily. It was a nice easy bow on top of a messy, though not ugly, story and it doesn't make sense. While she should certainly forgive the person, and possibly reconcile, that kind of breach of trust would take a lot of time to heal from. I would have liked to have seen that process instead of a quick and easy happy ending, especially given the emotional mess of the rest of the book.