A new author to me. Wasn't sure what to expect but quite enjoyed the story - it didn't grip me but reasonably entertaining.

This book was a love letter to classic literature. I love a book that has intelligent characters.
Lucy is in the rare book business but her business isn't as squeaky clean as one would expect. This murkiness causes her well-ordered life to start coming apart at the seams and before she knows what's happening she has been hired on a trip to London to consult with her exes grandmother, Helen.

Through their adventure, Lucy learns more about Helen's past as they visit many literary landmarks in England. Lucy has to make a decision about how she wants to live her life.

I really appreciated being on the sidelines to witness this book of figuring out who you want to be and if it's what you are currently on the path to achieving. As a fellow classics lover, it made me want to pick up all the books mentioned and read them for the first time or revisit those wonderful moments.

I would recommend this to anyone who loves the Bronte Sisters or other classical literature and also to those who like stories where the characters have to decide what their path forward is and how they want to live their lives.

So this was a bit of a mix for me. I loved the concept and the main elements but I had a hard time connecting with the characters. This could just be me but I found it hard to form an attachment and get into the book which I think may of been down to the writers style. Having said that others may enjoy the style and find it easier to connect so I wouldn’t rule out given it a go because like I said the concept of the story was great.

This was an enjoyable read and I would recommend it. thanks for letting me have an advance copy. I'm new to this author.

Katherine Reay's books are generally hit or miss for me. And unfortunately this one was miss for me. I couldn't stand Lucy the heroine. Nor could I stand the hero. With rom com I don't have to like both the hero and heroine to enjoy and like the book. However, I do have to like at least one of them, and that wasn't the case here.

Great idea and concept for a book. A thoroughly enjoyable read. Highly recommended. .

DNf - 60%
Lucy Alling is fairly happy in her job selling rare, antique items when she falls in love with a customer, and is introduced to his grandmother - who knows a lot more about Lucy and her family members than Lucy herself. When a secret comes to life that rattles Lucy, and ends her relationship, she ends up being employed by her ex's grandmother to travel to England on an antique hunt - as well as a literary tour.

This book has the ingredients to what I thought would be my perfect recipe but it ended up being really bland, and lacked any kind of spice or seasoning. I just couldn't bother reading more, and dnf'it at 60%.

I found the story didn't flow very well, and was very stop and start from chapter one. I couldn't get my head around Lucy meeting James in the first chapter (which was actually their second meeting - their first meeting where the initial chemistry apparently happened, happened off-page), being in a relationship with him by the second and broken up and heartbroken by the third. It was a whirlwind for two characters who had very little chemistry and barely even kissed. And honestly, I really didn't like James anyway and how he spoke to Lucy and kind of commandeered some of the decisions she made about her life (him giving her furniture rubbed me up the wrong way as it felt a bit controlling or something).

The storyline in general was just very, very boring and it seemed to take way too long for anything to actually happening except repeat conversations about Lucy's dad and granddad, and what terrible people they apparently were. At 60%, they hadn't even made it to any interesting literary hotspot except for some tourist areas around London.

Lucy was also just not a nice character at all. She came off as a bit mean and a bit of a bully to others. There were several scenes where she acted horribly in restaurants and I couldn't get over it. The story is written in a way that we are suppose to forgive Lucy for these misdemeanours and she doesn't really mean it but I just was really turned off by her.

this was a great read, perfect to dig into on a rainy day. warm and fuzzy with good characters and a good plot. feel good factor.

3.5 stars
Reay’s latest is an enjoyable trip to Europe, although at times it reads more like a travel narrative than a novel. Readers less familiar with the Brontë sisters’ books might have a difficult time, yet the redemption of the characters is heartfelt and the plot is unpredictable.
As an assistant to an interior designer, Lucy Alling’s specialty is finding old, rare books. The daughter of a con artist, Lucy has adopted a few of her father’s unethical traits. When Lucy’s boyfriend, James, discovers what she has done, they break things off. An unexpected connection takes Lucy on a trip to Europe with James’ grandmother, and what Lucy learns about herself helps her grow.

This was on my kindle list for ages and I think one of the first books I have requested from NetGalley. You know what it’s like, you see lots of books you like and you keep clicking to request and suddenly you have 300 books on your e-reader and 300 books on your shelves and no time to read.

With this one, I wish I‘d picked it up earlier. It is a lovely book. What a better way to engage a lover of books than with a novel about another lover of books and all things vintage. There are fab characters that take you through Lucy’s journey of proper growing up.

The only reason this book lost one star from me was James’s character. I despised James for the way he left Lucy without her having a chance to explain why she does the things she does and let’s be honest (excuse the pun), her dodgy deals were not the biggest crimes in history and he already knew her family background which kind explained some of the things Lucy did. I don’t condone lying, but there are worse things she could have been lying about.

Anyway, overall this was a great book. I very much enjoyed Lucy’s relationship with Helen. It reminded me of the famous Lou Clarke and her growing attachment to Will’s mum (Me Before You by Jojo Moyes). Helen saw Lucy for who she was and helped her grow into a more rounded person with integrity. And of course Sid, who stuck by Lucy even though it could have meant the end of his good reputation. It’s a great picture of knowing who your friends are when you are at your lowest.

Thank you to the author and NetGalley.

Such a lovely book, written honestly. I began it not really knowing what to expect, and ended it feeling content.

I thought i would enjoy this book, I did not realize this was going to be a Christian novel. Not the book for me. If this is a mistake, it is listed as Christian in Amazon. Stopped reading when I saw that.

I enjoyed this book by Katherine Reay. As I've said before, I think Reay's strength as a novelist comes from her gentle but honest handling of the intricacies of family and her characters' quirks and foibles. In this case, the main character is blatantly dishonest and she comes across as one who justifies her actions. However, all ends well with Lucy, as all good romances tend to do with their main characters--but not before she takes the journey of a lifetime to find herself and what she truly wants.

I loved Dear Mr. Knightley, and I was disappointed that I really didn't care for this book very much.

After a few pages, I found myself skimming the story to find out what the "secret" was, but didn't even manage to find it before I put this one down.

The Bronte plot was a bit of a mixed bag for me. Good elements and some not so good.

I think my main issue was the characters, I could never identify or feel a kinship with *any* of them except maybe the Grandmother, and not terribly so with her. I just didn't really like them and I couldn't form an attachment. That makes it hard to get into a book when you have that problem!

My favorite things, and what I feel are its strengths, included all the "book talk." Being a lover of literature and books in general, I loved all the references to books, characters, and authors. Many that I admire. Another strength was "the trip." The places they went, the things they saw, were fun to read about and picture in my mind. I wished I was right there with them! To me, these two things made the book! Without them it would've been harder to get through. The help that goes on in the Inn redeemed the characters a little. I liked that part, too.

One of the themes running through the book kind of turned me off--the idea of a bad characteristic following through the generations without them being able to help it. Now, I do believe in this in some instances but the particular one used in this book I had a hard time buying into. It irked me. The story overall felt forced at times and maybe not well explained.

I like the cover art, but do think maybe the title is a little misleading. It's not so much just about the Brontes, though they are mentioned and part of the book is set where they were from. (So maybe not, but I felt it was for me.)

I think that fans of Ms Reay's previous work will enjoy this.

Secrets, regrets, choices and honesty.
The old-fashioned values? Yes. And no, as they matters so much, still.

Lucy Alling has a very active imagination and is very creative - if not completely honest. No, she is not intending to lie in the full meaning, she is "just" playing with stories. To make life more eventful, to beautify it a bit, to give the others what they want, so they would give her what she wants.
It is a trait maybe inherited from her father, a small con man, whom she haven't seen in twenty years. Her only contact with him is the birthday book he sends her her every year. And whom and his approval she is missing more and deeper than she knows.

Until a guy touches her heart and leaves her for her dishonesty, Lucy is OK with the status quo.

But when the guy's grandmother Helen invites her to go to the UK with her to help her to make some of Helen’s past regrets and mistakes right, Lucy starts to understand her own choices more. And herself.

All set in the exciting and yet cozy English environment, this is a journey to the past and present, to the consequences of our choices.

To me, this is a book about the literature, the love of literature and of some of the best plots known. But it is not the retelling of these stories, it is more the playing with them and even the interpreting of their meanings in the modern times. Ms Reay is obviously a bookie and so am I, so I enjoyed all the literary references immensely. Following her trademark in weawing the literary references in her plots and everyday happenings in the lives of her characters, this novel is full of great British novelists, namely the Brontë sisters, Elizabeth Gaskell and others, with a nod to Dostoyevsky and the honorary mention of the C.S.Lewis. And the way of thinking and writing of these authors is, in the modern disguise, the backbone of this novels. Secrets and their consequences, heavy regrets of not living either according to the moral values or not living as the true selves. Going the narrow path - with the good moral choices rewarded at the last pages. Heavy heritage of the past. And the strength ones gains while living the right way, even if it is not the easy way. With courage to endure.

And while all that said is the positive of the book, it might also be its negative. It is good to have the strong moral message, but from time to time is comes first and the story itself the second. I mean, I know that I was told a story, instead of living in the story. The novel is also a bit heavy on philosophying.

But having said all of that - the books have been amongst the most defining moral compasses of my life. So I totally get that they can be that in the lives of the others. And the big literary names are more than capable to be the guides.

As for the characters here - I mostly love the side characters. Sid with his integrity and creativity and Helen with her courage to face the past. And Bette and Dillon, whom, while not being modern Cathy and Hareton, they still remind me of them.

As for Lucy - while I not love her, I do get her. She lives within the stories and less in the real reality than she should. She fears rejection, so she betters the truth. And she is relatable, as is every rich, complicated and flawed personality.
James needs some originality to be the leading man. Compared to Lucy, he comes out bland. But maybe the opposites attract here and his solidness might be the haven to Lucy's ship. After all, not everybody is Mr Rochester (and there is no need for it, too).

While I love Lizzy&Jane the best amongst Ms Reay's works, this one is interesting read, a journey to understanding the value of values.

Unfortunately, this story did not hold my attention like KR's first book. Thank you NetGalley!

Although I didn't like this book as much as I had hoped to, it was an enjoyable read. I loved all the literary references, and the the characters. The story progresses well. There is something about it, though that put me off a bit. Maybe I didn't really connect emotionally with the characters. I can't pinpoint it, exactly, but I will say, all in all, it is a good story, and I would definitely read more by this author.

I so wanted to like this book, but could never get invested in the plot, characters, or writing style. I love the idea, but I just didn't connect with this book.