Read Any Good Books Lately?

Here we are, just fifteen days into a new year, and I’ve already finished three wonderful novels and am making progress on three others, so I thought I’d share.

Dear Mr. Knightley by Katherine Reay

Oh. My. Goodness. Where do I even start? I opened this book on my kindle on the elliptical machine at the gym. My first indication (besides the title, I do love Emma and Mr. Knightley!) that I would love this book was that it opened with a letter. I love novels written in letter form when they are well done–and this one is. Then I read that first letter. Then I went back and read it again, almost giddy with joy. In fact, if I could have jumped up and down without falling off the elliptical, I would have, for I realized that this was a story in the vein of Daddy-Long-Legs by Jean Webster! (Published in 1912, if you haven’t read this book or its sequel, Dear Enemy, I highly recommend them! In fact, I need to re-read. It’s been too many years.) Anyway, knowing where the story was headed didn’t dampen my excitement in the least. And then–and then I started reading the references to and quotes from some of my favorite classic literature. I fell completely in love. I mean any book references Jane Austen, Dickens, The Count of Monte Cristo, and BBC TV shows like Sherlock? Complete bliss! Well written with compelling characters, this is a book you don’t want to miss. 

 

Calling Me Home by Julie Kibler

Another one that was just Wow. Told in past and present, this is a tale of forbidden love between a black man and a white woman in Kentucky in the 1940s. The historical storyline captures all the emotion and nuances of the earlier era. The  contemporary story has a bit of a Driving Miss Daisy feel that draws you into an unlikely friendship where the past has lessons for the present. Loved this story, for even when I thought I might know the twist at the end, there was an aspect to that twist that I didn’t see coming, which is always a fun surprise. I hear this one has been optioned for a movie. If done right, it will be fabulous!

 

 

A Question of Honor (A Bess Crawford Mystery) by Charles Todd

I don’t even know how this book got on my radar, but I’m so glad it did! I adore a historical mystery. Not suspense, a try Agatha Christie style mystery. And if it can be set in a historical era, so much the better! This one goes even one notch higher–it is set in England, and for Anglophile me, that’s about as good as it gets. My only disappointment was realizing I’d started with the fifth book in the series, so there were a few recurring characters that I wished I knew their history more fully. It didn’t mean I didn’t understand the story, I just wanted to know more. This particular mystery starts in British India, but the main action of solving the mystery takes place during The Great War. Bess’s father is a Colonel. Bess is a nurse at the front. Loved the period detail and the mystery of it all. It really kept me in suspense. Bess herself is lovely, but her parents and her good friend, Simon, are awesome, too. I will definitely be reading more of these, starting with book one!

So there you go. That’s what I’ve been reading so far this year. How about you? Read any good books lately?

(If you friend me on Goodreads or follow my Another Good Read board on Pinterest, you can see more books I’ve enjoyed since I don’t have time to review on my blog all 80 or so books I read each year!)