Not Quite Mr. Knightley, by Kim Griffin

 

 

It was the year 1970, and Nancy was living her dream. An internship at the U.S. Embassy in London, and a handsome My. Knightley fiance.
But when she reads a letter from her future father-in-law, her house of cards comes crumbling down. She packs up and runs, but once home realizes she didn't leave it all behind her. A quick proposal from the boy next door has her life turning in unexpected directions.
This book is wonderful at showing how to set boundaries to protect a marriage, how important respect and honor are inside the marriage, and how important life itself is.
Kim Griffin is one of the best Christian authors I read. She always puts true scriptural lessons in the pages, and not just superficially. We can all learn from Nancy's beautiful story, about repentance and faith and God's love, as well as how love should be lived out towards others. It truly was a wonderful book to get wrapped up in.

Tell Them You Lied, by Laura Leffler

 We've all had them. Friends we are awestruck by, obsessed by, who treat us as if we are equals - but yet are constantly pulling the rug out from under us, making us feel like we are being ridiculous.

Wednesday, the first week of college classes, in an art class with the professor she chose this college to learn from, a girl with careless style and wild hair bursts into the classroom late, and Anna is awestruck. Willow is cool, rich, and carelessly cruel. Anna is driven, ambitious, and vulnerable to Willow's toxicity, drawn in like a moth to a flame. Anna and Willow become inseparable, the foundation of a group of friends who will weather many highs and lows together, sometimes at the expense of one another.

Five years later, Anna is finally ready to do something about it. They're still together, living in an apartment in NYC, and Anna plans a prank to scare Willow, maybe shake her resolve, and give Anna back some of her own. But on the morning of the prank, September 11, 2001, the world went wrong, Willow went missing, and Anna is again left wondering what is happening. 

I read this book in big gulps, immersed in the late 90s vibes, the fashion, the art, and the ongoing discussion of women as muses and the artists who used them. I recognized the emotions, the personalities, and the electric buzz that ran through the well-written prose. It is one of my favorite reads so far this year. 

Expected publication May 27, 2025.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publishers, and the author for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Katabasis, by R.F. Kuang

 

This book. I’ve tried to give myself time to think about it, but it just seems so big. There was a lot of description and history. This is not a book you can dip in and out of during those times when you have “ten or twenty minutes to read.” You have to be focused—every sentence seems to add information to what you already know. Sometimes you don’t think it’s necessary, but it all adds to the depth of the world and the characters.

That said, I really loved the story. Alice Law never wanted anything but magic. Her tunnel vision bordered on obsession. Professor Jacob Grimes at Cambridge is considered the best in the world, and Alice will sacrifice anything to work with him. When his death in a magical accident jeopardizes her goals, she is determined to go to hell and bring him back—even though her rival, Peter Murdoch, has the same goal.

The descriptions of the landscapes and the adventures while they are in hell are very entertaining. The backstory (it feels like there is so much more about Peter’s life than Alice’s) drags the story down a bit, and it does start a little slow, but once I got into it, I couldn’t put it down without it occupying my thoughts until I finished it.

Expected publication August 26, 2025

Thanks to Netgalley, the publishers and the author for the advance readers copy in exchange for an honest review.