Here it is! Y'all will remember Becoming Miss Knight from a post earlier in January, when this awesome novella released! I've finally finished reading the first two books in The Chronicles of Alice and Ivy--The Dressmaker's Secret and Ivy Introspective--and now it's time to review Book 2.5!
Before we begin, if you'd like to snag your copy of Becoming Miss Knight, you can do so here!
BECOMING MISS KNIGHT IS NO EASY TASK, BUT SURRENDER IS NOT AN OPTION.
Alice Knight’s debut is in less than a year, and everything has to be perfect. Of course, she’d rather be riding her horse or playing with her younger siblings than learning to curtsy. But, with her mother in France for a holiday, the care of the house falls to her—and what better time to learn what it really means to be a lady?
Ivy, her twin sister, has other things on her mind. Namely, the endless conundrum of why she promised to keep an eye on her younger siblings while her parents are gone. She’s the least-qualified person to take care of them, but, bound by her word, she’s determined to try.
Even with all the guidance and advice available, becoming Miss Knight isn’t proving to be easy for either of them. However, any amount of work is worth keeping a promise to their mother.
Kellyn Roth is a Christian historical women’s fiction & romance author from North-Eastern Oregon who has independently published multiple novels, the most notable being The Chronicles of Alice and Ivy series. You should definitely call her Kell.
Kell lives on family-owned property outside an unmemorable but historical town with her parents, two little brothers, arbitrary cat, precious border collies, a dozen cows, and lots of chickens. She also possesses a classic, vintage aesthetic which does not at all speak to her country girl side, but such is life.
When not writing, Kell likes to blog, teach writing to her various students, have day jobs which allow her to keep her car properly insured, and spend lavish amounts of money on Dairy Queen french fries. She also likes to talk about Keira Knightley and her own books just … way too much.
Check out Kell's awesome website and blog here!
Yes, it’s short. What do you expect from a 14k novella intended to bridge the gap between two full-length novels?
Probably not much, I’d wager, but Becoming Miss Knight will likely exceed those expectations!
I think I actually like this short novella better than the last two novels—probably because of how concise it was, but I’m not really certain. I just know that Kellyn Roth did a fantastic job at capturing a few days in the lives of Alice and Ivy, turning everyday moments into a fun story!
We get to see Alice and Ivy all grown up—in their late teens, Ivy home from McCale House and Alice preparing for her first Season. I love the way Roth transitioned the characters from children (with their curiousities and misunderstandings) to mature young women focused on their futures. Their personalities and thought processes remained the same, but they were older, wiser (well, that one’s debatable), and stronger.
Believe it or not, I might like Ivy a wee bit better than Alice, so it was great to see them both at one time! Ivy’s struggles are so real and well portrayed, and Alice is fast becoming a memorable character. This novella serves as a precursor to everything that takes place in Book 3, At Her Fingertips, so having this foundation is really wonderful. It brought up the subject of a certain someone’s parentage again, which lays the groundwork for a very important conversation that will hopefully take place in the next book.
I very much enjoyed BMK. I breezed right through it, mostly because of its length (or lack of), but also because of how captivating it was with only a few thousand words! I’m now looking forward to At Her Fingertips even more!
Disclaimer: I received a complementary copy from the author in exchange for an honest review. All the opinions stated above are my own.