#BookReview: AUTHENTICALLY, IZZY by Pepper Basham

I have enjoyed the author’s other books so I was looking forward to reading this one. The format is quite different from my usual reading but I like the cheery tone of the story. I was introduced to the characters via text messages, emails and an online dating site. That was new and I didn’t know what to make of it at first. About a third of the book, I started to look forward to the messages. It seems like since it’s something written, the characters showed their true emotions and thoughts.

This was a cute and light hearted romance with bookish main characters. There were many book references. They are Christians so there is a layer of faith in their conversations and actions which I liked. This book also had serious topics such as self acceptance, finding your true calling in life, love of family, and forgiveness.

I didn’t think I would enjoy this book but I did. I am so happy I gave it a chance It was so good. I laughed and cried with Izzy and Brodie. I’d love to visit Skymar and I can’t wait for Penelope’s story.

Rating: 4.5 stars
Pub date: 15 Nov 2022

Thank you Thomas Nelson and #netgalley for the complimentary copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

This is a fun read that is told in text and emails. I enjoyed everything about this book. If you are looking for a fun, clean heartwarming read, grab this book. Loved it!
I received a complimentary copy from Thomas Nelson via NetGalley and was not required to write a review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Finally, a book featuring a female character that enjoys "Lord of the Rings!" This book has every niche trope I could ever hope for, including a nerdy, male love interest that enjoys reading. This is a cute, cozy, slow-burn love story that makes you believe in long-distance relationships. This was such a fun and relaxing story to escape into for a few hours.

I couldn't read this. I tried. I really did.

At 25% in and I am still unsure of anything that is going on, I cannot continue on. This book was not for me.

The majority of the book is emails back and forth between Izzy and her cousins/family members. The alternating chapters are emails with the guys she is meeting on this dating app.

I could not connect to the story at all, I was not interested in the plot or characters.

I hope this book brings nerdy Lord of the Rings lovers joy, because I could not understand most of the references within this first fourth of the book I read.

Authentically, Izzy is an epistolary lovers dream book! This was a fun read for me. I've only read a couple of this style book before and loved them. So, when I heard that Ms. Basham had written one I thought "yay me"! Now I will tell you in case you are wondering, there isn't any real life interaction with the hero and heroine until about 50% through the book. And yes, she has some great kissing scenes in there as well! "Yay me" again! This is a transatlantic relationship that takes the reader from the mountains in Virginia to a fictitious island in England.

I thoroughly recommend this book to any reader who enjoys reading love letters through emails, and texts between a hero and heroine. Also, there is some very witty and comical scenes between family members that had me laughing out loud.
*I was given a copy of this book by Thomas Nelson Publishers and this is my honest opinion,

Thank you @netgalley for the opportunity to read this arc!

‼️ POTENTIAL SPOILERS ‼️

"But books have provided me continual journeys and adventures for which my bank account can never meet."

The writing in this book was so eloquent! I feel I should inform you that this book is mostly written in email exchanges + didn't realize until a couple pages in that this is a Christian book (just FYI), which was a first for me.

I had accepted that the book was email exchanges and then we get to 60% of the way in, and it gets changed up, to a regularly formatted book! Personally, if the whole book had been what that last 40% was, I would've enjoyed it a bit more. I feel I can't fully get into a characters development if I'm not also getting the surrounding context.

Brodie was a dream! And to live in a dang castle? With a tower for a library? Swooning right now.

And can I just say I highly disliked Josephine? Felt nothing for her character.

I would recommend this if you get LOTR references because I felt like a dummy not being in the know 😅

Also, I don't think it ever covered or discussed a particular past relationship for Izzy that didn't give me that satisfying touch.

And as an FYI, this book releases NOV 15 ☺️

Rating: I enjoyed it as a one off book but not for me in the future ☺️

Do you love books? Do you love romance? Do you dream of fictional men as a partner? Also, Do you dream to build a bookstore or a library?

Izzy does. Isabelle Edgewood is a reader(just like you), who works in a library, obsessed with books and dreams about fictional men(again just like you). When her matchmaking-obssessed cousin sets up an account in a dating site, Izzy meets Brodie.

Brodie is the only man close to fictional men (for Izzy), who lives an ocean away from Izzy. He understands Izzy for what she is and he listens to her. Who in their right mind cannot fall for a man like that? Izzy did too overcoming all her insecurities. Unwrap this magical romance of Izzy and Brodie by reading this amazing book.

This is an epistolary novel(A term I learnt from this book). It is fun to read the emails and messages(felt like stalking😂). And it is rich in vocabulary. I learnt many new words. I also loved the descriptions of places - Skymar Islands, Brodie's town and Blue Ridge Mountains. (I googled Blue Ridge Mountains, North Carolina and fell in love with them🥺)

Dislikes : It is a little long. And Eli's character felt cutoff all of a sudden. A proper closure from Izzy, after library fight, would be good, I guess.

Perfect Romcom for bookworms. I bet everyone will relate to the characters at some point.
I will admit that I haven't read any of the books that are referred, except Pride and Prejudice🥲. But I enjoyed reading the book.

Absolutely not, I did not even finish it. Firstly, I didn't realize that it was a christian romance. Which once you get to the actual reading is very heard to miss and not at all my cup of tea. But it also felt incredibly sexist and disgusting. I couldn't dislike a book more if I tried.

Many thanks to NetGalley for sending me this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 stars! What a delightful story! I initially found it a little confusing to get into as the book starts with a series of emails and texts but it didn't take long for me to be caught up in Izzy's story.

This book has all my favorite things: a sweet love story, lots of snarky dialogue, a great group of family members and friends, and a satisfying HEA. AND, as an added bonus, there are lots of great references to some of my favorite books and authors.

Rated G and no profanity. Yay!

This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I liked the premise of the story more than the actual book. It was slow going and at times I was a little bored. I’m sure this will be a favorite for some but it wasn’t the book for me.

𝘈𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺, 𝘐𝘻𝘻𝘺 follows Izzy - a shy but observing bibliophile - who is coerced by her cousin to create a dating profile where she meets Brodie and she's convinced that her cousin is playing a prank on her because there is no way someone as charismatic and freakishly well suited to 𝘩𝘦𝘳 is real. But lo and behold...

- ~ -

First things first, I will say that it is a very clever book and involves a well developed plot.
The writing style is perfect, though, a little too formal but I didn't mind.

And one most important point is that it's an epistolary novel which here means that while it's a relatively short book as most of it was written through messages and texts, I found some of the conversations to be excessively dragging.

Most characters introduced were well meaning and formed a special bond throughout the length of the story but one in particular - Josephine was frustrating, however, she redeemed herself in the end.

And lastly, Brodie and Izzy's romance was the perfect kind reserved for shy booklovers but also a bit underwhelming, atleast in my opinion.

- ~ -

3.53 / 5✩

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘛𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘴 𝘕𝘦𝘭𝘴𝘰𝘯--𝘍𝘐𝘊𝘛𝘐𝘖𝘕 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘱𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘐 𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 & 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸𝘦𝘥. 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘸𝘯.

While I ended up deciding to DNF this book, I'm still going to give it 3 stars for a few reasons:
1. I like that it has mentions of religion and didn't shy away from discussing God and attending church.
2. The idea of writing the entire book in letter, text, and e-mail format was unique and intriguing.
3. I love the You've Got Mail vibes from the messages between Izzy and Brody.
I personally couldn't get invested in the writing overall, but I think others will still enjoy this book.

Izzy was quite the introvert who learned a good deal about herself when one of her cousins signed her up on a dating site. This book consists mostly of letters and emails which I found annoying. Characters were quirky and funny but this isn't a format that I enjoy.

Authentically Izzy by Pepper Basham is absolutely one of the greatest reads of my year. Izzy is a librarian in her small town and surrounded by a family who loves her. Brodie lives in the beautiful country of Skymar and his family owns a bookshop. They meet online and in the story we get to enjoy their correspondence.

I love stories that are told through letters. This one was delightful and was filled with texts and emails from Brodie, Izzy and her cousins. I enjoyed the witty banter, bookish references, and humor woven throughout the story. It was a joy to bookishly travel to the Blue Ridge Mountains and Skymar to enjoy the delightful people and scenery. The bookish references were amazing and made this a great story for all who love books.

With themes of learning to trust, not letting the past dictate your future, and becoming who you were meant to be woven in, this is a thoughtful and pleasurable read. I loved the humor, format and deeper themes. I highly recommend Authentically Izzy.

I was given a copy by the publisher and not required to write a positive review.

In Authentically Izzy, Pepper Basham brings to life a quirky epistolary novel about owning your gifts and finding love along the way. This book was fun and creative, though the pacing was a bit slow for me at first. However, the more I read the more I loved Izzy with her book quotes and love of literature. I loved watching Izzy grow with the help of an incredibly supportive, if mildly smothering, family, a sweet love interest, and a faith in God.

*Thank you Pepper Basham, JustReads, and Thomas Nelson for an e-arc. All opinions are my own.

This author has a knack for trying something different and running with it. The first chapter had me wondering about all the back and forth texts, but then it grabs hold and won’t let go. Fun story, with a very interesting delivery. Izzy is the cousin of Josephine, Luke and Penelope, with whom most of the texts go back and forth between. Josephine has been trying to play matchmaker with Izzy for far too long and always trying to get Izzy to settle into who Josephine thinks would be just perfect. She signs Izzy up on a dating site called Heart to Heart and the story takes off from there. Love the main characters! Aside from Izzy, Josephine, Luke, and Penelope, we meet Eli, Aunt Louisa, Brodie, Ellen, Brynna, Fiona and Anders. Skymar sounds like an amazing place and I can’t wait to see what is in store for Penelope and Luke, assuming he’ll be the 3rd book.
A complimentary copy was provided by Thomas Nelson via NetGalley. A review was not required and all thoughts and opinions are my own.

AMOST MISSED THE FOREST FOR THE TREES!

I always enjoy books written by Pepper Basham. They are loaded with wonderful characters that draw you into her story. Her plots are interesting and hold your attention from beginning to end. Her love stories are clever and have you happily anticipating the couples getting together.

The premise behind her latest release, Authentically Izzy, is sound. It is based on the life of a young woman who is searching for love but doing so rather reluctantly. Why? Izzy has three cousins she is as close to as her siblings. Izzy lost her family years ago and they have stepped in to take care of Izzy. One is happily married and pregnant and thinks they all need to join her in marital bliss. She secretly signs Izzy up on an online dating site because she knows it is something she would never do herself.

chose to write this book using a series of emails back and forth between the cousins and then between Izzy and her potential suitors. I did not mind this technique. What I did mind was that it took up almost 2/3 of the book to get to the real story between Izzy and her potential true love, Brodie, who lives on the other side of the world! I “almost missed the forest for the trees” as I felt that it made this wonderful story drag too much in the beginning before I got to the meat of the story. If I had not believed in this author so much, I would have listed it as DNF and then missed out on a wonderful story.

I was provided a complimentary copy of this book by Thomas Nelson. The opinions expressed here are completely my own and without influence.

I liked the idea of this story very much, and even the story itself, but I must be the only reader who did not enjoy the primary storytelling taking place in texts and emails. It’s all telling, no showing. I was so grateful when the action moved to in person interactions with the characters inner monologues finally arriving. The writing style is a cute gimmick, but I found it very difficult to read, and very easy to skim.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.

Insanely good and addictive❤️
This book is an Epistolary novel I.e it's written in the shape of letters or emails until the last few chapters we get to see parts written in the way we are used to.
However, that's we made the book all the more unique and special because of the correspondence between the characters the author was able to convey more of their feelings, and thoughts. Also, the power of the word was shown a lot better through the use of quotes from worldwide known and famous books by famous authors books we all love and cherish, and there were references to amazing movies such as You've Got
Mail and the one and only Lord Of The Rings which had an amazing impact on the story's progress.

Our story is about Izzy who represents every one of us, a bookish girl that finds her passion and dreams in reading and who dreams of a man similar to the men in books and of someone who understands the power of books and their magic. Therefore, her love life is not that perfect that's until her cousin, Josephine decides to meddle and sign her on a dating website. What started as a silly idea was the way to meet our beloved and amazing Brodie who lives far away from the USA but to Izzy, he is everything that she dreamt of. Could he be real? Could love blossom between them? Could their relationship survive distance and all of Izzy's insecurities not to mention her fear of flying?
You have to read this amazing book to find out and trust me it's worth every min.
It's a gem of a book and a beautiful gift for every book lover out there that speak to us and about us.