Thank you to Net Galley and the publishers for the ARC. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. #NetGalley #AuthenticallyIzzy

Epistolary novels can be really annoying because the whole book is being told to you. And I'm not sure what it's enhancing to the plot. Also, I'm not clear what time period we're in. If it was Modern day, then most people have some understanding of Lord of the Rings. But since so few people know about this LotR series, and yet there's online dating and texting, I guess this could be the late 90s? Either way, I find it hard to believe, if this is set currently, that no one knows Lord of the Rings. Also, there's not that many characters, but I'm having trouble tracking who all Izzy is emailing and how they're related to each other. Do people email family this much these days? And the entire premise doesn't make much sense, but that might be because the story lacks a lot of verisimilitude. It's weird to sell a book as nerds falling in love and then spending so much time bashing nerdy things; even the protagonists bashes some nerdy things like comic books. I didn't care for it and it makes me wonder who this book is for?

I’ll be honest, I had a hard time getting into it at first. The first half kind
of dragged. The second half of the book is what made me fall in love with the story.
In the first half of the book we get the story all through e-mails and text conversations. The second half is also mixed in with a 3rd person POV as well. I think that’s what made it so much more enjoyable.
I love a book worm story and Izzy was delightful as she started coming out of her shell. The romance was sweet, the humor was well done and I loved the theme of strong family bonds.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for sending me a copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

This read was so cute and wholesome! I felt like I could relate to the main character so much, it was witty and funny, I lol-ed in real life at certain parts cause the main character was so relatable. The pace in the book is fast and overall I enjoyed this read very much!

I had just a bit of a hard time getting started with this book only because I have only read one other epistolary story before. Once I got into it though, I absolutely loved it and loved the style. Izzy was such a fun, quirky character. Of course, I loved her love of books. She has had a difficult life and never felt she truly belonged anywhere or that anyone could love her. After she ends up on an online dating site, she meets Brodie. He is wonderful! I enjoyed watching their friendship blossom into more. The secondary characters were great also. I can't wait for Penelope's story and really, REALLY hope Luke gets his own story as well. It really was such a fun book, and I highly recommend it.

**I was given a complimentary copy of this book by Netgalley and the publisher. All opinions expressed are my own.**

Oh, what a delightful book to read. It was like living in these characters’ lives because of the way this author wrote!
This book was mostly written as an Epistolary novel. We get all the feels of the fun crazy relationships these characters have through their emails and texts back and forth. I truly loved this way of telling the story. Even though it was mostly emails and texts, the story flowed smoothly and each of the characters came alive in their conversations. I could just hear their banter and relate to many of their struggles and joys.
Now, the whole “online dating” isn’t something I’ve ever experienced, but it really sounded fun.
If you like stories that are packed full of wonderful quotes from movies, and books, and if you dream of visiting the land where Hobbits lived, as well as the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains, then this is the book for you to pick up.
Pepper Basham presented a charming tale that actually had depth and humor all wrapped up in the conversations these characters had. There were also bits of wonderful life lessons that deeply touched my soul.
I’ve not read many books written by this author, but I plan to change that. I look forward to picking up more of her books and digging into them.
I highly recommend you pick this book up for a delightful read. You just might find yourself dreaming of taking a trip across the ocean to see rolling hills and white cliffs.
I was given this book by the publisher which did not influence my review in any way, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

I will always be drawn to a book revolving around a book lover. It makes the reading experience that much sweeter. And I can say the same for Authentically, Izzy. The story is told primarily through text/email communication, which did throw me at first, but I adjusted quickly.

Izzy is an introverted book lover who meets Brodie, a fellow book lover, online, before their romance brings him to the states and eventually takes her to Skern, where she transforms his family bookstore by becoming the book matchmaker.

I think the concept is cute and the characters were fun, but overall, this story fell short for me. I don’t think the email format for most of the book was a fit for me, but I still thought this was a fast-paced, heartwarming read.

Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for this e-ARC in exchange for my honest review!

This was a quick read that I didn't 100% LOVE. I'm all for having flawed characters, but these two were almost too toxic for each other. There was almost too much hinderance for them to be together that had me thinking "why should I finish this book?". I normally enjoy correspondence in books, but something about this didn't quite do it for me.

I'm going to start by saying, I adored this book. It tried to make me hate it, but it failed. Here's why. I could not deal with the entire first half, if not more, of this book being written in email, and text form. I found it annoying, I couldn't get past the format. BUT! Once the author switched over to a more traditional writing format, I very quickly realized, there was absolutely no other way to introduce us to the characters! The creativity is just jumping off of the pages, just as Izzy's creativity jumps out of her once given the changes.

I adored Izzy in all of her authentic self. The fairy tale she lives is a true dream for every bibliophile. Living in world of books her whole life, introverted, witty. She finally finds herself in a world far away from that she knows so well when she meets the man of her dreams and he helps her realize and find her true authentic self in a world of books!

*I was kindly gifted this book on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

If you are someone who can read a book and love it for plot alone, then you’d probably rate this a lot higher than I have. I actually adored the plot and the story itself, so I hate that I’m rating it so low due to language.

The story is a cute romance which began online and became a long distance romance. The couple are book-obsessed and that’s their main bonding point. They are really cute together, so if you’re up for a cheesy romance, give this a go!

My issues come in with the language. I have specific points I’d like to raise with pages, but generally the language and style wasn’t perfect.

I’ve recently read a few books which are email/text based instead of prose based, and I’ve really gotten into them and enjoyed them. I actually loved the way this was mostly email/text and then some prose came in towards the end. However, as some other reviewers have mentioned, email is a very outdated form of communication these days and while it doesn’t specifically seem out of place to me as someone who did communicate via email, a younger audience wouldn’t be able to relate in that way. Not necessarily a criticism, just an observation.

On page 24, Izzy and Brodie are talking and she says something about preferring reading to hiking and goes on to say she hopes Brodie doesn’t assume that she’s fat because of that. I don’t like the assumption that because someone doesn’t like hiking they are fat, but even if they were, I don’t see why that’s a bad thing. It’s just a subtle hint of fatphobia that really wasn’t necessary.

There are also several mentions of JKR and Harry Potter. Of course, it’s a book about bookish characters who love things like HP and LOTR, but with the current situation regarding her, I just think it would be smart to not include those references.

Brodie is always presented as a sweet character, but he’s also always been under the assumption that Izzy will leave her life behind to move to him& has never considered that she may want to stay with her family and life. Izzy’s outlook has always been “I don’t want to move, but he might not either, so that’s a problem”, Brodie’s has always been “I don’t want to move, but Izzy will love it here”. That kind of attitude just doesn't fit the sweet, awkward Brodie that's been presented throughout the rest of the book, so I'm just seeing an inconsistency. I don't think the Brodie shown everywhere else would act like that, so either he's not sweet and awkward like that, or he is and doesn't have that attitude. I just can't see one person being both of those things.

Following on from my above point, Izzy is aware of this attitude and doesn’t have a problem with it. When she was helping Eli with his book, she complained about his heroine being needy and willing to drop everything for the love interest, saying she isn’t a proper heroine, but then does the exact same thing. Just a bit hypocritical. Also when she says things like “why would someone like him want someone like me”.

Overall, if you’re not someone who over-analyses language like I do, I think you’ll thoroughly enjoy this book. I did enjoy it, but my issues with the language are stopping me from rating this any higher.

3.5 stars

Very clean, sweet romance with adorable main characters. Part epistolary, part narrative with a classic style of writing. My criticisms would be:
1. Too long
2. Those two toxic supporting characters
3. A lot of two-steps-forward-one-step-back
These things made for an unnecessarily cumbersome reading experience. The early correspondence between cousins, especially, is very wordy.
Fortunately, I think I’ll be in the minority with opinions. And, overall, there’s a lot to love about this book.

Authentically Izzy is a delightful and smile-inducing read. I was hooked from page one and revelled in the email and text message correspondence that make up the chapters. Izzy Edgewood's character resonated with me on many levels, and her cousins (Josephine, Penelope and Luke) are striking secondary characteristics. The marriage of minds between Izzy and Brodie is spellbinding and tugged my heart strings. The numerous references to the Lord of the Rings and English classics will make any avid reader swoon. The quotations used at the end of most emails celebrate the beauty of words. While I had an idea of how the plot would unravel at different stages, it did not take away from the central question of what it means to be your authentic self. This means embracing change, taking chances, ruffling a few feathers and opening your heart. There are a few religious references made, which I didn't mind at all. Overall, the ending made me smile, and dopamine indeed made its arrival!

A thank you to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson for giving me a complimentary copy of this book. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

A fair four-star read. I usually love episodic stories, as they just appeal to me so much, I know its not everyone’s taste, but to me they just remind me of being young and getting letters that told me what was going on all over the world in far away places. This was good, but I couldn’t help feeling like I was missing something, as I enjoyed the whole thing, but I didn’t love it as much as I expected to, as it has all the great parts, they just don’t quiet fit. I will likely give this another read, as it has great bones.

I loved the beginning of this, the emails and text messages. It was like opening into a life, getting just puzzle pieces and putting together who they are from those pieces. Well done :)
Unfortunately I felt it was a little slower paced than I was expecting or in the mood for.

I love Basham's character development and witty banter, but I feel that was lost a little in the epistolary format of this book.

Aside from that I loved Izzy and find myself identifying with her quite strongly. I didn't even know what my dream job was until she defined it. Sign me up for that!

And Bodie was perfection.

Thanks, Netgalley for the ARC!

This is a new to me author, and I'm so glad I gave this a chance. It was so good and drew me in from the start.
I highly recommend this book.

What a delightfully bookish romance!! Izzy Edgewood is a small town assistant librarian who adores books and just hasn't found her mister right. When her cousin signs her up for an online dating site, Izzy gives it a try. And to her surprise it works and soon she is exchanging messages with Brodie, a nerdy book lover, who lives an entire ocean away. As they correspond more regularly Izzy must decide if she can overcome her own fears and traverse the distance between them.
This is the romance that bookish people have been waiting for. Full of book quotes and references galore and then the sweetest romance I couldn't put this down. Izzy and Brodie are both people I would love to know and be around in real life. Even the cast of characters surrounding them are wonderful, and examples of loving family members, even if sometimes a little misguided. I adored this book and think any avid reader and nerd alike will enjoy this story.

I didn't end up finishing this book sadly, it was not for me. It was a little too slow and I wasn't a huge fan of the emails but hopefully others enjoy it.

I really could not get into this book. Big let down for me. It was just a bunch of letters that were a bit ridiculous. I am sorry just not my cup of tea.

Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

When her cousin signs her up for a dating site, Izzy ends up meeting a fellow book lover - the problem is he lives on the other side of the world and she fears he might be too good to be true.

I loved the fact that Izzy is a librarian and book lover. What I loved ever more though? The fact that Brodie is perfect for her, just like she’s perfect for him. They are both such sweethearts how can you not love them?

The love between cousins is another topic I’d like to be explored more in books. You cannot choose family. When they have such a special bond though? It’s more like friendship and I’m totally up for it!

The book is well written and it contains a fine sense of humor. The writing is very efficient and helps you get attached to the characters.

I also really liked the literary references. They make the book so special for a book lover like me.

Well done!!

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced digital copy.

Told through a series of emails, this charmingly romantic tale is a love letter to books, the written word and the magic of an idyllic life. Sometimes stepping out of your routine allows you the perspective you need to figure out what makes you truly happy and how to live your life to its fullest and happiest. I loved this book so much it would take pages to correctly review and do it justice. Book lovers need to read this!