Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of this book!

Penelope Edgewood is very positive, seemingly always looking on the bright side of life. She earns the opportunity to work at a dying theater in Scotland, specifically on the island of Skymar, to help restore it and hopefully get the finances back up to where they used to be. She works with the Gray family, the owners of the theater that has been in their family for generations, and an anonymous person, "GK", to help revitalize the theater and add her unique touch to it.

Two of the brothers, Matt and Alec Gray, seem to have different ideas on how to revive the theater. Alec is a little more welcoming to Penelope while Matt needs a little more time to warm up to Penelope's positivity. Penelope has three months to figure out how to improve this theater. Is her positivity and hope enough to fulfill her goal?

I wanted to like this book. However, it could only garner 2.5 out of 5 stars (again, Goodreads does not allow its users to give half stars; I will keep addressing this until they fix it). I was hoping for an endearing story and looked forward to reading something similar to what was described as an "Elle Woods-like" character. Needless to say, I would watch "Legally Blonde" for the hundredth time rather than read this book.

I could forgive the awkward formatting considering this was an ARC and I was reading this on my Kindle. That being said, the details in the book were scattered, which is understandable considering Penelope's character (hopefully, the author intended to show this as a character flaw). Penelope's character bothered me too. She had her moments where her intelligence and theater acumen shined through, but in other cases, she was what I would describe as ignorantly positive or just positively ignorant. There were so many moments throughout the story that were painfully predictable too.

I also didn't like the formatting and sudden switching from e-mail and text messages to third-person narration. It happened abruptly and it was just a little awkward. I thought that the email exchanges and text messages took away from the understanding of each character. Some of the characters didn't seem fully fleshed out as a result.

I will be positive though and say that I enjoyed the banter between Penelope and Matt and wanted to find out when they finally get together. The romance aspect of this story between these two was pretty much the only thing that I enjoyed from this book.

While some of the parts were cute, most of it was just a little bit of a miss for me.

With many laugh-out-loud moments, readers will find Positively, Penelope is practically perfect in every way. This was just what I needed. A book that is filled with so many wonderfully delectable musical references and a heroine that couldn't help but worm her way into this reader's heart. Penelope has all of the positivity of Anne Shirley, yet a passion for musical theater instead of literature.

Ms. Basham has written another sweet romance with a delightful cast of characters, and an interesting plot that will keep readers entertained from the first to the last page. (I made sure I mentioned romance first, because Ms. Basham definitely writes what she personally calls 'kissing' books. Yet she definitely focuses on the sweetness of the romance that goes before the kiss, the courting and winning of hearts.)

Told partially as an epistolary, reader's will hear Penelope's and the whole Edgewood families' voice through texts and emails.This was a wonderful window into the Edgewood family dynamics. Yet I also enjoyed the story as it digressed from this format as well, allowing us to follow the plot or see another character's POV. Within the pages lurks a fantastic story of family and forgiveness, a story of finding joy and looking to the future with hope.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author/publisher through Netgalley and was not required to write a review. All opinions expressed are my own.

** “The biggest dreams are the ones that take the most risk, but they’re worth it, Iris. You may just have to make it through the hard things first.” **

Pepper Basham delivers a delightfully lovely epistolary story with “Positively, Penelope,” billed as a standalone but companion novel to “Authentically, Izzy.”

Izzy’s cousin is set to travel to the captivating island of Skymar, where Izzy recently found love and purpose, to intern at an old family theater in desperate need of some marketing help. Penelope joins forces with the Gray brothers — hunky Alec and the enigmatic yet kind Matt — to incorporate new ideas to save The Darling House. But when a rival theater seems to keep stealing her ideas, she’s concerned her plans will be severely thwarted. Will she be able to save the theater, and sort out her feelings for two very different brothers?

Written mostly in letter form — emails and texts — “Positively, Penelope” is filled with both funny and romantic moments, as well as moments that will allow the reader to pause and evaluate their own dreams and desires.

Basham creates delightfully quirky characters readers will fall in love with, as well as filling “Positively, Penelope” with some great themes, like following one’s dreams; encouraging others; getting people to believe in themselves; rediscovering your joy, and we have to choose and even fight for joy; the magic and joy of creativity; the past and present can live in harmony; seeking love (“Love has a way of being much bigger than we imagine”); and the importance of home.

Fans of epistolary novels like “The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society” as well as authors like Katherine Reay will love this story, which is due out Aug. 1.

Five stars out of five.

Thomas Nelson provided this complimentary copy through NetGalley for my honest, unbiased review.

Thank you for the advance reader copy of this novel. This was a contemporary read that I just couldn't get into. Maybe another time.

#BookRevew: POSITIVELY, PENELOPE by Pepper Basham

“And when someone found hope and joy again after thinking all had been lost, that someone found a way to hold on to them.”

I was highly anticipating reading the sequel to Authentically Izzy, Positively, Penelope, and I was not disappointed. Penelope loves theater and all things Julie Andrews. She is so blessed to have an internship at a family owned theater in Skymar. I also think epistolary novels are a unique and special genre, and I'm glad I'm getting a hang of them.

One of the things I loved most about the book was the relationship between Penelope and her siblings, Luke and Josephine, and her cousin Izzy. They are so close and supportive of each other, and it was a joy to see them interact. I liked that the book explores the themes of family, friendship, love, faith and forgiveness in a heartwarming way. Penelope’s positive attitude was endearing to read and that also drew Matt and his daughter to her. I’d love to try some of her cookies too.

The slow burn and grumpy/sunshine romance between Penelope and Matt was sweet and heartwarming. They were both hesitant to open their hearts to each other, but they eventually found their way to each other.

If you enjoyed Authentically Izzy, I highly recommend checking out Positively, Penelope. It has an enjoyable clean romance with a touch of humor.

Rating: 4.5 stars
Series: Skymar Book 2
Pub date: 01 Aug 2023

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

Positively Perfect!

This story had it all! I loved getting to visit Skymar again but meeting new and wonderfully charming characters.

We get the same feel from this book as we did from the first in the series, Authentically Izzy. Much of the story unfolds through written correspondence like emails and text messages. But we also get the third person point of view story telling. Ms. Basham blends these techniques so seamlessly that the reader gets carried along in the best way possible.

I was invested in what would happen from the first page to the very last! That doesn't always happen. Sometimes I get bored with an ending of a book but not this one!

I've been inspired to try to make chocolate éclairs now! I've even researched recipes. That's in my agenda for the weekend! If Penelope says they are surprisingly easy, I must give them a go!

The only thing that I can think of that would make this book better is listening to it! I hope to be able to do that once it is released. Izzy was so amazing on audio. I need to hear those accents again!

I do wish to thank Netgalley, Thomas Nelson and Pepper Basham. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

A cute book that turns out to be the second in a series; this definitely threw me off in the beginning of the book, the first third of which is told entirely in emails and texts. It probably would've helped to have read Authentically Izzy to introduce me to the Edgewood family and Skymar. Penelope is from a vague part of the Appalachians (I'm thinking North Carolina, but maybe Virginia?) and has gone to the fictional country of Skymar (which reads as being somewhat like Scotland, is in northern Europe somewhere and has its own monarchy) to be an intern at a theater.

It feels very very Hallmark movie--this is not a complaint. She meets the family that owns the theater, falls in love with Matt and his daughter, befriends the grandfather, participates in town events, and saves the failing theater. I really appreciated that Matt wound up being the one to move, not Penelope. I'm vaguely annoyed that she was ready to move to Skymar even after realizing her desire to stay near her family and that it was Matt who had to be like, "No, you shouldn't move here," but still. Basham did a good job laying the groundwork but I was still surprised that it worked out that way.

However, I wish I liked Penelope more. She's just completely over-the-top, in a way that's acknowledged in the book. She's constantly referring to musicals (and I LOVE musicals!) and old movies and talking about what vintage outfit or accessory she wants to wear for what particular activity and singing in the hallways and using exclamation points all over the place. Some of these are things I myself am guilty of. But Penelope is...a lot. It was helpful when the book shifted from epistolary to regular narration, because she became a lot more sympathetic. And I loved her awareness of--and frustration with--people constantly misjudging her because of her constant cheeriness. But it doesn't make her less of a Mary Sue, which she definitely is. I got irrationally annoyed when she found out Matt's full name is Matthias and was like, "So I am going to call him that!" I just...can't.

That said, I wouldn't mind reading the next book in the series, which focuses on Penelope's brother, Luke, who seems like a character I'd be able to much better tolerate. I found his voice throughout the book more enjoyable.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

“The world could do with a little more kindness and positivity and random acts of singing, don’t you think?” —Penelope

Penelope practically oozes with positivity and creativity. And she’s channeling every ounce she can muster into saving The Darling House theater. With any luck, she just might bring an actual smile to a certain grumpy Mr. Gray’s face. But someone isn’t on board with Penelope’s plans. Mischief, mystery, and mayhem ensue—there’s even a kidnapping too! (Note: Though this book reads wonderfully as a standalone, readers will enjoy it even more after reading Authentically, Izzy.)

An epistolary novel written largely in the form of text and emails, Positively, Penelope is witty, charming, unputdownable, and practically perfect in every way!

*Thank you to @netgalley and @tnzfiction for the complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and Thomas-Nelson Publishing, and I'm voluntarily leaving a review; all opinions are my own.

Genre: Romcom, Sweet Romance, Christian Romance, Proper Romance
Spice Level: Kissing
Format: Multiple POVs, Epistolary with emails and text
Trope: Grumpy Sunshine, Long Distance, He's got a Kid, kinda a May December romance

I'd never read a Pepper Basham novel, and this one was delightful.

I love how Penelope has had heartache but still chooses to be positive. She's often mistaken for being naive, stupid, silly, and basically a ditz. But she really is more.

This is a novel of conquering fear, being your true and best self, and even forgiveness. There are Christian themes and mentions of prayer, but it's a light representation.

The relationships of the characters are great. Luke (Penelope's brother) is one of my favorite secondary characters because he sounds exactly like a brother with snide comments and jokes. By the way, Penelope, who is obsessed with her sibling's twins reminds me of a neighbor—so that made me smile.

We see so much of the dynamic through the emails and texts, and I love this element. However, I still wanted a little bit more prose and dialogue in "real time" to ground me in the romance. This is a delightful romance and a deep dive into the world of Julia Andrews/theater/musicals.

I highly recommend this book!

Happy reading!

#PositivelyPenelope #NetGalley
This is a sequel to Authentically Izzy and the story would make more sense if you read both books in this series. Penelope was quirky and fun. I loved her fettish for Julie Andrews and the Sound of Music, her quotes from movies and that she loved to sing at odd times. Penelope comes to the country of Skymar to intern at a theater, and ends up finding out that it is close to closing down. Penelope decides to try her best to make it thrive. I loved the conversations back and forth between the siblings. How Luke loves to tease his sisters.

This was not the book for me. I liked the premise and the writing was fine but the characters seemed so young and one dimensional and the naivete was unbelievable. I wanted to root for Penelope but she seemed so ridiculous, I just could get past 25%. Maybe this just isn't the right book for me right now. I will try others by the author to give her another go.

I really enjoyed this story! Penelope was one of my favorite parts of Authentically, Izzie, the first book in the Skymar series, and I loved getting to know her better. She is just such a lovely character and I wished I had a friend, relative, neighbor, co-worker, etc.. just like her. I was really drawn to Matt from the beginning, even when he was extra grumpy. The story that was told between those two was an incredible journey (and the kisses 🤏🏻 of course!) I enjoyed seeing more of Luke (can't wait for his story 😍). And Iris and Grandpa Gray were the cherry on the top of a fantastic story! Highly recommend!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

The description of this book sounded reall y fun - hearing a story through texts and emails. I've enjoyed other books that had parts of the book that shared part of the story in a similar way. I also was interested in Penelope's story. While I did initially enjoy learning more about Penelope and seeing the way her positive outlook influenced the other characters, ultimately I did not enjoy this book and got bored about halfway through. I was glad the whole book was not told through emails, as I felt that it would have left out a lot of context and being able to view different perspectives through different characters' eyes. There are a lot of positive reviews for this book, so I think this just may be a case of it not being the right book for me.

Very cute romcom. The first 25% of the book dragged for me. I was afraid that the entire book would be told via email. I was relieved to see some actual dialog around 25% in. I didn't mind the emails and texts once the dialog was mixed in with it.

I did not read the first book in this series so I was a little confused about some of the references to their world. Most of the "Skymarian" words and names were cheesy in my opinion, but there were a couple that made sense to me and actually sounded like real words.

Typical of Christian fiction there were lots of kissing and make out scenes, but nothing spicy beyond that.

I thought the concept of this book was unique and the story sounded really cute. Unfortunately the story being set all as email to text left me feeling lost. I feel like there was such an opportunity for emotions to better be captured if dialogue had been present. I think this story is cute and enjoyable if you enjoy that sort of format, but unfortunately it was a DNF for me.

This book took me a little bit more time to get into. The format of emails to text messages was a bit much for me. But around chapter 7, it became much easier to read and get into the story. I did not realize that this was the second book in a series, the follow up to “Authenticity Izzy,” so maybe that had something to do with it. (The format is the same in that book, I know because I’m now reading that one too!) However, after I hit that point, I couldn’t put the book down. I love the characters and hearing how they save the Darling House is the best!! This was a wonderful story and it just makes you smile and laugh while reading it!

Such a cute second book! I will say it was harder for me to get into because the formatting of this ARC was a nightmare- why is there a logo every other page??? It was so distracting and made me not want to read this book, but I pushed through because this is one of my most anticipated releases of the summer! It was so cute and just makes me want to recommend this series even more. I love the letter writing/email aspect of this series and it continued to shine in this book. All of the characters in these books are so fun and unique- they may be some of my favorite characters of all time.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to review this book- just please Thomas Nelson change your formatting for these arcs!!

What a delightful sequel! I read “Authentically, Izzy” again to prepare me for reading this book, and I have to say that I love both books so much. A reader could very well read “Positively, Penelope” without having read Izzy’s story, but I am so glad I read them back to back as it made the stories both that much more enjoyable for me. Penelope is a stereotypical bubbly, glass is always half full, lover of all things musicals, theater, and fun. She is a deeply caring person too, and her biggest character trait, beyond her positivity is her loyalty and desire to serve others. Readers will be thrilled to follow Penny as she meets the Gray family and works her magic at their amazing historic family theater. This story took twists and turns I did not expect, and I loved watching it all unfold on the pages. In true Penelope form, this story is filled with family, drama, laughter, tears, miracles, romance, and intrigue. Everything a theater buff would want in a tale, and I think many readers would enjoy as well. I highly recommend this book as a great escape into fiction, and I will be telling my book friends about it, too!

I requested and received a copy of this book for review. The words and thoughts expressed here are wholly my own.

I enjoyed this book immensely! The format was different and fun, the characters were unique and relatable, and the plot kept me engaged to the end. Penelope and Matt's growth throughout the book was so well done. Anyone who enjoys theater references, lighthearted and witty banter, and the grumpy/sunshine trope, will absolutely enjoy this book!

Positively, Penelope was my first foray into stories by author Pepper Basham, but it won’t be my last! What is fun and unique about this book (second in a series…I’ll have to go back and read the first!) is that much of it is told through text, email, and letters.
Penelope is thrilled to accept an internship to revitalize - really, to SAVE - a small town theater. Nothing can get Penelope down…not the Gray brothers (her bosses, one of which is very grumpy), not a mysterious idea thief, not a broken down old theater. She is going to smile and sing her way through life, and infect everyone along her path with her wit, charm, and sunny disposition.
Is it cloudy where you live? Never fear, because Positively, Penelope will bring the rate of sunshine you crave.
I received a complimentary copy of this book, but my opinion is entirely my own.