Authentically Izzy by Pepper D. Basham Review

 Happy Wednesday Everyone :)

I pray that you're all doing well, and I want to thank you all for joining me for another book review here on The Preppy Book Princess. 

Have you ever had the experience of picking up a book that somehow manages to combine almost all of your favorite bookish tropes together in one story, and instantly feels like it was written just for you?

This has happened to me a few times throughout my book blogger journey, but perhaps never as much as with the story I'm here to review with you all today.

I can't possibly wait to start gushing all about this fantastic book that had me glued to its pages, so I hope you'll all keep on reading below where I will be sharing my full review of Pepper D. Basham's upcoming release.

Authentically Izzy by Pepper D. Basham:

Source: Publisher via NetGalley

Publisher: Thomas Nelson

Publication Date: November 15th, 2022

Genre: Christian Fiction/Contemporary Romance

Synopsis:

“Dear Izzy—I feel certain there’s a book-loving man living relatively nearby waiting to speak bookish to you ’til death do you part. You just haven’t met yet.”

Izzy Edgewood is a wannabe bookstore owner, quote queen, and Lord of the Rings nerd who has been waiting for Prince Charming to sweep her off her sneakered feet. But it’s hard to meet people when you spend more time with fictional humans than real ones. Which is why her pragmatist cousin Josephine decides to take Izzy’s future into her own meddling hands and create an online dating profile for the hopeful romantic.

To Izzy’s shock (and suspicion), Josie’s plan works. Soon, she’s dialoguing with a Hobbit-loving man named Brodie who lives in a small town an ocean away from her home in the Blue Ridge Mountains. But is their shared love of books, family, and correspondence enough to overcome Izzy’s fear of flying and the literal distance between them? And is a long-distance relationship even worth considering when a local author has been frequenting the library where she works and is proving to be a perfectly fine gentleman?

In this epistolary novel from award-winning author Pepper Basham, bookish dreams and happily-ever-afters collide to create a beautiful sort of magic that’s even better than fiction.

(synopsis from goodreads)

My Review:

Every so often something wonderful occurs, and I find that all of my favorite bookish tropes combine in one delightful story. When that happens, I end up feeling like the book was written especially with me in mind, and that my friends is exactly what happened when I picked up this amazing literary masterpiece from masterful storyteller Pepper D. Basham. I can pretty much tell you straight up that whatever I say in this review is never going to do her wonderful story justice, but I'm definitely going to do my best to try.

Izzy Edgewood may just be my new favorite protagonist of all time. She's an introvert, she's struggling to find the place she truly belongs, she's fierce hearted, and she has a wonderful love of all things literature that quite often spills over into her everyday life. I found myself instantly being able to relate to her love of all things bookish, and the social anxiety she struggles to have anyone else understand. The first part of this story is told in epistolary style (which I personally always love!!), and the reader is treated to hilarious and witty emails and text messages between Izzy and the three cousins that she ended up growing up with after her parent's tragically passed away when she was a teenager. The oldest cousin and her mother are constantly trying to find Izzy a potential husband, and they end up signing her up for an online dating service. Izzy has no interest in having anything to do with it, but she never planned on Brodie. He's from a small European nation, his mannerisms seem like he's from another time period, and he even understands all the bookisms she throws his way that no one ever knows what she's talking about. As the two grow closer, their friendship slowly changes into something more, but can they move past all the obstacles to find their way forward to a future together?

As I worked my way through this one and never wanted to put it down, I felt like I was right there with Izzy experiencing everything with Brodie and her cousins, and I love how atmospheric Pepper D. Basham's writing style is. This book was an absolute delight for any bookworms like myself, and very rarely has a book ever left me grinning and outright laughing the way this one did. I also appreciated that the deeper context of the story was handled authentically and gracefully, and added an extra depth to the story. 

I literally loved every single thing about this one, and I never wanted to see it come to an end.

It's one of my favorites of all of the titles I've read by this author, and I can't personally recommend it enough.

Final Rating: 5/5.

Thanks so much to Thomas Nelson for allowing me to advance read and review this one!

I voluntarily read and reviewed a complimentary advance reader copy of this novel from the publisher (Thomas Nelson) via NetGalley. I was not required to give a positive review. All thoughts and opinions are my own, and this is my honest review.

Have a great rest of your day guys :) I look forward to sharing more bookish content soon.