Happy Friday! Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving yesterday, and that you have a day off to enjoy a good book today 🙂 I’m linking up with Reading is My Superpower for First Line Friday and featuring Authentically, Izzy by Pepper Basham.

“Dear Reader,

This is a cautionary tale.”

Authentically, Izzy by Pepper Basham

The Basics

Title: Authentically, Izzy

Author: Pepper Basham

Publication Date: November 15, 2022

Genre: Contemporary Romance

My Rating: 3.5 Stars

From the Back Cover:

“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?

My Review

Authentically, Izzy is a sweet contemporary romance written in Pepper Basham’s signature style, full of wit and charm with dashes of Appalachian and British culture. This story is told mostly in epistolary format, through emails, text messages, and online dating messages. It is a unique format for a unique story! Izzy and Brodie’s friendship, formed through a mutual love of books and clever banter, is sweet to watch as it develops into romance. They are a perfect pairing, like a cup of coffee or tea and a good book – bringing out the best in each other. Izzy’s cousin Luke stole the show for me, though! His witty yet sincere wisdom and advice added a sweet richness to the story in the middle of his sister’s scheming. Bibliophiles and contemporary romance fans will be delighted to spend a few hours in Izzy’s world!

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