Authentically, Izzy Book Review

About the Book

“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.

My Thoughts

Unless my memory betrays me, I believe this is the first epistolary novel I have ever read. Rest assured, it will not be my last! The first half of the story is told as emails, texts, and online messages, then real dialogue slowly begins to take its place. I didn’t think I would care for a story told in this style, but it WORKED! I got to experience at least 4 different POVs from beginning to end, and each one had its own unique style of writing and personality.

What made this novel a step above most is that the audio version is fantastic! There are at least 2 (maybe 3) different narrators taking on the four main characters, and their charm oozed through every email, text message, and more. Their ability to convey small-town happenings in two different locales, plus the rich additions of classic historical novels, made me so happy that there is more to experience in this series. I only hope the same narrators will be doing the future books, too!

5 Stars