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

I have not read Authentically, Izzy so I didn’t know what to expect with Positively, Penelope. The first thing that threw me off is the huge info dump of places I’ve never heard of at the beginning, Mountcaster, Skymar, Fiacla, Troir Head, Ansling, and Avelynn Palace… I think these places are fictional? Which is fine I guess, but there’s no context for where on Earth these countries “are,” so I don’t see the point.

Another problem for me was the formatting. It switches between emails and texts, and frankly I’m not a fan. It’s hard to keep up, especially with Penelope and her message board friends using initials. JA, GK, HJ… lots of letters all close together in the alphabet so it’s hard do remember which one is who. At one point Penelope mentions writing in a journal. I wish they’d used that some because the emails are just a lot of unnecessary padding. Penelope ends her email mid story, then we read emails from her siblings/cousin to get back on track. Why, other than to pad the word count? Just let Penelope finish a story in one email.

Then there’s Penelope herself who comes across as late middle school/easily high school age though I think she’s intended to be older since she’s looking for a career and traveling to random islands alone. Yet she’s incredibly naïve (a sunshine character doesn’t have to be juvenile). PSA from a mom: If you find a lost kid, especially in an AIRPORT, don’t walk off with them - ALERT SECURITY. Of course someone’s going to think Penelope is a kidnapper, she’s got a giant bag full of toys and such.

I think this could work if reworked for a mid-teen audience, but it did not appeal to me as a woman in my 30s.

I was really looking forward to this book after having read Authentically Izzy last fall. I think Positively Penelope is even better. It helps to read Authentically Izzy first, since Basham doesn’t waste any time in this new book to introduce the country of Skymar or the relationships between Izzy, Luke, Penelope, and Josephine. Once again, I had a horrible time putting the book down, laughed hysterically, and stayed up way too late to finish it. I loved it, and I do hope Basham writes one for Luke now!

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

This was SO good! I loved it!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson for sending me this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I enjoyed this story just as much as the first in the series, "Authentically Izzy". It was another sweet love story, lots of snarky dialogue, a great group of family members and friends (some from Book 1 and lots of lovely new ones), and a very satisfying HEA. As an added bonus, because this is Penelope after all, there were all kinds of great references to movie musicals especially Gene Kelly, Julie Andrews, and Audrey Hepburn.

Rated G and no profanity. Yay!

I wanted to get into this, I really did, but a lot of the book was in email format and I just couldn't get into it :(

If that appeals to you, then this is the book for you.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book.