Izzy was a fun albeit chaotic main character who was very fun to fall. I really enjoyed her life and watching her grow into it and find what she wanted.


Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an arc for an honest review.

All the nerdy love for this book! There are so many literary references, especially Lord of the Rings, that any reader will absolutely adore. I thought Izzy and Brodie just clicked so well. As a reader who doesn't have a reader husband, I was kind of jealous of their mutual love of books. (ha! just kidding, mostly. Of course I love my husband) The introduction of Eli was meh. He didn't feel like competition to me. Then the descriptions of Skymar?? All the heart eyes! If Izzy isn't going to up and move to Skymar with Brodie, I will! It sounded so amazing and I was kind of sad it doesn't exist because I couldn't look up pictures.

I will say, I struggled to get into this book at first. I found the epistolary format difficult to read. I was reading an ebook version (which I'm normally a fan of) but something just told me this style of book would probably be better in physical format so I went out and finally bought a physical copy. Then I devoured it. So if you're normally an ebook person (or someone who reads a mix of formats like me) and the electronic copy of this book doesn't do it for you, try the paperback version! A lot of the book is told through emails and texts but there are also large parts in a traditional narrative style, which I was grateful for.

I absolutely adored this book. I should preface it by saying that it did take me a few minutes to get into the writing but that was because it's written as a series of emails and texts and it took me a few minutes to get used to that. Once I got into the book though I could not put it down. I had to find out what happened to Brodie and Izzy.

I really wanted to give that writer a thump upside the head though! How could he use Izzy that way!? And how could she not see it?

Within the book, it talks about an epistolary novel that Izzy recommends to someone. That's the type of novel this is. Though I had no idea about it until after reading through it. The first of its kind that I've read! I've read books that had letters within them but not ones that are entirely letters or emails or texts before.

I adored Izzy. I saw a lot of myself within her. She's shy and doesn't reach out to people. She prefers to be alone with her books! Umm, I should probably not show you the size of our bookshelves. LOL Add in her love of the classics and I feel we'd be best friends!

It was with great pleasure I learned that this is a series! Book two review coming soon too! I loved it just as much but now I really really need to know what happens to the rest of the siblings. I'm invested in this family! Also, can I please go visit the islands?!

I have voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received through Netgalley. All views expressed are only my honest opinion. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. All opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC regulations.

Very cute romance story! I liked the chemistry between the characters.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC!

I will be very honest and tell you that I skimmed a bunch of this before deciding not to finish. I did not realize until I was looking at the goodreads page for this book that this is a "clean, Christian romance". I am NOT the target audience for that genre. I am a smut-loving heathen who was getting annoyed by how many references there were to church and God in the part of the book I read, which now makes a lot more sense. If NetGalley had been up front with those labels, I would not have requested the book at all.
In regards to the writing style, I don't feel like an epistolary worked here. It was just unrealistic for many reasons. No one is writing such long emails to anyone, but especially not to someone they are also texting with and seeing on a regular basis. Also, no one talks like that. It was just all too much.

I am sure this is a great book for someone. Just not for me. I hope it gets into the hands of the right readers soon.

To move ahead and out of her dating bad luck, Izzy enrolls in an online dating service. This also appeases her adopted family of cousins who want to see her find love again. Izzy LOVES books and works as a librarian. She dreams of running her own bookshop, but that's a big commitment and she's still searching for her true place. Izzy also lives in Mt. Airy, NC which is an idyllic setting for this small town story. She's comfortable here and doesn't enjoy big cities. It doesn't take too long for a local blind date and a match on the online service to both be vying for Izzy's attention. Who will win out? The local professor and writer or the international mystery man.

"Authentically Izzy" is a heartwarming and delightful romance novel that is sure to charm readers. Izzy, the protagonist, is a relatable and likable character, and her love for books and her dream of opening her own bookstore will resonate with any book lover. The online dating aspect of the story adds a modern twist, while the long-distance romance creates a sense of longing and anticipation that will keep readers hooked. The writing is witty and engaging, with plenty of literary references and nods to classic rom-coms. Overall, "Authentically Izzy" is a feel-good read that is perfect for anyone looking for a little romance and adventure in their life.

I really wanted to like this because the concept was amazing but I couldn't get into it. The execution wasn't the best and although I understand the importance of the emails I feel like too much of the book was told through them which got a little boring after a while.

I found the characters and banter to be highly entertaining but I struggled a lot with the written format. I really enjoyed the emails back and forth but the various different mediums of communication and lack of prose meant I often got lost in the messages.

Readers also should be made aware this is Christian Romance which I don't think is clearly advertised.

Story and Cover are cute. Not a huge fan of the Austen style but still very enjoyable. I love books with lots of texts, emails and letters. Super Cute

Authentically, Izzy was just a delightful story from beginning to end. The writing style reflected a modern day Jane Austen which suited the main character Izzy to a tee. The novel follows a reluctant Izzy as she is pushed into the world of online dating by her well meaning cousin. This is not any old online dating novel, this is a charming story filled with lots of laughs, soul searching and a little heartache along the way. The writing style is mainly through emails and texts via Izzy, her relatives and the online world, I did mostly enjoy this aspect although continually reading who the emails were delivered too did get a little tiring as often there was more than one recipient in the mail. All in all a lovely lighthearted read which I very much enjoyed

This is a cute, heartwarming romance book.

I loved the cover, so I immediatly wanted to check the book out. While it wasn't spectacular, it wasn't disappointing either. It was perfect for a light reading when you don't want to get to deep into heavy plotlines and characther ARCs.
I loved Izzy being a bookworm and working in a library - girl's got my dream job. I, however wasn't a big fan of the faith messaging in this book. I get though that's a Me issue, it's definitely someone else's perfect vibe. From what I've seen other people review, it was well received. It just wasn't my cup of tea.
Otherwise I enjoyed the banter and the romance. I disliked the constant texts and emails between Izzy and her cousins. Overall, a cute book, but just not for me.

This was a fun book by Pepper Basham. I liked that the story was told mostly through text and emails. I thought it was funny and gave a nice insight into each of the characters. I liked the romance in this book. I also really liked the characters and thought they were lovable and ones that I would like to be friends with. I also liked that Brody helped Izzy realize what she wanted to do and then supported her as she did it. I look forward to the next book in this series.

I received a complimentary book from publishers, publicists, and or authors.  A review was not required and all opinions and ideas expressed are my own.

There was a lot of good things about AUTHENTICALLY IZZY.

- so many great bookish quotes & references
- a lot of sweetness
- believable characters, even side characters
- the delightful fictional Scottish island setting

But there were some parts I struggled with.

- Very oddly and unnaturally placed mentions of God/Christianity. These came out of nowhere and seemed forced
- Again, this may be due to the Christian undercurrents, but these characters profess love and uproot their entire lives and they have only ever kissed...?
- This book is very, very slowly paced. It drags and drags at a lot of different points in the story.

I listened to the audio version and I very much recommend it. The different accents were excellent, BUT the audio had a handful of errors as well in which the narrator misread words (for example, she switched ABROAD for ABOARD more than once in her narration).

AUTHENTICALLY IZZY had a lot of potential, but the execution was flawed. Both in writing and in narrating.

𝗕𝗢𝗢𝗞 𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚:⭐️⭐️⭐️
𝗔𝗨𝗗𝗜𝗢 𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗠 𝗟𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗟: Rated G / Kissing only.
𝗧𝗥𝗜𝗚𝗚𝗘𝗥𝗦: past death of parents
𝗙𝗘𝗘𝗟𝗦: 2/5 - A bit of drama, but still a pretty light read.

I am a huge fan of epistolary novels so I was excited to see this one about a librarian!
It started out well, but I got bogged down around the 25% mark. It seemed like there were too many messages between Izzy and her cousins that didn't all keep the story moving along.
Brodie and Izzy were an absolute delight.
The secondary plot with Eli was a huge disappointment. It seemed thrown in simply to cause conflict, except that it never really did cause conflict because the reaction to Brodie was so big...and the reaction to Eli was never enough to make it seem like he was a viable contender.
Then I was knocked for a loop when part 2 started. Suddenly, we're seeing the emails from Brodie's point of view, which I wasn't expecting at all. And then shortly after that, it switched to regular narration. By that point, I wasn't sure what was going on anymore and I felt untethered from the world of the story because I no longer had any idea how it was going to be told.
I'm currently on the fence whether I'll finish the book or just let it go at this point. Even if I don't decide to continue the book, I still feel it's worth three stars because Brodie and Izzy are just so lovely together and I'd be satisfied just assuming they end up together happily ever after.

Good contemporary romance novel that delivered on what I needed at the time.

Sometimes you just need a clean romance that's going to make you happy

This is a sweet concept of a woman down on her luck in dating whose cousin forces her to try out the online format to find love. I wasn't a big fan of the storytelling style through email/texts, then when it swapped partially to prose over halfway through the book it became even more confusing to follow the format choices. Overall the story was enjoyable but very predictable for me. I have read or seen this plot many times before, so Izzy's story wasn't the most interesting spin on it. I did like the aspect that Izzy was a super bookish character, which I think most readers really will. connect to.

Yes, I am behind the times with some of my reading, so I have made it a goal in 2023 to read one book each month that is on my tbr from last year or longer. This issue is simple: there is not enough time in the day/week/month/year for me to get to all the books I want to read. Including Pepper Basham’s 2022 epistolary novel, Authentically, Izzy.

Let me start by saying there is one thing I found a little out of touch with today’s culture (and the age of her characters) in the book and that was how often Izzy and her cousins emailed each other. With apps, texts, and social media, I think the main source of communication (other than face-to-face interactions) take place through those over email. But, those types messages are short, and Izzy would never be able to communicate her heart and process through anything other than email. Also, my generation (Gen-X) does use email, so I enjoyed the exchanges.

This book had some laughable moments and some great exchanges between Izzy and her cousins as well as Izzy and Brodie. And I absolutely loved that Brodie and Izzy got to know each other as friends through their correspondence before they ever met each other. And when they do finally meet, it is worth the journey to get there because of the foundation they’ve built sharing themselves with each other.

I find it true that I am often willing to share more when writing to someone than I am in an in-person conversation. That’s partly due to the back and forth that happens naturally and the fact I don’t want to dominate the time, but also because sometimes it’s easier to open up when I am alone only facing a computer screen. Basham brought this out beautifully in Izzy’s story. And I am elated that Penelope and Luke (Izzy’s cousins) have their own stories coming.


Disclosure statement: I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book and was not required to write a positive or negative review. All opinions are my own.

I could not be more pleasantly surprised with this book! I LOVED it! I could not put it down! Thank you Ms Basham! I have found a new author that has sent me to the moon with her witty banter and her perfectly perfect descriptions of finding that perfect for you lines! I was dying and can not wait for Penelope's story and hope there is one for Luke! I fell in love with the lovely island and the fun small town in North Carolina! Thank you so much!

Let’s just get one thing straight: Pepper Basham knows how to write fantastic books. Here she is offering up a partially epistolary story (a style that I would never have read by anyone else) and she MADE ME LOVE THIS STYLE!!! Y’all, it has loads of book references, snarky wit, snappy dialogue, awesome characters, and a sweet and swoony romance that will curl your toes. I loved the emails and the texts that filled the pages and brought these characters to full color life. I love the lessons learned and the real, raw conversations that, while sometimes painful, needed to be had. I loved the journey of love for Brodie and Izzy and how it made them better. Essentially, I loved the whole book - every page. I even messaged Pepper the second I finished it to tell her how amazing it is. So, please, please, please, please, please!!! Go get this book so you can enjoy it too. I promise, no regrets.

I received this temporary complimentary E-book from the author via NetGalley. I am not required by anyone to write a positive review and the opinions expressed herein are entirely my own.