Cover Image: Positively, Penelope

Positively, Penelope

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Member Reviews

Pepper Basham has done it again! This was an absolute delight. The plot was well-paced and captivating from start to finish. The characters were charming and witty. I highly recommend this fun and quick read! Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the advanced copy of the book.

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I won’t be posting this review publicly, because these are all things that can be edited and changed, I don’t want to post a bad review publicly when the book could be edited before it’s publication date. The book needs to be edited desperately. The first 20 or so pages are just white highlight and no words. Then each page has the publisher logo in the middle of the page, which doesn’t make since. It’s not formatted at all. It looks like a long essay.
The writing also needs to be critiqued by an editor. I understand trying to be relevant with texting, but it’s really hard to follow.

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"Love is worth it all".

What a beautiful and absolutely wonderful story from start to finish! If it's even possible, I love this book even more than Authentically, Izzy. The happiness and hope and love spilled over every page and I never wanted to put it down. Can I give 10 stars?

Please tell me there is a story coming soon for our favorite brother Luke? I'll be first in line.

I received a complimentary copy of this book for review. All opinions expressed are my own.

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This book was such fun! I needed this!
I enjoy a cute read, and this one met my expectations all the way!
I read this book in one afternoon!
I could not put it down!
These young ladies have quite the story to tell.
The girls are such a delight to get to know through texts, letters, and emails!
This title made my soul feel full and satisfied.
Fans of Izzy will be sure to delight in Penelope's story, too!
Penelope is a friend that you definitely don't want to let go of!
My favorite thing about this book was the humor that Basham adds throughout the novel. My other favorite thing is the bond that these young ladies have. Something that I've yearned for all my life, and I love finding it through books like these.
Thank you, Ms. Basham for bringing that joy to life once more!
5 stars for a job well done!
My thanks for a copy of this book. I was NOT required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own.

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I think that this was absolutely perfect. I couldn't have enjoyed it more. This was as good. I loved it.
I just reviewed Positively, Penelope by Pepper Basham. #PositivelyPenelope #NetGalley
[NetGalley URL]

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As a fan of Izzy, I had high hopes for Penelope, and I was not disappointed. The characters in this book make you wish you knew them in real life. And the positively quirkiness of Penelope is so endearing.
I love that Pepper writes beautifully hilarious rom-com books that you want to read over and over again.

Thank you netgalley for the arc copy!

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This was described as Enchanted meets Legally Blonde, sign me up!! I loved how this was told through texts and letters and emails. I was never a theater kid growing up but I adored reading this title. It was a lovely breath of fresh air and I cannot wait to read the next book!

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Positively delightful!!! I seriously could get lost in a world of never ending stories between Izzy, Penelope, Luke and Josephine. These characters are so much fun! Their texts and emails to each other are a hoot, in addition to being loving family correspondence. From the bookish Izzy to the musical theatre and positively fashionable Penelope, I can hardly wait for Luke's story.

"I've found that leading with positivity is a great way to face any situation in life, even if my older siblings doubt my logic." "Don't get me wrong. I'm not a leader. But I am a...what's a good description? An encourager with an innate herding impulse? LOL."

Penelope is a force to be reckoned with her positive attitude, her singing, her fabulous ideas, her hard work, her baking skills, and her ability to see potential in everything and everyone. There is no one quite like her and she earns the love of many in this foreign island of Skymar where is is completing her internship. She loves fairy tales and suddenly finds herself having fairy tale moments with some of the sweetest people. I fell in love with Penelope, the Gray's, especially the-at-first-grumpy Matthias, his sweet, sweet daughter Iris, and Grandpa Gray.

Royalty, dancing, romance, mystery, villains, family history, the importance of community, and a ball! Such a delightful story, and I absolutely loved all the Julie Andrews, Audrey Hepburn and Gene Kelly references!

I highly recommend Positively Penelope (and you must read or listen to Authentically Izzy first).
Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for allowing me to read an early copy. All opinions are my own. I can't wait for my preordered copy to arrive for a special place on my keeper shelf.

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Authentically Izzy was my favorite book from last year so I had high expectations for this. Thankfully, it did not disappoint. Penelope is at first a lot to take in with her big personality and childish optimism. But as the story unfolds, you get to know her for who she is, and soon wish you had more of her traits.

I loved all the musical references! And Audrey Hepburn quotes!

Huge Thank You to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson for the opportunity to read this ARC!

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

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The most perfect of sequels to Authentically, Izzie! Cute, adorable, quirky! I love the undertones of faith and the lack of spice. Pepper makes you feel with her characters and that’s what I love about her.

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This follow up to Authentically, Izzy was perfect! I’m not even a huge lover of musicals, but this book had me *almost* wanting to hum along! We met Penelope in the first book, but not like this. She is all sunshine, sweetness, and sassiness and if her brand of optimism could be bottled, the world would be a lovelier place! Penelope took Skymar by storm and no one was safe from her charms, especially Matt and his adorable daughter, Iris! The only problem with this book is that it ended!

I was given an advanced copy of this book and all opinions are expressly my own.

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Penelope's sister, Izzy, met her soul-mate in the island kingdom of Skymar. Now Penelope is doing an internship there for her college degree. She is working toward a career in theater production and this is the opportunity of a lifetime. Her introduction to the country of Skymar was less than stellar and her first impression was a bit off-putting. Never-the-less, the intrepid Penelope is not going to let those curmudgeonly vibes dampen her spirits nor her ideas for helping the theater she has been assigned to help. Through her work, she helps Grandpa Gray find his feet again, she helps Matthias Gray overcome his deeply imbedded pain, and she brings the family's theater back to life, all while sprinkling her brand of pixie dust over everything.

Pepper Basham has written a very non-formulaic romance novel that is laugh-out-loud hilarious. I would guess that 90% of the novel is epistolary through the media of text messages and emails. The reader has to get over halfway through before there is any real narration to the story. She has included overt, dastardly villains; and some sneaky villains who are a bit more clandestine with their shenanigans. There are a couple of mystery characters that are hard to figure out but whose identities are revealed later on in the book. They all add to the warp and weft of the book to make a cohesive story come to life. Penelope's "never say die" attitude is one of the most endearing aspects to the book and her work ethic in bringing the theater back to its former glory are something to behold. The float in the parade was the cherry on top of the sundae that was Penelope's magic.

This is a fun, five star book, with two thumbs up, and a parade float that will take you straight to Narnia.

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This book is a positive delight from the first line to the last. I adored Penelope in Izzy's book and she screamed for her own book, so I couldn't wait to dive into the pages of this novel. On my goodness, it was a true, laugh out loud joy to read this book. The story was filled with twists and hiccups, but there was such delight and fun. And fairy tales. And princesses. And Julie Andrews. Gene Kelly. All the things I adore. In one place. And such fun. And the kissing. Pepper does enjoy writing kissing books. I highly recommend this sweet, fun, romantic romp of a book. It was wonderful!

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Really enjoyed this action packed, heart racing, sexy and fun adventure filled with exciting charters, interesting situations and undeniable passion.....great reading from beginning to end. Great reading!.

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This book had it all for me and that was it. I had to read this to see what it was all about. I was not disappointed and enjoyed the content. Enjoyed this book. I want to find more of her books.

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this was a great romance novel, it had what I was hoping for when looking at the description. I really enjoyed the characters and their romance aspects. It worked well overall and I enjoyed the way the author wrote this. Pepper Basham does a great job in telling the story and keeping me invested. I can't wait to read more from Pepper Basham.

"People made a great deal of sacrifices for what and who they loved. For their dreams.An uncomfortable ache gnawed in his chest. He’d once thrived on dreams. Music, laughter, loyalty, family, love. But piece by piece his world had fallen apart and, well, he wasn’t certain what to believe in anymore, except his slow-growing faith, Iris, and his family."

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Penelope Edgewood has signed on as an intern at the failing Darling Theatre on the island of Skymar. As she attempts to revive the theater, she finds that the family behind it needs a bit of reviving as well. Having lost their grandmother and mother in the last few years, Alec, Gwynn, and Matthias Gray are all grieving in different ways, and their grandfather has essentially withdrawn from society and the theater. Can Penelope's sunshiny personality and marketing strategies help draw both the Grays and the theater back into the community's spotlight? And how is their competitor, The Emblem theater, learning about all of their ideas?

I am loving this series, and this group of siblings and cousins. I love that we still get to follow Izzy and Luke, and Josephine through the correspondence sections of the book, which add a fun flavor of their own. Penelope's character takes a little while to develop for the reader, and I think that was a good thing. As she delves into her job and her relationships, we learn that she's not *just* sunshine and fun hats and great shoes. She sees people, and cares for them, and draws the best out of them on their own terms.

While I saw the mystery conclusion from the early pages, it was still well done, and fit the story well. I loved all of the side characters; even the ones who didn't play a large part were robust enough to get a sense of their personality and their connection to the town and story.

I cannot wait for Luke's story!

I give this installment of the Edgewood family stories 4 stars.

I received a digital copy of this book, via NetGalley, from the publisher, in exchange for my honest review.

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Thank you to the publisher for allowing me to read this eARC.

Yeah I tried to get into this and it's going to be a no from me. I absolutely hated the email to text format and I DNF'd at 45%.

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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.

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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

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