Review of Authentically, Izzy

Today, I’m veering from Christmas reads to give you my review of Authentically, Izzy by Pepper Basham. I’ll start by saying I don’t read epistolary books. I’ve tried a few times and never seemed to connect with them. It’s strange because I loved You’ve Got Mail, which is essentially epistolary in style, just as a movie. Plus, I’m a letter writer. Some of my strongest friendships have been through written correspondence. I can easily see how someone could fall in love with another person through writing letters.

That being said, Authentically, Izzy was an unexpected treat. I thoroughly enjoyed the story. I enjoyed the settings, the characters, and the storyline. The story is a lot of fun, but there is plenty of truth to take away as well. It’s not all fluff and romance. The characters are quirky and fun, but they aren’t empty-headed. The author does a great job drawing the reader into the various relationships, leaving the reader feeling like they’re part of the family. These characters could be their best friends and family. Of the three cousins, I, along with Izzy, connected with Luke most of all.

And Brodie is the perfect book hero. He’s the perfect complement to Izzy, though he’s not perfect himself. While he may love books and have an amazing accent, it doesn’t come without cost. Brodie lives in another country. And Izzy has a perfectly nice alternate choice in Eli, who lives in her neighborhood. Plus, there’s another negative with Brodie, but I’m not going to give that one away.

I knew from the first chapters who I wanted Izzy to be with. I knew who I thought would be best for her. But so did Izzy’s family. And we didn’t always agree. It was fun watching Izzy determine for herself who would be the best hero for her story and deal with the consequences of that choice. There were fun moments and touching moments throughout the story. And there were enough bookish quotes and references to make this reader’s heart happy.

I look forward to reading the next book in the series. I give this book five stars.

If my review of Authentically, Izzy has convinced you to read it for yourself (And, really, you should. It’s very good.), you can get it here:

https://www.amazon.com/Authentically-Izzy-Pepper-Basham-ebook/dp/B09WTNHYR6/ref