Authentically, Izzy - Book Review

Authentically, Izzy by Pepper Basham is a newer Christian fiction novel that has delighted many readers in the past few years. This low-spice contemporary romance is the first book in the Skymar series and is full of humor and bookish fun.

Plot Summary

Isabelle Louisa Edgewood (a.k.a. Izzy) is content with her life, even thought it has more book characters than flesh and blood humans in it. Then her cousin Josephine signs her up for an online dating site in order to rectify Izzy's singleness. Through this site she meets bookish, introverted Brodie Sutherland, who appears to be perfect in every way ... except he lives on an European island called Skymar and she lives in North Carolina. As Izzy continues to correspond with him, she discovers it may be time for her to pursue her own adventure instead of just reading about them and begin living the life she was created to live.

Content Warnings

None.

Personal Thoughts

Oh. MY. GOSH! I absolutely loved this book! There were so many book references that I knew and it made reading it so enjoyable. Not to mention Brodie is one of the best book-boyfriends out there. The Edgewood cousins are tight-knit and their banter had me in stitches, especially whenever Luke chimed in. While the first half of the book is more of a slow-burn, the last half picks up and it's thrilling to see Brodie and Izzy's relationship blossom. I have read this book at least three times in just a few months, it's that addicting!

Each character has an unique personality. The banter and wit between them made me smile and laugh. The world-building for Skymar was so well done, I thought it was a real place! (Sadly, Skymar is a fictional island.) Books are a central part of the story and any prolific reader can identify with the enthusiasm Brodie and Izzy have for stories. The romance contains little drama and any that does occur is quickly cleared up.

This is an epistolatory novel, with over half of the book containing emails and text messages, so if that is not your thing you may want to pass.

Notes

This book is best for teens and adults.

Steam Level: 💋💋💋

For those of you who have read Authentically, Izzy, what did you think of it? For those who haven't, would you?