Izzy Edgewood is a wannabe bookstore owner, quote queen, and Lord of the Rings nerd who has been waiting for Prince Charming to sweep her off her sneakered feet. But it’s hard to meet people when you spend more time with fictional humans than real ones. Which is why her pragmatist cousin Josephine decides to take Izzy’s future into her own meddling hands and create an online dating profile for the hopeful romantic.
To Izzy’s shock (and suspicion), Josie’s plan works. Soon, she’s dialoguing with a Hobbit-loving man named Brodie who lives in a small town an ocean away from her home in the Blue Ridge Mountains. But is their shared love of books, family, and correspondence enough to overcome Izzy’s fear of flying and the literal distance between them? And is a long-distance relationship even worth considering when a local author has been frequenting the library where she works and is proving to be a perfectly fine gentleman?
In this epistolary novel from award-winning author Pepper Basham, bookish dreams and happily-ever-afters collide to create a beautiful sort of magic that’s even better than fiction.
I’ve never been a fan of the epistolary format, but because this novel is written by one of my favorite authors I thought I’d give it a shot. Sadly, I put down the book knowing this format is definitely not for me.
From the moment I started reading I found myself fighting to connect, and found myself often skimming rather than reading. I think if a small part of the narrative would’ve been correspondence I believe that would’ve given the reader a chance to connect on that deeper level with the characters, and thus feel more vested in the story. Sadly, I never reached that point.
I really did want to love this story, but every time I picked it up I felt like it was a chore. The characters are endearing, and I can see why the author chose this writing style, but it is definitely not for me, especially with this type of correspondence being quite dated, in my opinion. I tried to think back to a time when I had such correspondence with anyone like this by email and remembered a friend in Canada whom I used to write to way back in 2016. It’s sad really, but texting is so much easier these days.
This is a very clean and wholesome read, and the cover is so stinking cute that I couldn’t help but be curious. I will say, there were some charming parts, and a few lines that made me chuckle, but it wasn’t enough to keep me interested. I craved to find a connection, especially having loved all of Pepper Basham’s books that I’ve read in the past, but I feel like this writing style was just too out of my comfort zone. Pair that with the overall disconnect that I felt, and it made for a tough read that was lackluster, at best. I also have to say that all of the Lord of the Rings reference eluded me, as I am not really a LOTR fan, but for fans of the beloved series I think you’ll find kindred spirits within these pages.
I really do think the premise is endearing but the execution was left wanting, at least for me.
Connect with Pepper at pepperdbasham.com where you can subscribe to her newsletter as well as to connect with her on social media.
I am one of those old-fashioned (if you will) people who still send snail mail letters, birthday cards, Christmas cards, etc. I also still get long detailed emails from friends, mostly at Christmas, so I didn't mind the format or necessarily find it outdated. I am not a LOTR fan, never watched it or read the books, but that also didn't diminish my joy of this book. Later in the book it does have narrative instead of correspondance, but I understand what you are saying. I am so sorry you didn't enjoy this one, I really did find it brilliant, LOL! I have seen other reviews similar to yours, where others have also had trouble struggling with the format. Some said it was easier to read the paperback than the Kindle, so that is what I did.
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