Positively, Penelope - Pepper D. Basham - ★★★.¾

AUTHOR: Pepper D. Basham

SERIES: Skymar, #2

GENRE: Romantic Comedy, Epistolary novel.

RATING: 3.75 stars.

In a Nutshell: Quite similar to the first book of the series, in both good points and the not-so-good points. I liked the first one better for the bookish bits. A fun read, if you are okay with the never-ending emails and postscripts, and with the repeat of the formula from Book One.

Story Synopsis:

The youngest Edgewood sibling, twenty-three-year-old Penelope, has just landed on the beautiful island of Skymar for a three-month internship with the local Darling House Theatre. As a lover of musicals, she brings with her boundless energy and a tendency to burst into song, both of which are somewhat unnerving to the serious theatre owner, Matt Gray, though his brother Alec seems fascinated by the American whirlwind.

Penelope starts her venture with her whole heart, but deep within, she longs to be taken seriously, as most people around her seem to focus only on her clothes and her chirpiness instead of on her brain. To add to her woes, someone is stealing her marketing ideas. The only moral support she has locally, other than her dear family back at home, are Matt’s seven-year-old daughter Iris, and a mysterious GK - an online friend who is helping her resurrect the theatre. Will Penelope’s endless positivity be enough to sustain her spirits and get Darling House back on track?

The book comes to us mostly through various emails and text messages, exchanged across the Edgewood siblings (Penelope, Izzy, Josephine and Luke all reprising their roles from the first book), the online theatre group that GK and Penelope are a part of, and the Gray family.

You might get a sense of déjà vu from my review, but many of the points I have to cover here are the same as my feedback for the first book of this series, ‘Authentically Izzy.’ The two books make a perfect pair in terms of vibe, storyline, characters, and writing.

Bookish Yays:

😍 Penelope is a tough character to get right. She is THIS close to being over the top, what with her constant bubbliness, her habit of filling her messages with exclamation marks (and even CAPS at times), and her obsession with musicals. (She is also crazy about Julie Andrews, but I totally get that!) Her personality seemed to combine traits of Marianne (from Jane Austen’s ‘Sense and Sensibility’), Rebecca (from the Shopaholic series), and Giselle (from the movie ‘Enchanted’.) Why I still like Penelope is because of how the author wrote her with depth. She is considered an airhead by many other characters just because of her fondness for trivialities such as fashion and musicals, but she has brains and a keen understanding of character. She isn’t just a ‘spoonful of sugar’ but a barrelful of sugar accompanied with an equal amount of spice. Rarely do I love a character who has barely anything in common with me, but in this case, I did.

😍 The Edgewood sibling bond is evident even in this book, though the focus of the email interactions isn’t as focussed on them as the first time around. Josephine, Luke and Izzy still have the same strong personalities as they displayed in ‘Authentically Izzy’. I liked how the author didn’t give them any character makeovers but retained their spirit.

😍 Of the new characters, the most impactful are clearly Matt (loved his full name – Matthias! What a welcome change from the more typical Matthew!) and his little daughter Iris. Matt begins as the typical grump whose ice melts under the sunshine that is Penelope. But the reasons for his reserved nature is nicely sketched in the plot, unlike most romcoms where we don’t even know why the MMC acts so standoffish. Iris is the sweetest child, and I wish there had been more on her on page. The little we see of her is enough to show that she is a doll! The father-daughter connection between Matt and Iris is adorable.

😍 For a romcom with such a “positive” lead character, the book covers some intense themes such as grief, heartbreak, and childhood trauma. What I especially appreciate was how these were inserted naturally in the plot without them feeling like some kind of social agenda.

😍 Skymar still doesn’t seem fictional. (I think it is based on the Skye island in Scotland.) The portrayal of its natural features combined with its architectural landmarks and cultural heritage makes me wish it were an actual place.

😍 This time, I was prepared for the book to have Christian elements. Just as in the first book, I appreciated this kind of approach to Christian fiction, where faith is not imposed on readers through biblical verses and fire-and-brimstone homilies, but is a routine part of the characters’ conversation. Penelope also remarks on various ritualistic ideas such as going to mass and saying prayers in a practical manner. One thing I wasn’t prepared for, but I adored, is the inclusion of a divorced single dad as the main character. (I can see over-conservative believers protesting against such a character in this genre, but to me, these elements were a glorious depiction of true Christianity – accepting and non-judgemental.)

😍 The above obviously ensures that the romance is clean, except for a few kisses in the final quarter. (Penelope has a great rationale for kisses being acceptable in God’s eyes – I couldn’t help but laugh at her research!)

Bookish Mixed Bags:

😐 The writing pattern is the same as the first book, so my experience is the same. The book begins with a barrage of emails across various characters, and after about one-third, it shifts to a mix of email communication and third-person narrative. I enjoyed the combo approach better, as the emails, with their overabundant PS and PPS and PPPS add-ons, began getting on my nerves after a while.

😐 One factor that I truly missed from the first book was its focus on books, courtesy Izzy’s work as a librarian and her passion for bookish quotes. This time around, Penelope is a theatre and musical lover, so all her character makes plenty of references to musicals. Thankfully, my knowledge of old Hollywood musicals is pretty strong, so the mentions of favourite movies such as ‘The Sound of Music’ and of stars like Gene Kelly and Julie Andrews made me nostalgic. But I have not seen ‘My Fair Lady’ (I know, I know!!!), so those trivia went above my head. I am not sure how these elements would work with any reader who isn’t so aware of old musicals.

Bookish Nays:

😒 Again, I find it unbelievable that family members would exchange so many emails in 2023. Of course, it is a tad more sensible this time because of the time and location difference. But seriously, don’t US residents use WhatsApp for family chats? (If my family members start emailing me so frequently and in such length, I’ll block them!)

😒 At 410+ pages, this is quite lengthy for the romcom genre. Thankfully, I was more prepared for the writing style this time, so I didn’t take as long to read the book. But many of the plot points could have been crisper.

😒 The love triangle, which was barely there tbh, was a dud even this time. As I have mentioned before, triangles make sense only when we feel the tug between the two competing characters. But when the resolution of the triangle is clear from the very first start, it is pointless and boring.

😒 The mystery of who is stealing Penelope's marketing ideas is not at all hard to guess. The clues are quite obvious, so it is tiresome to wait for the characters to realise what you already know.

😒 I think the book went a bit overboard on the fairy tale elements. A few plot developments seem to occur just to give Penelope an opportunity to depict her passion for fairy tales (and her obsession with occasion-appropriate fashion), even when they didn’t fit into the natural flow of the story.

All in all, despite the few issues I had, I enjoyed this story *almost* as much as the first book. The approach is quite similar, but Izzy’s bookish introversion made me connect more to her than Penelope’s bombastic positivity and fashion-passion. Still, the story is as promised, and will work nicely for a light read, as long as you are prepared for the epistolary style.

Though the two books are sequential, they work well as a standalone. But being the series freak that I am, I would obviously recommend you read both the books in the right order, as you get a wonderful introduction to the Edgewoods in the first book.

The third book is already in the works, and it will be focussed on Luke, who is the most sensible and sarcastic of the siblings. Considering my fondness for all things pragmatic, I can’t wait to see what awaits Mr. Logical Luke in the next work. The ending of this book has already laid the groundwork for his story.

3.75 stars. (Same official rating as the first book, but it’s more like 3.8 for that one and 3.7 for this one.)

My thanks to Thomas Nelson and NetGalley for the DRC of “Positively, Penelope”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.