Member Reviews

A gentle, charming read and thoroughly satisfying following the likeable Pepper's life. Well drawn characters and wonderful descriptions of the towns & cities.. I loved the attention to detail. A fast & satisfying read & the first time I have read from this author. Would definitely try another..

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This is the first Isabelle Broom book that I've read. It definitely won't be my last!

Pepper is an art teacher who longs to mend the troubled relationship with her mother. After the tragic death of her younger sister things have never been the same between them.

Her elderly friend Josephine longs to share memories of her first love with Pepper. They travel to Lisbon and Barcelona to reminisce the love Josephine misses from all those years ago. Pepper has never been abroad before and the have a wonderful adventure together.

On her travels she meets Finn a tall, handsome, blond, German man who ignites a deep longer to live, laugh and love after years of sorrow.

The twist in the story I didn't see coming and it had me wondering what would I do in that situation!

The ending gave me goose bumps it wasn't what I was expecting. A cracking read.

Thank you to #netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to review this book.

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Lovely story a wonderful author whose books I always look forward to reading A-book that has all my favorite elements romance friendships travel& even art,.I sat down to read a few pages and wound up reading it in one sitting.#netgalley #helloagain

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Hello Again maintains the perfect Batting Average that Isabelle Broom has managed with this particular reader. Again she writes a beautifully Romantic story that is sweet without being Cloying . There is emotion and heartache and repair . Most of all though is the beautiful way Ms Broom brings the places in her books to life.. I know she travels to entirely immerse herself and this shows in the way, sights, sounds and smell are brought into stark relief.

Another triumph.

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I’ve loved being a part of these character’s lives as they come to realisations, grow and their relationships deepen.

Pepper is a fabulous flawed character. I felt inspired by her creativity! I loved this theme throughout the story.

Her relationship with her mother is a tricky one with feelings not acknowledged and emotions closed off. Our minds are the absolute worst when they don’t know the truth aren’t they! We’re our own greatest enemies sometimes. If loss has touched your life, you will relate to how people deal with grief differently. And everyone can relate to the intricacies and complications of relationships with authority figures. Some ultimately beautiful moments with these two touched my heart.

I really enjoyed Pepper’s friendship with Josephine. On their quest to finding Jorge their friendship grows although it’s clear that Josephine is holding something back. These two brought moments of belonging as well as sadness.

Pepper learns so much about herself alongside Finn. Sharp edges of destruction smooth out. And her maturity shows in the decisions she has to make. I did feel tension waiting for the ‘other plans’ from the blurb to drop. Loved this twist!

Isabelle Broom takes us to some wonderful settings in her stories and Hello, Again is no exception. I’ve experienced Lisbon, Barcelona and Hamburg not only as a tourist but also as a local. A holiday in your pocket 🙂

Hello Again has all the feels. Moments of highs and moments of lows. If, like me, you need that emotional connection in your stories, these characters will wind you in a web and capture your heart. Recommended read.

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I’ll start by saying that I did enjoy this novel. It was my first read by Isabelle Broom, and it won’t be my last. The story itself follows an artist, Pepper, a woman that is estranged from her family due to the loss of her sister when they were children. An older friend brings her on a couple of trips with her to reminisce an old flame, but also to make Pepper realise that she needs to live and love. Pepper meets a German man and their story begins, I have to say that I hated the twist to their story. The author introduces Samuel as a possible love interest and I wasn’t sure where the story might go with him, but he basically falls into the story, then drops out again just as quickly. I felt like he either needed more part in the story, or simply didn’t need to be part of it. All in all, it’s a good read, I just found the latter part of the story frustrating.

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I think I read one or two novels by Isabelle Broom in the past but this one really captured my heart.

The story revolves around Pepper, an art teacher living in Aldeburgh who embarks on an incredible adventure with her neighbour Josephine.

Josephine wants to discover what happened to a young love she had many years ago in Lisbon, so they both travel to Portugal and Spain to follow him. And believe me, so many things happen during this trip! Pepper even meets Finn, the man of her dreams!

I won't say anything else but the story touches on many important topics such as grief, family, love, friendship and the good that comes from travelling. As I said before, it captured my heart, I highly recommend it!

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I didnt love this book. It was too slow and the plot too predictable.
However the story telling was lovely and the descriptions of the places visited enchanting.

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Unfortunately, I have not been able to read and review this book.

After losing and replacing my broken Kindle and getting a new phone I was unable to download the title again for review as it was no longer available on Netgalley.

I’m really sorry about this and hope that it won’t affect you allowing me to read and review your titles in the future.

Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity.
Natalie.

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Hello, Again is the latest novel from Isabelle Broom. Similarly to her previous novels, Hello, Again takes the reader on a journey abroad to some truly beautiful and amazing places, all from the comfort of their own homes, this time though it’s not just one destination but several. As a child, Pepper, now an artist and teacher, dreamed of travelling and exploring the world with her younger sister, Bethan. As an adult, however, Pepper rarely even leaves her seaside home in Suffolk, leave alone travels abroad. So, when her elderly neighbour and friend, Josephine, asks her to accompany her on a trip to Europe to find a long-lost lover, Pepper gets her first taste of holidaying abroad in Lisbon, Portugal.

ere, she meets the handsome German, Finn, who she quickly falls for. Still shrouded in family secrets and history though, the course of Pepper’s life does not run smoothly in the fairytale love story she hopes for. Family drama and further secrets in life unravel making Pepper question everything about her once quiet and uneventful life.

Hello Again is not only packed full of beautiful places, blossoming friendships and love, and family drama, it paints much of its story through the medium of art. From Pepper’s own artwork in her studio/teaching space to the mosaic arts in Lisbon, the importance of art and believing in your own art (whatever that may be) is an integral part of this novel.

A story of romance and perhaps, more importantly, friendship and family bonds, Isabelle Broom’s Hello, Again is an emotional and warming trip around the world, where the journey is sometimes more significant than the end destination. A perfect holiday read, once more, Isabelle Broom has successfully created a novel with a plot that keeps you hooked and descriptions of stunning destinations that depict such a vivid image in the readers’ mind.

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This book is sublime. Gorgeously depicted travel that makes you feel you have truly been teleported from your armchair/sunlounger/cafe table/bed and an absolute rollercoaster of a storyline, which couldn't be more like a Portuguese azulejo if it tried.

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I love Isabelle Broom’s books and have never felt disappointed in them. Unfortunately I did with this one. As always her descriptions of places helps the reader to feel a part of the scene but I really failed to engage with her characters. And .....suddenly ..... it was the end!!

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Hello, again set in Aldeburgh in Suffolk, a place very close to my heart. It follows Pepper, an Aldeburgh local on her unexpected journey of love. She travels to Portugal and Barcelona reminiscing her close friends early life. But in turn she finds a love of her own.

Pepper has rarely left her dreamy town of Aldeburgh even though she has longed to but something has always stopped her. We discover why this is and how she deals with it.

I loved this book and related so much to Pepper being from the area were this was set. Leaving the area to travel was one of the best things I did but going home is always nice.

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I enjoyed this book but never felt the depth of Finn and Peppers love affair - maybe the passion was missing. Saying that it was a good story that mimicked Josephine and Jorge’s life and well told. I felt it ended a bit abruptly.

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This book contains some beautiful descriptions of wonderful places & art. It also had some believable characters that are well written and fully formed. However, I found the story and boom itself difficult to get through. The relationship between the main character, Pepper, and her whirlwind relationship with Finn was enjoyable but the direction their relationship went in was inevitable and I felt the story was just missing something. The ending of the book was extremely abrupt - I found myself doubting that it had ended with one short sentence and looking for it to continue on the next page but it was followed by an epilogue, which although nice, felt very short and almost as if the author was rushed into finish - she had gone into such delicious detail of even the smallest issue, that it just felt like it didn’t fit with the rest of the book.
An enjoyable book, great characters but just missing something.

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This is a romantic book about Pepper who has never travelled abroad until she meets Josephine.
She is convinced by Josephine to travel with her, and I love the cities she travels to, especially Lisbon.Josephine wishes to revisit the place she remembers from a lost love and Pepper eventually meets Finn. Love the descriptions of the cities they visited.
Thanks to Netgalley for A.R.C.

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I loved the sound of this book and was looking forward to reading it. However. I found it really slow and difficult to get in to. I just couldn't engage with the main character. I carried on and it did get better and the pace of the story increased. I ended up enjoying the book but it wouldn't be one I read again.

Overall it was well written and flowed nicely, maybe just not the right book for me.

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Pepper is a young art teacher who has never fulfilled her dreams to travel until she is persuaded by Josephine to accompany her to Lisbon to look for her first love, whom she left in Lisbon 50 years ago. Pepper rediscovers her dreams and also mends the relationship with her mother.

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This is the first Isabelle Broom book that I have read but it won't be the last! A wonderful story, which I was completely drawn into. I loved all the places that Pepper and Josephine visited - Lisbon has been on my wish list for a while and after reading this, it is rapidly moving up the list! I have been to Barcelona and the author's fantastic descriptions transported me back to all those wonderful Gaudi places. It was just like I was there in person, experiencing it all over again.

What I really loved was the style of writing and how descriptive Isabelle is - some of the turns of phrase were so expressive and enchanting. She puts things in a way you would never think to but that were spot on. There were plenty of twists and turns along the way, where at times I was certain I knew how the story was going to end, only to be doubting myself again a few minutes later. That's the mark of a great story, I guess!

If you are looking for a feel good book with a little heartache (it's not all rosy along the way for everyone), exploring some wonderful places around the world with some lovely characters, I can't recommend this one highly enough. Read it now! Meanwhile, I'm off to find some other stories by the same author.......

Thank you to Net Galley and the publishers for allowing me to review this book in exchange for an honest opinion, which is what I have given.

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This started really slow and by the third chapter I was drumming my fingers, wondering when something was going to happen and what on Earth I was thinking when I requested it for review.

I persisted because the glowing reviews far outnumbered the less impressed and I didn't want to miss out on a potentially good story, although I had pretty much already decided this author isn't for me.

There's no way around it, the protagonist is a dull character. She's never gone anywhere or done anything. The writing meanders.

This one just wasn't for me.

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