Hello, Again

Pepper has never left the country and it’s about time she did.

I always have incredibly high expectations of Isabelle Broom’s writing and once again she didn’t disappoint. From the very first page I was completely enchanted by the romantic, descriptive and emotional writing so that Hello, again made me smile, weep and gladdened my heart. I thought it was wonderful.

As I expected, I was completely transported to the settings of the book through the painterly attention to detail, the weather, the colours, sights and textures that Isabelle Broom always manages to meld into evocative pictures in the reader’s mind. Aldburgh, Lisbon and Barcelona are very familiar to me and in Hello, again they are so vividly presented that I found myself transported out of lockdown and back to glorious streets, making me feel as if I had had a city break and had even visited Hamburg where I’ve never actually been. I found this element of Hello, again completely distracting so that all the cares of the real world vanished.

I thought the story in Hello, again was so romantic without being remotely saccharine. There’s a realism too that is incredibly satisfying because I believed completely in the outcomes. There’s palpable, vibrant life here that makes the reader feel as if they are part of the action. It might sound mad to say so, but I felt as if I somehow ‘belonged’ with Hello, again; as if I had found my place in the world.

I loved Pepper. I loved her dress sense (or lack of it) her self-deprecating personality, her creativity and her relationships, but above all I loved the way she developed as an individual through the narrative, teaching herself and the reader that although our past may help shape who we are today, it doesn’t have to constrain who we might become in the future. This was such a heartwarming theme that it makes me feel emotional just thinking about it after I’ve finished the read. Although this is a romance and Jorge and Finn help drive the action with Otto providing brilliant light relief, it is Isabelle Broom’s exploration of womanhood that touched me so completely. She understands the complexities of relationships that women have and the way in which they judge themselves and others. I was so ensnared by the women here that I wanted to hold each one at some point in the story to provide emotional support. I forgot that these were not real people because I cared about them so much.

The themes of Hello, again are thoughtful, sensitively handled and beautifully written so that the story tugged at my heart, rekindled memories and illustrated to me to the positive potential of my life. Apart from longing to try creating a mosaic of my own, I felt as if Isabelle Broom had looked deep inside my mind, had seen what I needed to read about love, friendship, relationships, self-belief, guilt, forgiveness and identity and had somehow written Hello, again just for me. It felt somehow intimate and personal.

I loved Hello, again. Reading it brought me joy and happiness. It’s just the kind of book the world needs right now and Isabelle Broom is the perfect author to write it. Just glorious.

Despite not having yet read them all, yet, I absolutely love Isabelle Broom’s books and this one may just be my favourite so far.

Hello, Again is an enchanting love story that transports you around the world.

Pepper is lost in life and takes the opportunity to travel to Europe with Josephine, her elderly friend who has her own love story to tell. It is as they travel to Lisbon and Barcelona that Pepper learns lessons about love and life from Josephine and also Finn.

The characters of Pepper and Josephine are captivating and both have aspects that I am sure everyone can relate too. It is how their stories entwine that is one of the many reasons why this book is so lovable.

One of the features of Isabelle’s books that always makes me pick them up is the escapism and her ability to transport you across the world with her writing. In this book alone she features, Suffolk, Lisbon, Barcelona, Hamburg and Guernsey. She writes in such a way that not only are you caught up in the characters stories but also as if you are right there on the streets of the places you are reading about.

I adored this love story and can’t wait to pick up another of Isabelle’s books.

Having read a previous book by the author I knew I was getting to read something sweet and lovely and I wasn't wrong.

What a wonderful treat of a book. I loved it, with all the travel and the lovely friendships and the romantic love story and the art and oh, it was just what I needed at this exact moment in time.

This is the first book that I have read by Isabelle Broom and can confirm that it won’t be my last. I was totally immersed in this story and loved every moment.
The friendship between Pepper and Josephine was a beautiful thing. Pepper’s fractured family life and confidence needed the stability that their friendship created. Pepper’s relationship with her parents was a major source of pain and the way that the root of the problem was revealed made for a heart-breaking read.
Having visited Lisbon and Barcelona, it was lovely to return virtually and enjoy the sights again.
The delectable Finn was a joy to read about and the spark between him and Pepper was clearly set to become an inferno!
I avoid spoilers so I will stop short of giving the game away but, I can assure you, this book has every ingredient required for the perfect romantic break.

What a very enjoyable book this is!
Isabelle Broom's wriiting is colourful and evocative and her wonderful descriptions of Lisbon and Barcelona took me straight there, feeling the heat, experiencing the colours. Real escapism.
Pepper is a young lady who has never been out of England but is brave enough to fly off as a companion to the delightful Josephine, an older lady who has been a friend for some time. Josephine wants to revisit places where memories were made in her past. For Pepper, it is all new.
It was so nice to feel the relationship between young and old developing on both sides. Pepper learnt so much about herself and about her self value. It's a story about confidence regained, about the healing of old relationships and the discovery of new ones.
Thanks to NetGalley for a chance to review this book. I did enjoy reading it.