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.

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.

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.

I am sorry this one was not for me. I could not get pass the first 100 pages. I am sure the story picks up later on - and based on many positive reviews I have seen, even becomes interesting) but the style of writing is boring and cumbersome, the pace slow, then main character not engaging at all (I mean, in these days and age, are there people who have never left their towns?).
I simply could get interested in what happens next.

This is the first book I’ve read of Isabelle Broom and I’ll be quickly looking for the next one to read. Loved the story from start to finish. A story showing the journey that life can take you on and the heartache you experience along the way. Also how certain people enter your lives at certain points to lead you to where high are heading. Loved it!

This is a must read. The kind of novel that sinks into you, shakes you open and makes you realize what life is really about. Beautiful Story that kept me enthralled throughout. Thank you Net Galley for a copy of this book. I enjoyed reading it immensely.

With the current temperament of the world, I was particularly drawn to ‘Hello, Again’ because of the whole travel theme surrounding it. Just reading the blurb, I was already excited to be transported to all these European countries. But also since I wasn’t planning on going anywhere this summer, I thought why not be travel by book?

‘Hello Again’ was a book with so many layers to it that I didn’t expect. It follows Pepper who is still coming to terms with the grief and guilt of her younger sister’s death and the impact it’s had on not only her family life but also her aspirations as an artist. There’s also the romance arc which I know is meant to be the big thing but I wasn’t really there for that. To top it all off there’s the travelling. I loved being transported back to Lisbon and being reminded of all the beautiful things the city has to offer. Also reading about Hamburg and Barcelona which I’ve never been to before but eagerly want to. I thought this was going to be a travel themed book and although I was slightly disappointed at the start that it wasn’t heavily focused on travelling, I kind of appreciated the balance. One thing I was really impressed about was the ending. I really felt it could swing either way (No spoilers!) but I’m very glad that it ended the way it did. It just seemed right.

Overall, ‘Hello Again’ is a really lovely summer read, especially when you can’t go on holiday! For all those art lovers and wanderlust fans, I’d recommend this!

A beautiful story of love in many forms. For Pepper, her journey begins with a tragedy years before which has left her with a fractured experience of love. A good friend helps her get herself back together again and our story travels from England to Lisbon and Germany. Here we encounter romantic love and the story takes us on. Pepper continues to experience the highs and lows of love whilst trying to come to terms with the sadness in her past.
This story will tug at your heart and at the same time fill it with joy. I so enjoyed this lovely book and was touched by it’s bitter sweet ending.
It is a story you will remember long after you’ve turned the last page.

Still living in the Suffolk Coastal town that she has lived in all her life, Pepper (Phillippa) is relatively happy with her life. In some respects... Her new arts & crafts business is going well and everyone knows her around the village. She hasn't quite nailed the happily ever after with the man of her dreams and her family life is well a different story. You see, her younger sister died (age 7) when she was a teenager and her relationship with her parents has never been the same again. With her mum stuck in grief and unable to see any light at the end of the tunnel.

Her friend Josephine invites Pepper on a trip to Europe to help her relive her younger days and see the places she fell in love with. As well as the man she fell in love with many years ago. A firm believer in love at first sight. During this trip Pepper meets Finn and the sparks fly straight away. From never having been abroad, Pepper is suddenly jetting off to Lisbon, Barcelona, Hamburg and Guernsey across one summer.

Whilst this story has a love story running throughout, it is the personal relationships in Pepper's life that are the main focus. From discovering a way to communicate with her parents, discover a lost love in her own art and find the love that is hidden in her heart underneath a mask of grief and guilt.

This is a romance about a girl called Pepper (Philippa) who has had tragedy in her life. She has a very strained relationship with her mother due to the death of her sister, Beth. Pepper also feels guilt about the circumstances of Beth’s death and blames herself for what happened. Pepper has lived a very sheltered life in many ways, living in her beloved Aldeburgh by the sea, but never having travelled despite having wanted to see different places as a child. As the main character, Pepper is a real individual. She has low self-esteem not helped by her mother, but her unique style make her stand out from the crowd.
During one of her many trips to the beach she comes across a lady called Josephine who regales her with tales of her youth and the love of her life. Together they travel to Lisbon, where Pepper meets Finn and falls in love.
In the book Pepper travels not only to Lisbon, but also to Barcelona, Hamburg and finally Guernsey all in the space of a year. One of the highlights of the book for me are the descriptions of all these wonderful places. Isabelle Broom skilfully takes you on Pepper’s travels and you feel as if you might be there with her. I loved this aspect of the book.
As I read through I thought the book might be slightly predictable but began to realise part way through that there was a bit more to the story than boy meets girl and all the characters live happily ever after. My one gripe is that Josephine who is aged seventy one is depicted as a much older woman. Admittedly she has Parkinson’s but that the way she is portrayed you get the feeling that she is much older. Most seventy one year olds today are sprightly and take good care of themselves and their appearance. Other than that this is an enjoyable story.
Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this book.

Pepper has never left the country, living alone, lacking in love and good family relationships she finally takes the plunge when her elderly, but close friend Josephine persuades her to keep her company on her travels.

This is a good travel and self-discovery story; the travel scenes are beautifully written and really transport you to each country. Pepper bumps into Finn (literally) in Portugal and a new romance begins. Pepper, her family and friends all have issues to deal with from recent health issues through to long held hurts and resentments this is quite a packed full book.

The plot flows nicely and is all bought to a lovely ending, it focuses on many relationship complexities, twists and turns, love is the main theme. While Pepper and Finn’s relationship dominates the story, Josephine’s story is also very lovely as is the relationship between Pepper and Josephine.

Pepper is quite a self-deprecating character, she doesn’t have any self-confidence and refuses to paint again since the passing of her sister, which she blames herself for. It was nice to see her grow and come back to her painting again. Finn, while appearing as a lovely guy who is devoted to Pepper once they meet doesn’t seem quite right to me. While the premise is lovely that they meet and keep bumping into each other and a sudden love blossoms, it feels almost starker like at times and his other relationship in Germany, far more than he would have you believe… I’m not sure if the story would be better without that part or if there is a hint that he is actually a snake. Either way, the fact that you are drawn into thinking of these things shows how well the characters are developed and how drawn into the plot you become.

I found the first part easy to get into but then there seemed to be a bit of a lag in the middle up to around 60% which felt a little like unnecessary filler, after this, it became well-paced and more enjoyable again.

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

I love a good travel and self-discovery story, and I'm a fan of Isabelle Broom, so when I saw this up on Netgalley I jumped at the chance to read it. As expected, it was a thoroughly enjoyable combination of interesting characters, a sweet story and a little twist. Broom's characters are, for the most part, realistic and a joy to read. There's a certain escapism to her stories which is ideal for me, someone who reads to be entertained and forget about real life for a while. I like a bit of fluff and fun in my books rather than grit and realism. Usually I'm a romance reader, and Hello, Again certainly has a big dose of romance, but it also has a 'thing are not as they seem' aspect that's hinted at in the blurb and is revealed as the book goes on. Pepper's story was a lovely one and I was glad to read it.

Once again Isabelle Broom has produced a great novel. I always find her characters easy to empathise with which makes the story great to read, however her descriptions of places really make me want to go and visit them. There’s always just enough without going too far and making it all boring. This is definitely one I would recommend anyone to read.

Every time you pick up an Isabelle Broom book you know you will be transported to exotic climes, and this book is no exception. Lisbon, Hamburg and Barcelona are so vividly described you can sense the sights and sounds and taste the food.

This is a story about Philippa Taylor (Pepper) an artist who has never been abroad before. That is until her elderly friend Josephine invites her to travel to Lisbon in Portugal as her companion to revisit a trip she did with her younger self's first love. It is during this trip that she meets Finn................

This is a story of family, love, healing and new horizons. It is a nice getaway read for everyone stuck at home during the current crisis.

3.5 stars

Yet again Isabelle Broom allows us to travel from the comfort of our armchair/bed / garden chair . Her descriptions of Lisbon have now added it to my wish list, I’ve been to Barcelona so could easily recognise the city she described, its people, art and architecture. Her characters, Pepper the artist and Josephine along with Peppers family are all dealing with their own problems and art , travel and mosaic making help with a little romance too. As well as travel I want to make a mosaic now too.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this book.

I really enjoyed this bright piece of escapism after shielding for several months. The author seems to have that ability to keep the reading experience light and enjoyable, while touching on long held dark secrets and the complexities of our relationships with others whether they’re friendships or potential romance. Phillipa Taylor, known as Pepper, is a bit of a dreamer and has thoughts of travelling way beyond the confines of the sleepy Sussex seaside town she’s from. She has low self-esteem and although she’s a painter, she ends up destroying her work, unable to believe it’s good enough, Her friend Josephine offers that chance of escape. She asks Pepper to be her companion for a trip to Europe. Josephine is elderly and may need help, but mainly wants a good friend alongside her to enjoy the trip. For Pepper it will be a way to recover after a series of traumatic events; her relationship ended, her parents gave separated and her sister has died.. For Josephine it means once more visiting places that hold precious memories and finding closure. What will it mean for Pepper?

I felt like I was taking a European tour vicariously, once the women began travelling and the author paints each city they visit with an authentic sense of place. Firstly the pair travel to Portugal and experience the capital, Lisbon which seems to exude a certain calm and serene feeling. Here, Pepper meets a young German man called Finn, and very unexpectedly they find a connection. However, this is not just about romance and .we see Pepper grow so much as they travel on to Hamburg, Berlin and Guernsey. From a counsellor’s perspective it seemed that Pepper was struggling to move forward, both creatively and romantically due to losing her sister. There’s a sense of survivors guilt in the way her life has become paralysed. The longer they travel the more open she becomes and she starts to be inspired creatively again.

Love is the main theme of the novel. The younger couple dominate but I also enjoyed Josephine’s back story too. Mainly I loved the friendship between the two women because it showed that age is no barrier to friendship. A real surprise treat for someone like me who has had their holidays cancelled this year.

A warm uplifting summer read. The descriptions of the cities visited are outstanding, you really feel that you have been to these places without leaving home - and at the moment when travelling is well nigh impossible that is a huge bonus.

Philippa Taylor (or Pepper to her friends) experienced a certain amount of tragedy in her life and this is why it's not easy for her to open up. She's insecure and doesn't dare to paint again. She lives in a small coastal town in Suffolk and has never travelled but when she befriends an older woman, Josephine, it's all about to change. Pepper is not easy to persuade but then decides to accompany Josephine on her journey to Lisbon, to find her long lost love. It's the beginning of changes in Pepper's life, and bumping into the handsome Finn is only the promising start. Is she going to find what she's been looking for almost her whole life? Will she move forwards?

The characters are interesting, however I missed more depth to them and I didn't engage with them as much as I'd like. Pepper is a complex character though she was not completely my cup of tea, to be honest. I'm not sure why. Maybe it was because she was so much reserved? Not believing in herself? Her glass was always half empty? Finn also didn't convince me completely, there was something in him that made me feel untrusting towards him, and I personally thought that Pepper had deserved someone better, someone less selfish, someone who will take her as she is.
The relationship aspects, especially those concerning the closest family, were really well written, even if, after a while, I started to feel desperate with Pepper's mother. But they were well explored and close to life.

This time the author takes us to Lisbon, Guernsey and Hamburg, and you can see that Isabelle Broom has done her research. The descriptions of those unusual places, as well as of the food and drinks were colourful and vivid, bringing them all to life. And I liked the end! It was not so obvious, so that's brownie points from me!

The author follows her proven formula - she takes us on a journey abroad, to another lovely carefully selected setting, where we go on a rollercoaster journey of feelings and emotions, together with the characters. There is everything in the book, all the most important points, girl meets boy, both have a past, both try to overcome their fear, there are ups and downs, and of course an older character that is oh so wise, and we all know how it's going to end - perfect, right? Only, it's not perfect. It's flat and old and I think that the author could do so much better, one shall not live by setting alone, I missed life and authenticity in this story, the characters felt too wooden and really, I had a feeling I've read this story thousand times already, only the names of the characters changed. But I guess it's my problem, as so many of you have already enjoyed this book, so don't feel put out by my thoughts.

Nevertheless, the quality of Isabelle Broom's writing is truly to appreciate. It's eloquent, chatty, warm and so incredibly vivid, especially when it comes to the setting. However, the story at the heart of this book feels too dull and monotonous. I skipped some pages, to be honest and had a feeling that it didn't make any difference to the story, that I didn't miss anything. There are too many things that shouldn't have found their way to this book and it felt too repetitive.

"Hello, Again" is a light summer read about love, friendship, second chances and new beginnings. I only think that I want more texture and not another travel - guide. But overall, this book is a great addition for Isabelle Broom's fans, probably I've simply outgrown such stories.

Be prepared to really give this book a chance, I nearly gave up but I am glad I didn't, once the adventure begins it makes for a really good read. The fun the two main characters had while travelling around Europe makes for a great story. Read and enjoy this, it was well written.

Thanks for the ARC and this is an honest review.

A very romantic and engrossing story that kept me hooked till the end.
Well written and with a cast of great characters.
It's the first book I read by this author and won't surely be the last.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this arc, all opinions are mine