This is the baseball story I’ve been looking for this summer - not too baseball focused, but definitely having a baseball theme!! Quirky story about the beginning of a relationship between Evvie, a widow, and Dean, a former MLB pitcher.

Thanks to Random House and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Evvie is a 30 something woman, whose seemingly perfect husband is a prominent doctor in their small town in Maine. Evvie plans to leave him, and finds out as she’s packing her things that he has been in a terrible car accident; and has died.
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Our story takes place a year later, as Evvie is struggling to move on from his death; and the guilt she feels. Enter Dean Tenney; a famous Yankee baseball player who has a case of the “yips” and his career is deemed over. Dean moves to this small Maine town to see his old friend Andy (and Evvie’s closest friend) and to get away from all the publicity in New York. Andy convinces Evvie to allow Dean to rent the apartment in the back of her large house while he’s in town.
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Evvie and Dean’s friendship blossoms as the months pass by. They become closer, and work toward both making it through their personal traumas together.
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This is a book that shine light on the importance of honesty, friendship, relationships, mental health and forgiveness. I LOVED this book. I found myself feeling what Evvie was feeling through every page. I laughed with her, and tears fell for her. I resonated with this book so much. While there is a lovely romantic story here, there is SO much more. This book was a perfect read in so many ways. I highly recommend.

I just want to say that I absolutely loved this book. The writing was fabulous, excellent character development and a perfect amount of real life drama to make it more than a romance. I didn’t want to put this book down!

Evvie (rhymes with Chevy) Drake has bags packed and is about to leave her husband when she receives a call from the hospital. After her husband's death, Evvie's guilt and hurt leads to her leading an almost reclusive life, except for weekly breakfasts with best friend Andy. After a year of "grieving", Andy convinces her to rent the apartment in her home to washed up headcase Dean Tenney, ex-ball player with a case of the yips. The two, both battling their pasts, form a friendship that becomes something more.
This was a really sweet and realistic romance. It was refreshing to build the love out of a friendship, rather than just diving into the sexy stuff. Would love a sequel!

Love the cover. It truly captures the spirit of this new summer title. Evvie has secrets even her very best friend Andy does not know. She is widowed early in the narrative and has an apartment space available in her house. Enter Dean, a former MLB pitcher with the "yips." They are both broken. Can they fix each other? Baseball metaphors abound and I enjoyed reading their story. Will be a popular choice for the beach or vacation..

Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

It takes a little while before you become fully engrossed with the characters but once you make the connection it is a very good read. As others have noted, parts of the plot are predictable but what you can predict does not deter from the storyline. Digging a little deeper the author touches on issues that many go through in relationships, specifically, abandonment, mental and physical abuse, effects on children as children and as adults. In, contrast there are examples of healthy relationships depicted as well. Once you connect with the main characters, their personal thoughts are quite realistic and her descriptions of their actions are easily visualized.
Laugh a little, cry a little, and enjoy!!
I received this book as a complimentary copy for an honest review. The opinions expressed are my own.

On the day Evvie Drake decides to leave her mentally abusive husband, she receives a phone call telling her he was critically injured in a car accident. By the time she arrives at the hospital he is dead. Unsure how she feels about his death, she withdraws into her home. Many months later her best friend Andy encourages her to take in a border - a former baseball player with a bad case of the Yips. Dean Tenney had been at the top of his game when suddenly he could not throw a strike. This unlikely pair spend time together trying to fix each other. A delightful story of friendship and love.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the electronic ARC of this title. This is an entertaining, often touching story of a young widow whose loss is more complex than her small town neighbors know, and of the baseball player who has spectacularly flamed out of the majors who becomes her boarder. Predictably but charmingly, romance ensues. Interesting characters and relationships give this book more emotional heft than other books I have read in the "rebooting your life" fiction genre. A good summer read; 3.5 - 4 stars.

I found myself both laughing and crying throughout the book - it's a perfect summer/beach read and I'll be recommending it to my library!

What a great summer read! The characters were witty and charming. The backdrop of Maine through the seasons was lovely. I really enjoyed this story of starting over, and realizing that changing your course in life can be a wonderful thing (even with some bumps along the way).

Thanks to the publisher and Net Galley for this advanced copy for my honest review.

I have been listening to Linda Holmes’s podcast, Pop Culture Happy Hour for years. It’s gotten me through building Ikea furniture and through particularly bleak political moments. So naturally, I’ve been eagerly anticipating her first novel. And it did not disappoint. Evvie Drake is a widow who finds herself renting out her spare apartment to Dean, a major league pitcher with a case of the yips. At first they agree that Evvie can’t ask Dean about baseball and Dean can’t ask Evvie about her husband. But that quickly falls apart as they spend more time with each other. Evvie Drake is about grief, loss, change, but also about friendships, non-biological families, and building the life you want for yourself. This story is so charming, and all the characters are a delight to spend time with. One of my favorite features of Evvie and Dean’s relationship is how it gives Evvie the boost to step into a new phase of her life in a way that doesn’t revolve completely around her romantic relationship. It’s a gentle story about characters who I loved spending time with.

Contemporary Romance at it's finest....Not too sappy and just the right amount of relationship drama. Evvie and Dean both have personal issues and a broken heart. They are thrust together by best friend Drew and their friendship, heartaches, hardships, and love unfold beautifully in the novel. Each character really finds themselves and this story just gets it right the whole time. This book has a very realistic feel about it which I completely appreciate (again, not too sappy--yay!) It has everything you want a good summer read to have. If you like baseball, dogs and coastal living....well then you are definitely in for a treat with this one. Well done Linda Holmes...I am looking forward to reading more of your work.

So stinking cute! I loved Evvie and Dean. It was wonderful to see them both grow, learn, and process what has happened in their lives. Loved the quirky characters and funny banter. I kind of want to move to Maine now.

This book is about real people having a real relationship. It's fictional, don't get me wrong here-it's just that these people seem like people I would know. Evvie loses her husband in a car accident the day that she decides to leave him. It leaves her emotionally adrift. She doesn't tell anyone what the truth of her life is; instead she lets her best friend Andy and her father believe that she is truly grieving. Enter into her life Dean-a major league baseball pitcher who's retired from baseball because he suddenly can't pitch anymore. Their relationship progresses naturally and it allows Evvie the opportunity to "wake up" to living her life. Very enjoyable. Thanks to NetGalley and Random House-Ballantine for the ARC in return for my honest review.

This book is not what I thought it would be. Evvie has to start a new life and is kinda clueless what she wants to do. Dean is a New York Yankees pitcher that has a case of the yips so he rents an apartment in Evvie's home. What follows is a look at redemption, forgiveness and love. While Evvie and Dean follow their path it is sometimes funny and a little heartbreaking. I enjoyed this book and I look forward to reading more of this author.

I totally enjoyed this book and had a hard time putting it down. The way the story starts out is unusual, I haven't read a book with this type of epic beginning in a long time. The author does a great job of describing the details of the characters, story and setting. Its just a very sweet story!

In "Evvie Drake Starts Over," author Linda Holmes makes something that is difficult to do in rom-com/chick-lit seem effortless: tell a meet cute love story in a way that is isn't too cute, saccharine, or unbelievable. Her characters feel rooted in reality, with real problems and some ugly feelings. And yet, somehow she manages to tell a story that is joyful and a breeze to read. I can't be the only one who hopes someone at Netflix will make this into a movie! In the meantime I'll be over here wishing that Linda Holmes has a sequel in the works so I don't have to say goodbye to Evvie, Dean and Andy forever.

If you like Hallmark movies then you'll like Evvie Drake Starts Over. The plot and the characters are predictable; the setting could have been a more important part of the novel had it been fleshed out more. Holmes is too good a writer to waste her time on a formulaic novel such as this. I hope her next effort is more complex and interesting, for she certainly has the talent to pull off a much more thoughtful and nuanced novel than this one.

“Evvie Drake Starts Over” is a perfect beach read. Following the death of her husband, Evvie faces not grief, but a chance at a new life. In order to make some much-needed money, her best (platonic) friend Andy encourages her to rent out the apartment in her home to his friend Dean Tenney. Dean, a former pitcher for the New York Yankees, is also ready for a change. Together, two broken people have the chance to help each other start over.

This book delivers likable and relatable main characters, and an inspiring message in a light and fun read. The story was enjoyable, and I would definitely read books by the author in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for an advanced copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

Oh how I loved this book!

Evvie (pronounced like Chevy) is on a journey to reconciling her feelings for her husband, and where her place is now that he’s gone. Haven’t we all been there? Having a disproportionate reaction to something we should take seriously?

To me, Evvie is strong and nurturing. She was likable from the first to the last page. She seems exactly like the type of person and friend I would want in my corner if my life went south.

Evvie’s reaction to life around her is realistic and organic. When she breaks a bunch of dishes that she never really liked, I wanted to cheer for her catharsis.

If you’re looking for a book that is sentimental, a fast read, with a bit of romance, this is one for you.

I highly recommend this book.