Starting over is never easy and Evvie gives readers a good lesson in just how hard it can be. Life is hard but there is always positive that comes from negative.

Overall, I thought this was a great read that was engaging throughout. Evvie’s character is much more complex then A typical read about a widow. Her inner struggle of her past relationship secrets and how it effects her current ones is the unique aspect of this story. As a reader you connect with her and are cheering for her successes.

What a love.y book about Maine, love, grief, friendship and baseball. Aw, that Evvie was such a special character, totally relatable. Pick up this book and you will be happy 😃

Thank you to net galley for this book. I am a big NPR pop culture happy hour fan. I didn’t know what type of book I was expecting but I was pleased with a romance with slightly older man and woman and giving the woman a very interesting and different background with a platonic male friend.

I loved the descriptions of the town in Maine and could see myself at the diner eating blueberry pancakes.

I don’t want to totally spoil but I really enjoyed that therapy was given such a positive spin and that it can really help just about anybody.

If you’re looking to lose yourself in a good book over a weekend choose this one by Linda Holmes.

If charm were a book, this would be it.

I found the story of Evvie, new widow, and Dean, a baseball pitcher in disgrace, sweet, fun, and so charming.

The book begins with Evvie deciding to change a few things in her life, only to be told her husband has died in a car crash. Now her entire small Maine town things Evvie is paralyzed with grief, including her best friend and recent divorced dad, Andy.

With no one she can tell the truth, Evvie forms a fast friendship with Dean, a former Yankee experiencing the yips, who is Andy's childhood friend and Evvie's new tenant.

The two slowly start a flirtation while dealing with so much history and secrets.

I love NPR, but I have never heard Pop Culture Happy Hour. If that show is written anything like this book however, I have a brand new favorite radio program. Move aside Ira Glass. Ms. Holmes has a strong voice and a great talent to create realistic, delightful characters. I loved this book.

Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley.com for my advanced reader copy.

Evvie Drake is about to leave her husband, and then he suddenly dies. Consumed by guilt, and scarred by what we will come to understand was an abusive relationship, she is frozen, unable to function beyond bare survival. She spends every day in her big house in a small town in Maine, fearful and inert.

Dean Tennant, a washed-up major-league pitcher, moves to town to rest his soul and hide from abusive publicity as he comes to terms with the end of his career. He rents a suite from Evvie, and you can guess the rest. But how they get where they’re going is a fresh, enjoyable read, written by a very capable debut author. What sets this story apart was the smart, sharp writing. It’s a romance, but it’s women’s fiction, too, and it’s a coming-of-age story as well. Given that, you’d expect some sighs and eye rolling, some exhaling, some dish-throwing. There’s that. But I haven’t read a smarter example of the form in a long time.

Linda Holmes writes in what seems to me to be a relatively spare fashion. She doesn’t belabor or overstate. She lets the reader’s mind fill in the blanks. Her characters are allowed to be smart, witty, weak, sexy, and even dangerous. When she describes the capabilities of a ML pitcher as similar to a big cat hunting, just before it pounces...Even though you’re prepared for it, you’re still shocked. You get a little thrill from reading this. You learn something.

That’s another thing. Holmes has an interesting background and current day job (former lawyer, NPR correspondent, host of NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour, etc.) which adds richness to her writing.

So this is a romance, but it’s also about two impressive people coming to terms with the fact that they’ve reached adulthood damaged. Dean must accept his fate as former star, and Evvie will learn that she is codependent and needs to set boundaries. The latter is so relatable.

As I read this novel, I felt excited to think I’ve discovered a great new author. I hope Linda Holmes writes fast.

Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this book.

What a fun book to read!!! The characters are a joy with all their quirks and imperfections. And the dialogue is "spot on." I read this in a day and hated to see it end but happy for the experience.

Evvie Drake Starts Over is a nice wholesome book with a likeable protagonist, and I really enjoyed reading it! After some tense thrillers, it was a refreshing change of pace to read Linda Holmes’ novel. The novel follows two people with very different lives who have to learn how to “start over.” Evvie is recovering from the death of an emotionally abusive husband and is coming to terms with her lack of remorse for his passing. Dean is a former incredibly successful baseball player who can no longer seem to pitch to save his life. As the book progresses Evvie and Dean find themselves working together to help each other move on.

Most of the fun of Evvie Drake Starts Over is its constant subversion of tropes. Evvie isn't a mourning widow, but rather mourns her inability to mourn. She never falls for her male best friend, nor he for her, and while she's jealous of his new girlfriend, they soon become friends themselves. And while the romance between Evvie and Dean is on the tropey side, it's diminished by Evvie's immediate realization that she's being set up for a romance to bud. As with any similar romance movie or novel, it's obvious how it's going to end up, but unlike most movies and novels, there's no pretense that it will end any other way. As a result, it becomes all about the journey, making it that much more enjoyable.

The book's final section is a bit of a disappointment - it seems poorly paced and relies far too heavily on one of my least favorite types of plots: "This could all be resolved if only these characters actually communicated like normal human beings." Still, the way in which the ending comes about is a bit of a twist, and getting there through the first three-quarters of the book is so enjoyable it's hard not to forgive. Likewise, although it sometimes seems as though Holmes is trying to get into existential issues she never truly addresses, they're easy to forget about in the face of the fun, silly romance.

Verdict: 4.5 stars, rounded up to 5.

What a gem! This book was such a wonderful read. I absolutely love Linda Holmes writing style - she really knows how to write a book so beautifully. Evvie is such a great character with so much love and light in her. I loved learning about her story and how she connects with Dean. One of my favorite parts of this book is the refreshing way that Dean and Evvie talk to one another. They don’t hold back and lay it all out on the line. That’s what you always look for in a great relationship and I loved to read about their relationship evolving. The secondary characters are written so well into this book and by the end of the book I felt as though all of the characters were my friends and I loved reading about their lives. I have so many wonderful parts of the book bookmarked and highlighted and I can’t wait to re-read them again. Loved this book - definitely a five star read from me. **ARC provided by NetGalley and Random House Publishing. All opinions are my own**

This is an easy, fun read with real characters you can't help but root for. Plus, a great platonic male-female best friend relationship.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the ARC.

It took a little bit of time to really get immersed in this book, and the stick-to-it plan worked. Evvie, Dean and the rest of the cast become so realistic and magnetic that it's easy to feel very invested in their steps. Dialogue shines in this stellar novel [I don't go to 5-stars after a slowish start normally, but this book revved up its energy and hooked me.) Linda Holmes is a genius at plotting, surprises, and natural growth of relationships. Top-notch flirting here, which is one of my favorite things that I don't always see or feel in a romance. A nice, light read perfect for a Sunday or a vacation day. This is one you'll want to savor.

Solid 4.5 stars.

Thanks to Netgalley for letting me download an uncorrected proof of this book. I nearly lost a night’s sleep over it because I didn’t want to stop reading. The story flows smoothly and enticingly, and the characters feel like real people, flawed and relatable, and, most of all, human to their very core. The gradual unveiling of Evvie’s past wasn’t a great mystery, but it enhanced the story’s arc. I appreciated the mental health plot line.

I also connected to how true the depiction of real friendship between Evvie and Andy felt. And, of course, the love story between Dean and Evvie is subtle and relatable.

I’ve liked everything Linda Holmes has done over the years, and I’m supremely glad she’s ventured into the book world.

Review appears on Goodreads.

I absolutely loved this sweet, funny story. Evvie Drake is a smart, compelling protagonist and it was a joy to read her journey. Can't wait to read more from Linda Holmes!

I loved this book. The characters were well done and the plot was interesting. It was a little predictable, but in a good way. I loved the ending and I loved Evvie’s relationships with Andy and her dad. I want to be more like her. This book gave me all the feels!

I have been looking forward to this book since Linda Holmes announced it and it did not disappoint. Great characters who talk to each other and listen to each other and most importantly respect each other. When they mess up, there are consequences they have to work through. It was sweet, charming and well written. I could have read it all night but instead I forced myself to spread it out over a few days so I could prolong the warm cozy feeling I got when I was reading it. This book will be an old friend in no time, re-reading it whenever I want to feel great. I hope it’s the first of money from Linda Holmes.

Review posted to Goodreads as well on 3/24/18. Link below.

After reading Behind Closed Doors by BA Paris, I needed a fun and lighter read. Evvie Drake is about to make a big change in her life but then a bigger change happens to her first. Evvie has always kept her secrets very close to herself, which we come to learn quickly because no one, not even her closest friend Andy or her dad, know the truth about Evvie's marriage to the loved-by all Dr. Drake, Evvie's late husband. After being a recluse for a year, Andy convinces Evvie to rent out the apartment unit in her house, because Andy believes Evvie has no money after there was no life insurance money to collect. This is a book about adults actually being ADULTS and it was such a refreshing read. From the first page, I loved Evvie and was rooting for her. I was rooting for ALL the characters, which is rare in a book. I would definitely recommend!

I really, really enjoyed this book! It was a very realistic portrait of life and romance when you're not in your twenties anymore. The ending was also much more realistic! The only reason this didn't get 5 stars from me is because I didn't have the pull to finish the book in one sitting; it was out of sight, out of mind. But really, read the book!

As a Linda Holmes stan, I was both excited and nervous to read her first novel. Luckily it was everything I needed. It was sexy, hilarious, full of smart characters who ACT LIKE ADULTS, and had a picture-perfect setting. It sucked to have to put this down to like, work and live.

This is a story of two broken people learning to love themselves again after unexpected tragedies, who find that they can understand each other in ways other people cannot. The hint of sadness and melancholy helped keep the plot grounded and three-dimensional, but it wasn't overwrought. And the quickfire banter especially helped to keep the mood up. (I'm STILL chuckling at the story of the cereal-box races. That I think was when Dean first fell in love with Evvie, as it certainly was the case for me.)

Longtime fans of Pop Culture Happy Hour may pick up on some very distinct Linda Holmes opinions in there (I see you, diss of Jurassic World), which were fun Easter eggs. See also:

"I'm more of a public radio guy."
"Hey, me too," she said. "Or podcasts."

Heartily recommend to everyone who loves romance or fun contemporary novels.

Evvie Drake is a study in resilience! Ms. Holmes writes a lovely store about a spunky women who manages to put her life back together after going through one of life's worst experiences. From exploring friendships to the secrets people keep from others - the story weaves an enchanting tale that readers are sure to enjoy!.