This book was under the radar for me somehow. I loved Evvie Drake and didn’t know the author had written a new book until I heard about it on Youtube. I hurried up and requested a copy here and am grateful to the publisher for my ARC. I loved the first half of this book and was so excited that it was as good as Evvie Drake. But, then the second half fell a little flat for me. There was too much aunt and duck mystery and not enough romance. I also found Laurie really rigid in her desire to live and sleep alone. I appreciated that she knew who she was and what she wanted but at the same time I wanted that romance.

A classic Linda Holmes novel, featuring the sharp bite of small town nostalgia, and the memories of first love — and the need to carve your own path. (Pun intended.) Half exciting mystery, half coming of middle age, half love story (yes I know that’s 150%) - this is a cozy Maine tale that’ll leave your heart full.

I love this book! I had forgotten how much I love Linda Holmes writing! Evvie Drake Starts over is one of my very favorite books, and Flying Solo was just as wonderful!

It felt so good to settle into Linda Holmes witty banter and characters that are real and relatable and mature and imperfect and wonderful.

I loved Laurie and her choice to fight for the life she wanted. And I loved the way she has people in her life that let her be who she is.

This was a wonderful read!

Flying Solo is a friendly, comfortable, mostly romance with a dash of mystery novel. At times it felt slow, but I liked the characters. I don't want to give away spoilers, but the ending is unusual and satisfying for a romance (I am pretty ht-or-miss with romances. If you seek out romances with strong and independent protagonists, you'll probably enjoy the characters in this book.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with a free ebook version of this novel in return for an honest review.

Linda Holmes has a way with words, and a way to captivate you as a reader as she tells her story. Would definitely recommend checking this one out.

I really enjoyed Evvie Drake Starts Over and was excited to read the author's newest novel. It is not a sequel, but it does take place in the same town. And, it gave me the same feeling. You can definitely identify similar themes and tone. Would definitely recommend!

Thank you to Ballantine, Linda Holmes and NetGalley for this ARC. This book was fine for me. An easy read with generally pleasant characters that I enjoyed. I didn't like being pounded over the head again and again about the main character's desire to have her independence, not to marry, not to have children. These are perfectly reasonable decisions that shouldn't need justification. Maybe that is the point, perhaps some frown upon these decisions. I guess for me, all life choices are hard and bring folks in different and challenging directions; no one better than the other. I just had a hard time getting past that element of this book. Life is hard for everyone. I really enjoyed Nick, the descriptions of Dot, and the duck. I know this will be a very popular book, I just think the central point/musing was not interesting to me.

3.5 stars | On the brink of her 40th birthday, Laurie returns to her small hometown in Maine after a failed engagement to clear out her recently deceased great-aunt Dot's house. As she reconnects with old friends and flames, she discovers that her great-aunt Dot was a much more complex woman than she realized. As secrets come to life through a duck heist, Laurie begins to understand what she wants from life and her relationships.

This book was one of my most anticipated releases this year. I loved Evvie Drake Starts Over, so I was excited for a new novel from Linda Holmes. Flying Solo has the same warmth and small-town charm as her first novel; it's even set in the same town in Maine. I liked Laurie as a character and found her down-to-earth and very 'real.' I also loved that Holmes made her main character slightly older. Laurie may be almost 40, but she's still figuring things out, and I love that.

The duck heist was a fun storyline, but it lost my interest after a while. It was cute and well done, but I think I just lost interest in the Antiques Roadshow nods throughout this story.

Expectations are funny things. I expected this book to be so much more than it was. So I guess I have to accept some responsibility for not loving this book. If I had come to it with no expectations would I have enjoyed it more? Somehow I don’t think so. The story surrounding the mystery of Aunt Dot was interesting - it was fun - there was humor and great dialog and situational comedy. There were interesting characters who were here, there and sometimes a little out there. However the love story that runs throughout was just annoying. The whining and constant justifications simply exhausting. The psychological turmoil in the run up to turning forty is irritating. Thinking you are on a hard path - thinking of your life as a system - “secure in the knowledge that whatever is complicated will be over before it matters” - distractions that did not add to the story.

I am just wondering about a woman who loves her garden, loves the colors on her walls, loves her kitchen, loves her house, loves a man but somehow that runs a long second to everything else. This woman who realizes that she once was connected to this man “like the sides of a locket to the other half of herself” and he runs last to a garden, a paint color, a house? Commitment issues? Excuses galore. Really annoying. I get independence, I applaud it but one-sided selfishness not so much.

Three and a half stars - Thank you NetGalley and Ballantine books for a copy.

This book is billed as women's fiction/romance, however, I truly believe this is a story about a duck with a sliver of romance thrown in. I saw very little character growth from the main character, which is also disappointing. I cannot recommend this book, but thank you for my gifted copy.

I was excited to pick up this title because of how much I loved Evvie Drake Starts Over. Flying Solo is Linda Holmes' second novel and overall it fell flat for me.

What I liked:
-Our main character, Laurie, is 39-verging on 40. She is processing being that age and being very comfortable being single and independent, instead of married with children like many others her age. I feel like we don't read a lot of characters that are that age and very pro-singleness like Laurie.

What I didn't like:
-The over all plot of discovering the history behind a wooden duck felt like it very juvenile and more fitting for a YA novel than one about a 40 year old.
-The romance in the novel also wasn't very intriguing for me. 50% of the way through I couldn't where the main character stood and if it was going anywhere.

This was an enjoyable light read about an almost 40 year old and single woman, Laurie. She returned to her small Maine hometown to clean out her great aunts home. She finds a wooden duck in the bottom of a trunk and was determined to solve the mystery of the duck. There is some light romance and the mystery of the duck which was entertaining to read. Thank you NetGalley for this ARC,

In the follow-up to Evvie Drake Starts Over, Linda Holmes gives us the story of Laurie. Laurie returns to her small town in the wake of her great-aunt's death. While settling her estate, she discovers a mysterious duck, reconnects with an old flame and takes part in a low-stakes heist. The story has good pacing, good character development and enough twists to maintain the reader's interest. This book is a great vacation read and will be recommended to readers who might enjoy a rather unconventional happily ever after.

I was lucky to receive and advance copy of Flying Solo by Linda Holmes from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review and opinion. I absolutely loved Evvie Drake Starts Over so I was beyond excited to read her newest release. I found this to be somewhat romance and thriller. Loved every single second of it and didn't want it to end. Can't wait to read many more books by this wonderful author.

Laurie is back in her Maine hometown, tasked with cleaning out the home of her late great-aunt Dot. Her parents are too far away and frail and none of her brothers are up to the task. Laurie feels she owes it to Dot, who always had time for Laurie--her home a quiet refuge from her own noisy abode. Dot's place is jam packed with pictures, knick knacks, and memories. Laurie is drawn to a wooden duck she finds tucked away; the person hired to help clear out Dot's belongings tells her it's worthless, but when the duck disappears, Laurie wonders why anyone would take a meaningless duck. Soon she's drawn into a bit of mystery--both to track down the duck and to learn exactly why it meant so much to Dot.

I really enjoyed this book because, in true Holmes' fashion, it was a quirky and different read. Laurie is back in her hometown after a canceled wedding, trying to find her footing again, and she has a lot of strong feelings about remaining independent while being in a relationship and/or finding love. In high school, she dated Nick, now the beloved hometown librarian (is there anything more dreamy than that?), and, of course, the two meet up again when she returns to clear out Dot's house. But Laurie has her walls pretty firmly up--can a wooden duck bring them down?

SOLO does an excellent job of honoring Dot (who reminded me a lot of my own grandmother of the same name) and the role she played in Laurie's life, offering a safe place to go, and the fact that Dot was a pioneer--a solo woman not afraid to be on her own. It explores the nature of relationships and family in quite a nuanced way.

And the tale of the duck, is, for sure, often crazy and wild, but fun too and often even sweet. Sometimes Laurie's focus on it seems a bit much, but the way it unites her, Nick, and her best friend is really enjoyable, and we learn a lot about Dot, too.

Overall, this is a fun read, but also an emotional one.

BOOK REVIEW

BOOK: Flying Solo
AUTHOR: Linda Holmes
FORMAT: Audiobook
GENRE: Contemporary Romance
PUB DATE: 6/14/22
RATING: 7/10
3.5 stars

Thank you so much @randomhouse and @librofm for my #gifted advanced audiobook and @penguinrandomhouse @netgalley for my advanced readers copy of FLYING SOLO, out now!

MY THOUGHTS

EVVIE DRAKE STARTS OVER is one of my all time favorite books so I was SUPER excited to pick this one up! My expectations were definitely high and I was slightly disappointed.

I loved the writing style. Linda writes with such personality that the book flows very nicely and the characters are well done. The pacing is always spot on as well. I LOVE how Linda’s FMC’s always experience personal growth and really become their own person in her books. This was no exception! And with this being a second chance trope, I was SO excited because that is my fav!! The first half definitely sucked me in to the love story but I don’t think it really kept me hooked.

Romance novels are tricky when they’re so plot-driven, at least for me. This one seemed like it was supposed to be character driven, in that a large part of the plot was the FMC’s growth & learning about herself as a person and then how that went on to affect the course of the love story. But the growth plot AND the love story to me felt secondary to the action piece of the plot, which took over the book IMO. And I wasn’t necessarily invested in it. That plot line felt a little half-baked to me. As I mentioned previously, the romance in the back half of the book just didn’t do it for me. I wasn’t really rooting for the characters and the back half just fell kind of flat for me.

All in all, my expectations were probably a little too high going in. But I still enjoyed it, just not as much as Evvie Drake!

When a late 30something woman returns to her small Maine hometown to handle the estate of her great-aunt, she finds a mysterious wood duck while also reuniting with her first love.

This was a refreshing take on modern romance, steering away from the happily ever after, and miscommunication tropes. I really enjoyed the message of Flying Solo and think it would make for a great conversation with a book club because I am still contemplating the ending.

Linda Holmes’ new novel Flying Solo follows Laurie Sassalyn, a soon to be 40-year-old woman, who has just called off her wedding and returned to her Maine hometown because her beloved great-aunt Dot has passed away. Laurie has been tasked with handling Dot’s estate and what starts out as a few weeks of sorting through boxes of photos and souvenirs from Dot’s travels over the years, unexpectedly turns into a journey of self-discovery and a second chance at love for Laurie. The catalyst for all of this? Surprisingly, a hand carved wooden duck decoy that Laurie finds wrapped in a blanket and stored in a trunk. Convinced that the duck has some significance, Laurie sets out to see if her hunch is correct. As she begins her research on the wooden duck, she ends up at the library and comes face to face with her former high school boyfriend, Nick Cooper, who is now the town librarian. It’s clear the two still have chemistry and some unfinished business, but is Laurie ready for love?

I enjoyed this story quite a bit. I’m a sucker for a good second chance romance so I was excited as soon as Laurie and Nick reconnected and it was clear the feelings were still there. Both Laurie and Nick are such likeable characters, and I loved the banter between them. I also loved how realistic the dialogue between them felt as they grew closer and tried to navigate the logistics of a possible long-distance relationship since Laurie has no intention of staying in Maine. The conversations between them felt so authentic that I could easily imagine a real couple in a similar situation having the same conversations.

One area where the story fell a little flat for me, however, was the duck subplot. While on the one hand, it was fun to follow Laurie as she searched for what made the duck so important to Dot and to learn more about Dot’s life by extension, after a while, it felt like the duck mystery was in the way of Laurie and Nick’s story, which was what I was most invested in.

Flying Solo was still a very solid read for me though and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it to anyone who enjoys second chance romances and journeys of self discovery.

I really enjoyed Linda Holmes’ first novel Evvie Drake Starts Over, and was thrilled to get a copy of this. It is set in the same town as Evvie Drake with a couple of barely passing mentions of the characters, but no other crossover. It definitely has the same warm, cozy feel, and characters with layers which we love. In Flying Solo, Laurie returns to her hometown the summer of her 40th birthday to clean out the home of her beloved aunt, who passed a single woman in her 90s with no kids but a life full of adventure. An odd discovery leads to a mild caper and time to rekindle an old relationship (when I tell you how much I want my own Nick???????) and spend time with her best friend.

As a single woman in her mid-thirties with no kids, I identified with Dot and Laurie HARD. Hard enough for the bittersweet moments to hurt a little. But in the acknowledgements Holmes says “this is a book about all the ways that people lift you up and take care of you,” and that beautiful sentiment shines through. It made me think about the people in my life who I love and love me well (I thought of my own best friend throughout) and about how I want to craft my own life. Aunt Dot is a dream, I loved how we got to know her throughout the book, both through Laurie’s eyes but also through the treasures she left behind. These two women live their life on their own terms, making space for others while also holding space for their own dreams, and it’s all a true delight.

It's been a while since I've read a book this quickly, and that's a testament to how much I enjoyed this one. I liked Laurie as a main character, and the duck decoy part of the story was really well done.