"Back After This" is a sweet and heartwarming read! Cecily's journey as a podcast producer navigating modern dating is both relatable and charming. The balance between humor and vulnerability makes her story shine, and the chemistry with Will adds a perfect touch of romance. The dynamics with influencer Eliza create tension that keeps you turning the pages. A beautifully crafted story about love, friendships, and finding your voice. Highly recommend!

Summary: A podcast producer agrees to host a new series about modern dating—but will the show jeopardize her chance at finding real love?” I really enjoyed both of this author’s previous books. I’m not interested in podcasts so the author was the main draw. I really enjoyed the humor and writing. This is a fun and fast read.

This was ok! Cute romcom contemporary piece that was quick to read. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who needs a pickmeup

This might be my favorite of Linda Holmes' romance novels, even after loving "Evvie Drake Starts Over" and its dual POVs. In "Back After This," Cecily has signed up to host a podcast, getting her first turn on the mic after producing and coming up with tons of others, but the catch is that it requires her to be submitted to a makeover style intervention to go on dates with men picked for her by others – even as serendipitous encounters are really pointing her to someone she'd like to pick herself instead.

The banter is witty, the meet cute and subsequent encounters are fun, and the conversational style of writing is sparkly to an Ephron-like degree (appropriately there are "Sleepless in Seattle" and "When Harry Met Sally" vibes; also a tad of "Easy A" in terms of wordplay). And the setting (related to the podcasting world close to Holmes' bio) makes the characters in "Back After This" feel especially lived in.

Cecily has a mix of media industry jadedness and quick-mindedness that really resonated with me, working in media as well, and that makes her scenes with the MMC especially lively and warm — and also makes a lot of the dialogue *laugh out loud* funny. Highly recommended!

Spice levels: There's open door romance but not explicit
It's not a particularly tropey book, which I liked, but it does hit on some of these if they're of interest to you: a bit of friends to lovers, matchmaker/relationship coach, a dash of star-crossed lovers, brains are hot, blind dates