Cecily is partnered up with a popular influencer who now totes herself as a life and dating coach. She boldly claims she can set Cecily up for a successful relationship. Cecily agrees to 20 blind dates with the expectation true love will bloom from one of these dates. Oh, did I mention everything will be recorded and dissected for the world to listen to?
Before there was online dating... Think of the popular show,
"Married at first sight" but here you meet at a restaurant instead of the alter. All you know is a name and maybe an occupation. No texting before-hand. No swiping. You rely on a trusted friend or relative to set you up with someone they know. A bit old school, but it works. It's how I met my husband.
But just as the dates are getting started Cecily meets Will, who just happens to be running past her apartment, chasing a huge Great Dane.
Of course, the universe keeps putting the two together. So how can Cecily concentrate on her project of meeting Mr.
Right when Will seems to be everything she could hope for?
I enjoyed both Cecily and Wills' characters. Their banter was fun and refreshing and as a devoted dog lover, the Great Dane known as Buddy stole my heart.
There was quite a bit of shop talk as we got to learn everything about the audio and podcast world. Maybe a bit too much. I'd have rather had more scenes with Buddy and less about podcast production.

Linda Holmes' third book is her best yet! It was so fun to see Holmes bring her podcast and radio background into her fiction writing. The main character of BACK AFTER THIS, Cecily Foster, works for a podcast company and embarks on a last-ditch attempt to climb one more rung of the podcast business ladder. But the last-ditch attempt is agreeing to become the host AND subject of a new dating podcast in which she'll go on 20 first dates with the help of an expert. Since she's had no luck dating since her disaster of an ex, Cecily agrees. But then of course she has a wonderful meet-cute with a man and a Great Dane...

I loved the characters in this book, especially Cecily and Will. They felt very real and their flaws were simple and relatable. Buddy the Great Dane was an excellent supporting character. And all three of them have the best meet-cute I've read in a while!

The inside info on podcasting and radio was really fascinating and I'm glad Holmes decided to write a book set in the world of podcasting! It was great!

I’m a huge fan of podcasts, AND Pop Culture Happy Hour so I naturally read anything Linda Holmes publishes. This one was my favorite! I love the repeated meet-cutes!

What a perfect book to read after a long day at work. I looked forward to reading it each night before bed. I chose it because I listen to Linda Holmes' podcast and I've never thought about the people, or the work, behind a podcast before.
It's a cute story about a podcast producer who takes on an on-air dating coach assignment to help her company and secure her job. Of course there's a requisite meet-cute of a photographer to act as a foil to her work assignment. It's an easy, fun read that never feels dumb or pandering. I was in for the romance, not the personal growth, but enjoyed it!

I liked this! However, the whole story became predictable the minute the main character went on a random dog chase. I also enjoyed most of the characters, but some of them felt a bit hollow, like her relationship with her sister and coworker. Overall, it's still a good read and a safe reread!

A cute and fun rom-com with lots of great characters. The dog won me over. I loved her first novel Evie Drake, and this one is a close second. I'm not sure how she finds the time to write great books and be an NPR host too.

This was a cute love story that pulled at my heartstrings. It’s about how we can find love at the most unexpected place and time. I wanted to read this book because it has podcasts, influencers and dogs; all of which I love (mostly dogs if I’m being honest). I love that the dogs played a big part in the story. The dog on the cover also caught my eye. Cecily and Will are such likable characters and I was routing for them from the start. Without revealing too much, it was an all around feel good, warm story about finding love when you least expect it and that’s sometimes the best thing of all.

<i>Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.</i>

Ebook

5 stars

This was such an enjoyable read! And SO FUNNY! I found myself laughing out loud multiple times. I love Cecily’s humor and Will is just such a sweet solid guy. The podcast storyline was a really fun bonus just because it was super interesting to get the behind the scenes details of the making of a podcast.

Back After This is a fun peek into the behind the scenes work of the woman behind the curtain, so to speak, following Cecily a podcast producer-editor-general jack-of-all-trades. When Cecily finally gets the long-awaited opportunity to host a show of her own she's paired with an Influencer turned relationship coach who swears she can help her find love in twenty dates; however much to Cecily's dismay, things are never quite as straightforward as she strives to make them. Holmes writes a truly enjoyable romcom that will capture the hearts of any avid podcast listener!

Im a fan of Linda Holmes other two books and wanted to like this one but it just didn’t work for me. I think I could see everything coming from so far away, and a lot of the characters seemed to much like a collection of quirks than actual characters.

IF you like meet-cutes this is a book for you!

At first i was worried that it was kinda too niche about job in podcasts, but honestly by the end I really approeciated it all and it was obvious it was written by someone who knows this industry quite well.
I did really enjoy the characters even though I really wanted to shake Eliza several times back to the ground where normal ppl who are realists exist.
I did enjoy Cecily a lot, she felt real and also honestly I’d react to dating show similar way so it was nice to see a FMC who was head in the clouds and over romantacizing everything.
Also the meet cute(s) were so cute!!!

The message and overall story arc was good. Definitely a slower story to get into but it helped develop the characters to do some self reflecting with.

Our main character Cecily works for a podcast company and has been given the taste to host a podcast where she will go on twenty first dates set up for her by a relationship coach. While Cecily is not berry happy with the assignment, she does it to provide opportunities for her colleagues and continue putting her best foot forward for the company.

Meanwhile, she ends up meeting Will- as she helps him catch a Great Dane foster dog heading down the street. Cecily and Will keep meeting up- by coincidence- and she happens to start falling for him.

As she struggles to decide to keep doing the first dates or look into this possible relationship with Will, Cecily works through her own past to determine how she feels about jobs, relationships, and life in general.

This was so cute! I really enjoyed this and it kind of reminded me of Nobody Wants This on Netflix. Holmes’ background in podcasting really shines here. I loved the chemistry and banter between Will and Cecily, and the premise here was so good. I started this pre-election and finished post and the back half took me a bit to get through and I didn’t connect quite as much but I think that’s more a me problem. What a fun time!

Back After This is a rom-com about a young pod caster, Cecily, who is assigned the story of finding love using a dating influencer., Eliza. Cecily has been burnt in the dating world but decides to give it a shot in the hopes of saving the company. Thanks to a runaway dog, Cecily meets a great guy, Will, but Cecily is determined to follow the dating advice. She goes on 21 dates with all sorts of guys. But somehow Will keeps showing up in her life. How will Cecily balance her job and her heart? I loved following along.

I love Linda Holme's writing, and I think she writes a darn good boy next door. Evvie Drake Starts Over is a 5 star amazing read (or listen), and so by comparison, Back After This was a bit of a let down. I did find myself really engrossed in the plot and finished the book quickly. But there's this thing about imperfect female main characters sometimes where the author is too hung up on proving she's not like other girls and forgets to give you enough reasons to like her. Being obsessed with your job is the opposite of a personality trait. Especially when your job is TV recap podcasts. I also think that where the plot went in the last third was a bit tired. Will remain spoiler free here, but would love to chat more about the plot twists and turns.

Live, laugh, loved Will though.

TY to Random House - Ballantine and NetGalley for the free advanced copy.

Audio producer Cecily is not looking for love when she is partnered with "dating coach" and lifestyle guru Eliza Cassidy when she signs on to host the TWENTY DATES podcast, but promises to keep an open mind for the titular twenty dates.
The only problem is, she keeps running into the only guy her coach has told her to stay away from, and of course she can't help herself.

I loved Linda Holmes's first two books, and Back After This is a great addition to her literary canon. It's a pacier book with a quicker burn than Flying Solo was, and has the juicy tension that I loved in Evvie Drake. Being so familiar with her work on NPR, I couldn't help but read this entire book with her voice in my head.

In all, I really enjoyed Back After This. There were two surprising twists where my jaw popped open. I found myself reading late when I should have gone to bed. I liked Cecily as a character and Will as a love interest, and I also enjoyed Eliza as a complicated but ultimately endearing side character. It's hard to stick the landing on an over-the-top influencer character, but I felt like Linda Holmes nailed it. The summaries of the dates were so pitch perfect--sometimes when books have a "structure" format like this I start to dread that they will become tedious. That was not the pattern here. They were punchy and funny with just the right detail. I also loved the callbacks to Halls of Power from her previous work!!

I would have liked a little more exploration of the classism that Will experiences, and I would have liked understanding Cecily's specific romantic hangup earlier. There was also maybe just a touch too much technical stuff, but it didn't take away from the pace or plot.

In all, I would recommend for fans of Linda, audio, and people who love Women's Fiction with a dose of romcom.

I've enjoyed previous books by Linda Holmes and this was no exception. Cecily works in the podcasting industry and her network is in need of a big hit. She finds herself as the star of "Twenty Dates", a dating coaching podcast featuring guru Eliza. However, Cecily keeps running into her neighbor Will, and starts to think he might be a better match than the twenty Eliza has put her in contact with. A fun read with a peek behind the scenes of the podcasting world.

I received an Advanced Reader Copy from Ballantine Books via NetGalley.

I like Linda Holmes’ style of rom-coms because it’s always heavy on the personal development of the main character first. This one gets deep in the weeds about the podcasting industry and that took me a chapter or two to get used to, but after that it seamlessly wove into the story.

Single, workaholic podcast producer Cecily Foster thinks she's about to get her big break to step out in front of the mic. Her boss offers her an opportunity to host her own podcast, the only catch is that it's a dating show and she will be "mentored" by celebrity influencer Eliza Cassidy. Cecily is not interested in being coached on her love life, but it seems like the only way to save her job along with the job of her friend and co-worker, Julie. Of course, this is when Cecily meets Will when he's chasing a runaway dog. She immediately hits it off with Will, but has to go through with the planned podcast. Will she find personal and professional happiness? Follow Cecilly as she works through her feelings about life, love, influencer culture, and the world of podcasting.

Linda Holmes is one of the hosts of the long-running "Pop Culture Happy Hour" podcast, so she knows of which she writes. Although fictional, there is a lot of detail and insight on the world of audio production, maybe even a bit too much. It was a bit tricky to follow all the characters and terminology mentioned in the beginning. Once it gets going, this is a smart, fun story.; and the antics of Buddy the dog are the absolute best!

3.5 stars rounded up.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

MC is a woman in her 30s named Cecily who works in the male dominated sphere of podcasting and radio. Her studio, Polmetto, is looking for a hit show to save them financially so she gets roped into doing a self help podcast with an influencer who's going to be her dating coach. However, she happens to meet a guy that she is interested in organically, on her own time, outside of the show.

The main character seems very self deprecating at first, but this seems to be a result of all of the men she has surrounding her, either taking advantage of her, using her, or ignoring her and her ideas, or minimizing her contributions in the workplace, and overall under-appreciating her.

At first, it felt like the romance was lacking a little bit of emotion for me? it felt like i was being explained a relationship and a connection rather than feeling it through the characters. BUT i loved the meet cute, I absolutely ate it up. In the end, I absolutely did love the romance and the cozy feel of it. I enjoyed their banter and the smaller moments between them, just getting to know each other and spending regular days in each other's company. I love that in the end our MC learns to stand up for herself, not just in love, but in her career and in her life and starts to feel confident in her truth. I like the way she approached the dating show, while a bit mysoginistic in it's conception, she stayed true to what she was and wasn't willing to compromise on in order to chose the kind of companionship she wanted for herself.

The writing itself was very easy to read and to follow so this was a very satisfying and quick read for me. The dialogue felt a bit awkward at times like it didn't have a flow, but for the most part it was great and the story really developed well! This story definitely left me wanting to see more of Cecily and Will's story and pick up another Linda Holmes story!