Very happy that my first advanced copy from NetGalley turned out to be a book I really loved! The plot was fun (podcast producer gets talked into hosting a show about her own dating life) and Cecily felt so real and relatable to me. Almost too relatable… It was also cool to learn more about what goes on behind the scenes of podcast production! While you wait for this one to release in February, I highly recommend checking out Evvie Drake Starts Over and Flying Solo, also by Linda Holmes!

As a big fan of Evvie Drake starts over, I was so excited to read Back After This.

Linda Holmes writes in such a way that I felt so at ease reading this book. Cecily’s narration was so funny and likable that it made the book an easy and quick read. I would like about Cecily and her journey when I wasn’t reading. My heart was in the story with her.

I learned a lot about audio engineering while reading, but it didn’t feel like an overwhelming amount of information. Linda Holmes gave just enough information about podcasting that it didn’t feel like an info dump and it didn’t take me out of the story.

The romance in this book was incredibly cute and just felt so natural. Nothing felt forced and the overall arc of the 20 Dates journey was unique and engaging.

I ate Back After This up. 100% would recommend and can’t wait for it to come out!

DNF @ 40%

While I found this funny and the premise interesting, the execution left much to be desired.
Although the description of the podcasting and the overall show idea was detailed and fascinating, I felt like the romance had an overall slow pace. I wanted more buy in with the obvious love interest choice.
It was just toooo slow of a build. And sorry, I just didn't care about the ins and outs of everything else. I wanted to fall in love with the fmc and the love interest but not enough time was dedicated to them for my taste.

I enjoyed this book, although it was quite obvious to all (except Cecily and Eliza) which person she should date. There were many funny scenes in this book - but there were also poignant and thoughtful parts. It would make a great movie I think.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this early. Linda Holmes has turned into a must-read author for me. Cecily works in the podcast industry and is always overlooked for having her own show. That changes when her boss offers her the chance to have her own show, but the terms are less than ideal to Cecily. He wants it to be a show about her dating life complete with a relationship coach who is big in the social media world. The idea of going on 20 blind dates is painful to Cecily, but she wants to finally get the chance to have her own show. Add in Will, a photographer, who she has a meet-cute with while they're trying to chase after a dog who is on the run. Through the show Cecily is given the opportunity to figure out what she really wants as far as her career and what she's looking for in a partner (maybe she doesn't have the same priorities as the relationship coach).
Great dialogue, great secondary characters, and a very likable lead all make this book definitely worth reading!

I love Pop Culture Happy Hour, but is it bad to wish that Linda Holmes could just write romance full-time? Her third book is just as delightful as the others, this time set in the world of professional podcasting. Hardworking producer Cecily gets coerced into hosting an audio dating show that involves her working with a dating coach and going on many blind dates. But when she maybe meets someone great IRL, things get very complicated.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for the ARC to review. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to the publisher for an ARC of this book. Although this was a topic I didn't have a lot of interest in-I'm one of like, four people who've never listened to a podcast (although I love audiobooks) and the details about editing were not that interesting to me, I love the dialogue Linda Holmes writes! I laughed out loud multiple times reading this and interweaving in the influencer story line felt very current. I really appreciate books where I have good feelings about the character- If you are looking for a sophisticated romance with captivating dialogue you can't go wrong with Linda Holmes!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to preview Back After This by Linda Holmes in exchange for an honest review. I have been a huge fan of Linda's for a very long time. I found her through the NPR podcast Pop Culture Happy Hour and read everything she writes at NPR (please bring back the tv Christmas movie watch guides!). I don't often read romance and when I do I rarely enjoy it. Linda's work is an exception. Back After This is officially my favorite of her three novels. It is an absolute delight! This story hits all the classic rom com notes without seeming stale and Holmes infuses her sense of humor throughout. I highly recommend this to anyone needing a fun diversion.

You can count on Linda Holmes to write a solid rom-com with fun dialogue, an engaging plot, and the right amount of quirks to be funny, but also still be plausible. I love that she wrote about the podcasting world (her other job) and as an avid podcast listener, I found learning about some of the behind the scenes parts to be quite interesting. Would definitely read another book by her.

4.5 ⭐️

I looooved this book! I loved Will, I loved Buddy, I loved it all. I was rooting for Cecily and I’m so happy to see she found her happiness and her “I want”. Eliza may have had good intentions but I still think she can go kick rocks, same with Justin. Cecily’s growth throughout really hooked me, especially with Will even through their rough patch, and I thought she had a really good sense of humor being able to point out that yeah, these guys were boring and so are my answers to all the questions. Will is one of the best book boyfriends and I will die on that hill. Will + Buddy forever

Thank you NetGalley and Ballantine Books for this arc!

Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was EVERYTHING. Admittedly, it did start a little slow but it was necessary to understand Cecily and all that was to come with her and her character development. Once it get's going - I couldn't put it down (I was reading it in the Costco food court!).

I kept trying to think of what ROM COM this reminded me of. It had elements of How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, You've Got Mail, While You Were Sleeping, and so many others. Really, none of them really fit into the box of comparison to "Back After This" because it is uniquely wonderful while giving off the best of RomCom vibes. This left me with all the warm and fuzzy feelings and kicking my feet.

This will be released February 25th, 2025.

Thank you for this ARC! I loved Holmes debut novel but her second one fell short for me. This was somewhere in between. The love story was sweet and it was interesting to see behind the scenes of the podcast world. It did give us a HEA but it felt a little too forced. Regardless, the characters were likable and the story was unique. I recommend this for romance lovers!

This was a satisfying and cozy read. It was meandering in a comfortable way and it allowed me time to get to know the characters really well. And kept me turning the pages.

3.5/4 ⭐️ Back After This can’t compete with Evvie Drake, but I thoroughly enjoyed this heartwarming story and would encourage anyone to read it when looking for a well-written rom com and who is interested in learning behind-the-scenes some of what goes into making a successful podcast. Spoiler - it’s a lot of time and hard work! This book is funny and dispenses some pretty good advice between the lines.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC. Back After This will be on shelves Feb 25, 2025. Put it on your list!

I really liked this! I enjoyed Linda Holmes’ other books and this was no different! I do wish there was a little more in there about the sexism involved in Eliza’s role and what she wanted from Cecily.

This was my first book by Linda Holmes and I loved it. I am already reading her backlist, I loved it so much. It had a really fun plot and relatable characters. I found the story a little bit predictable in terms of what was ultimately going to happen (not how) but I still loved the characters and the way this played out. The premise was a lot of fun. I was a little bit frustrated with our female MC for one place because of how she spoke to the male MC, but that is a small quibble. I highly recommend this delightful romance and am now a Linda Holmes fan.

3.5 Stars

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this advance copy.

I've really enjoyed the previous books by this author and was excited when they reached out for me to review this book.

This was so cute.

The one thing that really bugged me was that one of the main premises of the book was the idea of 20 blind dates, but the dates only comprised three pages of the book basically in list form? Plus the dates were supposed to be accompanied by advice from a dating coach and there was less than zero of that? That was a really missed opportunity in my opinion as well as just not being very well done. It made it pretty obvious how the book was going to turn out. I mean, really, it was a book about podcasting with a side of a serial dating trope.

To a lesser degree, I also thought there were too many side characters/sub plots so there wasn't time to really dig into them enough to connect with their stories. Multiple times someone was mentioned and I had to pause to think through who that actually was (and I read this in one sitting so it wasn't a factor of forgetting in between reading chapters over a span of time).

I liked the trajectory of the main character so much that it was still a really great readm.

Cecily Foster is a talented podcast producer. But she is typically behind the scenes, even when she is the one with the idea for a show. Then, the boss at her struggling podcast company approaches her with the chance to be the host of her own podcast. This is not one of the ideas that Cecily has regularly proposed. Instead, it will focus on her dating life, as she follows the guidance of a lifestyle influencer, Eliza Cassidy.

Cecily is reluctant to do the podcast, until her boss implies it is the only way to save the job of her closest friend at work. So Cecily agrees to do it. But as she is set up on several dates with guys she doesn’t quite connect with, she can’t stop thinking about Will. Unlike her highly choreographed dates on the podcast, she met Will by chance on the street as they were both trying to rescue a dog and she somehow keeps running into him. But Eliza insists that there is no future with a guy like Will. As Cecily’s personal and professional lives become impossibly intertwined, Cecily feels like she may be losing a part of herself and the future she truly wants.

I was a big fan of the author’s previous novels, so I was excited to her latest … and it exceeded my expectations. The book is a frequently insightful examination of balancing personal growth with staying true to yourself. And it was an also an interesting portrayal of what goes on behind the scenes in producing podcasts.

Highly recommended!

4.5 stars rounded up to 5 … I was so excited to see this release (and to be approved on netgalley!) and Linda Holmes does not disappoint. Back After This is a bit rom com, a bit career/life help for Cecily. I loved the characters and banter in this one. I enjoyed the set up of this story and once again, another read I recommend picking up when it releases Feb. 25th!

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this arc!

What a great heartwarming book! This had me in all my feels! This was a first for me for by this author but will not be my last. This was a great book if you need a pallet cleanser. The main character was great!!