I love this story. I'm more of a crime reader than a romance reader, but lately I've been branching out a bit and this book was perfect for me. Evvie "rhymes with Chevy" Drake is one of those characters who feels like a real person you'd actually want to befriend. She's not perfect, but her flaws aren't cutesy quirky ones you only see in movies or books. She's recently widowed and trying to come to terms with her feelings about that, trying to manage her relationship with her best friend, and navigating a new relationship. And it's nice that the book is told in alternating points of view--we get Evvie's perspective but also that of her love interest, Dean. It was refreshing that Evvie and Dean are pretty much normal people interacting like people actually do. They're refreshingly straightforward with each other about their feelings and there aren't any wacky misunderstandings based on people not saying what you'd actually say in real life. If I say this is a sweet story, please know I don't mean schmaltzy or saccharine--it's just right.

Loved this! It felt like a throwback to great 90s rom coms. Liked how upfront and honest the main characters were about their feelings and there wasn't a bunch of manufactured drama between them. Exactly what I was hoping it would be!

I’ve enjoyed Linda Holmes’ writing since Television Without Pity and this book was fantastic. Highly recommended!

(From Goodreads: Andrew MacNorth- Eugene, OR)

Well, this book is simply delightful. It's funny, heartfelt, and surprising. The characters quickly become old friends that you want to hang out with. Besides the occasional cornball bit of dialogue, they also behave in entirely believable ways. It just feels like real adults interacting with each other. The relationships, conflicts, and love all come from organic places. Overall the story makes for a charming small-town romantic comedy. But one that also tackles some serious themes without ever giving in to high drama or becoming overly saccharine. Knockout debut novel, and I'll certainly be recommending it when it's published in June 2019.

I can't even explain the excitement I felt when I found out that Linda Holmes wrote a book about Maine and baseball--two of my favorite things. In even better news, she really did a phenomenal job. Evvie Drake is from a small town in Maine, where she wound up with her husband who was also the hometown doctor--a superstar. But Evvie has secrets, not big bad ones like in unreliable narrator books, but regular, human ones that start to make her a little bit weird. Then she has a baseball player who is struggling move in with her. It helps with money and loneliness on her end, and loneliness on his too. You can imagine this turns romantic, but the friendship and depiction of how it grows is the real star here. It's a really nice feel good read but it has real emotions in it, including some that are not so pleasant.

Evvie Drake Starts Over by Linda Holmes is an absolute charmer of a book. The characters are well-drawn with believable flaws, which adds to the wonder of their relationship. Holmes evokes small-town life without making it unbearably quirky. Finishing the book leaves you with a sense of pure joy that leaves a huge smile on your face.

Linda Holmes has written a delightful novel. This book completely sucks you in, and it does it without gimmicks or cliches. Unpleasant things may be happening to the characters, but the reading experience is never unpleasant, and it evokes the same feeling you get after your first glass of red wine. Joyful and hopeful, without things magically working out perfectly. I loved reading this!

This is a charming, well-written debut for Linda Holmes. It follows the lives of a woman who is widowed just as she's about to leave her marriage and a MLB baseball player who has developed a career-ending case of the yips.