This is such a lovely read, with realistic renderings of grief, career crisis, friendships in flux, and romantic connection.

Eveleth "Evvie" Drake is recently widowed and finds herself living in the home she had with her husband in a small town in Maine. Everyone in town, including her best friend, Andy, thinks grief keeps her locked inside, and she doesn't correct them. In New York, Dean Tenney, former major-league pitcher and Andy's childhood friend, is struggling with his lack of being able to perform on the field. An invitation from Andy to stay in Maine for a few months seems like the perfect chance to hit the reset button. When Dean moves into an apartment at the back of Evvie's house, the two make a deal: Dean won't ask about Evvie's late husband, and Evvie won't ask about Dean's baseball career. Rules, though, have a funny way of being broken - and what starts as an unexpected friendship soon turns into something more. But before they can find out what might lie ahead, they'll have to wrestle a few demons: the bonds they've broken, the plans they've changed, and the secrets they've kept.

review: Evvie Drake Starts Over was a highly engrossing, charming romance book with a bit of substance, which I always appreciate! I thought it was a great feel-good book that covered important topics like loss, self-care, friendships & the importance of new beginnings. Each of the characters felt very relatable and I liked that they were both flawed and imperfect. I also loved the dynamics of the characters, especially the friendship between Evvie and Andy. I found myself rooting for all of them throughout the book. I could totally see this being a mini-series or a movie! Definitely add this one to your summer reading list. rating: 4.5 out of 5 ⭐️

In a small town in Maine, recently widowed Eveleth "Evvie" Drake rarely leaves her house. Everyone in town, including her best friend, Andy, thinks grief keeps her locked inside, and she doesn't correct them. In New York, Dean Tenney, former major-league pitcher, and Andy's childhood friend is struggling with a case of the "yips": he can't throw straight anymore, and he can't figure out why. An invitation from Andy to stay in Maine for a few months seems like the perfect chance to hit the reset button.

As a Mainer, I enjoyed this book especially seeing my hometown area mentioned in the book, which doesn't happen unless the book is nonfiction. :) I liked that Evvie's story became a happy one after she came to terms with her past marriage and opened up to family and friends about her secrets. This book is a little romance, baseball, close friendships, and coming to terms with oneself. A very cute read!

For readers who couldn't get thru Eleanor Oliphant, fans of Britt Marie was here, or book clubs looking for a gentle but hopeful read, highly recommend.

As a big fan of author Linda Holmes from her work on the podcast "Pop Culture Happy Hour," I was very much looking forward to reading this and I wasn't disappointed. It went down very easy, a perfect read on a hot summer day with a cold drink by my side. Holmes has a real knack for creating believable dialogue, often a huge pet peeve of mine in fiction. The characters and story were complex enough to keep me engaged throughout, and it certainly didn't hurt that I am a huge baseball fan! I ordered a copy for my library and am recommending it to a number of people. If I could just find a copy on audio so my wife could listen while driving for her job, that would be awesome!

Evvie Drake is on her own, trying to figure out what to do after her husband's death. Dean is on his own, coming up to Maine from New York, trying to figure out what to do after his pitching career inexplicably ends. Their mutual friend Andy introduces them, and Dean rents Evvie's spare room. The setup is solid, if bland.

The real sell is in Linda Holmes' prose. Evvie is so unbelievably human, and Holmes channels it all onto the page in prose that draws you in because of its descriptive power, but also because it's near-impossible not to connect with Evvie Drake. We care about these characters, and we appreciate their idiosyncrasies.

Both Evvie and Dean have some soul searching to do. Evvie faces the aftermath of a demoralizing relationship, and Holmes handles this sensitively while still bringing home the impact of her treatment. This is a romance, but it's also an exploration of relationships, and their interplay in people's lives, and achieving a true sense of self. It is a lovely book. Steam factor: there's a little toe-curling kissing, but you can still give this both to your book group and your aunt. (And you should.)

Enjoyed this lighter read which features Evvie who has just lost her husband in an accident. Evvie is left feeling guilty as she was planning on leaving him and has trouble moving on as she withholds this truth from those around her. Dean is a struggling baseball player who comes to town after he is no longer able to pitch and Evvie focuses on helping to fix him while continuing to ignore her own emotional needs. Their relationship grows deeper and Evvie is forced to be honest with herself and her loved ones. Likeable characters in charming smalltown Maine setting with sharp dialogue that propels the storyline.

A sweet and charming grown-up love story about two broken people who help each other mend. Dean is a major league baseball pitcher with a once-great professional future ahead. Evvie is a widow who secretly does not mourn the loss of her much-loved physician husband. Just read this book if you like a rewarding contemporary romance about second chances. I was so sad to leave Evvie and Dean behind!

Really liked the book. I lived in Maine during law school, and this took me back. Both Evvie and Dean acted like people actually act. Can't wait to read Linda's next book!

Linda Holmes will be an author to watch. Evoke Drakes Starts Over will capture your attention from page one. I love a strong female character. Holmes tells Evvie’s story in a way that will keep you engaged. This is a must read book.

Wonderful, complicated narrator. Romance, friendship, small town gossip; Evvie's Maine has it all. Summer reading perfect for our current era.

Smart, charming, thoughtful, and full of some of the best dialogue writing readers will ever encounter, this is an absolute gem of a book. I devoured it in a single day and didn't want it to end. Holmes is a knockout writer who understands romantic comedy tropes (and clearly respects the genre) but brings her own spin to the genre. Readers will root for Evvie and Dean and their happy ending. I loved this one - one of my favorite reads of the year.

“Your head is the house you live in, so you have to do the maintenance.” I finished Evvie Drake yesterday and loved the idea of this quote from the novel. I love the shift our culture seems to be taking in the way of mental health, where it’s more discussed, more embraced, more understood, and more encouraged to bring to the light. This metaphor spoke volumes to me. No matter what your mental health status, your head does all of your hard day to day work, and it needs to be kept up just like anything else you own: car, house, etc. Keep your head/brain healthy, my friends! However that looks for you, seek it out and make it happen. Evvie took her health into her own hands. Her strength and resilience made her a powerful woman character to connect with. Can’t wait for you all to read and chat with me about it!
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"Evvie Drake Starts Over" is everything you could want in a lighthearted rom-com. I liked the dynamic between Evvie and Dean and how they both helped each other along the way. Evvie Drake is no damsel in distress and I loved that, but we all need people to lean on. The two characters learned how to lean on each other and open up. Evvie and Dean were able to build and navigate a friendship and then a 'something more' quite beautifully. I would definitely recommend this as your next summer read.

What a great story! I loved almost everything about this book,, and I am so glad I tried it again after not being able to get into it when I first started reading it. The only reason I am giving it 4 stars instead of 5 is that one of the main characters dropped the f bomb way more than necessary, in my opinion.

Just in case you are like me and made some assumptions about Evvie (rhymes with Chevy) Drake, I'll tell you right now: she is not a little ol' lady widow. That changes the whole story! As she struggles with coming to terms with not mourning her husband, she gets a tenant who is struggling with losing his pitching arm. In some ways, it feels a bit like a knock off of Bull Durham, but there are no big speeches from Kevin Costner's character. Even so, Dean sounds and acts as close to the perfect gentleman as you'd hope for. My only struggle with the book was that the characters were a bit too polished. For both having some major issues to deal with, I expected more bumps in the road. But, I suppose that helps it be a great summer read!

If you are a fan of the NPR podcast Pop Culture Happy Hour (PCHH), the author of this book (Linda Holmes) will be familiar to you for her insightful, fun and thoughtful perspective on movies, television and other pop culture happenings. As you might expect, I am a big fan of PCHH and Linda Holmes, so I was going into this book hoping it would be good. That said, liking someone doesn't necessarily mean enjoying all of their work and once you start reading something, you are either going to enjoy it or find it a slog to get through based on the book's merits... I was really relieved to find that I loved this book!

Living in a small town in Maine, the title character Evvie Drake, is trying to pull her life together after the death of her husband. She has a lot of people in her life - her father, a best friend, and others in the town - but you get a very clear and immediate sense of the isolation that she is feeling and all of the mixed emotions that she is dealing with. The book allows you to really get to know Evvie and her world at the beginning of the story. To ground herself, Evvie sometimes lays down on the floor of an extra room in her house, a room where she feels safe and the most like herself.

Evie's best friend asks if his cousin, who is trying to escape his own life for a while, can stay in her spare room. Dean Tenney was a star baseball player for the NY Yankees, who is suffering from a debilitating case of the Yips and needs a quiet place to decompress. He moves in with Evvie and the two become friends - helping each other deal with their issues. As their romance develops they still push each other to really confront their challenges and their own feelings.

I don't like sports. At all. But, I do love stories about sports - the ones that show you the inner lives and thoughts of people in a way that makes you (me) somehow start to care about sports, if only for a short while. This book did that well - it's not about baseball really, but it is clear that the author knows a lot about it as she pulls the reader into a human story behind the sport.

The book isn't easy to put in a box - it's funny but isn't a stereotypical romantic comedy, it is sad (melancholy might be more accurate), but not depressing. The author does a really great job of fully fleshing out each character and letting you live in this world. The characters are dealing with real problems and things aren't magically fixed by the end, but they are resolved. It is a romance, but it's not a fairy tale, it's a mature and real-life romance. I highly recommend it!

I received an electronic ARC of this book by the publisher via NetGalley for free in exchange for an honest review.

I always love the writing of Linda Holmes and I was very excited to read this story! The romance and depth of character development of the main characters is near perfection. The developing relationship that ensues through the plot is a beautiful, beautiful thing. The themes of friendship and love are undertones throughout and I immediately had that "warm, fuzzy feeling" upon beginning this journey. Though life is not always cookie cutter in its design and we all have obstacles that stand in our way, the end in mind is what matters and this story will take you on a beautiful journey of developing love and friendship through the most wonderfully written events! I highly recommend!

My Thoughts
I’ve said in the past I am not a huge fan of the “romance” genre, but I am finding that some of the contemporary romance novels are quite enjoyable. I may have to rethink my status on romance novels! Here are my pros and cons about this book:

Pros

• This book had a great “voice”. All of the dialogue felt honest and witty and genuine.
• The characters were real people, with real issues, real fears, real pain, real friendships, real emotions… they seemed like they were a slice of real life. Part of why I don’t tend to enjoy the romance genre in general is that the characters and their whirlwind relationships tend to be so corny and fake and over-the-top. The “romance” in this book felt like a genuine relationship between two adults. Adults who actually communicated with each other instead of playing silly games.
• The story tackled some heavy topics like grief, difficult family relationships, mental health issues, forgiveness, and guilt. Of course it also included fun, flirting, love, and new beginnings. This book isn’t heavy-handed, but it isn’t necessarily a completely light read either. The story was hopeful and humorous though, and I thought it was refreshing that the characters were actually complex, flawed and authentic.
• I liked the relationship between Evvie and her best friend Andy. I thought that was an interesting peek how platonic friendships can be impacted when outside love interests enter the picture.

Cons

• I don’t like the synopsis provided for this book. I don’t think it is a good description of the story. I think the synopsis makes the book seem overly simplistic.

Summary
This book is a authentic look at an adult relationship between two interesting, flawed individuals. It is also a realistic look at platonic friendships and family relationships. Overall, it is a great glimpse into the impact of human relationships and how sometimes we all just need someone to lean on, talk to, and love.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine for a free eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Evvie Drake Starts Over is a charming read, featuring Evvie Drake after her husband dies unexpectedly. After his death, she struggles mostly with guilt over the fact that their marriage had issues and secrets, and was not the perfect life she pretended it was. She feels like she needs a new start, yet thinks she doesn't deserve one. Her house now seems too big for her, living all alone, plus she could use the extra income- so she rents out the apartment in the back to Dean Tenney, friend of a friend, who just so happens to be a major league baseball player experiencing the "yips", and in need of a do-over himself.

While their unfolding story is not unexpected, it is definitely fun to go along with them! I loved the setting, a small town in MidCoast Maine, and really enjoyed Linda Holmes' descriptive narrating of the story. Overlooking the glaring fault in Dean (um excuse me, he plays for the Yankees!), his character was really sweet and I enjoyed the dynamic between Dean and Evvie. It started as mostly friends/companionship out of mutually going through hard times, and gradually and sweetly grew into something more. Of course, things are not always easy and they both have a lot of things to deal with.

This was a bit of a slower read for me than most rom-coms usually are, but it was definitely worth it in my opinion. I really liked the ending, and thought that everything was tied up well. I liked that we see Evvie improving and growing, because she takes the time to get the help she needs and is supported by her friends and her dad. I'd definitely recommend this as a light summer read that also has a lot of heart!