Thank you Netgalley for providing me with an advance reader copy of Flying Solo by Linda Holmes. As a fan of Eve Drake starts over I was really excited to read this book. Unfortunately, I was disappointed -- I liked the focus on a woman in her late thirties making her own rules in life but I didn't find the story around the duck decoy particularly exciting. I think had I gone into this book knowing it was full on women's fiction I think I'd been ok. I'll definitely pick up Linda Holmes' next book though. Thanks for the opportunity to read this book.

Flying Solo by Linda Holmes offers a heartwarming story about self-discovery and finding happiness later in life. The protagonist, Laurie, grapples with her recent heartbreak while sorting through her adventurous aunt's belongings, leading to a charming mystery and a potential rekindled romance. I really enjoyed the cozy setting and small town feel to this one, it was charming and a relaxing read overall. Flying Solo is an uplifting novel great for readers who enjoy heartwarming stories about self-discovery, second chances, and finding happiness in unexpected places.

Linda Holmes writing is delightful and I've enjoyed both her books. She's a unique voice in women's fiction/romance right now and I always have a good time with her books!

“And anyway, if you’re ever desperate, there are always ducks, darling.”

I loved Evvie Drake (didn’t we all?) so I was stoked to read Flying Solo. I went in rather blind, so I didn’t have many details of plot/premise. Did I think I was going to read a book about a wooden duck? Nope! But the story surprised me. It was unique for sure. I think there were probably a few too many subplots for my liking… and I didn’t love or believe the romance here, but overall it had its cute and tender moments.

Evvie Drake Starts Over is definitely a favorite book of mine so I knew I needed to read this one and I was definitely not disappointed! This story follows Laurie, recently single and heading home to help take care of her recently deceased great-aunt’s estate. She unearths some hidden gems and it is quite a fun ride!

This is a light hearted read with romance and some mystery and I enjoyed it so much!
I also love Maine and loved being there with Laurie.
This book will make you have all the feels and make you smile. It is the perfect rom com and if you like rom coms, one you should definitely grab!

4 stars

Started out so good, then seemed to get a bit bogged down in the details. The premise though was great. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher!

This book wasn't for me. I didn't like the mc Laurie. I found her to be annoying and self centered. I found myself skimming through the pages. I think I expected this to be more of a romance but there was very little of it.

Laurie Sassalyn returns home to Maine, to get over a recent canceled wedding and the turning 40. She would like to hide here and wallow in her sorrows. While in Calcasset her home town, she has the distraction of settling her great aunt Dot. It is a welcome distraction and Laurie is enjoying it. Looking through her aunts belongings is cathartic. While she is going through all the things, mostly mundane trinkets, she finds a duck and a love letter at the bottom of a cedar chest. Her interest in immediately peaked. She starts to down the rabbit hole of who and why gave her aunt this duck and note. As she is investigating the origin of the duck, it disappears. Things are getting weird and Laurie has to piece it all together. This was a cute book. It is a good summer read. It was the light read I needed. I want to thank Netgalley and Linda Holmes for my copy of Flying Solo, for an honest review. It was my pleasure to read and review this book. It was a four star read for me. I hope you enjoy it as much as ai did.

This book really portrayed what it’s like to be a single person including the struggles and the empowerment . Highly recommend this booo

I'm rounding up to 4 stars for this fun mystery/romance set in Maine. Laurie is the family member who is nominated to go through her 93-year-old Aunt Dot's house after Dot passes away. Laurie is the one who goes all the way back home to Maine (from her current life in Seattle) to sort through belongings gathered for almost a century...and she finds a duck decoy in a trunk under some blankets, obviously hidden there. The duck is what gets the whole thing going.

Why does she have a duck decoy and a note from a stranger? This leads Laurie to a shady antiques dealer and back to her first love, Nick, who is now the town librarian. And she learns a lot more about Aunt Dot than anyone knew.

This was fun and I loved the setting. There was something missing for me, though, and I can't put a finger on it.

My thanks to Random House Publishing, Ballantine Books, and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this story and found the mystery to be pleasantly low-stakes, with likable characters and a great setting. I'll read whatever Linda Holmes writes next, for sure. This was a great summer read.

Flying Solo is a feel good, second chance romance with a mystery and decoy ducks. Laurie is an independent woman with a career, friends and a home she created in her own. She is the only daughter and grew up with 4 brothers in a noise-filled house. Luckily her escape from the chaos was with her Aunt Dot who also lived an independent, adventurous life. Laurie returns home to settle her Aunt Dot’s estate and finds there was more about her Aunt Dot than she knew while reuniting with friends and an old flame. A Maine setting feels like home to me and reuniting with a boyfriend who is a librarian was an absolute joy!

This was such a cute cozy book that I cannot wait to pick up more from this author. This book follows Laurie after she calls off her wedding at almost 40 she decides to take over going through her aunt Dots house after she passed away. Dot was a spirited woman who had many adventures but no marriage no family. Laurie always felt a kinship in Dot and is surprised to see that her Aunt had many secrets and relationships she did not know about. We follow Laurie as she lives her best life finding love , herself and ducks. I really enjoyed this book I found it so cozy and comforting and really felt the theme of not needing to have a marriage and kids to be happy was really refreshing to see. I really enjoyed the mystery in this book and really cared about Laurie. I can’t wait to pick up more from this author in the future. I would like to thank the publishers and Net galley for a chance to read this book for an honest review.

Linda Holmes nailed it again. She has created realistic characters that feel like people you know.

The romance, the intrigue, the dynamics all came together in a great way.

This is a fantastic read for anyone who is "flying solo".

Oh my goodness! Why did I wait so long to read this book??? I absolutely adored Flying Solo by Linda Holmes. I visit Maine yearly with my family, so it was wonderful to revisit my favorite places through this book. I could totally envision highway 1 and all the little communities along the way through her writing. I also loved Laurie. As someone who also just turned 40, I found her absolutely relatable. There were a couple twists and turns along the way that made me go WHAT. and I loved loved loved how real life this romance felt. Gah! So good. I will be recommending this book to everyone.

Smarting from her recently canceled wedding and about to turn forty, Laurie Sassalyn returns to her Maine hometown of Calcasset to handle the estate of her great-aunt Dot, a spirited adventurer who lived to be ninety-three. Alongside boxes of Polaroids and pottery, a mysterious wooden duck shows up at the bottom of a cedar chest. Laurie’s curiosity is piqued, especially after she finds a love letter to the never-married Dot that ends with the line “And anyway, if you’re ever desperate, there are always ducks, darling.”

Laurie is told that the duck has no financial value. But after it disappears under suspicious circumstances, she feels compelled to figure out why anyone would steal a wooden duck—and why Dot kept it hidden away in the first place. Suddenly Laurie finds herself swept up in a righteous caper that has her negotiating with antiques dealers and con artists, going on after-hours dates at the local library, and reconnecting with her oldest friend and her first love. Desperate to uncover her great-aunt’s secrets, Laurie must reckon with her own past and her future—and ultimately embrace her own vision of flying solo.

With a cast of unforgettable characters and a heroine you will root for from page one, Flying Solo is a wonderfully original story about growing up, coming home, and learning to make a life for yourself on your own terms.

I really liked Evvie Drake Starts Over so i was excited to read this book but it didn't live up to my expectations.

Thank you to Netgalley for the gifted copy of Flying Solo! I ADORED Linda Holmes previous novel and was so excited to see a new release from her.

Flying Solo is a super fun romcom and quick read, but also so much more. The author is able to craft such relatable main characters which is why I will always pick up her work. I loved the storyline and how independent and admirable she was. I cannot wait to read more from the author! I highly recommend.

Laurie travels from Seattle to her hometown in Maine to go through her great aunt's estate after her death. While going through her belongings, she discovers an old wooden duck, that leads to a mystery and a heist while uncovering family secrets. I loved that the author incorporated so much of Maine into this book, including Camden, ME and the name Kittery. All of the characters in the book were well written and mostly enjoyable. Some parts of the book felt a little flat, but I still enjoyed the story and had a good laugh here and there. Flying solo is a cute read with a cozy mystery feel, so if you need a little chuckle or a light summertime read, this would be a good pick.

In Flying Solo by Linda Holmes, main character Laurie Sassalyn, 39 and single after recently cancelling her wedding, returns to her hometown in Maine to settle the estate of her great-aunt Dot whose adventurous life ended at age 90. Among household items and boxes of photographs, she finds a wooden duck she's never seen before. Why is it tucked in a storage chest? Where did it come from? What is its monetary value?

When Laurie sells the duck and instantly regrets it, a 'caper' is planned to get it back. Along the way, readers learn about Dot's interesting life and watch attraction renew between Laurie and her high school/college boyfriend. Many readers may not like the ending, but it felt realistic to me.

Before listening to this novel, I knew it was an eclectic combination of women's fiction, mystery, and romance. A unique story about a woman who's resolved to be single and have no children appealed to me because I thought that would be my life. I married at age 35, and before I met my husband two years earlier, I was making peace with the fact that I might never marry. I also related to the main character as earlier this year I was primarily responsible for handling 60+ years of family possessions and memories when my father moved to a veterans home.

The audiobook is narrated by Julia Whelan who is becoming a favorite for contemporary novels. Thank you to Libro.fm and Random House Audio for the review copy.

I enjoyed the return to hometown and re-ignites with first love story, but my favorite was the other characters in the town. The duck story added an interesting twist.