Laurie returns to her home town after her favorite aunt passes away and it is obvious no one else in her family is willing to do the dirty work of going through her aunt's belongings and getting the house ready to sell. When Laurie discovers a wooden duck, tucked away in a closet, along with a pack of handwritten letters and photographs - she begins to wonder how much did she actually know about her aunt and the spinster life she seemed to live? Add an old-flame in the form of the local librarian (who has a superman curl of hair that is just too cute and melts Laurie every time she sees it), along with a best friend and many other wonderful characters - this book was beyond charming and as cozy as a cup of warm tea. Holmes is a master at dialogue and I love a mature romance - you really want Laurie to have it all, but Holmes also makes it clear that Laurie moving back into her home town, to be with her first love, will not make her happy.... so what is Laurie to do? I love the quickness of the duck mystery and everything that unfolds from there.

I really, really loved this. I loved Laurie and Nick, June and Ginger. One of my favorite aspects of this book is that the drama and turmoil didn’t come from within the family. I’ve read so many books lately where the drama was between a parent and child or with a sibling, so it was refreshing that the author chose a different angle for the plot. I wanted to know what happened with Dot’s duck, and I stayed fully interested the entire time.

**My only complaint, for lack of a better word, is that I would have loved if this book included a POV from Dot’s life, weaving back and forth with the present to tell the story.

I received an advance copy. All thoughts are my own.

3.5 stars

I enjoyed the overall story and learning bits and pieces about Dot’s life along the way. I also loved the dedication from the the author about the women in her family. I also thought it was pretty well written. I just think the story was a little slow at times so it look a little longer for me to get into it. There is a little bit of romance between the main character and her ex-bf from high school which was cute.

I would probably recommend to a friend.

DNF. Unfortunately, this was a book I started multiple times but could just not get into. I loved this authors last book but this one just didn't hook me. I appreciate having the opportunity to read this book, it was just not a good fit for me as a reader. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my gifted review copy.

I really enjoyed this one. It had a fun story, good characters, romance, a small heist, and more. I didn't want to put it down.

NPR / Books We Love

Pop Culture Happy Hour host Linda Holmes follows up Evvie Drake Starts Over with another charming tale from idyllic Calcasset, Maine. Staring down spinsterhood at 40 after calling off her wedding, Laurie Sassalyn temporarily returns home for the thankless task of cleaning out her beloved great-aunt Dot’s home. Having long aspired to Dot’s adventurous lifestyle, Laurie unearths a mystery in the form of a cunning wooden duck decoy. Holmes whisks readers on a down-to-earth art heist that’s twistier than Ocean’s Eleven, balancing second-chance romance with the reminder that families’ good daughters and single aunts should never apologize for putting themselves first.

This story has it all: romance, mystery, a little suspense and some great laughs. It’s a cute story about a woman turning 40 while trying to find her place and fighting hard to not fall in love.
The audio was well done and though the ending fell a little flat for me I think it’s worth the read.

I LOVED Evvie Drake Takes Over and I'll be honest and say I was hoping for a bit some more of the same, which in this case would not be a bad thing.

Even though this book was enjoyable and had a bit of everything... romance, mystery, history and decoys, it left me wanting for more.

Thank you to Ballantine Books and the author, Linda Holmes for an advance copy of this book. I had previously read Evvie Drake Starts Over and thoroughly enjoyed it so I was excited when this title was announced. I did really enjoy this one as well. Flying Solo follows Laurie, an almost forty year old woman who has recently canceled her wedding and has returned to her small hometown in Maine to help clean out her recently deceased great aunt's home. While cleaning out the house Laurie learns about the exciting life that Aunt Dot led as well as figuring out the next steps in her recently upended life.

I enjoyed Laurie as a protagonist and felt that her motivations were well explored. She could be stubborn at times but I never felt overly frustrated with her. I enjoyed Nick as a second chance love interest, although the small town librarian might be an overused trope. And of course I have to mention THE DUCK!! The beginning of the duck mystery really had me engaged. I loved the hijinks involving the duck and our favorite con man Matt. However, I felt the end of the mystery was a little bit of a let down. I understand the message that the answer was trying to get across but I think it could have been better executed.

Overall, I thought this was a solid four star book but I prefer Evvie Drake.

I need Linda Holmes to write more books. I loved Evie Drake and Flying Solo. Flying Solo goes into if being alone is an acceptable lifestyle. This story proves you can have a romance story that is not too gushy. THe aspect of the mystery wooden duck moves the plot along and is a catalyst for bringing in conflict. I really enjoyed hearing about Laurie's Aunt Dot and her traveling lifestyle. This book was very entertaining.

I read this author's first book, and had hoped I would like this one as much as that. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. This story seemed to drag on and it really wasn't very interesting. The main character goes back to her aunt's house, discovers a wooden duck, and decides to investigate the origins behind it. She also falls for her old boyfriend but can't be with him because she lives on the other side of the country and isn't sure if she's the "marrying type." Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Linda Holmes has a way of writing that immerses yourself in the pages & you don’t even realize it until you’re half way through the story. This particular novel is quirky, surprisingly emotional, adventurous, and wholesome. I found myself grieving with the characters, but also hopeful to uncover the mystery. It’s a perfect summer read when you just want to escape.

I was really hoping for more with this book. I feel like it just fell flat for me. The story about the duck was really the best part of the book but I wanted more from some of the characters. I wanted to know more about their history. This could have been great it missed the mark. Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for an eARC of this book.

What a fun entertaining mystery and romance thrown into one. I quite enjoyed this story.

A small town librarian and a quirky out of towner who is back for a bit find a second chance at their high school relationship. I'm a sucker for second chance love stories.

Thank you to the publisher for the advanced readers copy as well as the advanced audiobook.

Laurie's beloved great-aunt Dot has died and left her house full of decades of memories to be cleaned out. So she travels back to her hometown in Maine to clear it out, and in the process reconnects with her high school boyfriend Nick. The two discover a mysterious painted duck that leads them to more adventure than they bargained for, as they also work to figure out their feelings for one another. Just like in her debut, Holmes has a talent for creating richly drawn characters who are warm and feel real. Her dialogue sings, and the chemistry between the friends here really works. The romance didn't work as well for this reader, and the "stuff" with the duck started to drag a bit, especially near the book's end, but on the whole this was a pleasant read. Loved reading about a forty year old unmarried and childfree woman who was absolutely at home in her skin and in her life.

Laura is on the brink of turning 40, back in the hometown in Maine she left behind, going through all of the STUFF collected over a lifetime that her unmarried, child-free aunt Dot left behind. When she finds an intricately carved and painted decoy duck, it sets her off on an adventure to know her aunt - and herself.

I absolutely loved this book. A second-chance romance between 40-year-olds, an independent woman who doesn’t think marriage has to be the goal, obsessing over an item like a wooden decoy duck and just feeling like you have to get to the bottom of something… Yeah, give me all of it. Highly highly recommend. One of my favorite quotes that really resonated with me: “… and that thing in your head that makes you want to understand everything kept poking you and poking you until you figured it out.” I really identified with Laurie even though on the surface we are pretty different!

One last thing I want to mention is this book casually included diversity in a way I really loved. The main character is a size 18, one of her siblings had severe struggles with mental illness, and her black sister-in-law doesn’t feel comfortable visiting her super-white hometown. All of these things were mentioned so casually, in a way that made them feel normal - which they are normal parts of life so it was refreshing to see that in a book in a way that didn’t feel overly-contrived.

Thank you so much to Ballantine Books/Random House Publishing Group for the copy via NetGalley. This book came out already so you can read it now!

Thank you for the opportunity to read hit novel. I could not connect with the characters and did not finish.

I was a huge fan of the author's first book Evvie Drake Starts Over. So I was very excited to receive the ARC for this book Flying Solo. Unfortunately, the book was a miss for me. The pacing was too slow and I just honestly didn't care about the plot, the characters, or what happened. I had no interest in this long journey about a wooden duck. It's possible that I had just come off of reading a few fast-paced books that I loved so this dragged for me. The author is a beautiful writer and the only reason I saw it through to the end. I do think the author is a great writer so if you are into a slower pace this would be for you. Thank you NetGalley and Ballantine Books for this ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I do not like writing this kind of review. I really liked Evvie Drake and love Linda Holmes. But this book... just didn't work. I get where she was trying to go with it, and I liked aspects of it. But the writing felt very flat to me this time, and it was not the charming and loving perspective I was expecting. The romance felt ho-hum and underdeveloped, with too much telling and minimal showing. I liked the hero and thought she was too wishy-washy for me to handle. I am all for independence! But don't bill this as a romance. It just really isn't.

Three stars because I love the duck. I love the idea of caring for your family who have passed, and living their legacy. But only three stars because this book felt stuck, just like Laurie. Maybe it's just me, and I had expectations set at an unreasonable level. But this just didn't hit me right, and I hope her next book is either completely different (and not billed as romance...) or just a little bit better.

Laurie goes back to Maine from her adult home in Seattle to clean out her aunt's home after she dies. She reunites with her childhood best friend and her high school boyfriend; and she makes other friends along the way. She learns a lot about her aunt, and the life she lived. This is a nice story about friendship and found family. #nprpopculturehappyhour #lindaholmes #flyingsolo #bookstagram #booklover #bookblogger #lovetoread #booksbooksbooks #readallday #takeapagefrommybook #readersofinstagram #bookloversofinstagram #foundfamily