Laurie has returned to her home town in Maine to clean out her great-aunt Dot's home. Dot was in her 90s, lived a very full life, and was always there for Laurie. While in town, Laurie spends time with her best friend and her former high school boyfriend, now the town librarian. Spending time with these characters, solving the mystery of the decoy duck found in the bottom of the trunk, and deciding how to have a real adult relationship with all its complications, makes for a delightful comforting read.

Laurie returns home to take care of her single great-Aunt's things. Laurie has always had a special connection to Aunt Dot she was her refuge from her nosy family of brothers and Laurie remains single much like Aunt Dot. Laurie finds the unexpected when going through the things that leads to connecting with old friends and lovers and questioning what it means to fly solo.

Aunt Dot’s house had always been a sanctuary for Laurie from her big, noisy family. After Dot’s death, Laurie comes back to Calcasset, Maine from Seattle to clean out the house that brought her so much comfort, and in the process she is surprised to find a beautiful wooden duck tucked inside a chest. She feels compelled to uncover the story behind the decoy and why Dot would have hidden it away. In her quest, she enlists the help of her best friend June, bereavement decluttering expert Matt, and librarian Nick – her first love. As she learns more about the parts of her independent, adventurous aunt’s life she never knew about, she also reconsiders whether she can make room in her own independent life for love.

Holmes’s second novel is funny and endearing, with relatable characters, and a little mystery. It was an absolute joy to read, and I thank NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book.

Laurie is a month away from forty when the task of clearing out the home of her recently deceased nonagenarian aunt falls to her. She returns to her hometown, still reexamining her future after a broken engagement, and begins to wonder if her recently divorced first love is worth a second chance. When Laurie finds a mysterious wooden duck hidden among her aunt's belongings, she'll do anything to find out what secrets it holds about her aunt's life.

I absolutely love Linda Holmes' quiet, thoughtful, and wonderfully realistic writing style! Her protagonists are down to earth and completely lovable. The imaginary town of Calcasset, Maine, is so endearing, especially if you've also read Evvie Drake Starts Over. I enjoyed every moment of Laurie and her Aunt Dot's stories. I'll read anything Linda Holmes writes!

Laurie is at an interesting point of her life. Weeks away from turning 40, she's just called off her wedding and is coming to terms with the idea she probably wants to be single for the rest of her life. When she heads home to Maine to empty her great-aunt's house she gets caught up in a mystery and immersed with an old love. Will she stay in Maine or continue to be the independent solo flyer she's become? I loved this book because it's all about the gray areas of life, and about knowing what you want out of life and staying true to that.

It’s never easy losing a loved one. The grief itself is bad enough but dealing with all the details afterword can be even worse. It serves as a constant reminder that the person you knew so well - or thought you did - is gone.

Laurie’s favorite aunt has died and she has been placed in charge of going through the adventurous Dot’s house to clear it out. A wooden duck that at first seems relatively commonplace ends up leading Laurie down a rabbit hole to find out who Dot actually was.

The premise for this book was really interesting to me, but I struggled to get all the way through it. I love Linda Holmes’ debut book, Evvie Drake Starts Over, but this one didn’t hold my attention as well. It was still well written, but it didn’t hold the same pizzazz for me. I’ll still definitely be checking out whatever she puts out next though!

This book is delightful! Fans of Linda Holmes's previous book, Evvie Drake Starts Over, will be pleased to revisit the tiny town of Calcasset, Maine. Some familiar faces will appear again, although the main characters are completely new.
Laurie and Nick, our protagonists, are older and experienced, and have a history together. Their relationship is very believable. All of the characters are delightful - I would love to spend a weekend in this lovely little town with these people.
The perfect summer weekend read.

Laurie is facing a crossroads in her life. She has just canceled a seemingly perfect wedding and flown across the country to deal with a recently deceased beloved Aunts estate. She realizes this is the perfect time for self-reflection and in doing that work discovers there is a wooden duck decoy among her aunt's things that send her on a journey to discover it's origins. In this, she learns a lot about her own approach to relationships and love and realizes there may be another path to happiness. A terrific follow up to Evvie Drake Takes Over!

Absolutely loved this follow-up from Linda Holmes. Charming, clever, and full of heart. I hope she continues her novel-writing career.

Laurie is an independent woman who know what she wants, and it isn't marriage. She recently broke off her engagement. She returns to her hometown in Maine to clear out her deceased aunt's home. Growing up, her aunt's home was a refuge from Laurie's hectic household and four brothers. She finds a decoy duck wrapped in a blanket in a chest, and is determined to discover its significance. When she is scammed, she enlists the help of her best friend and former boyfriend, as well as new friends and her brother, to help her. This book has a little bit of mystery and a little bit of romance.

I want to thank Ballantine books and NetGalley for the ARC In exchange for an honest review. What a welcome book this was. I devoured it in a couple days, with a lot of smiles and nodding of my head in understanding of Laurie, the main character. Laurie lives on the West Coast but flies to her childhood town when her aunt dies. She is tasked with clearing out the house and going through her aunt’s belongings. She meets up with her childhood friend, June, And her first love, Alex. . Laurie and Alex reignite their love for each other but Laurie is adamant that she doesn’t want to marry or move back to the area. Alex, on the other hand is invested in staying in the town. While spending time with Alex and June, Laurie encounters a mystery, which leads to a ConMan, which leads to a sting operation run by Alex, June and some new friends, all quirky and loveable. . This was an easy, fun 5 star read.

Not an incredibly memorable read for me.

The most interesting relationship was between Laurie and her Aunt Dot. Honestly, maybe Dot was the stand out character, and she wasn’t physically present in much other than memories.

The story of the duck and everything that came with it, didn’t really care what happened next.

Laurie returns to her hometown of Calcasset, Maine in order to clear out her recently deceased Great-Aunt Dot's home. Laurie finds a wooden duck decoy at the bottom of a chest and is intrigued by where it came from and why Dot had hidden it away. Her friends, including her ex-boyfriend, rally around Laurie and help with a caper to recover the duck after it is stolen from her. She eventually learns the providence of the duck and it affirms everything she always believed about Dot's amazing life.

I love the character of Laurie. She is a regular-sized woman who is intent on leading her life on her own terms. She doesn't want marriage and she doesn't want children. It is great to see a character in a book who reflects this realistically. I also appreciated the family dynamics of Laurie and her four brothers. The relationships in this book were complicated, dynamic, and true-to-life. The story is fun. The romance is cute. It's a fast easy read with a main character who is easy to root for.

Three stars for the story. I added a fourth star for the realistic depiction of women, friendship, and life in general. I enjoyed Evvie Drake Starts Over more than this book, but Linda Holmes again proves that she can write about the nuances of relationships in a fun and entertaining way. Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the digital arc of this novel.

I've followed Linda's writing since her TWOP recapper days, and I couldn't be happier with her newest novel. It includes a great gift for conversation and the crafting of multiple realistic friendships, as well as a well-paced but not outlandish mystery, all seen through the lens of a woman who is happy with her life, her independence, her choices, and her body, but still feels ambivalence about turning 40. Grown adults having realistic conversations and working through their problems is truly my bookish catnip, and Holmes provides it in spades. I loved this trip to Maine and can't wait for her next.

This book was a little slow at times but it was good to read something that took a realistic view of being single in your forties and hearing about someone who was Single by choice and the paths some people choose. The whole caper business was actually a distraction but a testament to strong women as well. It just touched on alot of issues and wasn't just another summer romance novel.

This was a little bit predictable, but still enjoyable. I wasn’t as invested in the characters as I was with Evvie though. Laurie said the same thing about being independent over and over so it got kind of tiresome.

I requested this book via NetGalley for the interesting synopsis and was pleasantly surprised. Flying Solo is a story about self-discovery while learning about a loved one. Laurie is at a crossroads in her life when she volunteers to help her family by cleaning out her aunt's house after she passes away. While in town, she reconnects with old friends and finds a mysterious decoy duck that helps her in her journey. The story wasn't earth-shattering, but I enjoyed the character of Laurie and her journey of finding the importance of the decoy duck. It was an easy read with great character development. Recommend to other readers struggling at a roadblock in their life and trying to discover their path.

Flying Solo-Lynda Holmes (Publish 6/14/22)
Linda Holmes, one of the hosts of NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour, has written this delightful follow-up to her 2019 book, Evvie Drake Starts Over.

In Flying Solo, Laurie Sassalyn is an almost-forty nature journalist based in Seattle who is fresh out of end of a long-term relationship and engagement. She comes back to her hometown of Calcasset, Maine to clean out her recently deceased grand-aunt’s home at her family’s request. Dot, the aunt, never married, but left a massive collection of photos and mementos of a life full of adventures. As Laurie digs through the items, she discovers a mystery surrounding a wooden duck decoy that she must solve. Laurie, also, reconnects with her high school boyfriend now turned librarian, Nick as well as best friend, June and involves them in the mystery. Laurie must also face down the question of where she wants her life to head.

While both books are set in the fictional Maine small town of Calcasset and have at least one overlapping character, the colorful senior minor league baseball owner, Ginger, it is not necessary to read Evvie Drake first, in my opinion. Both books are perfect feel-good summer reads while still exploring substantive issues.
Thank you Net Galley and Ballantine Books/Random House for the free copy in exchange for a honest review.

The review will be published to my GoodReads account and the Friends and Fiction Facebook account on 6/14/22, the publication date.

At its heart, Flying Solo is a light, warm read about creating your own happiness. The duck mystery that drives the plot of Flying Solo is fun, but this book stuck with me because of what Linda Holmes has to say about women who chose to remain single. Laurie is getting over a failed engagement, but like her late great-aunt Dot, she is sure in her choice to remain alone. Both these women remain content with the life they built for themselves, without a conventional partner. I also liked the idea that there is more than one option for romantic happiness, and it is ultimately what works for the people involved.

Shout our to Netgalley for my eARC! This book had all of my favorite things! Small town charm, quirky people, kindness, love, family, and libraries! The plot felt so original and fresh, which was delightful to read! It was also hilarious! This is the best book I've read in 2022 and I can't wait to re-read it both in physical and audiobook form. I fell so deeply in love with this book and it's bound to become a book that I return to every few years for comfort!