I've been a big fan of Linda Holmes since my podcast-listening days and so far I've enjoyed her foray into fiction. This book was really a stand-out for me. As much as I liked her first two books I felt like this one took it up a notch in nearly every way. You can tell that Linda is doing a lot of writing what she knows here, which gave some really fascinating insight into the podcasting world. The characters are wonderful, flawed, and relatable in their own ways and the chemistry between Will and Cecily had me full on kicking my feet and laughing out loud with delight. There were several impactful scenes/bits of dialogue that gave me that stomach-twist of recognition when you see yourself and your experience reflected on the page. I can't wait to read whatever Linda writes next.

A fun rom-com by the author of Evvie Drake Starts Over, which I also loved. Cecily is a sound producer for a dying podcast company in Washington, DC. She's given up on love after a disastrous failed romance years ago and several uninspiring first dates since then. Her boss is grasping at straws, trying to keep the company alive, and comes up with the idea to do a dating podcast. With Cecily. It involves going on 20 first dates and then getting critiques from said dates so that Cecily can improve her skills and find her true love. It just so happens that in the midst of the first dates, she happens to meet someone who just MIGHT be the man she's been waiting for.

This was a cute story. I enjoyed the love story of Cecily and Will, and wish there was more scenes with the 2 of them. The podcast plot was original, but I lost interest when none of the guys seemed enjoyable. Fun read overall!

This fun novel is about Cecily, a podcast producer who longs for a bigger role. She also has been single for four years, and her boss tells her their company is not doing well and he needs her to not just produce but be the subject of a podcast with a semi-famous influencer who will set Cecily up on 20 blind dates as the podcast documents her search for love. But things get complicated when she also meets someone on her own in the middle of all this.

I just loved this book, so enjoyable to read. The banter and romance is great, but it’s also about so much more than that - career, friendship, families, and more. And as much as I also love the ultra unreal celebrity romance books, I also just love a book that has a romance between main characters who are not perfect or super humanly gorgeous, but regular insecure people with their own foibles, and this book does that so well! (Think Curtis Sittenfeld or Rainbow Rowell.)

I am a long time fan of Linda Holmes, going back more than 20 years to her recaps of The Amazing Race on Television Without Pity, and her first book Evvie Drake Starts Over was one of my top ten books of 2019. I wasn’t quite as enamored of her sophomore effort, Flying Solo, so I’m thrilled to say she’s back to form with this one!

4.5 stars

5⭐️ Captivating! Holmes crafts characters and a story that sucks you in until the last word.

**Thank you to Boldwood Books, Inc. and NetGalley for the eARC**

Cecily Foster, a podcast producer is about to end up on the other side of the mic and the subject of a dating, self-help podcast. And she is dreading it. If it wasn’t for the promise of saving the company and her friend’s jobs, she’d turn it down. And what would happen as soon as she agrees to twenty blind dates? She meet the sweetest man. Over and over again. Will she find love on the podcast? Or will the chance meeting be her dream guy?

I cannot give this book enough praise. Such a good storyline and probably the best meet cute I have ever read. And it involves a dog! Cecily is a character you want to love and root for, and Will, her love interest, is a down to earth, all around good guy. The pacing is great and keeps you surprised and interested from cover to cover. Read the book!

Thank you so much for the publisher for the review copy!

This book was delightful, and I found the unconventional romance quite charming, the characters were easy to connect to. I think what moved the novel forward was the clever and witty banter between the characters!

I am so appreciative to Net Galley and Random House - Ballantine for this ARC! I loved this non-traditional romance and found the characters relatable and refreshing. The dialogue and banter between main characters was so well done. I particularly loved the ending and a few unexpected twists. Linda Holmes has provided her readers with another fantastic book!

Based off the book description, I thought that this book would be a 5 star win for me. Combine rom-com, people who work in audio/podcasting and a dog, and I thought I'd love this story. However, the beginning was so slow, I got about a quarter of the way into the book and ended up setting it aside for several weeks because I just could not get into the story. I found the antagonist in the story to be obnoxious and not a well-rounded character. I did love the banter between the main female and male characters. I wish the story would have centered them more, it would have been a fantastic story. Unfortunately, for me, this one fell flat.

Cecily is a 30 something with a dead end job in podcast editing. She hasn’t dated anyone seriously since her work colleague dumped her four years ago. Now her boss wants her to be the subject of a dating podcast. She will work with an Influencer who will set her up on twenty dates in about six weeks. Cecily has no interest in this project but feels her participation is a means of saving her best friend’s job as well as getting her boss to let her make a pilot of her own podcast. When she meets a nice guy outside of the project, there are all sorts of complications. The story is both funny and sad. The characters are engaging and likable. This was my first experience with Linda Holmes but I look forward to reading more of her books. I thank NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC.

Linda Holmes is a favorite author and her latest is now a favorite new romance. Such a fun story with a peek into the world of podcasting and audio editing. I love interesting characters with unique jobs, and Cecily is just perfect. She agrees to date - with the help and advice of an online influencer, making a podcast along the way. In the meantime, she has a hilarious meet-cute with Will, who is not an approved date for Cecily. Antics ensue as Cecily and Will keep connecting, and Cecily has to decide what direction she wants her personal and professional life to take. I loved everything about this book. All the stars! Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the earc to read and review. All opinions are my own.

Cecily is a podcast producer who is over-worked and under-appreciated. She finally gets the opportunity to produce her own show but the premise isn’t ideal- she has to work with a famous social media influencer & the goal is for her to find love over the course of 20 blind dates. This book explores themes like serendipity, proximity, career ambition and the state of the podcast industry. The pacing lulls at times but overall this was a fun, light and cozy time! I will read anything by this author.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy.

I love Linda Holmes on NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour, so I had high hopes for her novel set in the podcasting world. In Back After This, we follow Cecily as she embarks on a hosting a new podcast that is focused on her dating life. She is meant to go on 20 dates set up by an expert, and she does, but Cecily gets distracted by Will, who keeps popping up in her life.

There was a lot to like about this book, but some parts didn't click for me. I really enjoyed Cecily and Will's dynamic and banter. I had a harder time reading about Cecily's job and wished less time was spent on this - her workplace was unstable, which was important to the story, but simply not fun to read about. In the end, I appreciated seeing Cecily's growth with the workplace dynamic.

3.5 stars

There was just something about this one that didn't hit right for me, and I'm a bit surprised because I did really enjoy Evvie Drake Starts Over by the author. I'm not sure if it's just lack of personal interest in the podcast world, or how at times the writing style didn't quite flow with perfunctory summations "And that's how I ended up...", but it ended up being a largely skimmable book for me. I did like the idea that you can try as hard as you can, in this case, by agreeing to go on blind dates for a podcast, but what's meant to be will be and you can find love by a chance encounter instead. However, in this case, love came in the form of a blasé blah mediocre man named Will, who didn't seem like a great match for the more career oriented Cecily. Maybe this is a more realistic depiction of romance, and I guess I like to be delusional after all.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Ballantine Books for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I did enjoy the book even though I felt it went a little slow. I did like the storyline and the characters. I would recommend this book.

This was another great story from Linda Holmes! I really enjoyed the premise of a podcast producer trying to get her own show. I loved how hard Cecily worked and what a badass FMC she was. This story had good pacing and i really enjoyed the storyline with Will as well. What I like about this author's stories is that they tend to have a very independent female lead just trying to figure out how to make it in the world and have a good relationship as well. Toby turned out to be a jerk and the twist really got me! This was a fun one. I really enjoyed it.

Thanks NetGalley and Ballantine for my copy of this ARC which publishes 2/25.

Back After This follows Cecily, a podcast producer turned host recording her way through twenty blind dates, set up by renowned dating coach and influencer, Eliza Cassidy. Enter Will: the dog rescuer/photographer/waiter everyone wants her to avoid, but she can't seem to stay away from.

As someone who worked at the same place for 11 years and was too scared to leave because it was comfortable, I saw a lot of myself in Cecily. It's hard enough to define what you want out of life, but it's even harder to say it out loud. Although I enjoyed how quickly the plot moved, I fought a slump left and right while reading this, hence why it took me over two weeks to finish. Linda Holmes, I love your work. It's not you, it's me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Cecily is the best podcast producer in her small media company. She works for a toxic boss, but loves and is good at what she does, even though she'd like to host rather than produce a pod at some point. Her boss pitches her a new show: a series where Cecily will work with a life & dating coach and go on 20 blind dates. This has tie-in sponsors and is meant as a launching pad for coach Eliza. While Cecily is open to the idea of these men, she's also met someone "the old fashioned way" and while Eliza tries to steer her clear of "the waiter," Cecily needs to learn whether to trust her instincts or listen to advice.

I adored Linda Holmes's first two books and was really excited to read Back After This. This starts off with a little more of a rom-com tone, and maintains a more comedic bent throughout than her other books. As is typical with her style, though, Holmes has a poignant way of looking at life and love, and I love how she pulls it off.

I rather famously dislike most first-person romances, but my struggle is usually being in the head of a 20-something main character. While Cecily is working on pulling parts of her dating life together, she's also a well-adjusted and relatable 30-something professional woman with some questionable work-life boundaries. The book focuses not just on her forced dating life, but also on her relationship with her job, her coworkers, and her sister.

I loved this book for everything it was AND everything it wasn’t. It wasn’t gimmicky or tropey. The plot didn’t always go exactly where you thought it would and the ending was satisfying but not unrealistic. When the Cecily, the main character spoke, she was thoughtful and used logic and restraint. The editing on this book was fantastic. I was fully invested the whole time and the side characters each had their place and added to the storyline. I laughed out loud at Cecily’s dry and snarky humor and my stomach dropped when hers did. She was self-aware and relatable. I really enjoyed this author’s last two books but this one was exceptional. I’m not sure if it was that she herself is a podcaster and was very knowledgeable or that this storyline was more layered, but it worked really well for me. If you’re looking for a general fiction book with visible character development, a romance subplot, and appreciate well-rounded characters with depth, I would highly recommend this book. Thank you Netgalley and Ballantine for the advanced copy!

This is the third book I’ve read by Linda Holmes and I enjoyed it a lot. Like Holmes’s previous novels, this one fell more into women’s fiction for me, but the romance is more front and center this time around.

Back After This had some very hilarious romcom moments, but it also explored the ideas of success and fulfillment. I liked Cecily’s character arc and I loved the message of prioritizing one’s own wants and desires. Yes, she frustrated me at times, but she also showed a lot of growth. The fade to black romance with Will was cute, but I wish his character would have been more fully developed. I found the information about podcasts and production interesting, but there was so much page time devoted to it that it bogged down the story.

The audiobook was overall enjoyable, but I had some difficulty with Holmes’s narration. Her comedic timing was great, but unfortunately there wasn’t enough variety in the voices she used. It made it very challenging to determine who was speaking since everyone sounded the same.

Audiobook Review
Overall 4 stars
Performance 3.5 stars
Story 4 stars

CW: job and financial insecurity, manipulative boss

*I voluntarily read and listened to an advance review copy of this book*

I enjoyed this one from Linda Holmes! I don't think anything will beat her first, Evvie Drake, for me though. I couldn't stand her second book, sadly. This one was an improvement, but it did annoy me at times.

I often relate the protagonists like the ones Linda Holmes writes, but this time around, I found myself relating to Eliza (who EVERY DAMN GOODREADS REVIEWER CALLS BITCHY). I've worked in social media for over a decade, I've constantly had to reinvent myself, I love helping people, I'm good at self promotion, and I just have to keep bulldozing ahead no matter what. Meanwhile, Cecily stays in the same awful job at the same awful company as if she has no agency to leave??? Ugh. Boring.

I really enjoyed Will's character. He was probably my favorite part of the book. For there being a dog in the story, it almost felt like this was written by not a dog lover, because the giant great dane is barely there. So weird.

The drama between Cecily and Will felt manufactured. The book moved quickly and was an easy read. It was enjoyable enough, but not an all-time fave.