Back after this is charming, hilarious, and also so relatable. Set in the world of podcasting and audio production, it follows Cecily as the producer becomes a star of a series where a dating coach/influencer sets her up on 20 dates with 20 different guys. Meanwhile, she keeps bumping into Will, the one guy the show doesn’t want her to date. Their chemistry feels so deliciously comfortable yet still sexy. Their banter is a DELIGHT. Cecily’s journey to uncover what she really wants brings an emotional depth that a lot of readers can probably relate to. This book is closed door so if you’re looking for something without explicit spicy scenes, this would be a great choice.. I see this being a hit with fans of Annabelle Monaghan or Sophie Cousins.

In a market flooded with romantic comedies that are all slight variations on each other, Holmes stands out as one of the very best. The story is smart, funny and charming and provides an fascinating look into the world of podcasting

I loved the authors first two books. This book was satisfyingly delightful. Holmes does cozy well. The MC is v relatable and the LI is absolutely adorable. It was both cute and funny and I had a great time. Thank you NetGalley for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

Cecily is relatable to so many women loyal to their jobs and not knowing exactly what they want, but when she agrees to take a step into the limelight and be the star in the next big podcast she puts everything on the line. Eliza an influencer turned relationship coach will give her advice and send her on 20 first dates to help her find the one but when all doesn’t go accordingly to plan Cecily will have to make some tough choices and finally stand up for what she wants.

As an avid podcast listener it’s interesting to hear some of the work and struggles that go into making shows!

Thanks NetGalley and Ballantine Books for this eARC all options are my own!

Back after this was a cute romance! It’s was funny, sweet, and sometimes predictable but in a comforting way. I enjoyed the main characters personal growth and awareness that we start to see as we delve deeper into the book

Would recommend!

#netgalley

Back After This
Linda Holmes

Cecily is a podcast producer whose dream of hosting her own show comes true, with a catch. The show features her going on twenty dates chosen for her.

Dating has become such a terrible, disappointing chore for many singles lately, so much so that there has developed a trend to forego dating and chose the single life. Reality may be depressing, and sometimes we all just need an escape such as this.

Back After This is a delightful, lighthearted read. The pages just fly, and you often find yourself grinning. With Linda Holmes, you kinda know what you are getting, but sometimes that is exactly what you want.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the ARC used in this review.

Cecily is a workaholic podcaster who can’t catch a break. She reluctantly agrees to working with a dating coach to try to find “the one” but fate has other plans.

The plot reminded me of Is She Really Going Out With Him? by Sophie Cousens, but with a podcast spin and had less of a focus on the dates. I was surprised to find all 20 dates were covered in one rapid fire chapter. With that said, I was glad there was more time to watch Cecily evolve and explore standing up for herself. I found myself cheering her on and laughing out loud at some of her inner dialogue.

I felt the romance was sweet but left a little to be desired. I still enjoyed the story overall as contemporary/humorous fiction and would recommend to a friend.

Thank you Random House Publishing for providing a free ARC for review via NetGalley.

Cecily develops podcasts. She produces, edits, finds ideas, whatever it takes to make a successful podcast. Her boss comes up with the bright idea for a blind dating podcast with Cecily as the woman searching for the perfect mate. Eliza, influencer par excellence, comes onboard to organize a 20-week, 20-man series.
Along the way, Cecily rescues a Great Dane who is running loose, meets Will, the dog sitter, dates some total mismatches, finds a couple of guys who meet Eliza's exacting standards, but don't exactly thrill Cecily. And worse yet, a former serious boyfriend comes back on the scene, one whom Cecily hoped to never see again. Her love life is on the line, her job is on the line, so how does she work it all out.

Back After This follows Cecily a podcast producer, who is asked to host a show about dating while being coached by a famous influencer. She's going to be set up on 20 dates picked out by her coach, with the hopes of being able to do her show after this and meet Mr. Right. I really liked the idea behind this book and enjoyed the background into podcasts. There was nothing at all wrong with this book I thought it was cute and entertaining the main characters were likable enough I just didn't love it. Giving it 3 stars and would recommend. I want to thank NetGalley and Random House Publishing - Ballantine for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

I loved Back After This from Linda Holmes, all three of her books have been wins and this one is my favorite so far (though I really loved Flying Solo!) What Holmes gets, other than a true love for romcoms and a flare for writing them, is that a good romcom is more than the romance, it's the charm of the characters as individuals along with well developed and interesting secondary characters. The wins here were the journey that the main character Cecily goes on, a deeper than expected exploration of her work and family and personal history and the series of realizations that she arrives at, insight into what she wants next, and the development of the influencer character and her relationship/insights into Cecily as that aspect of the story had a lot of nuance in it and moved effectively away from superficial portrayals and introduced some interesting "shades of grey" in that plot point in ways that really worked for me.
I also want to note, not surprisingly, this was a bit win on audio as Holmes, a favorite podcaster, is a wonderful narrator.

It's been a while since I've read a book that I didn't want to put, that I just wanted to keep reading and spending time with these characters in this story. And this was one of those books.

I've been a fan of Linda Holmes since her days at Television Without Pity (did I attend multiple TARCons? Yes, I did) and enjoyed her previous books, and I think she just continues to get stronger as a writer. It doesn't hurt that the book is set in DC; I live in Silver Spring, where the sister of our heroine lives.

Our heroine is Cecily, a podcast producer whose ex-boyfriend got the podcast they created in the breakup. He's gone on to have success and become something of a name; she remains behind the scenes, doing what she can to keep the company she works for afloat. When she's pitched doing a podcast that involves her being set up on 20 dates, it gives her the opportunity to host one herself. Naturally, just as that gets going...she meets Will.

I'm impressed with nuances of Cecily; the book is from her point-of-view, and I could definitely relate to parts of her personality, and it isn't until fairly late in the book that she gets some clarification on her life. And I appreciated that it isn't that she was necessarily doing anything wrong; she really just needed to look at her life and evaluate it from a different perspective. Which is helped by Eliza, the dating coach/influencer who's working with her on the podcast.

Eliza is someone it should be fairly easy to dislike, and there are certainly moments you do, but Holmes manages to bring nuance to her. She walks the fine line of showing hot nuts that kind of life can be with showing how impressive the people who can make it are. (Or, some of them are, at least.) There are definitely moments of frustration with Eliza, but ultimately, she was a fully realized character, not a cartoon.

The relationship with Will is super cute, all around. (I also appreciate that the steamier moments were fade to black.) Holmes walks up to the line of Will being almost too perfect, but doesn't quite go over to the point where it's annoying. He has his own things to work on, both in life and in a relationship.

It's not quite 5 stars, but it's close. Definite recommend.

Thank you to Ballantine Books for the gifted ARC provided through NetGalley for my honest thoughts on the book.

I really liked Cecily and felt like she could be a friend. I wish a little more had been spent on dates, but it makes sense that there wasn’t. And who doesn’t love a giant dog?🐶 I

I couldn't get into Back After This. I wasn't gelling with the main character and the book's pacing. I found the beginning of the book a little too slow for my taste. The beginning of the story read more women's fiction. I didn't feel super connected to Cecily. I also didn't care for Eliza...she read as a stereotypical influencer. I found the main characters dull. Besides the overdone descriptions, the writing was fine! Overall, this book wasn't for me. Thank you to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for the ARC.

This book was well-written, with a thoughtfully crafted plot and strong character development. I really enjoyed learning the ins and outs of the podcast world and what happens behind the scenes. It was so much fun following Cecily’s journey as she navigates her career and growing attraction to Will. Thank you for the opportunity to enjoy such a great read!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and PRH audio for giving me early access to the digital and audio version of this new book from Linda Holmes. (Side note—I have not yet read Evie Drake and now I want to go back and read it!)

This was a solid 3.75 stars rounded up for me. The plot is delightfully cute. Some serendipitious hallmark esque plot lines that you go “of course that’s what’s happening!” But it works in all the right ways.

Cecily is relatable and I totally understood her in so many reactions. If you’re an enneagram nut, she felt like a 2 wing 3 😂 I wanted more from Will—more back story and his thoughts —but honestly this was Cecily’s story and I could appreciate the internal focus.

Overall this is a fun and great read that had me smiling and chuckling and I definitely recommend!

If Linda Holmes wrote the phonebook, I would read it immediately. She is a master at storytelling with quick wit, dry humor, and a whole lot of heart. I highlighted so many conversations in this book (pretty much all between Will and Cecily) because I found them so freaking charming and witty.

I loved how Holmes weaved so much about the making of a podcast (HEARING someone's breath -- did you even ever think about how much editing needs to go into a single episode of your favorite podcast, because I sure didn't) in such a cool and relatable way. I have so much respect for podcast editors. Wow. And the love story is there, and it is a bit squirrely at times, but it gave me the book hangover that I crave in a great romance book. I just can't say enough about how much

Ya'll, I just loved this book so much. Five stars, easy.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the gift of this extraordinary story in exchange for my honest review.

My perfect mix of romance and contemporary fiction. It was sentimental without being cheesy and tugged at my heart without feeling cheap. I will be thinking about these characters for a long time.

I was actually really excited for this one… Even with the cartoon covers I hate, this one I thought was okay.

The premise for this sounded so cute, and even the book’s set up at first was fun… That quickly changed as the story went no where.

I started to realize the blurb given about this book was a bit misleading as we don’t really spend any time on the dates. About 2 were more detailed, but I felt that this really took away from the story we were told we were getting.

I also found it really hard to connect or relate to any of the characters. They were either boring (Cecily) or kind of a B (Eliza).

I’m really loving the podcast trope lately. And that it’s becoming such a popular thing to add in books! It has Nobody Wants This vibes and I am here for it!!

Linda Holmes did it again. I really enjoyed this story. Learned a lot about podcasts. I just enjoyed the storyline and chemistry between Cecily & Will. Loved this book.