3.75 rounded ⬆️

New York Times bestselling author, Linda Holmes (Evvie Drake Starts Over and Flying Solo) is back with another story of a woman who needs a fresh start!

Longtime podcast producer Cecily Foster has always longed to host her own show, so she agrees to do a show her boss wants her to do when he promises to give her, and her friend and mentee, Julie-a chance to work on a project that SHE would like to do after this show wraps up.

The catch:

The show will be about Cecily going on twenty dates chosen by renowned dating coach/life coach/influencer Eliza Cassidy.

Of course, after FOUR years of being Single-she meets an intriguing guy named Will, just before the show is about to start!

He was chasing a runaway Great Dane named Buddy, who got loose on a busy street. She, who always carries a huge bag with everything you could ever need in an emergency, has just what he might need to corral the dog!
(See the adorable book cover!)

Even though sparks fly between the two, Eliza forbids Cecily from dating Will, whom she doesn’t believe is ambitious enough for Cecily. She is positive that at least one of the twenty men she has lined up will be a more suitable match.

But, when the two keep bumping into each other, one has to wonder if it’s coincidence or Serendipity?

I love when a book can HOOK me with an opening line-but unfortunately, this one started with a couple of chapters that had me questioning if I even wanted to read the book. (Yawn) Thankfully, once we got past the technicalities, it picked up and captured my interest.

It’s the third book that I have read recently which had the female protagonist having to go on dates selected by other people. (Trendy new trope?) But, this one focuses more on the main characters growth rather than the dates themselves. In fact, all twenty first dates are summarized in Chapter 12!

Still, I was interested in seeing how Cecily would reconcile her growing attraction to Will with her obligation to the show!

The one thing I could have done without was learning about Buddy’s chews-“Bully Sticks”! 😂 If you don’t know what they are, I will let you discover what that delicacy is for yourself! I am glad that I am a cat person! ☺️

AVAILABLE February 25, 2025

Thank You to Ballantine Books for the gifted ARC provided by NetGalley. As always, these are my candid thoughts!

An engaging, hilarious and fresh romance! Linda Holmes’ Back After This was a perfect escape from the winter doldrums. From the opening paragraphs of this tale set in the of the moment world of podcasting, I found this story engaging and often laugh out loud amusing. Like the best of contemporary romances, the characters were relatable, the banter was sharp and the happily ever after sparked joy.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for a complimentary ARC. Opinions are my own.

The thought of dating 20 different people for 20 blind dates to just "find" the right person seems like a living hell for an introvert. Cecily jumped right in even though she had found someone. She wanted it all to be a successful podcast, she wanted to make her dreams come true and she was willing to do anything to make that happen. Bring in a dog and a man who volunteers to run after him and you have a rom com that will have you routing for things to work out. Do they? I guess you'll have to read it yourself to find out. I have loved all of Linda Holmes's books and this one is no exception. Thank you to Net Galley for the ARC. I am so grateful that I got to read this before its release.

Well, I officially have rated all 3 books by Linda Holmes a 5/5. I wrote in my review for Flying Solo that I wasn’t sure if an author could be considered an auto-buy author for a person after only 2 books, but clearly she is and now I can say it even more confidently after 3 books.

I felt like her first two books leaned more towards women’s fiction - the main character goes through a lot of self reflection & growth with a romance on the side. While the same could be said about Back After This, the romance felt more prominent to me. I say that in a great way, I loved the romance in this book. There was just so much chemistry. While I loved Cecily on her own, I loved it even more when she was with him.

There were a couple things I didn’t necessarily love - phone numbers were exchanged but very few texts and I would have loved to see more communication there. There were also a couple time jumps that made me a bit curious about what could have been happening at those times. But tbh that is probably just me being greedy for more simply because of how much I loved this.

I’ve seen the author mention on Instagram that she will be narrating the audiobook herself, and I’m so intrigued by that. I love rereading books via audio, and I will definitely be picking that up. I highly recommend this, just like her previous books.

Thank you to the publisher & NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an advanced copy of this book! I voluntarily read this book, and all thoughts and opinions are my own.

A comfy and charming romance set in the fascinating world of podcasting but which has that frequent bane of the genre - a passive woman who just can’t say what she wants.

Cecily Foster is the backbone of Palmetto Productions. She is their best producer and knows more about how things work than anybody. But because she is scared of asserting herself and getting her worth, she agrees to host a podcast she doesn’t want to do: one in which she, as a single woman in her 30s will be coached by a self-anointed dating guru, Eliza, and will go on 20 dates with the aim of finding love. But before she even starts on her romance journey she meets cute with Will, who then keeps popping up in her life.

The novel threw me for a bit of a swerve: I was assuming a big chunk of it would be focused on the 20 dates, but those are dispensed with in chapter 12. Instead, there is the developing romance with Will, which Eliza dismisses and forbids, and Cecily’s gradual evolution from manipulated pushover to a woman who takes control of her life (finally!)

There is the usual cast of romcom support: a supportive and witty best friend, a loving sister with perfect husband, a beastly ex (who doesn’t get quite the comeuppance we were looking for), and an ineffectual and self-centered boss. Eliza the influencer has a bit more substance than these, and the author shows all the hard work that goes into her picture perfect life.

The backdrop of the podcasting world is fascinating and clearly one the author is very familiar with. The balance between the technicalities of how that works and Cecily’s proverbial journey is nicely balanced. Dare I say I was a bit more interested in her professional journey than her romantic one with nice but actually quite boring Will? Personally, I'm with Eliza and I don’t think their relationship is going to last.

Thanks to Ballantine and Netgalley for the digital review copy.

Thank you NetGalley and Ballantine Books for providing the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

This book was a solid romcom that wasnt even that romance focused. I loved it. As a certified podcast enjoyer, I immediately knew I had to read this book. Truly a witty, insightful, romantic and wacky book that makes you really think about what you want in your life as well as just how grueling audio editing can be. Cecily was such a great FMC and Will was adorable. Very easy to read and relax to, much like winding down with an episode of your favorite podcast.

Another standout novel by Linda Holmes. If you are a fan of her prior novels, then you should enjoy this one as well.

Cecily Foster is a podcast producer who enjoys the behind the scenes work. She likes to fix the audio but dreams of one day having her own show. The industry is experiencing challenging times and her employer wants to try something new. They reached out to an influencer, Eliza Cassidy, and have secured advertisers, and have asked Cecily to participate in an experiment - 20 blind dates that Eliza will set up and in turn will be made into a show. Cecily agrees to the experiment and asks for the opportunity to create her own pilot show in return.

At the same time, Cecily randomly runs into Will out chasing a dog, and then continues to run into him all over town. They form a friendship, but could it be something more? She's tied to the blind date show, and Eliza encourages her to see the experiment through. There's something in making the experiment work for Eliza too, and Will isn't part of that plan.

I enjoyed the chemistry between Cecily and Will and how he was always there at just the right time. Their relationship was the best part of the story, including their interactions with their siblings. I almost wish there was even more about their relationship included in the story, and more about the different blind dates, instead of some of the background characters and info about podcasting.

Thank you to Ballantine Books for the opportunity to read and review.

I sort of enjoyed reading this, but it was a slow one for me! I thought that Cecily was a difficult character to relate to. She seemed to be very negative / cynical, and I didn’t really like how she wouldn’t stand up for herself.

I thought Eliza was annoying! She said she cared about Cecily but when it came down to her wanting to be with Will, Eliza just shot down the possibility, and Cecily let her! Eliza could have easily adjusted the podcast to fit him into the storyline. She just came off as an annoying influencer, and the fact that she was working with Cecily’s boss behind her back proved me right.

Will was a good guy! Probably my favorite character in the book. I wish we got to hear things from his point of view. I appreciated how he didn’t know exactly what he was doing with his life, it’s something we all struggle with sometimes.

Overall, I am sad to say that I wasn’t a huge fan of this book. The characters were more frustrating than enjoyable.

2.5⭐️ Rounded up!

I received an ARC from Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Evvie Drake Starts Over by Linda Holmes was one of the very first contemporary romance novels that I read, a few years ago. I was immediately shocked- THIS? This is what romance is now? And then, I was hooked. So Holmes and Evvie Drake have a very special place in my heart, as it brought me here to romance and to Bookstagram.
Enter her new novel, Back After This, which is every bit as charming as her previous books and will have readers turning the pages as fast as they can to find out when Will and Cecily will bump into each other next.
Cecily is extremely relatable, ready to not be alone anymore but also not quite ready to believe that she deserves someone- not believing she’s pretty enough or interesting enough, or worthy of changing any of her beliefs in this regard.
So her participation in a podcast where she is not only going on 20 dates with men chosen for her, but she’s also guided by an influencer turned life/dating coach who is determined to find Cecily her most appropriate match.
Will seems to pop up everywhere, and they soon build a connection a whole lot stronger than anything she’s finding on the podcast dates, but her dating coach wants nothing to do with Will- he’s not good enough for Cecily, and besides, if she finds someone on her own, it won’t prove that her dating packages actually work. So Cecily and Will try (and fail) to stay away from each other, although it seems the universe has other plans.
I enjoyed being on Cecily’s journey with her towards happiness, and following Will as he tries to figure out his purpose in life as well. His huge dog, which initially brings them together, is a very minor character that doesn’t take up too much page-time, which, as someone very apathetic to dogs in general, I was grateful for.
I wish we had gotten a little more time with Cecily and Will together, and maybe a little less on podcasting logistics in general, as I found myself just wanting MORE of Cecily and Will and their incredible chemistry and great conversation. Another scene or two of their relationship as it developed would have pushed this into a 5 star read for me.

Thank you to Ballantine Books for the advanced copy of this novel. Back After This will hit store shelves on February 25th.


Linda Holmes is back with her third cozy romance novel, which will undoubtedly satisfy her fanbase. Julia Whelan has narrated the author's previous novels, but the coveted audiobook narrator did not have enough room in her schedule to narrate this year's selection. Linda disclosed that Julia encouraged the NPR Pop Culture Happy Hour host that she had the chops to narrate her own book, so this will be the author's first selection narrated in her voice- what a treat!


Cecily had a massive podcast hit on her hands when she partnered with her boyfriend on a project, although she was barely thanked in that show's credits. When the show became a runaway success, she was left in the dust and struggled to find her footing after losing him and the assignment. With the studio now in financial peril, they need a podcast sensation to save everyone's jobs. What could be more exciting than a dating show to help Cecily find love that could also net them a profit? As the studio books show sponsorships that focus on drinking alone, dining alone, dying alone, and cat toys, Cecily begrudgingly takes on the show's challenge for her to engage in 20 blind dates and coaching from an influencer life coach who can help her find the love of her life.


The thing is, Cecily met an amazing man right before this show, and thanks to his odd jobs, he keeps showing up, from being her headshot photographer to her waiter on her awkward dates. As the chemistry blossoms, Cecily has to decide how to follow her heart in love, keep the studio happy, and stay true to herself.


Much like Whelan's Thank You For Listening, which gave us insider tips on the audiobook narration world, this novel offers a bit of inside baseball in podcast development. These details hindered the plot for some readers, but I found it fascinating to hear what noises Cecily couldn't stand, her sensitivity to white noise, and even the sometimes controversial clipping of breath in shows. Holmes offers a behind-the-scenes pass to show production, and I loved every second of it.

The life coach certainly builds in some cringe-worthy moments for the reader, but as we understand her journey more, we realize that building a fanbase is hard stuff, especially with the ever-changing platforms and algorithms. I do not doubt that this character would be devastated by the TikTok outage we experienced.

The banter in this novel is top-notch, the snappy humor made me laugh out loud several times throughout this story, and the podcast scripts were a joy to page through in this mixed-media experience. I wish the novel had dove more into Cecily's twenty dates, but Holmes skips this to propel the reader to its happily ever after. Overall, this is my favorite book by the author yet.

Back After This was a very fun read. I’ve been a fan of each of Linda Holmes’ books and this one was no different.

It tells of the story of a podcast producer who ends up hosting her first show, a reluctant self-help/dating show, which is put in flux when a meet-cute continues popping up in her life in the most meet-cute ways possible.

It was funny and thoughtful and just an all around good read. It comes out in February and should be added to your TBR list for sure!

Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Fun and light workplace romance that takes readers behind the scenes of the podcasting world. Cecily is stuck in a rut - both in her personal and professional life. She gets talked into hosting a podcast with herself as the guinea pig to follow the advice of a dating/lifestyle influencer as the audience follows along. But when she meets someone on her own, will it mess up the storyline? She tries to juggle both until it all gets to be too much. All of the characters show growth throughout the novel and the ending was very satisfying. Author Linda Holmes draws on what she knows for this story - professional podcasting, Washington, DC, dogs - and it shows throughout the novel.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher Random House/Ballantine for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

4 🌟

This book contains everything I didn't know I wanted to know about podcasting.

Okay, this romcom was cute. I thought the main characters were fun and while them running into each other constantly felt a bit far fetched, their banter was perfect. There was a lot about podcasting and what it takes to produce a podcast, which was interesting (and a lot). I was surprised by the influencer character. Normally these characters are a bit 😒 (which, there was some of that). But I found myself liking her... kinda?! And appreciating her hustle.

Thanks, Netgalley for the ARC of this book!

Thanks to Ballantine Books for the ARC of this book! I have never read anything by LInda Holmes before, but I really enjoyed this one. Cecily is a podcast producer who is fabulous as her job, but works for a podcast network that is struggling to make it. When offered the opportunity to work on a show to help the network, she agrees even though it involves her basically creating a show out of her own dating life She agrees to go on 20 dates that have been set up by a popular influencer who is trying to expand her scope. While she is working on the show, she meets Will by happenstance, and he keeps showing up in random places. Her connection to him is undeniable but she resists it because he isn't what she thinks she wants for her life. As Cecily discovers who she is and what she really wants, love blossoms and it ,is so sweet! This one was 5 stars for sure!
It had some similar notes to Thank You for Listening by Julia Whelan because of the audio aspect which is another book I loved. Definitely pick this one up when it comes out on February 25, 2025!

Back After This is a lighthearted romance that takes place in the podcast universe. Cecily is a podcast producer, and she really hasn't found that much success in her professional or love life. Her last serious boyfriend, Justin, stole their joint podcast four years ago, and she's never found solid footing since. Fearing for her and her good friend's job, she agrees to host and be a part of a podcast that will aim to find her the perfect man. All she has to do is follow an up-and-coming influencer, Eliza's, advice and then go on 20 first dates in just a handful of weeks! The problem...Cecily may have accidentally met someone that Eliza didn't pick out for her, which could wreck Eliza's credibility as a matchmaker/influencer/life coach, but it may also bring down Cecily's precarious employer who's bottom line rests on the success of this podcast.

I thought the reader was going to get a story about the podcast filled with humor as Cecily sets out to date 20 men quickly, but instead the 20 dates were just a few pages, and there wasn't much humor. I also didn't find the relationship between Will and Cecily believable, although I did like how Cecily and Will met. Overall, the story moved slow, and then it went too fast for this reader.

Thanks to Netgalley and Ballantine books for this ARC.

3.5 stars rounded up

Thank you to #NetGalley and Ballantine books for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This book publishes 2/25

What to expect in this book:

-Singular POV
-DC Setting
-Audio/podcasting industry
-Dating set ups
-Low stakes romance
-Clean romance

Thoughts

I have read and loved everything by Linda Holmes and this is the first book of hers that I have read the physical one of, rather than opting for the audio. Recovering from surgery, this was a great book to read because it was not high stakes and I could enjoy reading it at whatever pace I felt like and I loved the pacing of this. Cecily works in the audio industry producing podcasts in Washington D.C. For years she has been behind the scenes, when her boss presents her with the opportunity to team up with influencer, Eliza Cassidy, Cecily will finally get the chance to host her own show, but it will be about her dating life, oh and Eliza must decide who Cecily will date. To protect her friend's job, Cecily agrees to go on twenty different dates with men that Eliza chooses, but she finds that she cannot stop thinking about a man that she met by happenstance. As she struggles to understand if she can make sense of this dating life that is being laid out for her, Cecily must decide if she is truly finding a love that can last in this fabricated world or if she can find it on her own.

This story really delved into the world of podcasting and audio engineering, which is interesting to me! I love when books combine more themes into a story than just romance. So much so that I did not feel that the romance was the main plot. With some self-discovery and identity formation thrown in, we have a main character exploring parts of herself, which also includes her love life. I love how Holmes' stories combine these elements so well. This was an easy read for me and I can say that I thoroughly enjoyed it. While there are some parts of it that felt forgettable and the pacing of the first half felt slow, I ended up ending this and think it ranks as my second favorite behind Evie Drake!

Be on the lookout for this one in February!

A very cute rom-com with 2 characters that are extremely likeable. Cecily works for a podcast company doing behind the scenes production but always wanting to be the host of her own podcast. In order for the company to survive and not have lay-offs, she is presented with an opportunity for her own show where she is coached by a relationship expert and has to go on 20 dates, setup by the expert. At the same time, she keeps running into Will, a man she instant chemistry with, but can't date.

I found this such a fun book to read. I liked Cecily and the behind the scenes view of working on a podcast. Will and his dog made the best, you can't help but root for Cecily and Will to get together.

I really liked Evvie Drake Starts Over, and LOVED Flying Solo, so I was super excited to hear that Linda Holmes was writing another book and to get an ARC on top of that. Back After This was a slow start for me, in a couple of bits even getting a little more technical on podcasts than we needed (which makes sense considering Holmes’ day job lol), but it definitely picked up. The last quarter had me staying up until the wee hours to finish. Holmes is great at banter, and while it probably was the correct choice to have single POV, I would have loved to get in Will’s head to both flesh him out a bit more but also to give more emotional context. Overall I enjoyed this a lot, and will definitely keep Linda Holmes on my auto-buy list.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ability to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This is the second book I've read by Linda Holmes. I really enjoyed “Evie Drake Starts Over” so I was so excited when I got the opportunity to read “Back After This”. This story is about Cecily Foster, a podcast producer who for years has been working her butt off to advance in her career. She is finally given an opportunity that may help her get to where she has been striving to be. Unfortunately, for her it’s to participate in a dating podcast where she must work with Eliza Cassidy an Influencer who dabs in a little bit of everything (in this case as a dating coach). She has no interest in doing this podcast but feels it will give her leverage to make her own future podcast pilot and lead to bigger and better work. Along the way, she meets Will who is charming, adventurous photographer and the type of guy Cecily could fall for, The only problem is that she met Will outside of the dating podcast and Eliza is dead set on Cecily ending up with one of the twenty guys Eliza has hand picked for the show.

I felt like the book started off a little slow. It made sense because it had to set up the story and explain a little bit about Cecily’s work and previous dating life. However, it took a while to get into. Once we met Will and Eliza (separately) things started to move along at a decent pace. Overall, I liked it but I didn’t love it. I enjoyed the banter between Will and Cecily. It was a cute and light romance and I look forward to reading more books by Linda Holmes.

I really enjoyed this story, it is such a fun and heartfelt read. It follows Cecily, a podcast producer who’s spent way too long putting herself last. To save her struggling company, she agrees to star in a dating podcast where she’ll go on twenty first dates with advice from an over-the-top influencer, Eliza. Cecily’s dreading it, but then she has a meet-cute with Will, a sweet guy with a dog named Buddy—and suddenly things get complicated.

This isn’t just a rom-com; it’s about Cecily figuring out who she is and what she wants. The banter between her and Will is so good, and I ended up loving Eliza way more than I expected. It starts a little slow, but once it gets going, I couldn’t put it down. If you’re into clever, character-driven romances with heart, this one’s worth picking up!

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine