The heart of this story centers around reinvention. How do we know who we really are? When we’ve found “the one”? When we’ve “made it”? Cecily and Will are a perfectly imperfect match who literally collide their way into being. You will be equally charmed by their missteps and successes, as they bump their way to a well fought, but easy kind of love. I loved the “inside baseball” aspect of getting to know the world of podcasting, and it made for some very fun and equally despicable characters. Thank you to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for my gifted ARC.

Back After This is a smart, fun, and sweet rom-com of a book. Cecily, usually on the tech side of podcasts, finds herself the reluctant star of a podcast dating show. Meanwhile, she keeps running into a cute guy - and his dog - who is decidedly not on the list of guys she’s supposed to be interested in. Navigating what her hearts wants in love and in work, Cecily has to finally be truly honest with herself without knowing where she’ll land.

As an avid NPR and podcast listener, and podcaster myself, this was especially fun because of the behind-the-scenes aspect of podcasting. But I think anyone who enjoys a fun and light romance with relatable characters will enjoy this book, plus get a peek at what happens behind your favorite podcasts.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for providing an ARC of this book for review!

Loved this book! Linda Holmes creates characters you care about, who seem so real, and she gives them sharp, witty dialogue that never seems contrived or artificial. I will read anything she writes!

An interesting peek into the world of podcasts- creating, editing, finding advertisers, vying for air time. As the author points out in a forward- yes all this time and effort goes into creating the podcasts you listen to! I have to admit to not being someone who listens to podcasts, but I found all the descriptions of the processes really interesting! Then the main story about Cecily, the tireless and often underappreciated backbone of Palmetto podcasts. In an attempt to both further her career and protect her job and others, she reluctantly agrees to be part of a podcast dating experiment- 20 First Dates while being "coached" by an internet influencer. It's a fun look into the craziness of the influencer lifestyle, a reflection of reality versus image and having a planned path to happiness versus a more natural progression to one. A fun and interesting book with lots of Washington, DC references! I love this author and look forward to her next book!
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for the free ARC e-book for me to read and review.

I didn’t enjoy it as much as her first novel, but it is still well worth reading. Good character developments and an engaging plot will keep you interested until the last word.

Many thanks to Netgalley and publishers for providing my review copy.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t get into the influencer/podcast trope at all and while I liked Will’s character and his relationship with Cecily, I disliked mostly everything about the other side of Cecily’s life. I’m just a grandma and I barely want cell phones in my romance let alone influencers and fake dating shows. Not a bad read at all, just not my preference compared to Holmes’ other great books!

This book was a sweet and heart warming book. The main characters were likable and had me rooting for them from the beginning. I loved how witty the writing was, and several bits had me chuckling or asking my husband "Hey, can I read you this bit?", which is a high bar for me! A very fun read overall. Many thanks to NetGalley for supplying me with an advanced readers copy!

Cecily is a podcast manager patiently waiting for her own show, when an offer comes in to participate in a dating show with an influencer. Not exactly the show Cecily was looking for. Along comes Will, being drug along by a huge dog! Kismet continues crossing their paths.

As with Linda Holmes other books, this was a cute story with just enough heart and a teensy dash of spice (🌶️). I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys Sarah Adams books. Relatable MMC and FMC. Humor.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

This was a cute, fun book that has the classic Linda Holmes banter. I really appreciated how normal the characters were in the sense that they were just figuring life out and in a sort of in-between stage in life - I found it super refreshing and thought it made the romance a lot more realistic, especially with how “happy for now” the ending was.

I was a huge fan of Holmes’ from Evvie Drake Starts Over, and was so excited to receive an ARC! This story follows Cecily as she makes a podcast show (a dream! Saving her coworkers careers) with a lifestyle influencer— the podcast is about her love life. However, she meets a man, Will, right when the show begins.
What I love about Holmes’ is she builds the characters authentically and slowly, especially between the love interests. I thought there was a lot of podcast info (which I enjoyed!) but thought some of that could have focused more developing the relationship/characters. I will recommend this book on its debut!

This look into the world of pod casting and the dating industry were spot on - and the romance arc was fun. I really enjoyed this one and will recommend.

Linda Holmes does a great job of combining the elements of a workplace story, with great details about the podcasting world, and a rom com. The snappy banter makes me feel like I'm in the middle of a classic movie, and the humor in this story is five stars!

A wonderful story of romance, character growth, and podcasts. I enjoyed the blend of learning a bit about behind the scenes of podcasts, without it being too technical. The chemistry and banter between Cecily and Will was enjoyable and not eye-roll material. The ending with including the final podcast transcript really hit this one out of the park. My first by Linda Holmes, but definitely not my last!

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Ballantine Books for a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

A cute story with good banter and characters who actually had chemistry and an interesting background.

This was a fun read. I love all the inner thoughts that made me chuckle and say “same”. Thank you for the ARC as I’ve been a fan of Linda Holmes but hadn’t read one of her books yet. Now I have added more to my TBR list as the writing was perfect and I loved the storytelling.

I really am a fan of Linda Holmes and have enjoyed all of her books. If you've liked her other books, you will definitely enjoy this one. It took me a bit longer to get into than her others, but overall I love the complexity in her characters, the dialogue that doesn't feel forced or cheesy, and how she tells stories!

Thank you to Netgalley & the publisher for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book--I've read a couple novels where radio or podcasting is involved, but this is the one I've been waiting for. The characters were warm and funny and I loved the backdrop of caring about what you're working on.

I received Back After This by Linda Holmes in exchange for my honest review from Ballantine Books and NetGalley.

Cecily Foster is a podcaster looking for a big hit when her boss suggests a show on her dating life. She is to be romantically coached by influencer, Eliza Cassidy, through 20 blind dates to find her perfect match. Unfortunately, she has put her love life on hold and the only man she can’t stop thinking of is on Eliza’s off limits list.

A cozy rom com that hits the right notes. I would have preferred less technical descriptions on audio, but overall a fun read.

The main character in this book was so funny and likable without being overly sweet or corny. The meet cute was, well, super cute. This was a really fun read.

Linda Holmes has another winner in Back After This. I enjoyed this funny romcom and would recommend it to readers who have enjoyed her previous books.