Fiction Review and Author Interview: Evvie Drake Starts Over

% of readers think this story is Fact. Add your two cents.

As I have mentioned here before, I am a big fan of the Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast, and I listen to it (and look forward to it) every week. So, when I saw that the host of PCHH, Linda Holmes, had written her debut novel, Evvie Drake Starts Over, I pitched an author interview to my editor at Shelf Awareness. I was absolutely thrilled when she said yes, and last month, I had the chance to chat with Linda on the phone about her new novel, which I thoroughly enjoyed. My review of the book is below, and you can read my interview with Linda here.

Evvie Drake is packing her car to leave her husband when she gets a phone call that he’s been in a serious car accident. Before she can get to the hospital, he dies…and no one – not even her best friend, Andy – knows that she was about to leave him. This leads to a rather awkward and extra-difficult time for Evvie, as everyone sees her as the inconsolable, grieving young widow, when in fact, her emotions are also mixed up with guilt and the pressure of keeping her secret. One year later, she still feels stuck in a kind of limbo when Andy asks her if his friend, Dean, might rent the apartment connected to her house. Dean is a professional baseball player, a star pitcher with a bad case of the “yips.” As Andy explains to Evvie, “Well, he was a very good pitcher, and then all of a sudden, he was a very bad pitcher.” Dean is looking to escape the nonstop media attention, and this small town in Maine seems like a good place to lay low and figure out what’s next in his life. So, Dean moves into the apartment, and he and Evvie become friends. They both vow not to mention the others’ problem (i.e. dead husband and baseball), but as they grow to care about each other, they each want to help the other.

On the PCHH podcast, Linda Holmes often talks about her love of romcoms, so it’s no surprise that she chose to write one as her first novel. What is a bit of a surprise is just how good it is. She nails the witty banter and will-they-won’t-they of all romcoms, but, as she explains in her interview with me, she gives the story a much-needed twist. Neither Evvie nor Dean actually fix each other; both of them need to fix themselves before they can even consider a future together, and that’s a nice, realistic change from the typical girl-meets-boy-and-he-fixes-her romcom trope. I was hooked on this story and its likeable characters right from the first chapter. Holmes is very talented with the witty banter, and I was often laughing out loud while reading, but it is also a very warm, tender story with plenty of emotional depth, delving into grief, friendship, love, and moving forward. She’s working on a second novel now, and I can’t wait to read it!

289 pages, Ballantine Books

Listen to  sample of the audiobook, narrated beautifully by Julia Whelan (who also narrated best-sellers The Great Alone and Educated).