Scan barcode
birdbrainer's review
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse
cker82's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Grief, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, and Death
theabee's review
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse and Gaslighting
Moderate: Grief, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Death, and Mental illness
Minor: Car accident
annorabrady's review
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This story had so many layers that were expertly handled. And I greatly appreciate that the story didn't take the "love fixes your brokenness" stance. Love held a lot of the relationships together but each character had to address theie challenges no matter how many people loved them. It's very refreshing.
I also appreciate that the story takes place over the course of years rather than days or weeks. So the relationships had time to grow and react appropriately.
I also appreciate that the story takes place over the course of years rather than days or weeks. So the relationships had time to grow and react appropriately.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Gaslighting, Grief, and Toxic relationship
danielleafsordeh's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I really enjoyed the characterization of Evvie, her life, her husband’s death, and her complicated grief. This was a really sweet book and the story will stick with me.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse
Minor: Abandonment
kelly_e's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Title: Evvie Drake Starts Over
Author: Linda Holmes
Genre: Romance
Rating: 3.0
Pub Date: June 25, 2019
T H R E E • W O R D S
Basic • Warm • Feel-good
📖 S Y N O P S I S
Evvie's bags are packed, and she's finally made the decision to leave her emotionally abusive husband. When Evvie gets a phone call, her plans will be completely derailed when she learns her husband is dead. Fast-forward a year, Evvie rarely leaves her house. She finds herself unable to grieve, and in some ways still feels stuck.
Meanwhile, in New York City, former MLB pitcher, Dean Tenney has seemingly lost his ability to pitch for no apparent reason. As pressure from the media mounts, Dean finds himself desperately in need of a change of scenery. When an offer to spend some time in Maine from his childhood best friend, Andy, comes trough, it's an opportunity he cannot pass up.
When Andy moves into Evvie's rental apartment, they strike up a deal that he won't ask about her late husband, and she won't ask him about baseball. As the two come to rely on one another, an unexpected friendship begins to form, and they will each have to face the past in order to move forward.
💭 T H O U G H T S
Historically, I haven't had great success with Read With Jenna selections, I was drawn to the premise of this second-chance romance. And while it's definitely not terrible Evvie Drake Starts Over wasn't a hit either.
What I like:
• older main characters. It's no surprise here as older characters are a favourite of mine (#grumplit anyone?). I always enjoy the perspective and wisdom these books tend to have.
• take on complicated grief. I appreciated the exploration of complicated grief, something rarely done. And it also showcases how grief manifests in different timeframes and forms.
• baseball aspect. As a sports fan, I'm always here for the inclusion of baseball/hockey in the books I read.
• platonic friendship. Andy was honestly my favourite character. I thought he was wonderful and supportive, and their relationship felt real.
• small town vibes. The welcoming, quaint seaside town setting in Maine just felt so homey.
What I didn't like:
• the romance. Close proximity is maybe just not for me. It isn't the romance I wanted and would have preferred Evvie and Drake kept on the friendship root. It all just felt too predictable.
• the lack of emotional depth. Due to the serious nature of some of the content, I'd have expected a little more emotional depth. It ended up being pretty surface level.
• how contrived it all felt. For me there were just holes in the plot line I couldn't get past. At times the narrative was flat and way too predictable.
Overall, Evvie Drake Starts Over had the bones of being a real winner, ticking many of my boxes, yet it ended up being very forgettable. I'm glad I picked it up, and will likely try Flying Solo at some point.
📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• fans of Abbi Waxman
• readers looking for a quick read
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"Your head is the house you live in, so you have to do the maintenance."
"When she started to cry, the upside was as it always was; the shower cry takes the logistics out of it. Crying has to be dealt with - it makes a mess, it swells up your face, it creates a little pile of tissues that are a tell. But the shower cry is the superspy's cry, Evvie had always thought. It was between you and the tile walls, and everything that hurt turned into water, and the water went away."
Author: Linda Holmes
Genre: Romance
Rating: 3.0
Pub Date: June 25, 2019
T H R E E • W O R D S
Basic • Warm • Feel-good
📖 S Y N O P S I S
Evvie's bags are packed, and she's finally made the decision to leave her emotionally abusive husband. When Evvie gets a phone call, her plans will be completely derailed when she learns her husband is dead. Fast-forward a year, Evvie rarely leaves her house. She finds herself unable to grieve, and in some ways still feels stuck.
Meanwhile, in New York City, former MLB pitcher, Dean Tenney has seemingly lost his ability to pitch for no apparent reason. As pressure from the media mounts, Dean finds himself desperately in need of a change of scenery. When an offer to spend some time in Maine from his childhood best friend, Andy, comes trough, it's an opportunity he cannot pass up.
When Andy moves into Evvie's rental apartment, they strike up a deal that he won't ask about her late husband, and she won't ask him about baseball. As the two come to rely on one another, an unexpected friendship begins to form, and they will each have to face the past in order to move forward.
💭 T H O U G H T S
Historically, I haven't had great success with Read With Jenna selections, I was drawn to the premise of this second-chance romance. And while it's definitely not terrible Evvie Drake Starts Over wasn't a hit either.
What I like:
• older main characters. It's no surprise here as older characters are a favourite of mine (#grumplit anyone?). I always enjoy the perspective and wisdom these books tend to have.
• take on complicated grief. I appreciated the exploration of complicated grief, something rarely done. And it also showcases how grief manifests in different timeframes and forms.
• baseball aspect. As a sports fan, I'm always here for the inclusion of baseball/hockey in the books I read.
• platonic friendship. Andy was honestly my favourite character. I thought he was wonderful and supportive, and their relationship felt real.
• small town vibes. The welcoming, quaint seaside town setting in Maine just felt so homey.
What I didn't like:
• the romance. Close proximity is maybe just not for me. It isn't the romance I wanted and would have preferred Evvie and Drake kept on the friendship root. It all just felt too predictable.
• the lack of emotional depth. Due to the serious nature of some of the content, I'd have expected a little more emotional depth. It ended up being pretty surface level.
• how contrived it all felt. For me there were just holes in the plot line I couldn't get past. At times the narrative was flat and way too predictable.
Overall, Evvie Drake Starts Over had the bones of being a real winner, ticking many of my boxes, yet it ended up being very forgettable. I'm glad I picked it up, and will likely try Flying Solo at some point.
📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• fans of Abbi Waxman
• readers looking for a quick read
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"Your head is the house you live in, so you have to do the maintenance."
"When she started to cry, the upside was as it always was; the shower cry takes the logistics out of it. Crying has to be dealt with - it makes a mess, it swells up your face, it creates a little pile of tissues that are a tell. But the shower cry is the superspy's cry, Evvie had always thought. It was between you and the tile walls, and everything that hurt turned into water, and the water went away."
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Grief, Cursing, and Gaslighting
Minor: Car accident, Death, and Sexual content
death of partner, complicated grief, verbal abusetrishavt's review
dark
sad
fast-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.0
The characters felt flat and one dimensional, and so did the romance. Maybe because the characters didn't seem to have personalities, the romance felt as appealing and exciting as soda that has been left open overnight.
Any time I was able to get invested in the romance, the author would bring it back down with a mention of the dead husband's abuse of Evvie.
This was not the light-hearted rom-com style read I was expecting. Mostly it was bummer.
This was not the light-hearted rom-com style read I was expecting. Mostly it was bummer.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Domestic abuse
jenn_reads's review against another edition
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book was so, so good. From the general premise, the characters, the hilarious retelling of the minor league cereal box drama. The end felt a little strange, the glimpses of a moment here and there during months/seasons to show the passing of time felt a little rushed? But all in all I loved it.
Jula Whelan was also a great narrator and I'd definitely listen to a book she read again.
I selected "It's Complicated" on the diverse characters question because the two main characters are not described in detail. Evvie is described as a woman with curly brown hair with brown eyes who looks like anyone's sister, and until the new girlfriend comes along she's relied on to braid her best friend's daughters' hair for important events. Dean is described as having green eyes, curly dark hair, and you can tell when he's been sunburned. He has a white mom and remarks that Maine is very, very white. Nowhere does it explicitly say they are both exclusively white, and a movie cast could easily be open to interpretation while remaining 100% true to the book descriptions.
Jula Whelan was also a great narrator and I'd definitely listen to a book she read again.
I selected "It's Complicated" on the diverse characters question because the two main characters are not described in detail. Evvie is described as a woman with curly brown hair with brown eyes who looks like anyone's sister, and until the new girlfriend comes along she's relied on to braid her best friend's daughters' hair for important events. Dean is described as having green eyes, curly dark hair, and you can tell when he's been sunburned. He has a white mom and remarks that Maine is very, very white. Nowhere does it explicitly say they are both exclusively white, and a movie cast could easily be open to interpretation while remaining 100% true to the book descriptions.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse and Death
Moderate: Gaslighting, Domestic abuse, Abandonment, and Grief
Minor: Car accident
inkdrinkers's review
emotional
funny
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Evvie Drake had her bag packed, her car keys in hand, and was finally ready to leave her husband, when she got the call he was in the hospital. He was dead before she even made it to the parking lot.
Honestly, I finished this book and had to put my phone down and cry a little bit. Evvie Drake Starts Over might be one of my favorite books I've ever read. It might have just soared past books that I swore couldn't be overtaken this year. It might just be at the top of my favorites.
I went into this book totally blind and I think that was the best case scenario. I was expecting something entirely different from the plot and an entirely different type of story. Instead, what I got was a story grounded in the confusion of adulthood, the palpable pain of grief and the guilt that comes with it, and an ending that was so satisfying that I'm not sure a better one could have been written. I laughed out loud multiple times, either because scenes were genuinely funny or moments caught me off guard, but I also had to pause and take a deep breath more than once because I could feel the pinprick of tears in the back of my eyes.
Let's talk about our main characters for a second, because I loved Evvie (like Chevy) so much. Her entire character is so wonderful and flawed, but has an earnest quality that makes her feel human. She doesn't make the best choices, but it's not in a frustrating way, it's a human way - and it makes you realize, if you were in the exact position, you might do the same. Don't even get me started on Dean - I was head over heels the moment he appeared on the page and his entire arc floored me. He's such a wonderfully multifaceted character and obscenely romantic. (TWO ROOMS??? PHYSICAL TOUCH AS A LOVE LANGUAGE!!!) There were so many nuanced and wonderful moments about masculinity, grief for when things don't work out, and finally acceptance that life moves on, whether you want it to or not.
The setting of Maine was absolutely perfect, too. I felt the warmth of the small town, the coziness of the familiar - but also the cloying quality of everyone knowing everyone and the way small towns make ghosts out of everyone, living or otherwise. I won't even lie, I almost bought a copy after I finished the first chapter because there was a little twinge in my heart that told me this was a book for me, in this moment. And I was right. My hardback copy is on it's way to me as I type this.
Five immaculate stars to this book. I'd recommend it to anyone and everyone, but specifically for the people pleasers, the fixers, the "I'm sorry" before you process if you even need to apologize-rs, and the people who need to be reminded it's never, ever too late to start over.
Honestly, I finished this book and had to put my phone down and cry a little bit. Evvie Drake Starts Over might be one of my favorite books I've ever read. It might have just soared past books that I swore couldn't be overtaken this year. It might just be at the top of my favorites.
I went into this book totally blind and I think that was the best case scenario. I was expecting something entirely different from the plot and an entirely different type of story. Instead, what I got was a story grounded in the confusion of adulthood, the palpable pain of grief and the guilt that comes with it, and an ending that was so satisfying that I'm not sure a better one could have been written. I laughed out loud multiple times, either because scenes were genuinely funny or moments caught me off guard, but I also had to pause and take a deep breath more than once because I could feel the pinprick of tears in the back of my eyes.
Let's talk about our main characters for a second, because I loved Evvie (like Chevy) so much. Her entire character is so wonderful and flawed, but has an earnest quality that makes her feel human. She doesn't make the best choices, but it's not in a frustrating way, it's a human way - and it makes you realize, if you were in the exact position, you might do the same. Don't even get me started on Dean - I was head over heels the moment he appeared on the page and his entire arc floored me. He's such a wonderfully multifaceted character and obscenely romantic. (TWO ROOMS??? PHYSICAL TOUCH AS A LOVE LANGUAGE!!!) There were so many nuanced and wonderful moments about masculinity, grief for when things don't work out, and finally acceptance that life moves on, whether you want it to or not.
The setting of Maine was absolutely perfect, too. I felt the warmth of the small town, the coziness of the familiar - but also the cloying quality of everyone knowing everyone and the way small towns make ghosts out of everyone, living or otherwise. I won't even lie, I almost bought a copy after I finished the first chapter because there was a little twinge in my heart that told me this was a book for me, in this moment. And I was right. My hardback copy is on it's way to me as I type this.
Five immaculate stars to this book. I'd recommend it to anyone and everyone, but specifically for the people pleasers, the fixers, the "I'm sorry" before you process if you even need to apologize-rs, and the people who need to be reminded it's never, ever too late to start over.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse and Grief
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Death, and Gaslighting
Minor: Car accident
stacy837's review
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Grief
Moderate: Gaslighting and Death
Minor: Car accident and Cursing