Score: 3.5/5 Bookmarks

Steam Rating: 🍆🍆/5

In Evie Drake Starts Over, by Linda Holmes, our leading lady Evvie is a widow who is dealing with a lot of guilt and a sense of duty that is holding her back from starting her life over. Until she meets a washed-up professional baseballer who is also trying to work out what his life looks like after such drastic changes. Their connection and support helps them both make the baby steps that are required to work out what they really want and start to move in that direction.

It is a solid book, and would have made it to a four out of five rating had I not just read a few exceptional books right before this one. It’s a moving and relatable story, although I didn’t feel like the characters had quite as much depth as I would have liked.

If you enjoy contemporary romance that isn’t too steamy then I would definitely give this one a shot. The audiobook is also well narrated, and you can grab that here, or get the physical book by clicking the button below.

Synopsis:

In a small town in Maine, recently widowed Eveleth "Evvie" Drake rarely leaves her house. Everyone in town, including her best friend, Andy, thinks grief keeps her locked inside, and she doesn't correct them. 

In New York, Dean Tenney, former major-league pitcher and Andy's childhood friend, is struggling with a case of the "yips": he can't throw straight anymore, and he can't figure out why. An invitation from Andy to stay in Maine for a few months seems like the perfect chance to hit the reset button. 

When Dean moves into an apartment at the back of Evvie's house, the two make a deal: Dean won't ask about Evvie's late husband, and Evvie won't ask about Dean's baseball career. Rules, though, have a funny way of being broken—and what starts as an unexpected friendship soon turns into something more. 

But before they can find out what might lie ahead, they'll have to wrestle a few demons: the bonds they've broken, the plans they've changed, and the secrets they've kept. They'll need a lot of help, but in life, as in baseball, there's always a chance—right up until the last out.