Review: Evvie Drake Starts Over

I've been wondering how on earth I would review Linda Holmes' Evvie Drake Starts Over since I read it (last July...) because I just loved it so much. It's one of those books that I just want to yell "READ THIS!" while shoving it into your hands. If that's all you need, perfect. Go forth and read. If you want to learn more about why I enjoyed this book so much? Read on - I just hope I make some sense.

Here's the 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.

One of the things I liked about this book was it had a really great and realistic baseball element to it. I don't know for sure if Holmes is a baseball fan but she really wrote like she is. She gets the underlying feeling of the game when you're a fan (and when you live with a pitcher...as I do...though my boyfriend is not MLB level). Baseball is more than "just" a game and seeing how much Dean was struggling was really heartbreaking.

I loved reading about Evvie and Dean. They were interesting characters who have had their lives turned upside down at a time when they should be feeling pretty settled. They learn, together, that keeping secrets can eat at you and sometimes they're not secrets that should be kept. They learn that sometimes you find someone who you immediately trust and feel good with and you should trust that feeling even though your past relationships are making you scared of such a connection. And they learn the family can look different for everyone and finding your own family can make all the difference.

Holmes is a great writer. She tells a dramatic story full of pain, grief, and anger. But there's also hope, love, and humour. It's smart. It's real. It's such a good read.

Sometimes it's really hard to write about a book I enjoyed so freaking much. Evvie Drake Starts Over is one of those books. I thoroughly enjoyed Linda Holmes' debut novel and I think it's one of those books that will really appeal to a lot of different readers so I highly recommend checking this one out.

*An ARC of this novel was provided by the publisher, Penguin Random House of Canada, in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*