Review: ‘Evvie Drake Starts Over’ by Linda Holmes ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5

 

SYNOPSIS:

You don’t always get to start your life over.

Sometimes, life starts itself over for you. 

One morning, Eveleth ‘Evvie’ Drake got up, packed her suitcase, and got ready to leave her life – and her perfect husband – behind. But before she walked out of the door, she received a phone call asking her to come to the hospital. 

That day, Evvie’s new life as a widow began. 

Now wrestling with her guilt and grief, Evvie has found her independence, but not in the way she planned. Unable to leave the house she once dreamed of escaping, it’s clear to her best friend Andy that Evvie needs a change. And Andy might just have the answer. 

Dean Tenney was a big-shot baseball star, until a bad case of the ‘yips’ meant he couldn’t play anymore – or understand why. An invitation from his childhood friend Andy to stay in Maine for a few months seems like the perfect chance to hit the reset button. 

When Dean moves into the 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. But rules have a funny way of being broken sometimes, and as a friendship begins to evolve, Will Evvie and Dean be brave enough to let go of the past and start over again?

REVIEW:

When I started this book I felt like I needed something lighter and a bit different. I couldn’t have chosen more perfectly. Reminiscent of Eleanor Oliphant Is Just Fine, I fell in love with this quirky, warm, lighthearted and witty book and it’s delightful protagonist. This is one of those books you find yourself reading with a smile on your face.

Eveleth “Evvie” Drake had been with her husband Tim for exactly half of her life on the day he died. That day she was also leaving him. But nobody knows, not even her best friend Andy, so when she’s unable to leave her house months later, everyone assumes she’s heartbroken at the loss of her ‘perfect’ husband. You see, Evvie has never told anyone the truth about Tim – that he controlled everything, that she lived in fear of his outbursts, that he blamed her for every mistake, and undermined and demoralised her daily. She’s too ashamed to tell. Especially now he’s gone.

Evvie, oh wonderful Evvie. I love this character so much! She is sympathetic, relatable, timid, kind, quirky, amiable, lacks confidence and is stronger than she realises. Surviving and walking away from an abusive relationship takes strength, and though her husband died before she actually left, the fact she was in the midst of doing so shows tremendous bravery. She cares too much about what other people think and looks at everything she does from the viewpoint of a critical outsider. This obviously stems from her  husband conditioning her to think badly of herself and she doesn’t realise that others aren’t judging her as harshly as she thinks. Evvie always wants to do the right thing but like everyone she makes mistakes and can be unlikeable. These flaws added to the realism and I enjoyed seeing her learn and grow from them.

When former professional baseball player Dean Tenney moves into the apartment attached to her house, Evvie is instantly attracted to him but brushes it aside. Dean is also going through a big upheaval after suddenly losing his ability to pitch. He’s tried everything to find out what when wrong but is still clueless and lost without the one thing he’s known all his life. I liked the parallel of Dean’s baseball career with Evvie’s marriage and the way they went from strangers to not just friends, but the only friend that can really understand what they’re going through. Their slow transition to friendship was a joy to read and I was rooting for them from the start.

I hadn’t seen any reviews for this novel or read anything by the author before so I was unprepared for how much I’d love this enchanting story. Evvie Drake Starts Over is like a breath of fresh air on a warm day and is the perfect summer read.

Thank you to NetGalley, Hodder & Stoughton and Linda Holmes for the chance to read this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Publication Date: June 27th