Evvie Drake Starts Over by Linda Holmes

“Your head is the house you live in, so you have to do the maintenance.”

I enjoy thrifting like many other millennials nowadays. I haven’t been near as much since this whole pandemic and I sorely miss it. But one thing that surprised me while thrifting was I always seemed to find books in GREAT condition. And I don’t mean old books that came out in 2000, no I mean I would find recently released hardback books! To a woman who loves book, this was a true score! So one day while thrift shopping, I found Evvie Drake Starts Over. I liked the cover and I had heard pretty good things about the book. So I thought why not for $3.99? If I don’t like it, I’ll just donate it again. I ended up reading this book over a couple of my lunch breaks at work and I had a few thoughts about it!

Recently widowed, Evvie Drake no longer leaves her house in a small Maine town. Most people, including her best friend Andy, think grief is what keeps her locked away. Evvie is content letting them think that way. In New York City , Dean Tenney, former Major League Baseball pitcher is struggling with with what sports fans call the “yips”. He can’t throw anymore and he can’t even figure out why. As the media becomes more unbearable, an invite from Andy leads Dean to move into the back apartment of Evvie’s house. Over time the two make a arrangement, Evvie won’t ask about Dean’s baseball career and Dean won’t ask Evvie about her late husband. But as friendship turns to more, they both have to come to grips with their past. And ask the questions they’ve both been avoiding.

So when I bought this book, I thought I was buying a nice slow burn romance book. But once I started reading, I realized that wasn’t at all what I was reading. This book has romance but that doesn’t play the main role in the book. The romance is more in the backseat, while Evvie and her journey is in the front seat. I think the book’s description doesn’t do the book justice or give a true picture to the novel. I realized this a slow moving portrait of grief and how our past haunt us. It’s not near as dark as it may sound but I definitely wouldn’t categorize this book as a light read. Which I actually ended up liking.

It took time for me to warm up to the main character Evvie. I didn’t relate to her or even truly enjoy her narration at first. But over time, I realized she had been through something that had made her doubt herself. She doubted her worth and even what trauma had occured in her life. I loved her appointments with her therapist and how she opened up slowly to what occured in her past. The chapters with her therapy appointments in them rang very true to me. A lot of people struggle to open up in therapy in the beginning. It can take time to be honest with someone and trust them with your innermost personal thoughts/feelings. Especially someone with trauma in their past. So I thought those parts were actually very well done. I actually loved Dean! I thought he was a thoughtful, kind, and empathic narrator. I knew a little about the yips and how cruel the sports media can be. His friendship with Evvie was heartwarming and how they opened up to each other over time was great to read.

I would round this book from a 3.5 star read to a 4 star read. I wouldn’t say it’s the best book I’ve ever read but I did enjoy it. It’s a slow moving book and the romance isn’t at the forefront of the book. But if you want a book to curl up with and have a heartwarming ending...this is your book!