Evvie Drake Starts Over
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What do you do when the book you love ends too quickly? It’s the predictable dilemma that accompanies every good book and the nemesis of every reader. I didn’t expect to love Evvie Drake Starts Over by Linda Holmes, it was a happy accident that left me wishing for clever dialogue and spunky characters.
Luckily, I work with a lovely bunch of voracious readers who are always quick to pass along a suggestion. So it happened, that I leapt from one title to the next with few expectations and happy surprises. But first, let’s back up and talk about Evvie (rhymes with Chevy).
Evvie Drake Starts Over is about a woman on the brink of leaving her husband when her plans are thwarted by his untimely demise. Grieving friends and family mourn the loss of her husband while Evvie, comically, struggles against guilt and relief. The book jacket hints at a predictable new love interest, but my favorite part of the book was her relationship with her best friend. There’s a clever banter and affection that reads true to life.
Finishing Evvie Drake Starts Over left me lonely for a book I couldn’t quite describe. I wanted to read about another character with gumption and a story with clever word play, maybe even a little romance (so long as it wasn’t saccharine sweet).
Deana suggested I try the Bromance Book Club and I leapt in with high hopes.
The Bromance Book Club by Lyssa Kay Adams is a book about the kind of love that comes after marriage and kids, but with enough fiction to keep everything light. I liked the book less for the relationship between husband and wife (or the unrealistic shower scene) and more for the bromance. I loved the colorful cast of men studying romance books to help their relationships. It’s almost impossible not to imagine the men in your life chatting up paperback love stories in locker rooms or man caves everywhere.
When the bromance ended, I stalked the new shelves for “what next” and landed on one of our past Introvert Book Club titles. I’ll save it for another day, but check out our library book clubs for your next title.