Stephanie Sullivan: Review - Evvie Drake Starts Over

October 26, 2021

TITLE: Evvie Drake Starts Over

RATING: ★★★★

Summary (from Goodreads): In a sleepy seaside town in Maine, recently widowed Eveleth “Evvie” Drake rarely leaves her large, painfully empty house nearly a year after her husband’s death in a car crash. Everyone in town, even her best friend, Andy, thinks grief keeps her locked inside, and Evvie doesn’t correct them.

Meanwhile, in New York City, Dean Tenney, former Major League pitcher and Andy’s childhood best friend, is wrestling with what miserable athletes living out their worst nightmares call the “yips”: he can’t throw straight anymore, and, even worse, he can’t figure out why. As the media storm heats up, an invitation from Andy to stay in Maine seems like the perfect chance to hit the reset button on Dean’s future.

When he 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. To move forward, Evvie and Dean will have to reckon with their pasts—the friendships they’ve damaged, the secrets they’ve kept—but in life, as in baseball, there’s always a chance—up until the last out.

REVIEW: Such a cute story! After reading something as heavy as The Paper Palace, I really needed something funny, light, and heartwarming to lift my spirits, and this book was just what I needed. I caught myself laughing out loud many times while reading the witty banter between the characters, and I love the way Evvie evolved in this story. You couldn't help but root for her. I would happily recommend it to everyone.