Back After This by Linda Holmes
Publication date: February 25, 2025
Genres: Fiction, Chick Lit, Vacation Reading
Bookshop
In Back After This Cecily is a podcast producer at a small media company. When she learns the company is struggling and many on her team could be laid off she agrees to be the subject of a series about using a dating coach to find love. Not just any coach but an Instagram lifestyle influencer who potentially brings much needed advertising in the form of big sponsors. What is Cecily’s worst nightmare plays out as bubbly, light reading done in a way that feels very real.
Cecily has no interest in or time for dating. After a bad breakup four years ago, she’s happy being the den mother, the responsible party, to everyone around her. Warm, funny, and caring, managing and fixing people’s lives comes naturally to her even as she ignores her own. But now she’s confronted with Eliza, the endlessly upbeat, perfectly-put-together woman who’s supposed to help Cecily find herself so she can find the right man. Eliza, who is both everything and nothing like Cecily expected.
Author Linda Holmes sets the novel’s stage with all the right props: clueless boss, chance encounter with a stranger, fish-out-of-water scenario, but does so in a way that keeps the novel from feeling stale. Cecily is not hapless or helpless. She’s happy in her life and confident in herself, the type of woman you want as a friend. These updated tweaks and Holmes’ humor make Back After This the kind of reading that doesn’t tax your brain and provides a nice return.
I’m sorry, but how could I resist on April 15th?
I am an affiliate of Bookshop.org where your purchases support local bookstores. I will earn a commission (at no cost to you) if you click through and make a purchase.
*I received a free copy of this book from Atria in exchange for an honest review.*
I read this earlier this month and loved it! It was such a page turner for me. I loved Cecily! And I love your clever use of finance terms! 🙂
You’re too kind! I can’t help myself.
I loved Cecily and pretty much everything about this book!