
Evvie Drake Starts Over
Linda Holmes
A secretive widow and a pitcher who lost his throw share a house — and a chance to start over.
Description
A heartfelt debut about the unlikely relationship between a young woman who’s lost her husband and a major league pitcher who’s lost his game.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.A joyful, hilarious, and hope-filled debut, Evvie Drake Starts Over will have you cheering for the two most unlikely comebacks of the year.
Books like this

Drive Me Wild
Melanie Harlow
A grumpy small-town mechanic takes in a stranded debutante — just for one night. Famous last words.
10 tropes in common

Safe Haven
Nicholas Sparks
A woman fleeing her dark past finds love with a gentle widower in a quiet coastal town — but danger followed her.
9 tropes in common

Second Chance at Creekside: A Grumpy, Doctor and a Teacher Clean Romance
Kit O'Neal
A freshly divorced teacher and a grieving widowed doctor find unexpected hope in a small town.
8 tropes in common

Roommate Arrangement
Saxon James
Newly divorced and broke, Payne moves in with the one man he shouldn't want — his little brother's best friend.
9 tropes in common

The Next Always (Inn BoonsBoro Trilogy, #1)
Nora Roberts
He's been waiting to kiss her since they were fifteen — now she's back in town and rebuilding her life.
8 tropes in common

Crazy for Loving You
Pippa Grant
A wild billionaire playgirl and a gruff retired Marine accidentally inherit a baby — and each other.
9 tropes in common

The Year We Fell Down (The Ivy Years, #1)
Sarina Bowen
Two injured hockey players, one accessible dorm hall, and a friendship that keeps falling deeper.
9 tropes in common

The Seven Year Slip
Ashley Poston
She falls for the stranger in her late aunt's apartment — but he's living seven years in her past.
7 tropes in common

Hat Tricked: a fake dating hockey romance novella
A.K. Isaacs
A hockey star with a bad rep and a widowed single mom fake-date their way into something real.
9 tropes in common

The Long Game
Elena Armas
A disgraced exec sent to coach kids in small-town NC clashes with the retired soccer star who wants her gone.
10 tropes in common

Berries and Greed
Lily Mayne
A lonely monster visits a cult looking for a roommate — and finds the one human who isn't impressed by him.
9 tropes in common

Virgin River (Virgin River, #1)
Robyn Carr
A widowed nurse answers a small-town ad and finds an abandoned baby — and an unexpected second chance at love.
7 tropes in common

Jewels of the Sun (Gallaghers of Ardmore, #1)
Nora Roberts
A lost American woman finds herself — and love — in a cozy Irish village steeped in folklore and magic.
11 tropes in common

Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor (Friday Harbor, #1)
Lisa Kleypas
A grieving uncle, a widowed toy shop owner, and a silent little girl find magic together one Christmas.
8 tropes in common

For the Long Run
Cheyenne Blue
An elite athlete forced to recover at the home of the charity runner who accidentally blew out her knee.
7 tropes in common

Let's Do This
Loren Leigh
Best friends, teammates, roommates — one unexpected delivery changes everything between a goalie and his gruff defensema
8 tropes in common

The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches
Sangu Mandanna
An isolated witch hired to teach three magical children discovers found family — and a prickly librarian who can't stop
10 tropes in common

Nora Goes Off Script
Annabel Monaghan
A burnt-out screenwriter lets Hollywood's hottest star crash in her home — and her heart — for seven days.
10 tropes in common

The Flatshare
Beth O'Leary
They share a flat, a bed, and sticky notes — but Tiffy and Leon have never once met.
8 tropes in common

Fangirl Down
Tessa Bailey
His only fan becomes his caddy — and the grumpy golfer discovers she's the real prize.
8 tropes in common