Back After This by Linda Holmes
Cecily Foster loves to make podcasts. She fiercely protects her colleagues, dearly adores her friends, and never misses dinner with her sister. But after a disastrous relationship with a colleague who stole her heart and her ideas, she’s put romantic love on hold.
When the boss who’s disappointed her again and again finally offers her the chance to host her own show, she wants to be thrilled. But there’s a catch—actually, two catches. First, the show will be about Cecily’s dating life. And second, she has to follow the guidance of influencer and newly minted relationship coach Eliza Cassidy, whose relentlessly upbeat attitude seems ready-made for social media, not real life.
Cecily would rather do anything other than put her singledom on display (ugh) or take advice from the internet (UGH). But when her boss hints that doing the show is the only way to protect a friend’s job, she realizes she has no choice.
To make matters more complicated, once she’s committed to twenty blind dates of Eliza’s choosing, Cecily finds herself unable to stop thinking about Will, a photographer she helped to rescue a very big and very lovable lost dog. Even though there are sparks between the two, Will’s own path is uncertain, and Eliza’s skeptical comments about Cecily’s decision-making aren’t helping. On the one hand, Will seems great. But on the other hand . . . don’t they all?
As Cecily struggles to balance the life she truly desires and the one Eliza wants to create for her, she finds herself at a crossroads. Can Cecily sort through all the advice and find a way to do what she loves without losing herself in the process?
Review: Cecily Foster is a podcast producer who has been single since a bad breakup made her take a pause. She's thrilled when she's offered the chance to host her own podcast show, but less pleased when she finds out she will be the subject, and she's been tasked with working with an influencer who will set her up on blind dates in a matchmaking scheme. To complicate things more, once she's embarked on a series of twenty blind dates, she realizes she can't stop thinking about Will, a photographer with a very big and lovable dog.
This was a cute premise. I loved that she worked in podcasting (based on the author's real-life experiences!), loved the influencer turned matchmaker idea, loved that Cecily is torn between what everyone else wants for her/what she thinks she should want in a partner and what she actually wants.
But - this was very predictable. Which isn't always bad! But it was evident from early on how this would go. Also, I couldn't help thinking over and over the whole time that the plot was eerily similar to Is She Really Going Out with Him? by Sophie Cousens, except in that case it's a divorced mom who is writing about her dates for publication rather than a single woman talking about her dating experiences on a podcast (and I thought the Sophie Cousens one was funnier and published earlier).
My biggest complaint was the narration of the audiobook, which was read by the author herself. She has a pleasant voice, and I understand she is a podcaster so it makes sense that she would read her own book. But it was one of the worst books I have listened to on audio in months. It was read so flatly like someone would read a dry article and with little differentiation for different characters or dialogue. I think in today's world, audiobook fans have come to expect a certain level of performance and artistry when it comes to audio narration and this was NOT it. Absolutely sounded like a narrator for an NPR show. Absolutely did NOT sound like someone reading an emotional story about finding love. I was so disappointed by the narration style, and it absolutely affected by enjoyment of this story.
Stars: 3.5
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