“The tag on her chamomile teabag said, There is no trouble that a good cup of tea can’t solve. It sounded like what a gentleman on Downton Abbey would say right before his wife got an impacted tooth and elegantly perished in bed.”
Evvie Drake has decided to leave her husband. Evvie waits until her husband leaves for work and begins packing the car and then her phone rings. Her husband was in a horrible accident and may not make it. Evvie is left with the complicated guilt and grief of leaving her husband while he was in a horrible wreck. In a small community she grew up in, it is difficult for her to work through these feelings in any kind of authentic way.
I think this wins for one of the best opening scenes of a book I have read in awhile. I immediately knew I would have to read the book all the way through after the first chapter. What a way to start off a book. It felt almost like a dark comedy in the beginning because of the way things unfolded. A lot of times with any book in the lighter "romance" genre the plot sucks me in but halfway through I am a little bored with the cliche characters and a very predictable plot line. This was not the case for Evvie Drake Starts Over. I was really invested in Evvie's journey from the beginning. The writing was elevated more than I would expect for something with a tantalizing plot.
Reading Evvie Drake Starts Over was a case of "Exactly the right book at the right time" I had just finished two heavier books that were both a little challenging to get through and I needed something where I could just coast and enjoy the ride. That is exactly what this read delivered for me. Usually a read like this would be a middle of the road 3 star read, but I bumped up the star rating for the unexpectedly good writing and the exploration of some familiar territory in an unexpected way. I was really happy with the way the author decided to end this novel as well. It felt respectful of Evvie's journey instead of being unnecessarily tidy for the sake of a classic "Happily Ever After."
🏅🏅🏅🏅 4/5stars
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