BACK AFTER THIS

A podcaster hosts a show about her own dating life—but falls for someone off-limits.

Cecily Foster cares deeply about her job at the podcast company Palmetto Media. She’s mostly behind-the-scenes there, using her perfectionist tendencies to make everyone else sound better—but what she really wants is her own show. When she gets the chance, though, it’s not exactly what she’s always dreamed of. Cecily has to go out with 20 men chosen for her by influencer/relationship coach Eliza Cassidy and document her experience as she (hopefully) finds love. Cecily long ago lost interest in dating when her fellow-podcaster boyfriend stole her idea for a show, and letting listeners in on her dating exploits seems humiliating. But Palmetto needs a hit and Cecily wants leverage, so she agrees on the condition that she gets to have her best friend, Julie, as producer. Cecily promises to give Eliza’s method the old college try, going out on dates with 20 different men with varying degrees of success. The one man Cecily is actually attracted to, though, is Will, a guy she meets when she helps him rescue a runaway Great Dane on the sidewalk. As a laid-back waiter and photographer, he certainly doesn’t fit in among the career-driven doctors and businessmen Eliza suggests. He keeps showing up in her life, though, being both charming and cute, and she finds herself wondering if she can trust her own instincts. Should she stick to Eliza’s plan, protecting her job in the process? Or should she do something far riskier and follow her heart? Holmes clearly knows a thing or two about the world of podcasting, as she’s one of the hosts of the popular NPR show Pop Culture Happy Hour, and she fills the book with details that give listeners a peek behind the curtain (for example, hosts should avoid drinking Mountain Dew because it “makes you sound like your mouth is sticking to itself”). Cecily is a winning character—her burgeoning relationship with Will manages to be both realistic and sexy, and her personal growth as she learns to value her own opinion is a joy to read. Holmes also showcases her fine ear for dialogue with crackling banter and plenty of snappy retorts.

An altogether charming and delightful romance full of laugh-out-loud lines.