Read for: Recently Added/ Audio Book
Synopsis: "In a small town in Maine, recently widowed Eveleth "Evvie" Drake rarely leaves her house. Everyone in town, including her best friend, Andy, thinks grief keeps her locked inside, and she doesn't correct them. In New York, Dean Tenney, former major-league pitcher and Andy's childhood friend, is struggling with a case of the "yips": he can't throw straight anymore, and he can't figure out why. An invitation from Andy to stay in Maine for a few months seems like the perfect chance to hit the reset button.
When Dean 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. But before they can find out what might lie ahead, they'll have to wrestle a few demons: the bonds they've broken, the plans they've changed, and the secrets they've kept. They'll need a lot of help, but in life, as in baseball, there's always a chance--right up until the last out."
My Review: I have had this on my TBR for quite a while and finally got around to picking it up. I listened to the audiobook but found that I wasn't really invested in the story or characters, so picked up the print book, sadly that didn't improve much. The characters and story are okay but a bit forgettable, I only read it a week ago and I am already forgetting quite a bit about it. I did enjoy that there was a good platonic friendship throughout the story and the way that can change with life developments and how it can so easily be damaged. I enjoyed Dean's character but I feel like we never really got to know him, there is so much more I wanted to know about him. The story obviously focuses more on Evvie and honestly she drives me up a wall, she is immature, she acts fake to the people who care about her, she is overly emotional, she is just not the type of character I enjoy reading about. Over all, this one just fell short for me.
My Rating: This was a bit of a let down for me. It did have some interesting bits about guilt and grief, as well as friendships, but it wasn't quite enough to hold my attention. Maybe if I had been in a different reading mood or had more time to really simmer in this story, I would have had a different reading experience with this one. I give it a rating of Two Paws.
