Flying Solo by Linda Holmes

I thought Evvie Drake Starts Over, Holmes's first novel, was pretty good. I liked that Holmes was writing about mature characters going through challenging circumstances and while I thought some of the characterizations weren't perfect, I was pretty excited when I saw that Flying Solo was being released and was one of the first few people to put in hold in our library system. Let's see what happened when I read this one, shall we?

Shortly after calling off her wedding, Laurie has returned to her hometown in Maine to clean out her great aunt Dot's house after Dot's death. Laurie comes from a big family with four brothers and Dot had always allowed Laurie to hang out at her house when Laurie's family was too loud and rambunctious for Laurie to handle. Laurie has created a lovely life for herself in Seattle, but as soon as she gets to Maine, she finds herself involved in the day-to-day lives of her best friend and her former boyfriend, and this fascinating puzzle about a duck decoy that she found buried under quilts and sheets in her aunt's linen trunk. 

Interesting characters: I have a similar complaint here that I did to Evvie Drake in that the male characters are just not well-developed. I like Laurie, I like Laurie's best friend, I like the eccentric dead aunt, and even the ex-boyfriend's grandmother is someone I want to be friends with.  But as for the romantic lead? He's like a cartoon version of a good guy and while I did like him, he wasn't interesting.  So, the female characters are wonderful, but I'm not sure that Holmes has a lot to say about men.

Believable conflict: Hm. I guess?  I mean, the thing is that while this is marketed as a romance novel, the romance is not the central plot. It's a definite subplot, but it's not the focus of the story. So while the main couple has a geographic conflict (he lives in Maine, she lives in Washington), this conflict doesn't seem insurmountable and it seems silly, to be honest.  

Emotional tension: It is so clear that the ex-boyfriend and Laurie have been holding a candle for each other for all these years. It is clear what's going to happen with them. If you like a bit more mystery or push and pull in your romance novel, this one might not be for you.

Happily ever after: This is where the book lost me. A long distance relationship is no one's idea of happily ever after. It's not even acceptable for a happily for now. I was distressed by the epilogue of this book. If it were marketed as women's fiction or contemporary fiction or something like that, it would be fine. But it's marketed as a romantic comedy and it just failed in the very basic criteria.  No relationship is going to survive going back and forth across the country every month. He's a librarian and is going to quickly run out of vacation time. Furthermore, staying with someone for a week at a time makes your relationship like a vacation, not real life. 

I like so much about this book. I thought the duck decoy subplot was funny, intense, and I felt really (oddly?) invested in the outcome. The dialogue was witty and clever. I like that Laurie is a mature, full-figured woman. I like the female relationships in the novel. I like that Laurie unapologetically doesn't want children and doesn't change her mind about it. But that ending was deeply, deeply upsetting.

4/5 stars
 

Line of note:

"...I woke up at two in the morning, day after day after day, and I'd lie there listening to this ticking clock he brought over that was like listening to the audible expiration of my youth." (page 100)

This really resonated with me on two fronts. One, the church bells in our neighborhood ring every fifteen minutes and they honestly really stress me out. Right now, none of the four clock faces is telling the correct time and the chimes are off.  I wish I could explain to you how often fifteen minutes a day is.  

I also really struggle with ticking clocks and watches. There's one in the room where I do yoga at the community center and when we're doing quiet meditation, all I can think of is how the seconds are ticking away and I'm closer to death than I have ever been before.  Dr. BB and I each have these silent, no ticking alarm clocks on our bedside tables and I wish this technology was used in every clock.  I am a "highly sensitive person" when it comes to sounds and so this quote really made me feel seen.