I always love Kate Clayborn's books, but this one took me some time to get into. Once I was more invested in the characters, I loved how the author used alternating narratives to give readers insight into the thought processes of the hero and heroine. I didn't think Georgie was that much of a mess, but maybe that says more about me as a reader than about her as a character. I love how even the peripheral characters in Clayborn's books have fully developed backstories--it makes for a richer reading experience.

This was a surprisingly tender and wonderful book about a woman who is trying to write her next chapter.

Georgie is back in her small home town in Virginia after being a successful PA in LA for several years. When her actress boss decides to retire, she realizes she has spent so many years taking care of other people's needs that she doesn't know what's next for her. What she does know is that her reputation for being flighty and messy is not the way she wants to be perceived any longer.

While back in town, she finds a fifteen year old journal from high school, filled with dreams and to-dos that never got accomplished when she was a teen. She decides to use this as a way to re-center herself and a game plan for her immediate future.

Enter Levi Fitzgerald, a quiet man with an adorable dog who is trying to restore his image in town after rebellious teenage years that have left him estranged from his family. He shocks both himself and Georgie by agreeing to help her with the items in the journal. As the two get closer, they both realize they need to address the past before they can find a new way forward, together.

I just loved both of these characters so much, and was so glad it was told through both of their perspectives. While the to-dos in the journal didn't feature as prominently as I thought, it was a great book beginning to end.

I absolutely adored this fun new romance from Kate Clayborn. This is a story about your past and regrets and what ypu would do differently if you had the chance to do it all over again. It's a story about overcoming a bad reputation and letting go of the opinions of others who can't see the real, true you. It's about love, familial, romantic, and between best friends. And it's about figuring out, thru trial and error, your place in this world. Loved every page!

Fun characters, good chemistry, nice setting. I found the "fic" as a plot device to be a bit of a reach--it enabled the action and connection, but it was a bit too silly for me to get on board with. But the dog was sweet, and the character evolution and relationships were a good time.

Georgie and Levi share a problem: that of reinvention and getting unstuck. Both are struggling to rediscover who they are and what they want and are going about it in completely different ways: Georgie through her "expansiveness," and Levi by making himself smaller. Classic sunshine/grumpy pairing, with a whole lot of sweet.

Georgie, All Along is a beautiful story of acceptance/self-love and romance.

I declare this is Ms. Clayborn's best work yet and I've read almost all of her books except for Book 3 of Chance of a Lifetime (currently reading). It has all the Kate classics - small town setting, intense chemistry between the two lead characters, beautiful friendship, and family storylines. What make this her best work yet is that Georgie, the main character is messy, relatable, and has the best character growth.

I wrote a full review on my blog and as mentioned - Run and add Georgie, All Along to your reading list, maybe this month, and the rest of her fantastic books. This maybe cheesy, but this book deserves to be read and loved the way Levi loves Georgie – expansive and infinite.

https://bookishabby.wordpress.com/2023/02/16/book-review-georgie-all-along-by-kate-clayborn/

Thank you to Jane Nutter of Kensington Books for approving my request.

All the😍😍😍 for these characters and this story!

Georgie returns to her hometown after she loses her job in LA. She plans to help her best friend get ready for her baby to arrive and just take some time to figure out what happens next for her. While helping her best friend, Bel, clean out a junk room, she discovers a notebook that they two of them kept in middle/high school with all their wishes for their high school years, most of which they never did. In an attempt to figure out her life, Georgie decides to do all the things that are in the notebook. Along the way, she meets Levi, the older brother of her high school crush and he becomes a big part of her journey. Levi has things to work out as well with his estranged family and a tough past he still needs to make peace with.

What worked for me -
- I loved these characters so much! Georgie has this big, open personality and I loved her! I loved Levi as well. He is so raw and sensitive and tough. He has worked hard to move on from his troubled past and build his quiet life. I love how he owns his bad decisions and how he is so honest with himself and with Georgie when they have a fight. Both of them are fantastic characters. I loved Georgie's parents with their hippy, live and let live, philosophy. I loved Georgie's friendship with Bel also.
- Hank the dog! His relationship with Levi is precious!
- This plot as Georgie tries to follow through with her high school wishes and how she comes to terms with the fact that what she has always thought of as her own messiness really turns out to be her strength instead. The plot made perfect sense to me and it moved along at a perfect pace.
- This love story is so much more! These people have to face real self doubt and come to terms with who they are and why that's okay. This is the best romance I have read in a long time!

What didn't work for me -
-NOTHING!

I absolutely loved the way that Levi and Georgie’s relationship was portrayed and how it progressed during the book! The way that disagreements and tension was resolved between them and how they both worked to figure themselves out in order to be good for the other person was really well done. I would have wanted more time spent on the conversation between Levi and Georgie about his past, but the friendship between Bel and Georgie and the characters of Georgie’s parents really made the plot come together. I will definitely be rereading it!

Kate Clayborn almost always manages to make me cry. In Georgie, All Along, my annotations are out of control because the way Kate Claybron wrote about Georgie being a mess and having this blankness inside of her that she didn’t know how to fill or what to fill it with? Yeah, I get that. Sometimes you take stock of your life and you’re just like, “Um, what exactly do I want?” because you’ve been just living your life one step at a time without taking the time to really figure out who you are and what you want.
Clayborn is always great at characterization, but I really feel like she went off on a limb with Georgie and her messiness. I’m so grateful. And Levi and his family stuff was so interesting. I really loved that this was a homecoming novel because it was so fascinating to see how these characters returning to where they grew up really threw a lot of this into focus.

Also, once again, the friendship in this book was absolutely everything. I love the way Clayborn does friendship. And the bit at the end?? Yeah, I love Bel. She’s great. I would like a marriage in trouble book about her and her husband even though I think their marriage is actually solid. I would just like to read more about her. But also, I would be really happy to read about Levi’s siblings finding their own love too.

The one thing I didn’t absolutely adore was the third act conflict. It felt… Well, I just didn’t quite feel like it fit, though I understood it at the same time. I did like how it was resolved though. And the epilogue was great! So, all in all, highly recommend! And I’m super proud of myself for reading a PRINT book! Look at me go!

Kate Clayborn has written another great book! Georgie, All Along is about Georgie Mulcahey, a girl who had big dreams but finds herself back home in the town she grew up in , with her tail between her legs and now idea what to do about her future. She is seen by the town as a flake and desperately wants to change that. Enter Levi, a guy she vaguely knew growing up who has rented her parents home at the same time she needs a place to stay and what follows is a sweet, sassy and emotional story of growing up and finding oneself as well as love.

Georgie, All Along was so lovely! Kate Clayborn’s writing style is so engaging; she really brought Georgie and Levi to life. I adored these characters! And sweet Hank the dog? Ugh, I love him! Georgie and Levi both had some amazing character growth throughout that was lovely to see. I highly recommend this one for all the romance fans out there!
I received an advanced-reading copy, receipt of which did not impact my review.

This book is my favorite work by Kate Clayborn! The genuine and vulnerable nature of the characters, as well as their poignancy, are reflected beautifully in the pages.

Both Georgie and Levi are special and extremely likable characters who seem lost and exhausted, unsure of how to move forward with their lives. Their paths cross at their lowest points. It was a grumpy guy meeting happy girl. Hometown story, dual POV, and super romantic!

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC!

I was not familiar with Kate before this before. But now I will be going through her backlist of titles. Georgie is such a good book. It is relatable and the descriptions are the best. I loved the character of Georgie, I kept thinking back to when I did those things or how I felt. Really enjoyed this one.

The beginning of this was so slow for me that I struggled to stay focused enough to get through it. I picked this up and restarted it five times before finally finishing it just so it wasn’t on my TBR anymore. Ultimately, I wanted to love this but couldn’t.

Kate Clayborn writes broody heroes so well. I adored this small town romance of hers and I can't wait for more.

I can only echo the other great reviews about this book. The writing is fabulous, the characters will make you want to hug them and the story is just perfect.

Georgie is a girl who lives in the moment, but definitely needs to come to terms with this because she thinks she needs a Life Plan. She's come home to Small Town USA after being fired from her LA job, only to run into Levi. He's her high school crush's brother and happens to be staying in her parents' house while they're away. A reformed bad boy, he's estranged from his family and doesn't do much except work and look after his rescue dog Hank.

Somehow, these two crazy kids just work. Their growing feelings for each other drive the plot along and I loved the dual POV. The whole story just felt very organic, and reading it was not only pure enjoyment but completely effortless. There's plenty of steamy scenes and enough angst, yearning and FEELINGS to warm even the coldest heart.

If you like Emily Henry, you'll love this one.

I loved Georgie and Levi’s story, and with Bel, Evan, Olivia, Georgie’s parents and Hank the dog thrown in, this was a sweet, funny, moving story to remind you that you don't have to believe everything you think.

I've had this book on my TBR since CLo shouted it out months ago, and I don't know why I put off reading it because it was SO GOOD. I can't express how long it's been since I've swooned as hard over a book boyfriend as I did over Levi Fanning. Was it predictable? Maybe a little. Do I care? Not a single bit.

Georgie Mulcahy has spent most of her adult life catering to others; working as a personal assistant until her longtime famous boss decided she was done with LA and left Georgie without a job <i>or</i> a home in California. What else is there for her to do but return home to grieve and regroup? To figure out what’s next for her, spend some time with her family, and be there for the birth of her best friend’s first baby.

Levi Fanning lived up to his troublemaker name for years before getting straight. Now he likes to keep to himself. He runs a successful business in town, but he’s still the black sheep of the very prominent Fanning family.

And Georgie has no idea when she gets into town and comes face to face with a grumpy stranger while trying to get milkshakes that she and Levi will soon embark on a journey of discovery together to find their purpose in life without the influence of others thoughts, feelings, or actions. And it is <i>glorious</i>. The slow burn. The subtle growing of their relationship. HANK. Just…I loved ALL of it.

The only reason it didn’t get 5 stars from me this time was because it had a bit of a slow start and took me a second to get into, but once I did, I had no regrets.

Kate Clayborn does it again. This book is a great finding your true self trope. It's a fun and delightful romance. I loved the characters. Kate Clayborn has a wonderful talent for horrible first impression meet cutes. I loved this book.

I adore this book. All the relationships in this book were absolutely wonderful. The hero and heroine were amazing but I also enjoyed the depiction of the relationship between the heroine and her best friend and her parents as well. Even the hero and his dog were adorable. This book is a mood lifter and I was sad when it had to end.