5 BIG, BOLD, BEAUTIFUL THUMBS UP!!! I'm calling it now: "Georgie, All Along" by Kate Clayborn WILL be on my best-of list at the end of the year!

I absolutely loved this book. On the surface, it has a simple premise: a small-town woman (Georgie) returns to said small town after XYZ falls through (in this case, her high-profile west coast job). She starts rummaging through her things and gets many glimpses into the past (a friend-fic diary), only to find out what she wanted then (in this case, Evan, her super popular childhood crush) and what she wants now (in this case, her childhood crush's older, grumpier, more badass brother with a "shady" past, Levi) are two completely opposing things. Under the surface, however, there's a lot more going on than meets the eye. The love story between Georgie and Levi is one for the ages. I simply adored their chemistry. Their first meeting? AHHHH, so good. The subsequent interactions! AHHH! ONE BED! OH NO! THEM MAYBE GETTING TOGETHER?! AHHHHHHH!!! The tension??! AHHHHHHHHHH! THE SPICE?!?!?!?! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! They are both such well-written characters, each with their own quirks and trials and tribulations and suffering and happiness. Clayborn balances their relationship so well. They laugh together, they cry together, they learn about one another, they grow together, they change together, and they love together, which means I laughed, I cried, I learned about myself, I grew, I changed, and I loved! THEY ARE PERFECT. I swoon. I die. PERFECT.

In fact, every relationship in this book is perfect. I also adored the relationship between Georgie and her best friend Bel, who has been her bestie since they were little and is now about to give birth to her first child. I don't think I've seen such a brilliant display of female friendships on the page before. My god, Georgie and Bel and their shared history and present interactions and potential future made me weep! Then, there's Georgie and her relationships with her parents. OMG. I LOVED her parents so much. There's also Levi's nonexistent) relationships with his brother and sister, his fraught relationship with his father, and his relationship with their hometown, which hasn't always treated him with kindness or fairness.

Kate Clayborn is a freaking ROCKSTAR for the way she expertly handles all of these facets and rolls them into one cohesive, incredible book. There are some miscommunications, but where other authors may have dropped the ball and failed to make them matter, Clayborn shows that these miscommunications matter in helping her characters form better bonds with one another. She has written one of my favorite books in "Georgie, All Along." PLEASE give this book a chance!!

Thank you to NetGalley, Kate Clayborn, and Kensington Books for providing me with an ARC copy of this book! All opinions are my own, and I was not compensated for my review.

Engrossing. Heartwarming. Whimsical. Entertaining. Kate Clayborn writes the most lovable and engaging characters and Georgie, All Along was an absolute delight!

Georgie is an L.A.-based personal assistant who suddenly finds herself unemployed. Feeling at loose ends, she returns to her Virginia hometown to figure out what's next. Due to some miscommunication with her hippie-ish parents, Georgie unexpectedly finds herself sharing a home with Levi Fanning--troubled town hermit. While Georgie and Levi may seem like opposites, they discover that perhaps they're not be so different after all.

Kate Clayborn continues to be a favorite author for me. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC

Thank you Kensington Books and NetGalley for the ARC of Georgie, All Along by Kate Clayborn. After reading Kate Clayborn's Love Lettering a few years ago, I knew I wanted to read more of her books. Georgie came along and made me love Clayborn's books even more. The characters are so lovable and I love the alternating chapters alternating between Levi and Georgie's point of view. This book has humor, lovable and relatable characters, and just an overall feel good vibe. It hooked me from the start and kept me interested. Highly recommend!

Georgie is a bit lost in life and comes home to regroup, help her best friend prepare for her baby, and housesit her parents’ place while they’re gone. Levi had a hard life and has built a structured life to keep control. When they can’t seem to escape each other, Georgie and Levi’s opposite personalities start to challenge each other and help them grow and accept who they each are.
I loved this book! I’ve read 2 other Kate Clayborn books and they were fun but fairly forgettable romances to me. This was so different! Most of this book is about Georgie and Levi working through their very real issues and self-doubt both individually and together. Both of their struggles felt real and nuanced and were dealt with in a very loving way. I loved seeing them help each other out while their feelings grew. Plus, I always love a grumpy-sunshine romance!
I’m just so impressed and can’t wait to see what Kate writes next.

I’ve been a fan of Kate Clayborn’s writing since I read her Luck of the Draw series, and she continues to be consistent in her ability to craft interesting, endearing characters and engaging plots.

Georgie, All Along is a wonderful story about Georgie, who returns to her hometown to help her best friend prepare for the arrival of her first baby and figure out what her next step is after her job as a personal assistant to a successful Hollywood director has ended. She’s never had much ambition but the discovery of an old notebook filled with teenage dreams inspires her to make some of those dreams come true.

Our hero is Levi, the black sheep of a prominent local family, who is a loner with the sweetest dog, Hank. Hank was definitely one of my favorite parts of this book and I joked with friends that I wanted the romance between Levi and Hank to be the main storyline, and the Georgie and Levi love story to be secondary.

The drama, the communication, the self-searching and willingness to evolve, the joy that Hank brings to the page, the richness that the secondary characters add are all elements that reinforce that Clayborn is one of the most talented and reliable writers of contemporary romance that we have today. Georgie, All Along is a delight from start to finish.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Gosh. Georgie, All Along has amaaaazing reviews––it was recently featured in the NYT?!––but it just didn’t work for me. I struggled in particular with Clayborne’s prose. Though each chapter begins with a compelling sentence (the book’s delightful first line: “Well, well, well. If it isn't yet another reinvention”), the book feels largely overwritten, which made it difficult for me to get through.

It’s also quite soapy, and there’s something Wattpad-esque about the narrative. I spent ninth grade on that cursèd app reading a billion “bad boy” plots on my iPod Touch (gave me major brain worms, retweet if you relate), so I recognize that Levi––Georgie’s love interest––is your classic sullen, kinda tortured, former bad boy. If you enjoy that archetype, this one might be for you!

Clayborne struggles with pacing, too: the book’s premise is that Georgie decides to complete a bucket list to figure out what she ~really wants out of life~ after moving back home, but that plot moves very slowly, while the romance between Georgie and Levi moves far too quickly. (It’s Insta-Love-adjacent.) I was most drawn to the occasional references to Georgie’s old job as a high-profile Hollywood assistant––I was more invested in these glimpses into Georgie’s life *before* she moved (before the beginning of this story) than the actual plot. Basically, I am not this book’s ideal reader!

This was my first Kate Clayborne book. Reviews from multiple fans say that Georgie, All Along is different from the author’s usual style, and some even mention it’s their least favourite of her books. Should I give Clayborn another try? Which of her books should I check out next?

Thank you, as always, to Netgalley and Kensington for the digital ARC!

I could not get into this book. It was way too slow for my taste. I'm clearly an outlier and there are some great reviews for this book, so if you have read this author's previous books and enjoyed them, or in the mood for a cute, Hallmark-esque romance then maybe it will be for you. But, unfortunately, it was a miss for me.

Full disclosure: I was only able to make it 50% before I called it. I thought the book was lacking in plot and focused more on the two alternate POVs thoughts. I did not feel any connection to either of the main characters. I couldn't stay focused enough to push myself to the end and I don't see it turning around for me, so I'm DNF it, sadly.

**Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me an advanced copy of this book and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion. I am posting this review to my Goodreads account immediately and will post it to my Amazon & Instagram accounts upon publication.

3.5 stars but rounding down for NetGalley star purposes. I had heard really good things about this one but unfortunately it fell a little flat for me. Georgie, a flighty PA to a Hollywood director, who has recently been let go, returns home to her small hometown to help her best friend with the impending birth of her first child. At her friend's house going through a box of their childhood memories, they find the notebook that they wrote their "friend fic" in, containing all the grand plans they had for their teenage selves, including going to prom with golden boy Evan Fanning. Georgie decides that while she is home, she wants to complete these activities that they never got to in their teenage years. She then returns to her childhood home while her hippie parents are on a road trip, who have unbeknownst to her also offered their place to stay to Levi, black sheep and former teenage delinquent son of the Fanning family - Evan's brother. They decide it's easier to try to stay together rather than Levi find a hotel, and it's soon a case of opposites attract. The story switches from Georgie's and Levi's POV, but moves at a slow pace and it really doesn't feel like much happens. Once solidly together, Levi of course finds the notebook featuring his estranged brother's name all over it, and they have to decide whether or not to get past the past. It was well written and parts made me laugh, so bumping up a half star for that, but overall I had trouble staying engaged and connecting with the characters and their personalities.

Cute romance with lots of tropes. But, not a RomCom, really as it’s not really lighthearted and funny, but has a more serious edge.

4 1/2 stars

A classic storyline about finding yourself in the midst of life and all its natural chaos. Yet it was enriched by characters that are easy to embrace, a setting that felt picture perfect and a general feeling of anticipation about where the story would go.

Georgie is back in her hometown after a shift in her professional life has left her adrift and not sure where to go next. What is intended to be a temporary stay quickly takes on something more as she meets Levi and finds that the old saying "you can't judge a book by its cover" has never been so true.

Levi is the black sheep of his family and is determined to stay out of his family's way and keep himself out of trouble in their small town. He's worked hard to establish himself as a local businessman working on docks and dock repair. He's doing a good job of "flying under the radar" until one day when he sees a very disorganized and out of sorts Georgie at a local establishment. She's trying to find money to cover the two milkshakes she's just purchased but realized she doesn't have any money on her. He steps up to her rescue by paying for her. What he thought was a one time encounter was just the beginning as he sees her next at the place he's supposed to be house sitting for his friends. This discombobulated woman is no other than their daughter.

Georgie is trying to find her way in a town that makes her feel "less" while Levi is just trying to keep his bad image from the past from creeping up. They both have their own baggage and it definitely throws roadblocks into their burgeoning relationship along the way. I loved these two and their interactions. Neither of them was looking for the relationship that finds them so they are obviously not prepared for the emotions that follow.

I always enjoy Kate Clayborn's writing. It has a fresh yet classic feel to it and I always feel filled up and content when I finish her books.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. I voluntarily chose to read and review it and the opinions contained within are my own.

I was hooked on this book from the beginning - you can’t help but fall in love with Georgie and Levi. I loved their banter and the entire background to their story - from Levi’s past to Georgie & her notebook. Funny, a little spice, and so sweet!

This book is amazing!
I really love it 😍
Highly recommended
Thanks Netgalley and the publisher for the book

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.


This book is so lovely. It feels a bit strange to call a romance book lovely but it is. This is my first Clayborn book and I'm definitely picking up more of her books. My taste in romance runs more dramatic (One could even say chaotic and messy) but this book, y'all.

I'm about the same age as Georgie and Levi so Georgie's confusion and feelings landed a little too close to home. I was also someone who had no idea what I wanted to do or be when I got older. I've seen people my age (Or younger) get married, get divorced or have kids. Meanwhile, I'm just strolling through life, knowing what I didn't want but not knowing what I did want. Wondering if everyone has their lives together. It can be frustrating and lonely and Clayborn's writing really captures that feeling.

This isn't a big, flamboyant book about finding yourself but a soft, comforting, slow burn of finally sitting with your thoughts and feelings. Those moments aren't flashy but god, they feel so triumphant.

Clayborn's writing style is so natural and easy, it's stunning. The slow reveal of Levi's past worked so well because it almost feels like you already knew it. The scenes with the natural and familiar back and front between Bel and Georgie or the settled quirkiness of Georgie's parents were just so good. I have read so many other books trying to do the same thing and it can feel flat or sitcom-ish but this? Clayborn shines. (As a writer, I both want her to teach me her ways and cry about how I'm never going to be that good, lol)

Also, as a reader, one of my pet peeves is characters (Read: Writers) using outdated pop culture reference/slang. No matter how good the book is, it will always be jarring when a 25-year-old character makes a reference to something like Matlock. Thankfully, Clayborn knows her stuff and I was spared. Her references to Twilight and the Jonas brothers landed with the perfect level of nostalgia and embarrassment.

If I had to nitpick, I'd say this is a slow burn of a book. Not just with the romance (Although that too) but the pacing. It took me about to get really get into the groove and get attached to Georgie and Levi. I mostly stuck around for Hank the dog. I cannot stress enough how much I love Hank. He is the best boi, TEAM HANK 5EVER!!!


I give this 4.5 stars. Highly recommend it if you need a slower, gentler read that packs a big emotional punch.



Trigger warning: drug use, offscreen drug abuse, offscreen violence, parental abuse, offscreen death of parent

Read if you like:
❤️ Romances
❤️ Bad Boys
❤️ Finding your Path
❤️ Grumpy x Sunshine
❤️ Small Towns
❤️ Childhood Friends

I absolutely adored this book! Georgie was such a raw and real character and her story was so well done! She was always unapologetically herself and loved deeply all the people in her life.

When she comes back to her hometown to support her best friend in the midst of losing her job, she definitely needs to take the time to find what she wants her life to look like moving forward so when she finds a friend fic her and her best friend wrote, what better way to find your path than to have a redo of all the things she envisioned doing but never did.

But when forced proximity with the brother of her love interest of her fanfic comes into play, will his grumpy exterior and guarded ways help Georgie find her path?

This author truly knows how to write real and deep characters and ensures that all the side characters had purpose and added so beautifully to the story! I truly can’t wait to read more from this author!

Thank you to the publisher for my ARC in exchange for my honest review!

I love that this is, in many ways, a story of contrasts and opposites. Georgie escaped her small town, where everyone sees her as a flake and a quitter, trying to grow and find her way. She made a success of what her small-town culture saw as her failures: what they saw as flaky, she proved was actually flexibility. But she was never really intentional about figuring out what she wants from life, and now she's back to pause and reflect. She is scared, because even now, all these years later, she still doesn't feel like she fits in. Meanwhile, Levi also has a past he would rather forget. He's an outsider, clinging to the low-key, predictable, steady life to protect himself from hurt. Now he's thrown together with Georgie as accidental roommates for a little while. And more and more, what makes them different is drawing them together. But will their differences end up being too much, and will their past hurts get in the way of their future happiness?

I feel like I can relate to parts of each of both Georgie and Levi, and am guessing I'm not the only one! The writing is cozy and expansive at the same time. She captures the characters' thoughts perfectly, making them simultaneously relatable and also clever and funny. This books is light while considering deep themes: family trauma, reputation, and self discovery. I especially appreciated how the dual perspective let the reader consider interactions from two viewpoints that were often quite opposite. The book was uplifting, hopeful, and relatable. The feelings of being total mess, feeling anxious, and feeling lost are universal and therefore universally appealing. I felt that the book handled them in a safe way, as despite the characters' lack of direction or fitting in, I didn't feel like I absorbed their anxiety or was uncomfortable. It was sweet and real and exactly what I needed!

Trigger warning: family abuse

(Thank you, Partner @bibliolifestyle @kensingtonbooks for my advance e-copy)

4.5 stars

"We stand beside each other, quiet and excited, and then she grabs my hand in hers, swinging it back and forth. Once, then twice, and I get it; she's counting. On three, we jump."

my first book by kate clayborn and likely not my last - this book was just too cute!

georgie mulcahy finds herself back in her hometown after years of working as a personal assistant out in la. with plans to help out her pregnant best friend and try and figure out her next step in life, she stumbles upon an old high school diary, filled with memories and goals that she wanted to reach, a high school bucket list of sorts that she never completed. however, her plan to finally complete it doesn't go quite as planned until she meets the grouchy brother of her high school crush in an awkward run-in who offers to help her with her quest. as the two get closer, they must find ways to overcome their past while also figuring out their futures...

georgie was such a fun main character and I loved getting to see her personal growth as she works to figure out what next step she wants to take in life. her friendship with bel was also just so special and I loved the extra layer that their dynamic added to the story. and then levi, the former town troublemaker with a complicated family history - the epitome of grumpy yet with such a soft spot for georgie and his dog (lol). the way he talked about her... their relationship was just so adorable and the ending was just perfect. the revelations towards the end and the way they grew together (+ the fact that he did her whole "friendfic" diary with her) was simply wonderful!

this book was simply such a fun read with a great mix of romance combined with some deeper notes of family dynamics, self-discovery, and friendship - definitely recommend!

Georgie, All Along is an uplifting, empowering love story about a woman who returns to her hometown to find herself but ends up discovering more than she could ever have imagined.

When Georgie Mulcahy’s LA boss “retires” from her hectic life in the entertainment industry, Georgie, her personal assistant is at a loss. Not sure what her next adventure should be, or even what she is capable of achieving she goes back to her hometown to house sit for her parents and help her best friend and her husband who have also moved back to town as well to give birth and live the quiet life of a small community.

She also wants to try and stay out of trouble, hopefully not bump into anyone from her uncomfortable past, or the crush she had all throughout high school who never knew she existed. But, of course, within ten minutes of returning, she bumps into an old teacher who never really thought she would make anything of herself, and a handsome stranger who she has to take charity from because she forgot money to buy milkshakes. So much for getting off to a great start!

But while visiting her best friend and going through old boxes, they discover a diary they had kept starting in grade school of bucket list items Georgie had always wanted to do. Most of which she unfortunately never did. In that moment, she gets an idea. What if she tries to accomplish the list now and write about the adventures!

Then she goes to her parent’s house. But what she finds is not quite the quiet place she was expecting. There seems to be an unexpected roommate there. And of course, it just happens to be the cute stranger who bailed her out hours before and his dog. When he introduces himself, Levi Fanning, she realizes that he is the derelict brother of her major crush all those years ago. She thought he had been run out of town years ago never to return. Her parents you see had forgotten they had told Levi he could live there while his house was having work done. At first, she is hesitant to be in the same house as him but feels bad for his dog, so they agree to live uncomfortably together.

And with that arrangement they of course become more than casual. Georgie realizes you should not judge a book by its cover and finds Levi charming yet reserved. As they grow closer, Georgie tells him about her idea for her story. Levi decides to help her as he too missed out on many opportunities when he was young as he was pushed out of town by his father.

When Levi accidentally reads the diary everything changes. He can’t let go of his past. Georgie doesn’t want to let go of their future. Can these two lost souls who had lives filled with regrets and missed opportunities attempt to not only forgive themselves for their pasts but forgive each other and begin living in the present.

Georgie, All Along is a funny, warm, romance about past mistakes, surviving them and forgiving.

Thank you #NetGalley #KensingtonPress #KateClayborn #Georgie, AllAlong for the advanced copy.

You know that feeling of diving into a particularly soft and fluffy comforter in a cold day? When you kind of sink into it and feel surrounded by that lovely warmth? That’s what it feels like reading this book. Lemme splain.

Georgie comes back to her hometown to help her best friend Bel prepare for the upcoming birth of her baby. She’s at a crossroads, having been let go by her previous employer, on good terms, but with the instruction to find what makes her happy. And Georgie realized she’s not sure what that is. When she finds an old book of stories she’d written with Anel, she thinks she may have found a way to figure things out. Along the way, She meets Levi, the brother of her high school crush, who has his own things to figure out and yup, you guessed it, romance happens.

This is a slow build, introspective kind of read and I appreciated that it was character driven and done in dual POV of Levi and Georgie. This doesn’t have alot of stuff going on that’s not internal, and that may not be everyone’s cuppa, but once they met, it clicked for me. My main quibbles would be that the story was slower paced and the “dark” moment was a little too expected. It’s set in a small town, but supporting characters are almost all connected to Levi and Georgie, so it almost felt insular. There were no big surprises in reading this, but sometimes that’s just what you want. I did enjoy myself though and I’d be interested in seeing more from this group of characters.

**ARC provided via NetGalley in exchange for honest review**

Thank you to Kensington and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I LOVED this book. I love everything that Kate Clayborn writes and this knocked it out of the park. It was tender and heartwarming and relatable and so wonderful. My favorite thing about Kate is how she makes the side plots just as lovely and tender as the main romance -- the family dynamics, the best friend plot that didn't end in betrayal and was just full of love, the reconciliation of siblings. I think that those actually got me more than the main romance -- which I did love, by the way. I loved that Georgie is a mess but not in a tropey way and that Levi really did do bad stuff but he's made a new life for himself. I think this book is full of second chances and I loved them all.

5 stars.

This was a fun read. However, even though I enjoyed it and only finished it a couple of days ago, I have already forgotten most of what happens in it, so it isn't anything fantastic or life changing.