Georgie, All Along was a super cute read. Romcom with depth. Georgie is on hiatus from her gig as a Hollywood personal assistant...back in her home town to help her best friend, Bel, prepare for her baby to be. While in town she spots who she believes to be her high school crush, Evan Fanning. Turns out it's actually Evan's older, and even more handsome, brother, Levi. & it turns out Levi happens to be housesitting for her parents while they are out of town...leaving he and Georgie staying under the same roof.
To complicate things even further, Georgie gets a job working at Levi's family business...the family he has been estranged from for 10+ years. These two have an instant connection but miscommunication & Levi's strained family relationships keep getting in the way. Can Georgie get Levi to let his guard down and can Levi get Georgie to consider extending her trip into something more permanent?
•Grump vs sunshine
•Small town romance
•Close proximity
•Love triangle (ish)
The cast of characters are super likable, the storyline kept my interest, and there is a dog. Hank! I enjoyed watching Georgie, who grew up in a stable loving home, help Levi heal. Although the family dynamics can be a tough subject this book managed to keep it light & hopeful. & with its quaint water setting it's the perfect book for a day at the beach. 4 stars.
Thank you to NetGalley & Kensington for an ARC.

I loved this book! May we all have Georgie's parents and a lifelong friend like she has. She is so darn charming and lovable and her lack of caring what other people think is seriously #lifegoals! Absolutely melted over the ending! Kate Clayborn is such a writing genius!

Another banger from Kate Clayborn. She is a must read author for me, and I've gotten a few friends into her as well. At the core of this book are two really lovely people who have deep emotional trauma. One is equipped to face theirs head-on. The other is not. There are so many instances where a lesser writer would've wasted our time, with miscommunication or immaturity, and I cringed in anticipation a few times before I remembered whose work I was reading. Clayborn knows the most interesting thing that characters can do is speak honestly with each other. As a result, the reader can walk away thinking these two really are great for each other.

I discovered Kate Clayborn and her books during the pandemic, and they provided me with some much-needed joy and relief. So imagine my excitement when I was gifted an early copy by #netgalley, Kate and Kensington Books to read and review. I was able to hear Kate speak on a panel this past spring, and she previewed Georgie, All Along. And while I was quite excited about the concept of this book, it exceeded my expectations.

Georgie, All Along is the story of Georgie Mulcahy, who recently returns to her small hometown from LA where she just lost her job. Her childhood best friend Annabel is pregnant, and she sees her sudden free time as an opportunity to help her nest and prepare for the baby's arrival. She's a bit lost and overwhelmed. While helping Bel go through old boxes they stumble upon a long-lost treasure - The Fic - a notebook of all of the things they wanted to do in high school. Georgie finds herself inspired for the first time in a while and decides that she and Bel will tackle the tasks in the Fic, with the hopes that it will give her some clarity and direction. What she absolutely isn't expecting upon going to her parents' house is gaining a roommate, and it being the older brother of her childhood crush, Levi.

I adored this book. Kate Clayborn's character development is so well done. She is also excellent at getting us invested in her side characters - I LOVE Bel, and was just as invested in her happiness as I was Georgie's.

This book was a romance, but also really dove into how complicated all relationships (family, friendships, love) are, career shifts and the very relatable feeling of being lost and wondering how you got there. It was about looking back and looking forward. It got deep but also was funny and fun as hell. I was into it from the first few pages, and just really really enjoyed getting to know George, Levi and the gang. The use of the Fic as a tool to get to know Georgie and explore both what she wants and her relationship with Levi was just brilliant. And there were enough twists to keep me on my toes.

Bravo, Kate Clayborn!! You did it again. What a joy of a read!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Georgie, All Along is Kate Clayborn at the pinnacle of romance writing. Georgie Mulcahy returns home after losing her big time LA job. At loose ends, she's staying at her parent's place and helping her best friend prepare for her first baby when she discovers her high school diary. It's filled with her hopes for the future and maybe following the list of her teenage dreams will help her re-discover her purpose.

Unfortunately, Levi Fanning becomes her unexpected roommate. The troublesome brother of her high school crush offers to help in her quest. As they work together, Levi is confronted by his past and his relationship with his family. Now, both Georgie and Levi must learn how to let go of what is holding them back to have a chance at a new future.

I love everything about this book. It is sweet and complex and soft and sharp. I will be recommending it to anyone and everyone foolish enough to ask for a rec. It is what I aspire to as a writer and I can't wait to read it again.

I knew Georgie, All Along was going to be well written, paced, and plotted. After all, Kate Clayborn has proven over and over again that she's a terrifically capable writer. Georgie, All Along, though, left the rest in the dust, because it is hands down her best work so far. The relationship between Georgie and Levi is #relationshipgoals. Hell, I'd straight up leave my husband if Levi showed up and offered to take me away from all this to his little house and dock on the river with his adorable dog. And can we just acknowledge and accept that Hank is just the best good boy in the history of good boys?

One million out of ten stars if that's possible. I'll definitely read this one again (and probably again and again and again) I'll definitely recommend to anyone who'll listen.

Thanks to NetGalley and Kensington for the ARC.

This might just be Kate Clayborn’s best novel yet! Georgie, All Along is beautiful. It made me blush, it broke my heart, it made me smile. I want to sit and hug my kindle after reading it. Would absolutely recommend! Kate Clayborn was able to take a romance trope and turn it into a book that I will happily read again (which is no small feat!).

I like the concept. I liked the characters. But the writing is…clunky. There’s no other way to describe it. It lacks fluidity. Example: one character asks another character a question. The person on the receiving end does three pages of internal dialogue and then answers the question in one word. As a reader this turned into a lot of skimming on my part. Ask, answer, then tell us your thought process. The characters themselves, while not bad, lacked depth, which made it difficult for me to connect with them. In the end, 2 stars. There’s great potential, but the book didn’t bowl me over.

What a great first book of 2023! Georgie, All Along was such an amazing, feel-good read and I’m so grateful and happy that I got the opportunity to read it. Georgie has to be one of my favorite characters I’ve read in a long time. I loved her messiness, kindness, and love for life. I think the message of this book is so important. Reading about Georgie finding her place in the world and what she’s meant to do felt very familiar to me and had me attached to this book immediately. Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington for this e-galley in exchange for an honest review. Georgie, All Along hits shelves January 24th!

"Levi Fanning, are you calling me trouble."
"I'm calling you the best thing that ever happened to me."

Georgie, All Along is set in Georgie's small Virginia hometown, when she returns home after several years PA-ing in California. Primarily there to support her heavily pregnant BFF, Bel, when the pair stumble across a dream-filled diary from their younger years, Georgie takes it as a sign to fulfil some of these dreams in the quest to find her next path in life. What she doesn't expect is to have to share her parent's home with a grumpy stranger named Levi Fanning and for him to insist on joining her on her quest.

Look, I know this book is about Georgie, but we all know the highlight is Levi. No, just me? He definitely has Archer Hale vibes (but older). He's ostracised from his prominent family in town and keeps to himself, but underneath that grumpy exterior is a gentle, sensitive and misunderstood person. I loved seeing him open up and be vulnerable with Georgie... and I also may have loved his relationship with Hank, his dog. THEY WERE SO CUTE.

I'm so glad this was dual POV because there was something about seeing Georgie through Levi's eyes that was another level of beauty. "Funny. Alive. Messy. Impulsive. So pretty I can still see her when I close my eyes at night." 🫠 All I'm going to say is... if you like Emily Henry's writing style, step this way.

Then there was Georgie and man did I resonate with her. At one point she was talking with her parents and mentioned how they were "a soft place to land" and I couldn't agree more 🫶🏻. Her journey of self-discovery was truly captivating, as was her relationship with Levi. I highly recommend adding Georgie, All Along to your TBR.

Thank you so much to Kensington Books and NetGalley for the early copy.

Kate Clayborn really knows how to break your heart in like four different ways over the course of a book. Georgie, All Along is Beautiful. It’s a pretty tired contemporary romance trope that Kate Clayborn plays out masterfully. Georgie loses her job and moves to her hometown with the quest to figure out what she wants. She almost immediately runs into Levi, the bad news brother of her high school crush. Georgie decides to accomplish some of her goals for high school as a way of restarting. Levi decides to help her along the way, as he contemplates his own reinvention. I was weeping as I finished this. Beautiful.

I have absolutely no idea how to review this. I just want to hug my Kindle to my chest and absorb all that this book was. All the family, friendships and romance. All the character, good lord this was character driven, all the trouble, the resolutions, all the chances to go back, all that is Hank and all that involved bringing Georgie and Levi together.

I hang my head in shame that this was my first book from the author. Though trust me and by Book Dragon tendencies that I have ordered two books from her backlist already and hope to get lost in them just like I got lost in this lovely, sexy, funny, heartbreaking, romantic and just perfect story.

I am so SO SO grateful we got a dual POV with this. I wasn't sure until I turned the page and saw Levi's name and took a long exhale. This wouldn't have worked if we weren't in his head. We had to know everything Levi was thinking, feeling and wanting and goodness it made me think, feel and want so damn much.

There are going to be a lot of reviews that will be eloquent with their words and that isn't going to be me. You see, I finished this book last night and I cannot let go of it. I went to Costco to get new glasses and I kept thinking of the first time Georgie tells Levi she loves him and how he reacted. It was one of those put your hand on your heart moments where your breath is somewhere between a gasp and a moan. I kept thinking about Georgie's soap opera robe and how maybe for one I shouldn't go with the safe frames and live a little. I kept thinking of all the things I would like to go back and redo from high school, about the boys I had crushes on and where I am today. I couldn't let go of this book. I am fixated on it like Hank with a metal rooster.

I honestly didn't know what to get with this book or the author but what I got has made me a fan. I can be picky with contemporary romance as I don't want to necessarily read about life when I am reading to potentially avoid it. My Clayborn came at me with this unique story about a grumpy bearded man with a heart of gold who thinks he isn't deserving and a sunshine free spirit who's path was always leading home to find love. Neither of them ever expected the other and from their meet cute to those last lines that basically ARE the title of the book, these two held me captive.

I adored Georgie. I felt for her losing her job and having to go back home but I knew it would be a good move. I felt a bond with her finding a job she was good at and enjoyed though not going to college. I felt for her having a crush on a boy and that crush and actually knowledge of her existing being unrequited. I felt a true kinship with Georgie.

I loved Levi. I liked him when we first meet him and I fell for him when we meet Hank. But it didn't take long for my love to turn into infatuation and adoration when it came to Levi. He's such an easy guy to fall in love with and I loved being in his head. Even when his head is him shutting down and not moving on the porch lit by a citronella candle... Levi is my kind of romantic hero and I would love to sit on his dock with him regardless of the season handing each other the sharpie before we leap.

Look, I am not going to make sense because all of my senses are stuck inside my kindle with the words that created this amazing story about friendship, family, finding yourself and so much love.

I hope you pick this up.
I hope the author considers writing something about Evan because he hurt me almost as much as Levi did. I think Remy could use something too.

I just know that requesting this book was one of the few things I can pat myself on the back for because I didn't think I would be approved. I am so glad I was.

I am going to go back and reread a few parts again and order myself a physical copy of this so I can hug it completely.

What started out a little slow for me, turned into already being one of my favorite books of the year!

There is so much heart in this book; I’m still feeling like I’m deeply in it.

Georgie loses her job in LA and has to return home to her small town, where it feels like she’s moving backward in life, and her friends and other people in this town have only moved forward. Through poor planning on her parent’s end, she ends up having to room with Levi, the town’s ‘bad boy’ and older brother of her childhood crush.

With the close proximity, the tensions between Georgie and Levi is palatable. Thank you Kate for not making us wait too long for them to get together because I’m not sure I could have handled this as a slowww burn romance.

His forever. Her infinite, in the words of LA folk (;)) I can’t.

Levi’s a grump, but only because of the way his life has made him a bit hard. But you can tell almost immediately there’s a bit of vulnerability to him. He is sweet, he’s reserved, he’s thoughtful, and is just looking for someone that fits. Georgie is bright, gives her love easily, and is the perfect balance for Levi. I just loved watching them get to know each other and work through their issues maturely. Their love felt deep, and as I said, this story had a lot of heart to it. I’m so happy that the characters didn’t act out immaturely because I think that would have taken away from how beautiful this story is.

Georgie All Along comes out on 1/24, and I would say this is definitely worth picking up!

Thank you, Kensington, for the e-arc!

I'm so grateful I was allowed to read this book before it was officially published. I know a Kate Clayborn book, no matter the story, will heal and soothe me in numerous ways. Georgie, and (especially) Levi did just that.

I've never had a thing...a passion, a Goal for my life and it's always made me feel rootless and incomplete. So when Georgie described a blankness where there "should" be something, that's the first of many cries I had.

And Levi, making a steady, stable, sturdy life to atone for his early struggles...yeah, more tears. The gentleness and vulnerability of Levi Fanning was a revelation. Show me a man who loves his dog and pays attention and I Will fall in messy love. Levi is a dark horse and a unicorn at once. A Dark Unicorn.

This book is a masterclass on Character. The depth that Kate gives these people make them real and true and funny and fragile. Her stories remind me that people can be good. That love can be good. That life can be good. Which is something I need to be reminded of these days.

I am so surprised this is my first Kate Clayborn book…better late than never I suppose.

Which is kind of the theme of this story. Armed with an 8th grade to-do list as a guide, Georgie finds her future by revisiting her past.

Georgie’s friendship with her BFF Bel was my favorite relationship. It was authentic and beautifully done.

The male main character, Levi, had me in his corner when he showed up with Hank, his rescue dog. Hank is a superstar.

These relationships had humor and messiness and kept my attention throughout. It was a slow, quiet story that worked except…the duo storylines.

I am typically a fan of duo storylines but I think in this case it created too much telling and not enough showing. Levi’s thoughts dragged a bit for me.

If you like thoughtful, realistic stories this one definitely delivers. Thank you Kensington Books and NetGalley for the Advanced Reader Copy.

📓 BOOK REVIEW 📓

Title: Georgie, All Along
Author: @kateclayborn.author
Pub date: January 24, 2023

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

What I liked:
▪️GEORGIE - I loved her personality and her journey to filling the blankness
▪️LEVI - He is such a great grumpy character! The love and overprotectiveness that he has for his dog… *swoon*! And just how he talks about Georgie is the sweetest 💕
▪️The way my heart ached learning about Levi’s backstory
▪️Georgie’s and Bel’s friendship
▪️Georgie’s parents.. they are AMAZING
▪️HANK - the sweet and silly rescue pup
▪️It actually made me laugh out loud

Thank you so so much @netgalley and @kensingtonbooks for my advanced copy! I’ll definitely be buying a physical copy to add to my shelf ♥️

Super likable, well developed MC’s. Fun rom-com with some family drama, identity crisis, an adorable dog, and romance. This was a fun read!

Thanks #NetGalley and #Kensington publishing for the e-book ARC.

My goodness did I love this. Like a quiet, reflective march through a meadow. Georgie's descriptions for being just the slightest bit lost were so deeply relatable. Levi Fanning is sure to be everyone's next favorite book boyfriend. I adored this.

this was okay, meh on all the characters. not really a fan of when men can't communicate so i didn't like that they couldn't talk about his family for so long

I can always count on Kate to provide a swoony read. Georgie did not disappoint.
I loved the grumpy sunshine forced roommates setting. I loved the personal growth of many of the characters. I loved Levi and Georgie and Hank.