Moving and vivid, a story of what might have been and a quest to find it.
Many thanks to Kensington Books and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Georgie, All Along by Kate Clayborn is a beautiful journey of self-discovery, finding where you belong and who you are meant to be with. Georgie Mulcahy has made a living from putting other people first. She has worked at a P.A. for several well known clients, but when Georgie’s current client decides to reevaluate her life and going into temporary retirement, rather than stay in L.A. and try to find a new client, she moves back home. Her best friend is pregnant and asking for her help to organize her home and life to prepare for her child. Georgie's parents are aging hippies who are on an extended trip, so she when she returns she plans to stay in her parents’ home, but finds out that they had forgotten they had already told Levi he could stay with his dog while there is work going on at his house. Levi is a few years older than Georgie and was the black sheep in his wealthy family. He has his own business and is basically a hermit. Georgie falls in love with his dog and allows them to stay in the house with her. As they become friends, she begins to understand what he has gone through and learns about some situations in the past which ended him up where he was today. Of course the more they get to know each other, the more they begin to care about one another. Can Georgie put herself first for once and go after what she wants?

Kate Clayborn has written a great story with wonderful characters. Georgie is a giver, someone who always put everyone else first and really doesn't think she has any talents and needs to develop some self-confidence. Levi is a grump, but with good reason. As we learn about his past and what happened to destroy his relationship with his siblings, my heart broke for him. I wanted to wring his dad's neck as badly as Georgie did. Georgie is an outgoing people pleaser, Levi is an introvert who wants to be left alone, they are a perfect opposites attract. Georgie's parents were a hoot. They were easy going, fun loving and also very giving, so I could see where Georgie got it. Hank, Levi's rescue Pit Bull was a sweetheart. He was also judged badly based on his looks, not his attitude. I loved how Georgie treated him and cared about him. Anyone who loved a dog that much can't be bad. This was a very emotional story as we learned about their pasts and how it affected their life in the present. They were both vulnerable, and afraid to commit to a relationship. As they worked through Georgie's list and tried to face the things that happened in their past, they grew together, fell in love and become whole. I loved this story and highly recommend it.

Cute romance but it had a lot of inner dialogue that could have been edited down. I loved Georgie!!!

Georgie is returning to her home town after working for years as a personal assistant to Hollywood writers and directors. Returning home brings up a lot of memories, so it's no surprise that she mistakes troubled Levi Fanning, for his younger brother Evan, who was Georgie's crush throughout high school. Georgie is trying to figure out her future while Levi is resolving the issues of his past.

It's a great small town romance about figuring out your path.

I’ll be honest, I requested this one for the cover 😂

But it was a risk worth taking because it was light, palette cleansing, and “predictable in a good way”. It had just the slightest hint of spice, while having a compelling FMC, and did the reformed bad boy thing in a really sweet way. I do love a small town setting, especially when it’s the “big city girl” being put back into it.

There wasn’t a gimmick or anything particularly unique about the plot, but it did what it was trying to do well, and I had a good time reading it- which is the essential makeup of a good summer hammock time read for me!

3.5 stars!

I think unfortunately this novel might just have not been for me. It was very emotional, which I should've realized, but that took me out of the story because I wasn't expecting that. It also involved a romance between a 28 and mid thirties year old and at times they felt a little juvenile. I did enjoy some of the interactions with the side characters, but I don't think I was at the point in my life to really like and appreciate this novel.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Clayborn is unfailingly brilliant at creating emotional tension. It's lovely to follow any character she's created - and this story is no exception.

Thank you, Kensington Books for this ARC.

I loved the Chance of a Lifetime trilogy, so I wanted to check this new book out. It wasn't my cup of tea, TBH. However, it wasn't bad. I like more fast-paced books. This is a slower paced book, it took until half way for me to get really invested into the Levi/Georgie.

I'm also not into the return-to-your-hometown trope. However, if you like a slower burn return home book, this one is for you. There is also an interesting family drama which captured my attention more than the main ship.

Not the strongest of Clayborn's books for me but as always her characters are well drawn, but it just wasn't for me

What a delightful story! I was cheering for Georgie from the start. A five star read for me, and I’d highly recommend it to all my reader friends!

A sweeping, deeply felt romance that perfectly weaves stories of friendship and personal growth with plenty of heat and steam.

This was a cute contemporary read. Georgie Mulcahy heads home to small town Virginia after her most recent personal assistant job in LA ends. Her folks are out of town but excited she is coming back and that she can take care of the plants. Parental forgetfulness enters the story when her father lets local carpenter/dock builder Levi stay at their house while his is being repaired. It was a good story, with Georgie rediscovering high school Georgie's dreams and trying to accomplish them. People from the past and present help Georgie figure out the next phase of her life.

My first Kate Clayborn book! There was a lot I liked about this book, but at the same time I was a bit underwhelmed. The underlying theme of reinvention and rediscovering yourself later in life was relatable and held true, but paired with the reenactment of junior high daydreams took away the seriousness a bit for me.

Levi and Hank must be protected at all costs though.

I could not wait to get my hands on this. It is SO good. I will be reading more by this author. I usually don't love second chance romances but this was too good to pass up

I honestly loved this book so much! Levi is such an amazing grumpy hero and Georgie is so lovable! This book was super sweet, fun and vulnerable! I love the storyline and the spice. I feel like it's a great mixture! I also love any book that is Dual POV and this was is! This is a grumpy/sunshine trope for sure as well as close proximity.
My only con was that it was a pretty slow moving book which can make it hard to really get into. Give it a chance though and you will love it! I appreciate the ARC so much!

All things kate clay born does are soft, heartfelt and lovely. She has such a way with characters and language. I always want a little more heat, and this was not my favorite of hers, but it was lovely to watch Georgie find herself.

Honestly, you can't go wrong with Kate Clayborn. I loved this book. Georgie is on a journey to self discovery after her position ends. She moves home to help her pregnant best friend and figure out what she wants to do next. She finds the notebook her and her friend kept with their bucket list item. However, Levi, the brother of her former teenage crush, becomes her roommate and stops her from jumping off the pier.

This book was beautiful and Levi was a dream. I was rooting for them to figure out how to get out of their own way. Kate Clayborn wins again.

Did I enjoy this book? Meh… it was cute and had good character growth… but it just was not my thing. I tried to step outside my horror/thriller/speculative fiction comfort bubble to read something more heartwarming but this just didn’t do it for me (as I expected).

THAT BEING SAID, if you do like a cute grumpy/sunshine small-town romance with family drama, I would definitely recommend this to you. I do think that people who normally like this genre will
enjoy this book. Georgie’s awesome parents, her supportive friends Bel and Harry, and Levi’s dog Hank are all side characters who really make the book shine.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced review copy of “Georgie, All Along” by Kate Clayborn. Thoughts and opinions are my own.

I have previously enjoyed Love Lettering and Beginner’s Luck by this author. This book was a miss for me, but someone who really likes character driven romances might enjoy it. I feel like there was this interesting premise with Georgie’s sort of bucket list goals but I have read other books that have done this better. This plot point felt like a bit of an afterthought that the author kept forgetting about. It seemed like Georgie did a lot of the things off page too.

This story was kind of boring. There’s so much hanging on Levi’s mysterious backstory. We’re literally in his POV and he still keeps us in the dark. For way too long, Georgie just shrugs and says “guess I won’t ask anyone about anything.” It felt like we were just killing time with significant glances and miscommunication especially with Levi’s backstory. And then at the end Levi and his siblings just kind of brushed it all off and became friends again? What was the point?

I wish the chapters had been broken up more. They are so long and dragging. There’s a subplot with Georgie’s pregnant friend that took up way too much page time.

A big plus is I picked this up on audio and the male narrator was phenomenal. I think I would have struggled to read this physically but the male narrator at least made up for some of the boring stretches.

I don’t think the author should have included the Harry Potter reference. That could have easily been changed.

The third act breakup was kind of cringey. It made me question if Georgie was actually after Levi’s brother all along. I think it should have been stronger to show how Georgie felt about Levi.

Overall this wasn’t for me but might be for readers who like heavily character driven books. I would highly recommend the audiobook.

3/5 stars

I can so see this one as a Hallmark movie….it has all the elements of feel good and spice to bring the reader on a romantic ride. MC Georgie is finding her footing in her hometown after her career has veered off course. Enter Levi, sexy and broody small town guy who has a secret from his past. The relationship was respectful and sweet and had all the feels. Really enjoyed this light romance.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest review and opinion.

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