I love a grumpy leading man, and Levi is also great in his role as a former black sheep who has turned his life around but who still struggles with the perceptions his community still has for him from his wild younger days.
Georgia is also charming as she deals with similar perceptions and tries to figure out what she wants to be when she grows up now that the career as PA that consumed her life goes away when her boss retires. Overall, I found this sweet with fun supporting characters (Georgie's kooky parents and Levi's dog Hank) and nice relationship development.

ARC courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley - 1/31/23. This is an unpaid review.

2.75 starts, rounded up to 3 for all the laughs. This small town romance is full of endearing characters and unfulfilled potential. Georgie and Levi are so fun and sweet together (mostly), but this is an unusual case where I think the romantic couple needs less internal and more external conflict. Instead of continually reacting badly to each other, whether because of misunderstandings or their own hangups, I'd like to see them prove their rightness to each other and everyone else by uniting against an outside force (Levi's dad and the opinion of the townspeople were perfectly positioned for this before just... fizzling into nothing). As it is, I began questioning if they will ever get out of this cycle of hurt and reconciliation. This is a book more interested in personal healing than in romance, and while the former is well done it's at the expense of the latter, at least for me. Still, I cared and I laughed, so I won't warn anyone away — just don't expect it to be world-changing.

My thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Books for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely loved this book. It hooked me and kept me turning pages until I was done. Finished it in two days! The character development was strong, and the premise was unique enough that it didn't feel like anything else I've read.

I really enjoyed this book! After having previously DNF'd 2 of the author's previous novels, I was reluctant to read but really liked the sound of the plot. And, I am glad I did. I really liked the story and main characters. It wasn't easy breezy but wasn't too heavy either.

This is my first Kate Clayborn novel but I don't think it should be my last. Georgie, All Along is told in dual POV from the title FMC Georgie and MMC, Levi.

I fell in love with the characters as they worked through their messy pasts and some beautiful self realisation. I found the characters well written and relatable. The story flows in a very natural speed and the spice wasn't forced.

Overall an easy to read story that leaves you feeling warm and fuzzy

When her job as a Hollywood assistant comes to an abrupt end, Georgie Mulcahy trades the frenetic pace of life serving an A-lister for a return to her sleepy hometown on the Chesapeake Bay. In a box in her best friend's house, she finds notebooks she filled in high school with lists and plans, and wonders if maybe the clues about where to go next lie in her past. The snag in her plans to work through the lists and quietly contemplate her existence/future? She just became accidental roommates with the former town bad-boy.
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My favorite kind of romance is the one in which someone solves the mystery of themself, and GEORGIE, ALL ALONG is that to a T.

Oh, it's got all the other delicious bits you'd want: a complicated love interest who isn't what he first seems, a great best friend & supporting cast of characters, a richly portrayed setting and sense of place, A GREAT DOG.

But what makes it elite tier is Georgie at its center, and Kate Clayborn's unparalleled ability to write flawed, real humans inside of heart-capturing stories (along with one-liners that will make you cackle outloud).

And did I mention the dog?? Seriously, don't read past page 31-ish if you want to go to sleep before your bedtime, because once Hank appears on the page, you're either not gonna be able to put it down or you've got a heart of stone.

With Georgie, Clayborn is 6 straight hits and no misses—the smart, funny writer to pick up when you need to be guaranteed a deeply satisfying read. I recommend her backlist as fervently as I rec all of her new books...but if you need me today, I'll be re-reading *this* one, and getting charmed all over again.
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Huge thank you to @kensingtonbooks #partner for the ARC & to @kateclayborn.author for continuing to put books out into this crazy world!!

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!

This was such a fun romance book. I enjoyed all the characters (well, except for one-----you will know who he is when you read it). It was quick paced and the perfect book for my mood at the time. I like that the lead characters are off beat and a bit different than most of its type. Thank you to Netgalley for this free ebook in exchange for an honest review.

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.