“I try to ignore his nice forearm so I can focus on his not-nice manners, in spite of the fact he’s offering to pay my bill. But when I finally look over at him, I find that his face—even in profile, even half-covered by the brim of his hat—is as distracting as that flexing forearm.”
Georgie, All Along is a fun and swoony grumpy-sunshine romance that is hard to put down.
Longtime personal assistant Georgie Mulcahy has made a career out of putting others before herself. When an unexpected upheaval sends her away from her hectic job in L.A. and back to her hometown, Georgie must confront an uncomfortable truth: her own wants and needs have always been a disconcertingly blank page.
But then Georgie comes across a forgotten artifact—a “friendfic” diary she wrote as a teenager, filled with possibilities she once imagined. To an overwhelmed Georgie, the diary’s simple, small-scale ideas are a lifeline—a guidebook for getting started on a new path.
Georgie’s plans hit a snag when she comes face to face with an unexpected roommate—Levi Fanning, onetime town troublemaker and current town hermit. But this quiet, grouchy man is more than just his reputation, and he offers to help Georgie with her quest. As the two make their way through her wishlist, Georgie begins to realize that what she truly wants might not be in the pages of her diary after all, but right by her side—if only they can both find a way to let go of the pasts that hold them back.
Honest and deeply emotional, Georgie, All Along is a smart, tender must-read for everyone who’s ever wondered about the life that got away . . .
I really adored this book. It’s such a fun, swoony, and addictive read. Everything about Georgie, All Along, just worked for me. I like a good coming-home story, and Kate did a fabulous job taking this plotline and adding her own wonderful touches to it. Georgie is coming home slightly defeated: she has lost her job because her boss has decided to retire, and she doesn’t know what to do with her life now. Until Georgie chooses what she wants to do next, she plans on helping out with Bel, her best friend, who is about to have a baby, but of course, things don’t go as planned. It turns out her parents have also told Levi that he can stay at their house, so now Georgie finds herself living under the same roof with a grumpy stranger.
There are so many things that I could talk about with you regarding this book. Let’s start with the story first. This coming-home story has just the right amount of romance, heart, friendship, humour, and spice to create a fun and engaging reading experience. I loved watching Georgie’s journey unfold in this book. This is a character who is coming back home defeated and lost. She doesn’t know what she wants to do with her life and is struggling with how the townspeople see her. They think she is still this flighty and unreliable person she was in the past. Georgie decides to go on this quest to complete this “to-do” list she created in high school, hoping it will show her what she wants to do with her life. I liked but didn’t love the whole “to-do” list part in this book. It was an excellent tool for Kate to use to create some cute moments between Georgie and Levi, and it became a reason for these two to spend more time together. My problem with the list was that it felt lost in the story, especially near the end of the book.
This book has some really fun and thoughtful family and friend dynamics. Levi is estranged from his family. His father had made it clear that Levi was to have no contact with anyone from the family. I was really interested in learning more about his family and what happened between them. Kate does an excellent job of showing readers the pressures within families. The one thing that matters most to Levi’s dad is the perfect family image, and Levi just doesn’t fit within that image. Then we have this completely opposite family dynamic regarding Georgie’s family. Her parents are big old hippies and are such a hoot. They shower Georgie with unconditional love and are proud of her no matter what she does. Their interactions with each other were charming and quite funny.
Georgie is a fabulous character. I loved being able to spend time with her. She embraces life and all the chaos that comes with it. One of the things that endeared me to Georgie was her positive attitude and the kindness she showed others. Her character does have some growth in this book, but that growth is centred around her realizing that she doesn’t need to change. I loved this because I was worried that Georgie would try to change who she was to fit what people expected her to be. She is a fantastic person, just the way she is; she just needed to believe in herself.
Oh, the romance in this book was lovely! I adore a good grumpy meets sunshine romance, and Kate knocks this one out of the park. This story is told from Georgie’s and Levi’s POV, which I loved because it allowed us to see what was happening in Levi’s head. His character had this perfect balance of prickliness and sweetness. Every time he pushes Georgie away or does something to hurt her, he knows he is making a mistake, and as readers, we can see this internal struggle he is having with himself. There are so many beautiful moments between these two, and I enjoyed the progression of their relationship. There was just the right amount of hurdles and miscommunications that they had to overcome to make their relationship believable and entertaining, but not too many where you find yourself wanting to bang your head against the wall. I just adored Levi’s grand gesture at the end of this book. It was utter perfection and just had my heart pitter-patter faster. It was the perfect way to end this story.
Georgie, All Along is a must-read for any rom-com fan.
