Georgie, All Along by Kate Clayborn

Kate Clayborn is the author of my very beloved Love Lettering, so I was a tiny bit apprehensive that Georgie, All Along would not live up to the sheer delightfulness of what I expect from a Clayborn novel, but I dove right in.

Georgie's been laid off from her job as a personal assistant to a Hollywood screenwriter, so she returns to her hometown to help her very pregnant best friend get things ready for the new baby. Georgie's parents are traveling, so she's staying at their house, but it turns out that Georgie's dad also told Levi Fanning, the older brother of Georgie's high school crush, that he and his dog Hank could also stay at their house while Levi's house is going through some renovations. What could possibly happen when these two (three, counting the dog) share a house?

Interesting characters: Oh, you guys. Georgie does not know what she wants to do with her life. She's adrift and not sure what to do with herself. She is hard-working and smart, but she's just not sure. Oh. Hm. I feel like I am currently a Georgie and I felt so very seen as I was reading this book. She loves her friends and family and is an absolute delight, but she's still a little lost.

Levi's got daddy issues and I guess that's fine, although if he's supposed to be in his late-20s/early-30s and he's been to therapy, that seems a bit strange that he hasn't dealt with it more. BUT. Whatever. He loves his dog! He works hard! He's uncomfortable making small talk! He's an environmentalist! What's not to like?

Believable conflict: There's so little conflict that it's hard to really say. I mean, the dark moment mostly concerns Levi's family issues and is not really about their relationship. I guess I believe it would go down like that, but this relationship isn't about highs and lows. They're just learning about each other and sometimes it's hard, but it's not really about conflict. It's a lot like The Cheat Sheet in that way and I'm here for these romances about grownups acting like grownups and being kind to one another as they're figuring out how a relationship works. It doesn't all have to be dramatic like those idiots in Romeo and Juliet.

Emotional tension: This is just a slow burn, you guys. And if you don't like a slow burn, you won't like it. It's also got some explicit sex scenes, so if you're more comfortable with closed door romances, this won't be for you. I thought it was perfectly paced and I loved how delicately it unfolded.

Happily ever after: Just a perfect ending.

You guys. I loved this book. 5/5 stars

Lines of note:

"I know we were just kids screwing around."

"Just kids' isn't a thing. Important stuff happens to kids. Kids do important stuff,"... (page 61)

I just love this sentiment.

This is how she was in class, she'd start off with some anecdote or quote before winding around - a long way around, if I'm being honest - to the important bit. It was fucking stressful taking notes in her lectures. (page 132-133)

Ha ha ha! Haven't we all been in that class?

But I hear other things, too - her funny chatter with Hank when she thinks I'm not listening, her sleepy sighs when I pull her close in bed, her bright laughter when she talks to her parents. I hear her big, expansive brain whirring with the ideas she says out loud - what she's going to do over at Bel's, whether I should get one of those robot vacuums, why it's roundabout time for her dad to think about putting some additional accessibility features in their house. Sometimes I think I hear the ones she doesn't say, too... (page 239)

So romantic!

Thing I looked up:

impetigo (page 57) - a common and highly contagious skin infection that mainly affects infants and small children (I have never heard of this before!)