Reviews with content warning for Gun violence - Georgie, All Along

I love Georgie’s character!! And honestly, Levi’s too. I’m sure we all know someone who has a hard exterior because of the way the world has beat them down, but they’re really soft and squishy inside. Even if that’s us. I also love how Georgie wasn’t the perfect FMC. She didn’t excel at school, she wasn’t super talented at anything like sports or music or writing or anything. She’s just a loving, selfless, adaptable person who’s biggest strength is herself.

Content Warnings

wilybooklover's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

5.0

Wow, what a gorgeous, gorgeous book. I've said many times that I really love books that are quiet and slow and character-driven, and this is the most perfect rendition of that. There are so many soft little domestic scenes that are just quietly romantic and intimate. Such a lovely heartwarming story full of growth and forgiveness.

One thing that really stood out to me while I was reading was the absolute total vulnerability that the characters were allowed to feel and showcase. It's quite rare to see in romance, especially in male characters, and I loved it. Georgie and Levi had such depth to them and were written with such care. Kate Clayborn has such a gift for writing characters that feel real. I personally found both characters very relatable — Georgie in all of her impulsive, chaotic mess and not knowing what she wants to do and Levi in his quiet, withdrawn introversion. The characters feel like complete opposites at first (the archetypal grumpy and sunshine) but as the story continues and they communicate with each other (such great communication in this) you begin to see that deep down they are very alike in their strength and softness and worldview. I saw one review compare Levi to Cash Wall from Against a Wall and I am so offended on Levi’s behalf. Cash was a petty bully mired in toxic masculinity and unwilling to take accountability for his actions (please excuse me while I take any chance I can to hate on him). Levi is basically the exact opposite of that, just shy and socially awkward. He categorically refuses to let others make excuses for his past behaviour. Oh, and he's a dog dad and it's just so CUTE.

Another thing I really loved about this was the portrayal of strong female friendship. The friendship plotline is one of the things I really disliked about Love Lettering, and I'm so pleased that wasn't the case here. Bel and Georgie are always there for each other, supporting and caring for one another in the most authentic way. The scene where Bel confesses that she hates small town living and Georgie is immediately supportive was so wonderful (and another great example of vulnerability in this book).

I also appreciated the lack of drama in the family plot. A lesser author would have created a lot of melodrama out of the situation but instead it felt calm, mature, and just well-suited to the characters.

Content Warnings

savvyrosereads's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional funny inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reeling from unexpected changes in her professional life, Georgie returns to her hometown and begins a quest to find her purpose—all while finding herself unexpected roommates with the brother of her childhood crush.

This was the April pick for my book club and it felt like it took me FOREVER to get to, but I’m glad I finally did. It took me the first hundred pages or so of the book to fully connect with the characters, but by the end I was pretty fully hooked. I found myself sobbing over the last third, and really loved the ending, which I thought hit the EXACT right note. The overall message of the book was super sweet, and I enjoyed all of the characters, ESPECIALLY Levi, who made an absolutely wonderful MMC and is definitely going on my book boyfriend list!

Overall, I might call this one more “women’s fiction” (even though I don’t love that term) than straight romance, as it definitely focuses on Georgie’s personal journey as an individual in addition to her journey to find love. But there are plenty of steamy scenes that also put this one squarely in the romance crossover pile!

Recommended to anyone, but especially if you like: character driven romance; small town romance; stories with a message

CW: Discussions of drug use; emotional abuse; pregnancy and brief mentions of medical content; discussion of death of a parent; brief mention of gun violence

Content Warnings

lnzava's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional funny hopeful informative lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Content Warnings

More...