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wilybooklover's review against another edition
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relatable — Georgie in all of her impulsive, chaotic mess and not knowing what she wants to do and Levi in his quiet, withdrawn introversion.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.
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relatable — Georgie in all of her impulsive, chaotic mess and not knowing what she wants to do and Levi in his quiet, withdrawn introversion.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.
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
Graphic: Abandonment, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Sexual content
Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Pregnancy, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Addiction, Drug abuse, Death of parent, Drug use, Violence, Terminal illness, Cancer, Chronic illness, Blood, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Gun violence
caseythereader's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy, Alcohol, Cursing, Forced institutionalization, and Sexual content
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail and Drug use
oceanwriter's review
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I don't know how I'm feeling about this one. I didn't dislike it, but I didn't like it either.
Georgie finds herself back home and reevaluating her life. Having spent a life of people pleasing, she's ready to start figuring out her own wants and needs after rediscovering a 'friendfic' she wrote as a teenager. An old high school acquaintance, Levi, helps her along on her journey of self-discovery.
The concept of this book is wonderful. I had really high hopes. Unfortunately, it felt like a strange mishmash of genres. The main plot felt like it wanted to be literary, but it was not written in a literary style. The romance plot felt like it wanted to be a romcom, but it wasn't comedic. While I liked the Georgie/Levi pairing, I grew bored of them quickly. I also found some of their romance scenes far too graphic for my taste. Disappointing overall, but ultimately comes down to a matter of preference and wrong assumptions of what the book was going to be.
Georgie finds herself back home and reevaluating her life. Having spent a life of people pleasing, she's ready to start figuring out her own wants and needs after rediscovering a 'friendfic' she wrote as a teenager. An old high school acquaintance, Levi, helps her along on her journey of self-discovery.
The concept of this book is wonderful. I had really high hopes. Unfortunately, it felt like a strange mishmash of genres. The main plot felt like it wanted to be literary, but it was not written in a literary style. The romance plot felt like it wanted to be a romcom, but it wasn't comedic. While I liked the Georgie/Levi pairing, I grew bored of them quickly. I also found some of their romance scenes far too graphic for my taste. Disappointing overall, but ultimately comes down to a matter of preference and wrong assumptions of what the book was going to be.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy, Sexual content, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Child abuse, Forced institutionalization, and Addiction
Minor: Drug abuse, Drug use, and Death of parent
kcbatts's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Child abuse, Forced institutionalization, and Sexual content
mairead_parade's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
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
5.0
Totally loved this. Clayborn is so good at using tropes and archetypes in a way that’s deeply grounded in her characters rather than a shortcut to communicate something to the readers. I kept seeing ghosts of lazier versions of this book as I read - one where Georgie deludes herself into thinking completing her high school “fic” will itself solve all her problems, or where she spends time focused on Evan and pretending not to have feelings for Levi - that would have pulled conflict from characters not being honest with themselves or each other. Instead, the MCs get together relatively early on without a lot of fuss and then spend most of the book learning how to be better versions of themselves and support each other. I love a grumpy/sunshine, but especially when the grump is a man it can sometimes veer patronizing or indulgent toward the sunshine half. Here, part of Levi’s growth is trying to learn from Georgie how to find more joy for himself, which I really appreciated. Also, I love a good dog character.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse
Moderate: Addiction and Forced institutionalization
analenegrace's review
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
I do believe Kate Clayborn is becoming one of my favorite authors (although I've only read two of her books). Her books make me feel emotional, but they also make me laugh and kick my feet because of the way I love the characters, and their relationships, and Georgie was no different!
I really enjoy the way Clayborn introduced both Georgie and Levi to us, to show the expectations that the world around them has about them. Georgie was a character I immediately felt drawn to because of the way she loves people and places and her home. When we first met Levi paying for her milkshakes, I had a feeling he would be the love interest, and I was very excited for the grumpy/sunshine dynamic, which we got, but Clayborn also made Levi so compelling and more complicated than just "grumpy."
I enjoyed Georgie's perspective of this book, and her, greatly, but I do think I loved Levi's more. I loved the way he talked and thought about Georgie, especially the way his mind worked through his holdups. Even during the third-act breakup, which I usually hate, I enjoyed seeing both of their personal growth over the short period they were apart and how much it was necessary, even if they hated it! His relationship with his siblings was really well-done, and I liked that we got a resolution, but not a perfect one, making the characters feel more real.
Lastly, I loved how fleshed out the side characters were, especially Annabel and Hank... Yes, I mean the dog... I loved that we got details about Hank that made him feel like a real dog and constantly had me laughing or awwing at him. Annabel was a character whose ending I didn't expect, and I really enjoyed it!
I'm not sure why I'm not giving this book 5 stars but I know that while i loved it, it didn't do the thing to my brain that 5 star books do, so there we go!
I really enjoy the way Clayborn introduced both Georgie and Levi to us, to show the expectations that the world around them has about them. Georgie was a character I immediately felt drawn to because of the way she loves people and places and her home. When we first met Levi paying for her milkshakes, I had a feeling he would be the love interest, and I was very excited for the grumpy/sunshine dynamic, which we got, but Clayborn also made Levi so compelling and more complicated than just "grumpy."
I enjoyed Georgie's perspective of this book, and her, greatly, but I do think I loved Levi's more. I loved the way he talked and thought about Georgie, especially the way his mind worked through his holdups. Even during the third-act breakup, which I usually hate, I enjoyed seeing both of their personal growth over the short period they were apart and how much it was necessary, even if they hated it! His relationship with his siblings was really well-done, and I liked that we got a resolution, but not a perfect one, making the characters feel more real.
Lastly, I loved how fleshed out the side characters were, especially Annabel and Hank... Yes, I mean the dog... I loved that we got details about Hank that made him feel like a real dog and constantly had me laughing or awwing at him. Annabel was a character whose ending I didn't expect, and I really enjoyed it!
I'm not sure why I'm not giving this book 5 stars but I know that while i loved it, it didn't do the thing to my brain that 5 star books do, so there we go!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content, Pregnancy, Forced institutionalization, and Child abuse
emmas_bookshelf's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I really loved this book! It’s the first one I’ve read by Kate Clayborn and I absolutely loved the two main characters. Going on Georgie’s journey to figure herself out was really satisfying, and Levi is such a sweetheart who deserves all the good things!!!! And Hank! Definitely would recommend! Have the tissues ready though, I cried so much reading this on the plane!
Content Warnings
Minor: Addiction, Toxic relationship, Blood, Drug abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gun violence, Drug use, and Pregnancy
purplepenning's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.25
I love a romance where the characters do not find all of life's answers in each other and instead do the actual work of figuring their crap out AND ALSO learning to love and fit together. Plus, a female main character who is outstanding at her job of smoothing out everyone else's chaotic messes but is not-so-secretly an unanchored, chaotic mess herself? Yes. Realness. PLUS, a grumpy, wounded, previous bad boy with emotional integrity and a heart as big as his rescue pittie's smile?! Swoon. Georgie and Levi — so good together and so good in their individual journeys. Beautiful portrayals of growth, connection, vulnerability. If I didn't require more snarky humor in my romances and if I was able to connect more with the hometown, high-school-hijinks device that guided the self-discovery, this would probably have been a 5-star read.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Pregnancy, Alcohol, Sexual content, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, Drug use, Vomit, Violence, Animal cruelty, Blood, and Excrement
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