Little Blue Truck's Beep-Along Book

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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. 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 I loved the small moments where Georgie and Levi mess up with each other, and extend each other the grace to go back and try the interaction differently. Long story short, and this was—looking back—an incredibly long story (sorry): Georgie, All Along is an absolutely phenomenal book.

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. Plus all the things I loved most about it were skimmed over more than I'd like, mostly Levi and his siblings and Georgie actually figuring out what she wants. Leave behind your anxious thoughts and embrace a steady confidence that you are never beyond the reach of God’s loving hand, from the bestselling author of Kisses from Katie. And the truth - which I think this book understands - is that on a macro level, we can't ever really do that: go back and do life differently. Plus the tone and demographic of this novel I can see why Sandy Hall has written the novel this way… but skipping over so many aspects poignant to the characters development takes ‘ Been Here All Along’ from brilliant and memorable, to sweet and totally forgettable.Kate Clayborn, if you’re reading this, please make this a series and have the next one be about Evan or Olivia so I can die happy.

Georgie’s best friend, Bel Reston-Yoon and her husband Harry have recently moved back to Bel and Georgie’s hometown. This book is sloooooow, and I don't mind slow books at all because it usually means that there's also a slow-burn romance at the heart of it, which is my favourite. I must say, I had my skepticism firmly in place for the "going back" element of this story from the very start.

The author delivers a heartfelt romance with occasional spicy scenes that tackles some deeper themes if one reads it in its entirety. It is rare to fall in love with characters at the same pace and to the same depth that they do on the page, but Clayborn’s writing is so immersive, so exuberant, it’s a truly multisensory experience.

But there are complications too, for example, the presence in her childhood home of Levi Fanning and his neurotic dog who Georgie’s parents have managed to double-book with Georgie (something that feels like plot necessity initially but makes perfect sense when you meet them) and the re-discovery of the “friend fic” Bel and Georgie created before high school—a repository of all their hopes and dreams that Georgie feels might somehow help her unlock her future. The majority of pages are undamaged with some creasing or tearing, and pencil underlining of text, but this is minimal. Also, the book is able to really clearly distinguish between how others see Georgie, how Georgie sees herself, and how the people who love her see her, and yet combine all three for a fully-realized, three-dimensional character. And I think that's exactly what Kate Clayborn does with Georgie and Levi: rather than trying to make them belong in genre-hero-and-heroine boxes, she uses recognizable codes of "romance novel depictions of masculinity/femininity" to create characters, but also deconstruct where those codes are coming from. I loved their chemistry, and I appreciated all the ways that Georgie and Levi encouraged each other to open up and made each other feel seen.The side character of Georgie's BFF, Bel is exactly the type of best friend any woman would be lucky to have. Please note: This review may not be reproduced or quoted, in whole or in part, without explicit consent from the author.

While unpacking boxes at Bel’s house, Georgie finds an old journal that she and Bel had written in when they were thirteen. All excellent obstacles to overcome and our main characters to grow through the experiences… but it’s left on the side of the road in favour of a cutesy sunset ending.

Special thanks to Edelweiss, Netgalley and the publisher for giving me an ARC of this book for an honest review.