Have you ever watched a romcom and thought, “man, I’d love to live a simple life in a small coastal New England town, run a small business and fall in love with the local town hero”? Well, that’s what we have here, except it’s wonderfully complex in how it examines family dynamics and expectations, disappointment and crippling anxiety, parenthood and relationships — parent/child, sibling, friendships and romantic love. This may look like a quick beach read, but you’ll be clutching your heart and sighing heavy breaths throughout.

I’m grateful to have received an advanced reader’s copy of Dolly All the Time via NetGalley!

The Sneak Peek

Stewart and Dolly carry the weight of the world on their shoulders— Stewart is in line to inherit his family’s multigenerational, multimillion dollar real estate empire, and Dolly has been taking care of her family for almost thirty years when her mother walked out the door and left her father with two teenaged daughters and a special-needs son. Now, a single parent to a teenaged boy who is in desperate need of a fresh start and new friends, Dolly is exhausted. But like Stewart, no matter what twists and turns life throws at them, she’s too stubborn to admit defeat. If life hits her with lemons, she’s getting it back with some lemon meringue pie.

So when a chance encounter lands them both alongside a road, Dolly holding lug nuts and a crossbar, well, opportunity calls! A chance to mutually solve their problems through a simple fake relationship. Dolly solves a family crisis and Stewart gets to prove his family wrong…. And earn his rightful place at the helm of the family business.

But when it turns into the best summer they’ve ever had, can their relationship expand outside of the parameters defined by their contract?

What Victoria Loved

VICTORIA’S RATING: 4/5

Who would’ve thunk a guy named Stewart would make it to the leaderboard of my favorite MMCs?! I mean, Stew?! Not exactly a hot guy name. But everything about this Stewart piqued my interest. And as the layers started to shed, well, Stewart definitely more than made up for his name.

I love when an author can make you feel nostalgic for a life you’ve never had. The cozy coastal New England town with a fresh fish shop with delicious crab cakes in the heart of a little downtown district where people bike around. There are charming homes bundled against the sea breeze packed together along small streets and there’s a permanent saltiness to the air. But across town, there’s a beautiful estate made of dreams — limestone facade, lush gardens, a stable and a chapel and sweeping views of the ocean on one side and a bay on the other. It’s magnificent. And life is beautiful, there are weekly traditions upheld like family dinners on the veranda that everyone attends. You can just feel the warmth and the beauty of having endless memories being formed all around you. It’s an overwhelming feeling of yearning for a summer in that place. AM did an incredible job of describing Whitfield, I longed for a little slice of happiness and found it in this small town.

I think my favorite thing about this story is how Annabel positions Stewart and Dolly has total opposites. He’s the heir to a multigenerational real estate empire so prominent there is a literal town named after his family. She is the “heir” to the small fish shop in said town that’s been passed down for four generations. She’s a single parent who works four jobs to make ends meet, while he works nonstop and has a staff of five to run his household. In a Venn diagram, the only thing that would fall in the overlapping section is that their families are both from Whitfield. But as their story unfolds, we quickly find that there is so much more that connects them— a commonality in their stories, experiences that built them to be the people they are today. And it’s all the small details that make them truly magnificent together… they saw bits of themselves in each other, and my heart swelled for them.

And as beautiful as it was to bear witness to their love in bloom, it was extra special because it was wrapped around such entertaining banter between the MCs but also with Gus! What a wonderful teenager. He was observant, insightful, and attuned to his mother in a way that just made you want to high-five him for being such a gentleman. He recognized how hard she was working and everything she did for him, and he just wanted her to be happy. She treated him with respect and he gave it right back. I loved how natural his relationship was with both Dolly and Stewart. They all had such a good rapport, you could just tell they all belonged to each other even if they didn’t quite know it yet.

I (not so) secretly hope this turns into a series. I would love to know what happens to the rest of the Whitfields!

Pre-order your copy of Dolly All the Time (Amazon) and read with me!

Favorite Scene

“I am wearing everything very well. That is a top ten worst compliment of my life.”

- DOLLY ALL THE TIME by Annabel Monaghan

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XX
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