Dolly All the Time by Annabel Monaghan
If they begin by pretending, can they end with something real?
Dolly Brick has never met a problem she couldn’t solve. Not when her mom left when she was twelve, and not at thirty-nine when she moves with her son back to Whitfield, Rhode Island for the summer to keep her dad and brother from losing the family home.
So when she comes across Stewart Whitfield—annoyingly handsome scion of the Whitfield family—with a flat tire and at the wrong end of a very public, very humiliating breakup, it’s in her nature to help. But Stewart’s proposed arrangement ends up being more than either of them bargained for, because as public dinners and high society benefits turn into sunset boat rides and swinging on the porch, Dolly starts to feel something more than helpful. She’s never relied on anyone besides herself; can she really start now?
Review: Thank you to G.P. Putnam's Sons & NetGalley for an ARC!
I loved this. I truly, truly loved it. It was one of those, can't wait until bedtime to keep reading kind of books. Every time I read an Annabel Monaghan, I think she just keeps getting better and better. And she does!
I really loved Dolly as a character. She is an oldest daughter, 39-year-old single mom. She has a disabled brother that she helps take care of and a dad whose fish shop she helps out with in the summer. She's scrappy and thrifty to make ends meet, working multiple jobs, and renting out her parking space and just walking farther. She's home for the summer in her small hometown, biking around, when who does she have to help with a flat tire but Stewart Whitfield, the handsome son of the supremely wealthy family of the town.
I love how hard-working, strong, and can-do Dolly is. She's experienced a lot of loss and people leaving but she just figures it out on her own. I loved how thrifty she is. I loved the way she likes to bake. I love what a good mom she is and how close she is with her son Gus, who is on the cusp of the teenage years. I loved her longtime friendship with Naomi and how tender she is towards her brother Christopher. I love the bob haircut she gets and how she likes to sleep on the sleeping porch in the summer. I like how she rolls her eyes at how ridiculous and over the top the lifestyle Stewart and his family is.
I also loved Stewart! With his mansion and helicopters and blazers for every occasion. He's charming and thoughtful and always appearing with a cup of hot tea for her. Despite his wealth, he seems deeply unhappy and lost. Dolly is good for him. I think both characters have a lot of growth over the course of the book, as they are both working through some past traumas that negatively impact their relationship. I was happy with how far the characters come over the course of the story. I also liked the balance between their characters that gives us scenes in the fish shops but also champagne towers at cocktail parties.
This also just had the best summertime vibes in this book. I loved all the descriptions of Dolly and her family prepping and selling seafood and sitting on the porch. Although the town is a fictional Rhode Island town, I loved the New England vibes.
I knocked this down half a star from a full 5 only because the conflict dragged on a bit longer than I would have liked in the end. I also thought the resolution for some of their issues was a little too easy. I just don't know if they could have easily resolved some of the big issues they faced as a couple as easily as they did. But this was such an enjoyable, summertime read that I'm willing to let a lot of that go!
Stars: 4.5
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